Recklessly Ever After

by Heather Van Fleet

  I was very ready for everything those green eyes promised.

  “Okay.” He leaned closer.

  And then I kissed him again.

  Chapter 5

  Gavin

  Something soft and warm snuggled against my side. I didn’t want to open my eyes, too scared it was all a dream. But then I yawned, and I felt it move. My cock jerked in awareness too, just in time for my eyes to shoot open.

  Oh hell. Not a dream. Not. A dream. At all.

  A leg was thrown over my waist. Smooth, completely naked flesh was pressed against my thigh. McKenna sighed, and her hot breath tickled my skin, reminding me of the way she’d first responded to my touch in the back seat of that cab.

  After we left the bar, we had the taxi driver take us to a gas station. There we got a bottle of peach schnapps and secretly drank it in the back seat like a couple of teenagers, only for her to crawl on my lap and ride me through my jeans. Just the thought of that had me growing harder and made me want her all over again.

  “Mmm, what time is it?” she mumbled, rocking her hips against my leg.

  I reached down, tempted to begin a repeat of the night before. “It’s noon.”

  She flew up and out of my hold, only to lean back against the headboard. Wide blue eyes scanned the room, terrified, before they landed on me. “Shit.”

  I frowned. That wasn’t the reaction I’d been hoping for. “What is it?”

  Her wild hair fell over her nose, and when she huffed, bits and pieces flew everywhere. Before I could stop myself, I sat up too, reaching to brush the blond strands away. God, she was beautiful. Why the hell had I waited so long to work up the courage to do this with her?

  “I-I gotta go.”

  “Why?” I frowned. “It’s Sunday.”

  “Um…” She looked around the room until she spotted some of her clothes, our empty bottle of schnapps right there in the middle of it all. Covering her breasts with one arm, she jumped out of bed, that ass of hers on display as she bent over to grab her clothes off the floor.

  “Want to grab breakfast? I can take you home afterward.” I stretched out my arms, a rare smile on my face. Last night, I’d used muscles that had been dormant for a long time. Now all I wanted to do was use them again.

  She shook her head, still not looking at me. “No. Addie, sh-she’ll take me home.”

  “I doubt she’s in any shape to go anywhere.” Nerves long gone, I stood too, moving to stand behind her. She’d pulled up her skirt and panties, but her bra and shirt were still missing.

  Slowly, carefully, I settled my hands on her naked waist and nuzzled my nose against her neck. She smelled like flowers and my cologne, a combination I could get used to.

  “Gavin, I don’t think…”

  I froze, my lips hovering over her pulse. Shit. I knew that voice. I also knew what the rest of her sentence was probably going to be. This will work.

  “Please, don’t.” Desperation was suddenly my middle name. Max would have my ass, but I couldn’t let this go. Not yet. “Spend the afternoon with me. I’ll make us a late breakfast. Or I can take you out for lunch. Either one is fine by me.”

  I tried to swallow the lump in my throat. After an amazing night together, she was ready to bolt?

  She sighed, the sound like a death sentence to my heart. If she walked away, I wouldn’t chase her. Food. I’d been her motherfucking meal for the night. That was all. But did that keep me from trying?

  “Breakfast, huh?”

  “Just breakfast.” I turned her around to face me, needing to see her eyes. They always managed to tell me everything her words didn’t. I tipped her chin up with a finger, smiling…until I saw the emptiness in her stare. Shit. This was worse than I’d originally thought.

  “Okay. Breakfast.” With a small nod, she patted me on the chest and turned to grab the rest of her clothes from the floor.

  My sex life was scattered and infrequent, my experience with woman almost null and void. Before I left for boot camp, I’d had lots of opportunities, but one-night stands had never been my thing. What I did know, without a doubt, was that a friendly pat on the chest couldn’t be a clearer sign. Kenna wasn’t interested in anything beyond last night.

  “Bathroom?” She held her clothes to her chest, a weak smile on her lips. She was uncomfortable, nothing like I’d thought she’d be. Which had me regretting every moment we’d spent together, no matter how amazing it was.

  I cleared my throat. “Down the hall to the right.”

  “Thanks.” She avoided my eyes as she moved around me, putting a good foot between us in the process.

  My gut tightened once she was gone, and I let go of a heavy breath, refusing to think the worst. To keep myself focused, I went to the kitchen, fumbling with the coffee.

