“Fine, but why did you say it’ll be happening soon?”
“Because it just makes sense! We both know it’s something you’re both looking to do, and I can’t imagine this getting dragged out much longer. You’re both too old for those ridiculous make-out sessions in my yard. I was tempted to turn the hose on the two of you more than once.”
“Thank you for showing some self-control.”
“I can say the same to you.”
“Mommy!” Kira called out, and Katie slowly got to her feet. “It feels like nap time is getting shorter and shorter.”
“Need a hand?”
“No. I’m good. But they’ll be heading out here in a little while to flip around with you.” She winked. “And can I just say how much I appreciate you doing that? The kids have been loving it, and Kira gets so worn out that she’s sleeping better at night.”
“Glad I can help.”
Thirty minutes later, Violet had two wide-eyed kids staring at her, begging her to do her flips. Yesterday she had done a few back handsprings and then front ones, and they had been beyond amazed. Personally, she had been shocked she could still do them, and last night, her body had reminded her how she really shouldn’t do too many of them. So she had to think quickly about showing them something a little less…flippy.
“How about we work on headstands today?” she suggested, and even though the kids really had no idea what she was talking about, they jumped up and down excitedly.
Gotta love their enthusiasm…
So for an hour, Violet crouched down and helped Kira and Eli try to find their balance. Luckily, every time they fell over, they laughed about it, and all in all seemed to be having fun, but at the end of the hour, their attention span was gone because they both deserted her for the jungle gym.
Standing, she brushed the dirt off of her butt and almost jumped out of her skin when Hunter’s hands playfully grabbed her ass.
“Oh, my God!” she quietly hissed. “What are you doing?”
“Just being helpful,” he teased and gave her a quick kiss.
She desperately wanted to sneak off and kiss him properly, but she thought of her earlier conversation with Kate and figured it was now or never.
“So,” she began, hoping she sounded casual. “I was wondering if there was any chance of us going out just the two of us this weekend.”
And then she held her breath and waited.
“Funny you should mention that,” he replied, moving in closer. “Courtney and Dean have asked if Eli could sleepover tonight.”
She knew her eyes went wide. “Really?”
Nodding, he said, “Really.”
“Wait, did they ask you or did you ask them?”
“What difference does it make?”
Her conscience hit her hard. “Because, Hunter…Eli’s your son and I don’t want to be the reason why he’s getting sent to sleep at some stranger’s house.”
“Okay, for starters, Dean’s my brother. Eli’s his nephew. No strangers involved. Secondly, he and Courtney are getting married next month and already talking about kids and want him there to practice.” Rolling his eyes, he added, “It’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard, but considering it gives us the entire night to ourselves, I wasn’t going to complain or question it.”
And basically, neither was she.
“Alrighty, then. What’s the plan?”
Closing the distance between them, his breath was warm against her ear. “Pack an overnight bag and be at my place at seven. I’ll handle the rest.” His tongue traced the shell of her ear and she shivered.
Swallowing hard, Violet forced herself to pull back slightly. “I don’t even know what to say. I was hoping we’d have this opportunity, but now that it’s happening…”
His finger was back over her lips. “No big plans, Violet. Just us, all alone. If you’d rather go out to dinner or a movie or…”
Gently pushing his hand away, she mimicked his pose by putting her finger over his lips. “There’s nothing else I’d rather do and anyplace else I want to go. If anything, I want it to be seven o’clock right now.”
“It will be. Soon enough.” He kissed her soundly before turning to go and get Eli.
Cooking was something Hunter did out of necessity. He had a few dishes that he made well, but for the most part, he stuck to the basics. For tonight, he opted to play it safe and ordered Chinese takeout. It had taken just a few minutes to grill Katie on all the things Violet liked, and then he decided to be bold and order for her so the food was here and waiting when she arrived. And glancing at his watch, he saw that would be any minute.
Glancing around the house, he made sure everything was neat and clean. All Eli’s toys were put away; every surface had been dusted, there were clean sheets on his bed and fresh towels in the bathroom.
When the doorbell rang, he had to remind himself not to pounce.
They had all night.
There was no reason to hurry.
But when he opened the door, his little pep talk went right out the window.
Standing on his front porch in a baby blue halter dress and carrying a small weekender bag, stood Violet. Her dark hair was loose around her shoulders and she was all curvy and tanned and…perfect.
Wordlessly, Hunter took her by the hand and led her into the house. He took her bag from her and together they carried it into his bedroom. Once he placed the bag on the floor next to the bed, he realized how this all looked.
“Um…I was really just putting the bag down,” he began nervously. “I seriously wasn’t implying that this is where our date is starting or…or…”
Violet moved in close, got up on her tip-toes, and silenced him with a kiss. When she moved away, she gave him a flirty smile. “Good to know. But for the record, I would have been more than okay if this was where our date started.”
Damn.
He looked at the bed and then back at Violet before he shook his head. “Come on. I got us Chinese food, and it’s all set up on the table waiting to be served.” With her hand in his, he led her to the dining room, held out her chair for her as she sat, and felt himself start to relax.
