Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 76203 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 381(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76203 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 381(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
There was no denying her. And it was a million degrees out once the sun came out from behind a cloud.
I stood up, pushing my shorts down my legs then whipping off my tee.
And that was when I caught York watching me, the heavy lids and molten eyes telling me he was picturing me the way I’d just been remembering him.
Each inch of skin he looked at warmed. My heartbeat fluttered. My belly went liquid.
York took a deep, steadying breath that expanded his chest in a frustratingly hot way.
But getting in the cold water helped chill out the heat of my desire. And pretty soon we were taking turns teaching Denali how to swim—with and without her swimmies. It was a skill I wanted her to learn, but our access to pools had been minimal.
At some point, Eddie returned, tossing my keys into my purse as he passed and declaring he was getting dinner started.
“I know you’ve been here all day, but Eddie’s cooking is worth hanging around for.”
“Can we stay?” Denali asked, eyes too cute to deny.
“Sure. But we should get out and start drying up.”
Twenty minutes later, I had her changed out of her suit and sitting in the kitchen, passing pieces of fruit and veggies to a giant parrot who was surprisingly gentle with her while talking to a very friendly Eddie about her zoo and arcade adventures.
“You wanna go get changed?” York, who still hadn’t put a damn shirt on, asked.
“Yeah, please.”
He nodded toward the back staircase, and I followed him up to the second floor, already trusting Eddie more than most babysitters I’d needed to use in a pinch for Denny.
I did not watch York’s back and ass as we climbed the steps to the second floor, then down the hallway toward his bedroom.
Inside, I found… green.
I guess it was his favorite color too.
It was on the walls, on the bedding, even in the window curtains. It immediately felt cozy, familiar, like the hundreds of days I sat outside in the woods until the dark demanded I return to my tent.
“Bathroom is through there,” he said.
As I turned to see where he was pointing, I realized I’d misjudged just how close he was.
My breath caught.
My head whipped up to look at his face.
The air charged around us, creating little sparks all across my skin as my breath went fast and shallow.
York’s gaze darkened.
And I saw the decision just a second before his giant hand grabbed the back of my neck and his lips crashed down to mine.
Everything fell away.
The fear, uncertainty, worries, pain, the responsibilities of motherhood, the way my life had been tilted off its axis.
It was like we were back in that motel room all those years ago. Just a man and a woman and the chemistry that had been simmering for hours.
There was nothing gentle about the kiss. His lips nearly bruised into mine. And I kissed him back in kind, all the years of denial making me desperate for the touch, feel, and sensation of man.
His arm hooked around my waist, pulling me against him. My breasts crushed to his chest. My pelvis curved into his, feeling the thick outline of his cock as he hardened.
A moan escaped me, muffled by his lips, but he took the opportunity for his tongue to slip inside and toy with mine.
The sparks were a raging fire right then, searing across every inch of my skin, threatening to burn me up completely if I didn’t get some relief.
As if sensing the thoughts, York’s hand was between us, pressing to the barely-there fabric between my legs.
His mouth muffled my cry at the shock of desire that shot through me.
There was nothing else then but the heavy, helpless, breathless need as his fingers worked me through the material until I was clutching his arms, until I was crying out against his lips, until I was trembling as I came.
His hand released the back of my neck, allowing me to break the kiss, my forehead pressing into his chest as I struggled to catch my breath. His fingers went to the back of my head instead, a gentle pressure holding me against him as I came back down.
I knew I needed to move away, needed to not be so clingy and needy, but being held by him seemed to quiet something inside me I had given up on trying to soothe.
“Mama, can I have a ‘tizer?” Denny called up from the bottom of the stairs.
“A what?” York asked as we both stepped away, the moment passed.
“I’m assuming an appetizer,” I said. “She can have anything really. But she doesn’t do spicy well.”
“Got it,” he said, making his way to the door and moving out.
Alone, I leaned against the wall and sighed.
That… that was not in my plans.
Making things complicated with York was not ideal. I needed him to keep wanting to be in Denali’s life. And if things got weird with us, I was risking that.