by Quinn, Taryn
Panic wrapped around my throat and squeezed. “Um.”
Laurie nodded enthusiastically. “I could wear this.” She pulled at her skirts, her smile wide. “Please?”
It sounded like pweese, and my heart broke a little that she actually wanted that.
She wasn’t the only one.
“Maybe someday,” I murmured, hoping like hell I wasn’t cursing the situation just by saying that much. In my world, wishing for more got you less. It was so much easier not to hope.
Or dream.
The back door opened and Oliver and Seth stepped outside, carting bowls of ice cream. They were so different despite looking alike. Oliver’s hair was shorter and straighter, cropped close to his head. Seth’s tended to get shaggy when he wasn’t paying attention. Seth had scruff, Oliver was militantly clean-shaven. Seth wore jeans and a raggedy T-shirt, and Oliver had on a dark suit sans tie, his idea of casual wear.
I was pretty sure every single woman in town—and some not—spent a good chunk of their time trying to figure out how to land one of them. Some industrious types might’ve imagined snagging both for a night or three of fun. Not that they did stuff like that, at least that I knew about. And I would have, because Seth had never been quiet about his hookups.
Killing me a little with every damn one.
“Who wants ice cream?” Seth called, rushing down the steps with Oliver at his heels.
Oliver hadn’t said a word about what he’d witnessed before the party. I’d expected him to make some snarky remark about the kiss, but he’d just slanted me a knowing smile now and then, as if we were sharing some private joke.
I’d expected more surprise from him. Unless maybe others had seen something between me and Seth I never had.
Mainly because I’d been so afraid to wish. Wanting was bad enough.
“Me, me, me! I want ice cream,” Laurie said, pitching sideways off my lap and nearly tumbling to the ground. I caught her just before she went flying, and Seth shot me a panty-wetting grin.
“Nice save, Lawrence.” He sat on the swing and held out a small bowl of ice cream for his daughter. “Neapolitan for Princess Laurie,” he said formally, making her giggle as she settled between us and dug in with her spoon.
“Why, isn’t this cozy,” Oliver said, passing Seth the bowl of ice cream he carried after Seth gave me his.
“Isn’t it?” Seth returned before I could reply. “Don’t you have stuff to do at home?”
I gasped. “Seth, don’t be rude.”
“He wants some alone time with his ladies.” Oliver winked at Laurie. “Especially Princess Laurie, who was the most beautiful girl at the party.”
Laurie giggled and fumbled with her spoon, getting more of the ice cream on her face than in her mouth. I immediately turned to help her, and looked up to catch Seth watching me far too closely.
“Okay, I’m outta here.” Oliver leaned forward to brush a kiss over Laurie’s head. “See ya, squirt. Sleepover on Friday night?”
“Yes!”
“Great. Bet your daddy will enjoy his sleepover too,” Oliver added out of the side of his mouth when Laurie went back to attacking her rapidly melting ice cream.
Seth flipped his brother a discreet cheek middle finger, and Oliver backed away, laughing. “Goodbye, Alison.”
I was flushing, I just knew it, so I decided to just wave a few fingers while I shoveled in ice cream.
We stayed outside, eating ice cream and swinging and talking, until it was nearly twilight. By then, a full Laurie had burned off her sugar high by racing around the yard in pursuit of one of the balloons that hung from every tree and post. There was a lot of clean-up left to be done—even beyond Seth’s giant sand pit in the family room—but when I stood to see to it, Seth pulled me back down, so close that our thighs rubbed together.
“You’ve done enough today. Time to relax.”
Oh yeah, like I could do that when he was stroking my hip through my flimsy dress. All the while, I made sure Laurie was still occupied with her balloon and not watching us.
“We can’t just leave everything out here. If it rains tonight—”
“So stuff will get wet. No big deal. They’re folding tables and cheap tablecloths. Easy to replace.”
“But that all costs money. No reason to—what are you doing?” I asked breathlessly as he inched up my dress to caress my bare skin.
“Not nearly enough.” He turned his face into my hair. “Next time, don’t wear panties. I want easier access.”