“Ooo…it looks like you got us quite the selection here.” He watched as she looked at all the containers and then smiled up at him as he poured her a glass of wine.
“I cheated a bit and asked Katie about what you liked.”
“A man with a plan,” she teased, reaching for her glass. “I love that.”
“Well, I do what I can,” he added as he sat.
They made their plates, and Hunter realized he might have gone a little overboard. There was shrimp with lobster sauce, beef and broccoli, sweet and sour chicken, egg rolls, fried rice, steamed dumplings, and crab Rangoon.
Yeah. Seriously overboard.
“Did Eli get settled okay at your brother’s?”
It was crazy how that one little question made him like this woman even more.
Clearing his throat, he picked up his fork. “Yeah. He was excited too.” Chuckling, he explained, “They’re going to watch The Lego Movie, eat pizza, and Courtney baked cookies, so…”
“Essentially, it’s his perfect night.”
“Exactly!” They both began to eat, and Hunter realized for all their conversations over the last few weeks, there was still so much he didn’t know about her.
“So, tell me about your business.”
Violet finished chewing. “It’s called ‘Talk Travel to Me,’ and yeah, there’s a story behind it.”
“Go on,” he prompted.
“Katie and I had a third foster sister. Her name was Morgan Hedrick. She had a weird obsession with 80’s metal bands–the glam ones especially. Anyway, Poison’s ‘Talk Dirty to Me’ was her personal favorite.” She paused and took a sip of her wine. “Anyway, when she wasn’t listening to music, she was talking about all the places in the world she wanted to travel to and see. Sometimes she would fantasize about marrying some famous rock star and touring the worl
d with the band.”
“She sounds like a lot of fun! Although, I would have pegged you for more of a boy band kind of girl.”
“Oh, I was. My love of Justin Timberlake knows no bounds, but Morgan was all about the hair bands.”
Nodding, he asked, “Where does she live now? Does she know she inspired your travel business?”
He watched as Violet’s head lowered, but not before he saw her expression turn sad. She took a moment before looking at him again and answering.
“Morgan was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor when she was eighteen. She died less than a year later,” she explained quietly. “I had promised her during our many bedside talks that I would visit all the places she never would.” With a shrug, she went on. “At first I thought it would be something I’d do for pleasure–like a yearly vacation kind of thing to different places I could afford to–but after I planned those first few trips, I found I genuinely enjoyed it. Then I helped some friends plan vacations and…that was it. I found my niche and I’ve never looked back.”
Reaching across the table, he placed his hand on top of hers. “I am so sorry. If I had known, I never would have brought it up.”
“It’s okay, Hunter. It breaks my heart how Morgan’s life was over before she got to live and enjoy it, but I’ve made my peace with it. And every new place I travel to, I always make sure I take some quiet time to talk to her about it.”
“I do that with my mom, too,” he admitted softly. When Violet’s expression softened, he squeezed her hand. “Every once in a while, I just sort of…sit and talk to her. Tell her about Eli and my life. It’s not the same as her being here to see it all herself, but it makes me…I don’t know. Sometimes I just need the connection.”
“I understand completely.”
They both fell silent, still holding hands, as they ate their dinner.
After several moments passed, Hunter couldn’t help but laugh softly.
“What’s so funny?”
“I think it’s been too long since I’ve tried to seduce a woman because here I was making all these plans for a great night and then I introduce an incredibly depressing topic.” He shook his head. “I am so sorry. I’m not usually this bad at this.”
“You’re fine, Hunter. And honestly, I think this is all part of getting to know each other. You don’t only get to hear the happy stuff.”
“Yeah, well…I kind of feel like all I’ve been showing you is the depressing stuff and…now I’m whining.” He was this close to just banging his head on the table and vowing not to speak another word tonight.
Beside him, Violet softly laughed. “Okay, change of subject. Where’s the last place you went on vacation?”
With a casual shrug, he replied, “Right here.”
“Ah, …sorry. Single dad, shared custody. You probably don’t have a big travel budget.”
Was she serious? “Actually, I get three weeks of paid vacation every year. I just prefer to stay here. We’ve got the beach and my brothers and I have a boat to go fishing…everything I want is right here.”
Her dark eyes went wide, but she didn’t comment.
“What about you?” he asked, figuring it was going to be someplace fabulous.
“Three months ago, I went to check out a new resort in Denver. It’s one of those all-inclusive spas. The views were amazing, the services they offered were off-the-chart, and the food was top-notch. They probably had the most comfortable bed I’ve ever slept in.” She gave him a come-hither smile before adding, “So far.”
Slowly, Hunter pushed his plate away. “I’m a firm believer in a quality mattress.” Pausing and resting his arms on the table, he lowered his voice just a touch. “That’s why I spent more on mine than anything else in the house. I’m very particular about my bed.”
One dark brow arched at him. “I’m intrigued, Mr. Jones. But you know, I can’t possibly take your word for it. I’m going to have to try it out for myself.”
“Would I lie to you, Violet?” he asked silkily.
