Page 88 of The Golden Hour

They’d take their time waking up, sharing sleepy kisses and Honey giggling sweetly when he nipped at her jaw and neck, his hand caressing and then squeezing the supple parts of her gorgeous body. Her slipping her hand into his pants to grab his cock, him pulling her sleep tank top down to suck her perfect tits, eating her out till she came and then gently fucking his wife to another orgasm while he chased his own. Heaven. Fucking heaven in his arms.

That’s part of the reason he’s started sleeping outside Honey’s room, on the floor like a dog. The first night, he lay in bed and heard Daisy’s cry in the middle of the night and leapt up like a jack-in-the-box.

Something to do, some way to help Honey and his daughter. He had been fiending for that ever since they got home and felt like nothing but a useless corner decoration watching his family together.

His wife was already off the mattress when he walked into the bedroom, and she was walking toward Daisy’s crib.

“Honey, go sit down,” he said, gently cutting her off the path and gesturing to the rocking chair in the corner of the room. “I’ll bring her to you.”

For one second, her exhausted face looked like she was gearing up to argue, but then she just walked over to the chair. Feeling a semblance of satisfaction at helping her, Mason gently lifted his very hungry daughter from the crib and cradled her to his chest.

These small moments that Daisy allowed him to hold her felt like heaven. He pressed his nose to her head, her scent as comforting as Honey’s as he brought her to her mommy.

“Here, baby girl,” he murmured. “Here’s your mommy.”

Honey smiled down at Daisy, the breastfeeding pillow already in place. He eased Daisy into her waiting arms, and crouched down to help her unbutton her pajama top. As she helped Daisy latch, Mason thought she looked like someone with the expertise of doing it for years. He sat back on his haunches and just watched Honey feed their daughter, that familiar warmth spreading from his chest outward.

Honey gently held Daisy, and hummed to her, her free hand gently tracing their daughter’s tiny features.

As always, Mason felt like he was witnessing some holy event and sat in still awe.

Ellen’s words rang like a bell in his head.

“Her body is sustaining your daughter.”

“Amazing…” Mason whispered, causing Honey’s eyes to flick up toward him, briefly pausing her humming. “You’re amazing, Honey.”

Honey just resumed humming and smiling down at Daisy. He didn’t need a response to that; it wasn’t about receiving anything in return, it was about giving something to Honey that she needed.

Support. Reassurance. Love.

“What the fuck are you doing to sustain her?”

He will do everything in his power to sustain her.

“I’m sorry if I made it confusing,” Honey said suddenly, startling Mason.

He frowned.

“Why are you apologizing to me?”

“Because I need you to understand something,” Honey said, her voice even and firm, but her eyes remained on Daisy. “In my eyes, we are not husband and wife right now. We are Daisy’s parents. We are co-parents. That’s it.”

Her words felt like a knife to the chest, but he’ll be damned if he made her feel guilty. It was bad enough she felt the need to apologize to him, when she had done nothing wrong. If anything, he deserved being kept in the dark. Hadn’t he done so for the last nine months?

But Honey wasn’t a tit-for-tat person.

Honey was fair and kind and empathetic and understanding.

Honey was also exhausted and scared and traumatized.

She could curse him out forever, and he was sure that he would deserve every word.

“I made you want to leave me,” Mason whispered. “I made you need to leave me. For that, I am so sorry, Honey. For every single second I wasn’t there. I am so incredibly sorry.”

“I know you are,” Honey whispered, finally raising her eyes to meet his gaze. Despite the exhaustion, they were fierce. “I can see it, Mason. But I just need to focus on Daisy right now. We both need to focus on Daisy. She’s the priority.”

Mason nodded, but gently corrected.