I snorted out a laugh. “Dude, you want me to go commando at a children’s party? I was running around all day. Pretty sure a random kid doesn’t need to see my muff and be scarred for life.”
Seth chuckled and tugged at the edge of my panties. “I’d love to see your muff.” He dropped his voice until it was barely a whisper over my skin. “Actually, I’ve been fantasizing all day about going down on my knees between these pretty pale thighs and licking your pussy until you come all over my chin.”
My fingers slid off the condensation on my empty bowl of ice cream. “Hi, little ears nearby.”
“She’s not paying attention.” He tipped up my chin with his thumb. Sometimes he seemed to have ten hands and he knew exactly how to use all of them. “Stay over tonight.”
Arguments formed in my head. It had been a long day, and I wanted my bed. Needed that space to myself to regroup after the confusing feelings being with Laurie and her friends had stirred up in me. I’d enjoyed playing with them and keeping them from getting into too much mischief. It was tiring, sure, but it was rewarding too.
Add in Laurie’s questions and the whole Tina thing that morning and the conversation with Seth that had come afterward, and I was seriously in want of some alone time.
But then I glanced over at Laurie, babbling to herself as she sat on the grass and poked at her Sleeping Beauty balloon, and absorbed the warm muscles pressed against my outer thigh and I absolutely didn’t want to leave. My loft with Sage was fine. I liked it well enough, and maybe someday it could be a home.
This place—and these two people—had been home for me since the day Seth bought the house, right after his divorce.
“Okay.”
Seth frowned, his expression so like his daughter’s when she was trying to puzzle out something. “Seriously?”
I fought not to smile. “Seriously.”
“Babycakes, it’s bedtime.”
Laurie glanced up and pouted. “No.”
I had to laugh. He was about as transparent as glass. “How about a story first?”
“She needs a bath too,” I added under my breath.
“Another one?” Seth asked, sounding as petulant as his child. “Twice in one day? A little soil never hurt anybody.”
Laurie picked that moment to stand up, revealing the streak of dirt all the way down one leg, ending in a glob on her frilly white sock. I glanced pointedly at Seth.
“Not it,” he said under his breath.
“I’ll do it.” Chuckling, I pressed my bowl into his rock-hard belly and rose to go scoop up Laurie off the ground, balloon and all. “Bath first, then a story. Can even have bubbles tonight.”
“Yay.” Laurie wrapped her arm around my neck and pushed the balloon in my face. “Here.”
“Thanks.” I grinned over my shoulder at Seth, and he was doing that way too intent watching thing again. It made my knees tremble and my belly do somersaults. Especially since he was smiling, his eyes warm and brown like melted chocolate.
He liked seeing me with Laurie, almost as much as I enjoyed taking care of her.
Maybe my reserves for taking care of others weren’t nearly as low as I’d believed. Somehow taking care of her—and of Seth—filled me up in other ways.
“You coming in?”
He stretched out his legs, still holding the empty bowls of ice cream. Just the shift of his pose widened his legs enough for me to see exactly what was going on in his jeans—and the late day sun definitely wasn’t c
reating any shadows. That gloriousness was all Seth.
I wet my lips and looked up into his eyes. He did the same, except on him the gesture was lazy and lion-like. A king surveying his backyard kingdom, and I was one of his belongings. That should’ve set my hackles up, but instead, all it gave me was a flutter, way down low.
“I’ll be right in,” he said.
Nodding, I juggled his daughter in my arms and smiled. “You ready for bath time and a story? Maybe Mr. Peppermint and the Pushy Poodles?”
“Yes!” She gave me a loud smacking kiss right on the mouth. “Love you, Ally.”
It didn’t matter that “love you, Ally” sounded like lub eww, Awee. It was probably the sweetest moment of my life.
Sucking in a breath, I tipped my head down to hers. “Love you right back.”
The rustle of grass behind me gave me a second to regroup before Seth pulsed his hips against my ass. He truly didn’t care that he was harder than wood and just the feel of him against me was enough to soak my panties. In fact, he’d probably done that intentionally.
Casually, he looped his arm around my waist and caught his fingers in the unused belt loops of my dress. “My two favorite girls,” he murmured, his breath warm on the nape of my neck.
