Her head snaps up at me and she watches me with furrowed brows.
Hmm…maybe she needs a little convincing. “Nobody would notice if we ventured off for a bit of alone time,” I assure her. “How easy would it be for me to lure you over there into the bushes for a minute?”
She laughs through her nose. “Sex in the woods? Are you serious?”
“Don’t knock it ‘til you try it.” I waggle my brows.
She digs a hand into my bag of popcorn. “Yeah well, it’s all fun and games until somebody gets a mosquito bite on the ass.”
I throw my head back and roar. “Point taken!”
I beg my hard-on to calm down and we enjoy an afternoon of good, clean, G-rated fun together.
As the sun is going down, we throw a blanket on the grass and sit around together eating sandwiches and chips. I look over at Brenton all snuggled up in Reese’s arms, comfortable, happy, laughing. There’s a little voice of doubt in my head. What the hell am I doing? Why am I letting her close? What if she leaves? What if things go sour between us? What then? What about Brenton and his little heart?
Brent won’t be able to handle another devastation, another loss of the female figure in his life.
As the frantic thoughts spool in my mind, she glances over at me. She smiles and the corners of her mouth lift all the way up to her crescent shaped eyes. She looks so happy. A complete contradiction to the story I’m authoring in my head. I never saw Mara smile like that, with deep contentment and satisfaction on her face. Maybe I’m wrong about her. Maybe she’ll stay.
I’m quiet for the rest of the afternoon as caution battles hope in my head.
Brenton and Reese chat and laugh, reliving the day as we drive back home. It calms me, hearing their voices, seeing the way they smile at each other. This woman is special. She wants to stick around. She won’t hurt us.
By the time I’m guiding the Escort up my driveway, there’s only one thing on my mind. I want her in my bed tonight.
Brenton bursts out of the backseat and scampers up the stairs. I call after him as he barrels through the door. “Make sure to brush your teeth and change into your pajamas.”
Reese and I sit alone in the quiet car for a minute. I reach across the console and push her hair over her shoulder. Twisting her body to face me, she smiles. “Today was fun.”
I nod. “It was.”
“You’re such a good dad,” she tells me. “I love seeing you with Brent.”
Those words rock me. Knowing that she supports me in that way, that she believes in me, means so much to me. Especially since I doubt myself as a parent everyday.
Leaning over, she brings her lips to my cheek. “Good night, Leo…”
But I can’t let her leave. Not tonight. As she pulls on the door lever, I hook my fingers around her elbow. “Wait…”
She pauses and turns her eyes to me.
“Don’t go.” I hold my breath.
Her eyes fall to where my thumb is drawing slow circles on the inside of her arm.
I swallow thickly. “I like how I feel when I’m around you. I feel like I can breathe.” Wrapping my fingers around the back of her neck, I pull her closer and put a kiss on her mouth. I lean my forehead against hers. “Come inside with me.”
She smiles and brushes her lips over mine. “Okay.”
She follows me into the house and sneaks into my room while I make sure that Brent is all tucked into bed. When I push open the door, she’s waiting naked on the mattress, on top of the sheets, the way I like it.
I twist the lock behind me and crawl across the bed. I devour her like a cannibal. Like I want to eat her pussy until there’s nothing left, until she’s a blubbering mass. Barely coherent. Decimated by pleasure. When she comes, she’s gripping the wooden bars of the bed head. Her jaw hangs loose and heavy gasps pour out.
She’s eager to return the gesture. She drops to her knees and takes my cock into her mouth. Cupping and squeezing my balls, she slides her tongue along the length of my shaft. She sucks me deep into her throat, straining and gagging until I’m shooting my come into the warmth of her throat.
I’m quivering. “You don’t even know what you’re doing to me…”
She climbs onto the bed next to me. ”Tell me,” she begs as she wraps her fingers around my rod, stroking me softly. She’s making me forget to be hurt and broken and anxious. She’s putting my pieces back, holding me together like glue. Every time she touches me I forget to be angry at the world because I’m in absolute awe of her brand of magic.