She rose from her chair and held her hand out to him. “I don’t think so, but, like you, I take my beds very seriously. We’ve been fairly compatible so far on our likes and dislikes; now I’d like to see if we can hold that record when dealing with where we sleep.”
He came to his feet, placing his hand in hers and was only mildly surprised when she led the way back to his bedroom. The view of Violet from behind was just as sexy as the front. The halter dress left her back bare to her waist and he couldn’t wait to touch all that smooth, tanned skin.
Actually, he couldn’t wait to touch and taste every inch of her–so much so his mouth began to water even as his hands began to twitch.
At the door to his room, she dropped his hand and slowly walked over to his bed. Next, she made a bit of a show of running her hand along the comforter and pushing down on the mattress to check the firmness before turning to face him.
“It all looks good so far,” she said, her voice taking on that husky quality he was coming to love.
“And it will look even better when you’re sprawled out on it,” he said, advancing on her. When he reached her, he cupped her face in his hands and simply leaned in and kissed her like he’d been dying to since she got here.
Who was he kidding–like he’d been dying to ever since they kissed for the first time two weeks ago.
Knowing there were no distractions, no one was going to have to go home, meant he could unleash everything he’d been feeling for her.
The good news was Violet was kissing him back with just as much urgency as he was using on her.
The better news was that she was reaching behind her neck and untying the halter part of her dress.
All without breaking their kiss.
He knew the instant the fabric fell away, and his hands immediately skimmed down over her jaw, her throat, her collarbone, until he was able to cup her breasts. The hum of pure pleasure was out before he could stop it. Her skin was so warm and soft, and Hunter couldn’t wait to explore the rest of her.
As if of one mind, they slowly maneuvered until they were both on the bed–stretched out, facing one another, and still kissing. And as with every other time his mouth was on hers, he lost all track of time. They could have been kissing for minutes or hours; all he knew was he couldn’t get enough.
But when one of Violet’s legs crept up and anchored over his hip and she moved impossibly closer, he began to feel his self-control slipping. Moving to rain kisses along her cheek before simply being bold and going directly to her breasts, Hunter smiled when he heard Violet breathlessly say, “Finally.”
Good to know she’s enjoying this as much as I am…
With his lips thoroughly enjoying kissing and licking and tasting more of her, Hunter let one hand wander to slide her dress down over her hips with Violet’s help. He allowed himself one brief moment to lift his head and look at her as she lay there in nothing more than a pair of soft pink panties.
“I think we need to work on getting some of your clothes off,” she teased, easing up onto her elbows to look at him.
“You think so?” he asked, even as he sat up and whipped his shirt up over his head, tossing it to the floor. Kicking his shoes off, he went to lie down again when Violet stopped him.
“Lose the pants, Jones.”
Laughing softly, he obliged.
This time when he went to resume his spot nestled between her legs so he could continue to kiss her breasts, she didn’t stop him. But once they were skin to skin, it was like hitting the launch button. The feel of her underneath him, of her soft hands smoothing up and down his back before going up and raking through his hair, and hearing her throaty, sexy as hell moans when he kissed or touched her someplace she liked made Hunter realize there was time for slow exploration.
Later.
Kissing his way back up to her lips, he forced himself to raise his head. “In my mind, I envisioned us having dinner…” He placed a light kiss on her cheek. “A
nd then having dessert…” Another kiss. “And then slowly making our way in here.” And another.
“But…” she prompted, nipping at his earlobe as he continued peppering her face with tiny kisses.
“But…I underestimated the effect of having you naked beneath me.”
“I’m not naked,” she said huskily, biting his ear teasingly. “Yet.”
Groaning, Hunter rested his forehead against hers. “Next time,” he said, his voice low and gruff as one hand wandered down to her hip to toy with the edge of her panties. “Next time, I swear to go slow, but right now…”
“Hunter?”
“Hmm?”
“You had me at next time.” She grinned up at him before raking her hands into his hair and bringing his lips back to hers.
And damn if he wasn’t already looking forward to it.
Seven
It was almost noon on Saturday and Violet still felt like she needed to tiptoe back into Katie’s house. She knew she would look ridiculous, and yet she couldn’t help herself.
Then she screamed when Katie yanked open the front door. “Oh, my God! I have been waiting for you! I thought you’d be home sooner!” Taking Violet by the hand, she pulled her into the house.
Panic immediately gripped her. Spinning, she grasped her friend’s shoulders. “It’s okay. I’m here. Are you having contractions? Are you timing them?” She frantically looked around. “Where’s your bag? We said we were going to keep an overnight bag by the door!” With a mild cry of despair, she ran to Katie’s room and looked around. “Where did you put it?”
“Vi?” Katie called out.
“It’s okay! It’s okay…,” she said breathlessly as she ran back into the living room. “Did Rose already come and get Kira? Do we need to drop her off? Oh, my God…I parked behind you in the driveway! Gah! Why didn’t you call me earlier?”
Katie sat down on the couch.
“That’s good. You rest right there while I find that damn bag.” She power-walked to the kitchen. “Did you call your doctor? Is she meeting us there?”
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