More flutters, by the dozen this time.
I passed Laurie’s balloon to Seth and watched as he tied it to a chair. Then we trooped together toward the back porch stairs. “In we go.”
“Not you, Daddy,” Laurie said, and Seth gave a big sigh.
“Yes, I know, banned from my own bathroom. Or am I now exiled from the house too?”
Laurie clutched her balloon and stuck out her lower lip while she thought. “Come in.”
“Thank you, Princess Laurie.” Seth ate up the steps with his long-legged strides and opened the back door just in time to let us pass. “After you, Princess Ally Cat.”
“Cat?” Laurie’s head came up and she grinned toothily. “I like cats.” She turned her head and stared hard at her father. “My little sissy wants a cat.”
I lifted my brows. I’d heard much talk about how Laurie wanted another sibling, and supposedly it had spurned Seth’s crazy babymaking idea. But I’d never heard Laurie actually talk about the sibling as if she was real—one who could make pet requests, no less.
“Your little sissy?” I asked through the cotton in my throat. “Did you fill out an order form?”
Laurie giggled and dangled from my neck, stretching her arm out as far as she could so she could encompass her father. “Boys suck.”
“Nice, kiddo.” Seth sighed and tweaked her nose, meeting my gaze over her head. “My child has very specific requests. They seem to get more specific by the day.”
The way he was looking at me again… God, it was as if he could see inside my womb and plant a kid there—a girl, because hey, ask and ye shall receive—from the sheer force of his stare alone.
He could definitely get me in the mood to practice, that was for sure.
“Or a dog,” Laurie added. “My sissy likes dogs too.”
It was so weird to laugh about something that potentially had a big effect on my life too. If she got that sissy she wanted, it’d be via my girl parts. And I didn’t mind that thought.
One bit.
“Good to know.” I brushed a kiss over Laurie’s forehead and sneaked a glance at Seth. “We’ll see how that whole ordering thing works out.”
It was a dangerous thing to say. To pretend we were a little happy family. A happy, normal family, who wasn’t playing house for the sole purpose of procreation.
But right now, with Seth’s gaze hot on mine, and his hand on the small of my back, it certainly didn’t feel like we were playing.
Nor did it when we tucked a freshly clean Laurie in her bed—Seth had waited in his bedroom, as requested—and she asked me to read her story. I figured she’d want her dad to read it to her since he was right there, but nope, she pushed the book into my hand then patted both sides of her bed so we could sit on either side.
My voice was trembling as I started to read about Mr. Peppermint’s pushy poodles. The story was lighthearted and fun, and Laurie giggled as the pushiest puppy fell face-first in a puddle. But by the time the puppy was plopped in the kitchen sink to get cleaned up, Laurie had fallen asleep, her cheek smushed adorably into the pillow and her damp ringlets draping like spun gold across her face.
Gently, I stroked her curls, unable to keep from touching her.
“You love her too,” Seth said, and there was more than certainty in his voice. There was awe. Gratitude.
Even relief.
I nodded. “Yes. Didn’t you know that?”
His Adam’s apple bobbed as he adjusted her thin blanket. He wouldn’t look at me. “Different seeing it.”
He brushed his hand over her hair, nearly bumping my hand. The ink that swirled up his forearm caught my eye, and following the path higher to where it disappeared under the sleeve of his T-shirt was an imperative. I’d studied his tattoos so many times. The snow leopard one, and most of the others too. Hell, I’d been there as he added to the collection over the years. But it was so much different when I could touch them.
Touch him.
“Different seeing this too,” he added huskily. I didn’t need an explanation of what he meant.
He was reading my desire as plainly as I was feeling it. Because he could read me. He’d always been able to, and I’d finally dropped my shields when it came to wanting him. Now he was getting the whole story.
Or a lot closer to it.
In silent agreement, we eased back from Laurie and rose, trooping silently out of her pink bedroom. Seth stopped to turn out her Winnie the Pooh light, leaving her cheerful carousel nightlights to illuminate the room in case she had a nightmare. He never wanted her to wake in the dark.