But I can’t tell her that because I’m not even sure what this thing between us is.
“Stay with me tonight, Reese. Don’t go.”
She lies completely still with her eyes focused on the ceiling. I’m not sure she’s breathing anymore. She knows as well as I do that this wasn’t part of the plan.
I lean closer and brush my lips on her ear. “Stay over…”
She licks her lips nervously as she grabs her blouse from the side table and pulls it on. “I have to be at work in a few hours. If I oversleep…” She slides off of the mattress.
“Reese…” I can see how nervous she is. She wants this but she’s scared. She doesn’t want to get hurt. I don’t blame her. I was pretty clear about my boundaries at the start of this arrangement. But those lines are blurry now.
“The whole town is depending on me for their breakfast, mister. If they all show up here with pitchforks, can you handle that?”
She’s grasping at excuses. I see the fear in her eyes despite her smile.
I lean over the side of the bed and pull on the edge of her shirt. “I’ll set an alarm. Come back to bed.”
Her expression is full of restraint. “You said no sleepovers.”
“I know what I said…” My last conversation with Sophia replays in my head. I have no idea what I’m doing, but I think I’m gonna have to take a risk here. “But, I like you. A lot.” When her gaze falls down to her bare feet, I hook a finger under her chin and force her to look at me. “You’re fantastic. You’re beautiful and smart and funny. And hanging out with you has been such a positive thing for Brenton. I like what we have going on. And although I can’t make you any promises, I want you close. I need you close.”
“But you said…” Her voice trails off.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to confuse you. It’s just that, I’m so confused myself. And I feel guilty because I just got divorced and I should be focusing all my attention on Brent…But I can’t help myself when it comes to you.” I reach for her hand and interlace her fingers with mine. “I can’t stop wanting you.”
Her eyes soften. “I can’t stop wanting you, either,” she confesses. “You’re all I think about.”
“So just stay…”
Her shoulders heave as she gives in. Grinning, I catch her by the wrist. With one little yank, she falls back into the bed.
I kiss her hard, until my head is light and I’m struggling for breath. My heart is thumping. Every beat is a kick against my ribcage. The rock is cracking. Beat by beat, the stone around my heart is chipping away.
I’m falling for my best friend’s little sister.
Chapter 30
Reese
Leo is sleeping soundly next to me. His chest rises and falls with rhythmic breaths. I’m staring at the ceiling.
I’m afraid.
I like him so much. And I want to be here in this bed with him. It’s just scary, not knowing what all of this means. We set out terms at the outset of this arrangement. We’ve been breaking them. He’s fallen asleep next to me, with his arms around my body three times this week.
He says he doesn’t know what any of this means—and I respect that—but the way I feel about him. And Brent. I don’t know what I’d do if he suddenly decided that he doesn’t want this anymore.
He makes a little, pained sound in his sleep and my eyes drift over to him. He’s wincing, his face all twisted up at whatever scene is playing out behind his closed eyes. He
groans again, louder this time. He flips left and then right and then left again. “No…” The word comes out warped by sleep.
He’s having a nightmare.
I hesitate to wake him, but his agony only seems to be increasing, so I reach over and shake his shoulder.
He rouses with a start and his eyes shoot open in the dark room.
“Hey, hey,” I say soothingly. “It’s just me.”
He blinks in my direction and the anxiety slips from his face. “Shit…” he mutters as he sits up. “That was…whoa…”
“Are you okay?” I rub his shoulder.
“Just a dream.”
“Wanna talk about it?”
He scrubs his hands down his face then looks over at me as if he’s trying to figure out if he can trust me. “It’s strange—sometimes, in my dreams, all the worst moments of my life just all morph into one, big, bone-rattling mind-fuck, y’know?”
“What was it about?” I ask even though I’m not sure that he’ll answer.
He swallows. “Just stuff about Mara walking away and things that happened in combat and my childhood.”
“Your childhood?” I wrap my arm around his waist.