He quietly shut the door behind us, then he reached for me. Hands grasping my face, he brought his mouth down hard on mine. Lips that were soft in contrast to his rough touch teased me into responding. Encouraging me to keep up. I went up on my tiptoes, clutching his shirt, my nails digging into his skin. He made a hungry noise in his throat and nudged me into the wall, hiking up my leg to wrap around his hips. He shoved my panties aside and slipped his fingers inside, burying my moan under his insistent kisses. His daughter was feet away from us, safe behind the door, but God, his bedroom was just down the hall.
We couldn’t wait. Just could not.
We’d spent so many years stuck in the space between friends and more, and now that we’d moved forward, there was no slowing this train. It was ride it or…
There were no ors left. I wanted to ride.
I reached up to tangle my fingers in his hair as he pushed his fingers deeper into my pussy. I couldn’t keep from crying out and he kissed me harder, so hard that I couldn’t breathe. My head was spinning from lack of oxygen and I was wet, so wet. His thumb brushed my clit over and over while his fingers pumped, and God, I was shameless about rocking into his movements. I couldn’t get enough.
When he moved his head, I chased his mouth, my teeth scraping his lips, our noses bumping as I sought his tongue. I needed it almost as much as his touch. He was turning me inside out, owning the parts of me only he knew. They were his.
I was his.
“Goddammit, not like this. Not this time.” Abruptly, he yanked back his hand and I whimpered, dropping my head to his shoulder to breathe. I was so close. A heartbeat away. I was throbbing so hard, and I could hear him licking his fingers. Jesus. Then he fisted his other hand in my hair and tugged my head back, offering me his fingers while his wild eyes settled on mine in the dim light of the hall. “In my bed. Not against another wall. Not again.”
Consumed with my taste on his skin, I nearly didn’t hear him. He watched me suck on him and growled, backing me into the wall again. Bending his knees, he drove upward and the rigid column in his jeans rubbing against my clit was almost enough to push me over.
Almost. I gasped, diz
zy, still holding onto his hand as I licked his fingers. I couldn’t stop.
He thrust up against me again with only the thin barriers of my panties and his jeans between us, hitting the angle just right. So good. I dropped my head back, closing my eyes as flashes of light went off at the edges of my vision.
It wasn’t an orgasm but it was the next best thing. I couldn’t stop shaking. If he’d shoved me down on my knees and told me to deep-throat his cock, I would’ve done it without blinking. Anything he wanted.
I wanted it too. Any way he could give it to me.
“Christ, you’re so fucking hot,” he mumbled, buzzing his scruff along my cleavage, on the verge of popping out of the top of my dress. “How did I miss it?”
“Asshole.” Indignation fought its way through the heavy lust pulsing in my lower belly. In my breasts. Hell, everywhere. I bit his palm, making him laugh.
He dropped my leg and swooped me up in one smooth move. Epically smooth, since I started to screech and he caught my mouth with his before I could. If I hadn’t been more than a little off-center from my near-miss orgasm and being hauled into the air, I wouldn’t have kissed him back. Probably. But damn, he was good at it. He kept me thoroughly distracted as he carried me down the hall and backed into his room, kicking the door shut gently behind us.
His next move was to flip on the lights. I expected to be tossed onto the bed like a sugar sack, but he placed me on his messy comforter carefully, as if I was made of porcelain. “Never know,” he whispered, reading my thoughts as he drew his fingertip down my belly.
I was still reeling from that when he stepped back and reached behind his head to drag his T-shirt off. Golden abs covered in swirling dark ink rippled, and I swallowed hard, suddenly riveted by the slash of his navel above his jeans. He undid the button teasingly, leaving it gaping while he stepped toward me again where I was spread out on the bed like his feast.
Quaking, wet, needy. All for him.
I still wasn’t through kicking his ass for his missing my hotness—though come on, my hotness was debatable anyway—but he was already peeling off my dress as if it served as wrapping for his very favorite present. He touched me reverently, pulling the fabric aside to bare my bra and tiny panties before dispatching those too. Lowering his head, he licked one tight nipple, his gaze locked with mine. Every minute movement made me clench inside, tighter and wetter than I’d ever been. I splayed my legs wider so he could move between them, already writhing against the soft spread under my back.