“I grew up in foster care,” he tells me. “My father wasn’t around and eventually, my free-spirited mother got sick of caring for two little boys she never wanted.”
My brows dart up. “You have a brother?”
“Vince…We’re not close anymore,” he says. “He’s somewhere on the East Coast. I haven’t talked to him in a while.” He blows out a hard breath. “I just don’t want Brent to see the things I’ve seen in life. That’s why I’m so protective of him, especially since Mara left.”
Now, his approach to fatherhood is starting to make a little more sense to me.
He reaches over and cups my cheek. “I’m not holding back to hurt you, Reese. It’s just…”
I nod into his palm. “I understand, Leo. I know that you’re a great guy. You just…you have baggage.”
He chuckles. “That’s a bit of an understatement, but yeah—I have baggage.”
“That’s just fine with me,” I say as I tuck my body against his and press my face to his chest.
We all have baggage, right? Maybe I just need to be patient. Maybe he’ll come around in time. Maybe I need to put my heart on the line to find out.
Chapter 31
Leo
I didn’t want to get out of bed. If it hadn’t been for Brenton jumping onto the mattress and demanding Corn Puffs at 9:45, I wouldn’t have budged.
My little monkey is hanging from my limbs as I go down the stairs, one heavy step at a time. I pad into the kitchen and grab him a bowl then fill it with milk and cereal.
I drop into a chair across from him and I dig the heel of my hand into my burning eyes. I’m tired but I’ve found a new night time hobby that’s far more exciting than sleep. I’m spent after a night of loving up on my beautiful Reese then pouring my soul out to her in the wee hours of the morning. I fell into a near comatose state when she crawled out of bed for work before the crack of dawn. Even now, my eyes may be open but I’m still half-asleep.
It’s a startling bang at the front door that really wakes me up, though. I jump in my seat and Brent’s eyes widen as they zip over to me. Stumbling out of my chair, I make it to the door just as the banging starts again. Brent is practically leaning over the table with his eyes peeled on the door. I look through the side-light glass and find Charlie standing on my stoop.
“Hey—what’s up?” I say as I drag the door open. I should give him shit for showing up without warning again but I think that, in the grand scheme of things, banging his sister nightly is the bigger grievance against our friendship.
He barges right inside wearing faded jeans, a T-shirt and a lopsided smile. “Got tickets to the ball game. Wanted to see if you two wanna tag along.”
Stretching my arms above my head, I yawn. “I’m really not in the mood,” I tell him, “but if I could get Brenton off of my hands for a few hours, maybe I could make a dent in my to-do list.”
Brent swerves around a box in the middle of the floor and charges toward us. “Hi Uncle Charlie!”
“Hey buddy!” He crouches and Brenton leaps into his arms. “You wanna go watch some baseball, little man?”
My son bounces around. “Can we eat hot dogs?”
“All the hot dogs you want,” my friend promises.
I intervene quickly. “One hot dog.” I give Charlie a hard look so he knows I mean it.
“Can I go, daddy? Please?” He clasps his hands together in front of his little chest as he pleads.
“Fine,” I say. “Go change your clothes.”
The child shrieks excitedly as he scampers up the stairs.
“Make sure to brush your hair,” Charlie calls out. “Chicks dig kids with nice hair.”
He grins at me and I narrow my eyes. “You’re gonna use my kid to pick up chicks, aren’t you?” We make our way to the kitchen.
Charlie lifts a shoulder nonchalantly. “I’m paying him in hot dogs and ice cream. I’d say he’s getting the better end of the deal.”
“Easy on the junk food,” I tell him. “Don’t go overboard.”
He waves me off dismissively. “You worry too much.” He grabs a plastic bowl and pours himself some cereal. Then, he leans on the counter and surveys my face. “You look good, man. You been getting sleep?”
Uneasiness prickles the back of my neck. I shove my hand through my uncombed hair. “A bit, I guess.”
He nods a little. “Good.” His loud crunching fills the quiet kitchen for a long while, then he says. “I won’t ask you about anything else that’s going on in your life because you get all defensive when I check in on you. But you should use this kid-free day to clear your head.”
I chortle shortly. “Thanks. I’ll try.”
Brenton comes barreling down the stairs in jeans and a baseball shirt. He heads straight to the door. “Come on, Uncle Charlie. I don’t wanna be late.”
Grabbing his windbreaker from a chair near the door, I slip the sleeves up his arms and then pull his cap down on his head. I sink down to eye level with him. “You, be good,” I tell him.
“I’ll be good,” he promises as he gives me a high five. He runs out to Charlie’s truck.
My friend glances around at my chaotic surroundings. “Maybe you’ll have a few minutes to clean this place up.” He wears a concerned look on his face.
Not subtle at all. And yes, the place is a mess.
But as he climbs into the driver’s seat, a thought rolls into my mind. I know exactly what I want to do with my kid-free day. And cleaning is not it.
Chapter 32
Reese
Leo’s hands are in my hair. His lips are on mine. His body guides me in the general direction of the couch. Everything around me is a vaguery on the edges of my consciousness. I’m so lost in this moment, so lost in this kiss, so—
My foot catches on something large and immovable on the floor. My eyes fly open as my body hurtles backward. Reacting before I can even register what’s happening, Leo’s arms come around my waist and he saves me from crash-landing into the open box of Christmas decorations behind me.
“Oh hell!” He mutters as he deposits me safe and steady on my feet.
Clutching at my thumping heart, I glance back at the box. “Uh, I think it may be time to unpack the boxes. Don’t ya think?”
He clasps both hands behind his head and his gaze travels around the room. Boxes take up half of the floor space. There’s a lamp without a shade sitting next to a rolled up carpet against the wall. Kitchen chairs stacked one on top of the other. A suitcase bursting at the seams.
And this is just the living room.
He scrunches up his nose. “I’ve really been procrastinating on this…”
I laugh. I probably shouldn’t because he’s clearly overwhelmed but it’s cute. I step closer to him and lay an arm on his shoulder. “I’ll help you. It’ll be
fine.”
His attention snaps to me. “Reese, I couldn’t ask you to help me. This is a disaster.”
I smile. “You’re not asking. I’m offering.”
“And why the hell would you do that? Do you see this place?” He waves his arm over the debacle.
“I don’t have anything better to do this afternoon.” I shrug a shoulder. And I want to spend time with you. No matter what we’re doing.
When Leo texted to tell me that Charlie had taken Brenton for the day, this isn’t how I expected that we’d spend our time. But cleaning this place up is a necessary evil.
“I can spot at least three housing code violations in this room alone. If we don’t remedy the situation a.s.a.p., the mayor will have this building condemned.” I start tugging at the stubborn packing tape sealing one of the boxes shut.
“Reese, no…”
I head into the kitchen for a knife then slice open the tape holding the box closed. “Leo, yes…”
“You’re so stubborn,” he groans.
“You’re so guarded,” I retort. I walk over to him and put my hands on his strong biceps. “Let me help you,” I whisper.
His eyes narrow. “You’re a sweet person. You like to fix things. But I’m not something that needs to be fixed.”
“I’m not trying to fix you. I’m just being a friend. Can you accept that? Can you accept my friendship?”
I get it. His wife hurt him when she walked away. She obliterated his ability to trust. I don’t expect him to hand over his heart without careful consideration, especially since there’s an innocent, precocious child involved. I just wish that he’d believe that, no matter where things end up between the two of us, I genuinely care about him and Brent.
The purest form of need churns inside of me. Yes, I need to be in his bed but more than that, I need to be in his life.
Sighing roughly, he takes the knife from my hand and sets it down on the fireplace. “I don’t want you to think you have to go out of your way, doing all kinds of things for me to like you. I like you the way you are.” My heart pounds as he says it. These aren’t the words I’d expected to hear from him right now. But I guess that subconsciously, I do always go out of my way for other people in the hopes that they’ll see that I’m good enough.
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