  Five minutes passed, according to the clock on my microwave, but she still hadn’t finished. I frowned, already done with my first cup of coffee. Something itched at me, telling me to go check on her. With her cup of coffee in hand, I made my way to the bathroom. The door was open, but when I looked inside, she wasn’t there. Thinking she’d gone back to my room, I swung a left, finding the window wide open.

  The one thing left behind? A torn piece of leather, maybe from a boot.

  My shoulders fell as I walked over to look outside, the disappointment in my gut growing tighter. I set the mug aside and leaned out the window, my hands on the sill. I looked toward the street, my skin grazing over the ripped material still stuck in the window frame. Dark, muddy footprints led away from where she’d obviously jumped out, continuing down the sidewalk until they were out of sight.

  Christ. The girl had pulled a Cinderella on me.

  Chapter 6

  McKenna

  For the first time in all the years Addison and I had been friends, I’d been lying to her.

  Normally, we had a chick-flick night with ice cream and wine every Friday while Collin worked. But for the past three weeks, I’d told her I was on night shift at the hospital, claiming that someone was out on maternity leave and I’d been covering for her.

  The real problem was that I was playing Addie—and probably myself—by doing anything and everything imaginable to avoid her next-door neighbor, aka the guy I was somehow developing real feelings for. Feelings that Prick-Head Paul was supposed to have eliminated in me for good.

  But tonight, exactly one month since Gavin and I had hooked up, I was totally going to surprise her—and prove to myself that the avoidance game had gone on long enough.

  Only her new Civic sat in the driveway, thankfully. That meant she was home alone. All I had to do was sneak to the front door, avoid peeking into her neighbor’s window to see if he was running on his treadmill, and then boom, things could return to normal.

  With a couple of nineties rom-coms tucked inside my purse, and a fresh carton of Ben & Jerry’s in a bag hanging off my forearm, I was determined to make up for lost time.

  I knocked twice, like always. Once to make my presence known, and the next to make sure Max wasn’t in there screwing one of his many flavors—though I didn’t see his car. Unlike every other time I’d stopped by, nobody answered…at least at first. But then I heard it—a grunt, followed by “Fuck me” and then “I’m coming, hold on.”

  “Oh God.” I took a step back, looking over my shoulder toward the driveway, more than ready to run.

  No, no, no. I knew that voice.

  There was no time to escape, because a second later he was there. And quite frankly, my legs weren’t capable of moving. Because the moment that door whipped open and I saw him standing there, I was screwed with a capital S.

  “McKenna…” He said my name on an exhale, while his hypnotic green eyes raked over me in one long, agonizing swoop. His cheeks grew bright red—making him look bashful and adorable, not a tough guy like his friends tried to be. When he bowed his
head, I took a second to look him over too, frowning when I noted a clump of black, sticky, gooey stuff clinging to the ends of his lashes and a smearing of something shiny and red on the corners of his lips and clinging to his beard.

  “H-hi.” I cleared my throat, attempting to remember why I was there in the first place. His intensity tended to make me forget pretty much everything.

  “What are you doing here?” He folded his arms over his massive chest. The same chest I’d touched… The same chest I’d stroked, nibbled, kissed…

  I blinked. “W-where’s Addie?”

  He frowned and that beard of his shifted, conforming with the movements of his jaw. “Grocery store. She asked me to watch Chloe for half an hour.”

  “You? Watch Chloe?”

  “Yeah. Me.” His eyebrows drew together as he propped one hand against the doorframe, a dare in his words that said Challenge me, and you will lose.

  I highly doubted this man could ever beat me in a match of wits. Regardless, he had me mesmerized, as always. His hotness, his coyness, the vulnerability I knew he embodied… Total. Human. Catnip.

  I swallowed, watching his forearm flex. Gavin was humongous in every sense of the word. I might have been a little tipsy when we had sex, but the delicious soreness between my legs the next morning proved that big was worth it.

  My face grew hot at the memory, my mouth opening and closing like a dunce’s. Who was I? Where was I? And why the hell did I have an unexplainable urge to drop to my knees before him?

  Because you like him.

  I frowned and held my chin high. “Mind if I come in and make sure you didn’t tie the tyke up?” Without waiting for a response, I ducked under his outstretched arm, holding my breath as I did. Unfortunately, the air in my lungs did little to block the heavenly, masculine smell he emitted. Spice, pine, soap… The combination made my lady parts tingle and my thoughts spin in remembrance.

  I didn’t do men for more than a night. Not anymore. Not since Penis-Head Paul. So, what was my issue? One and done, that’s the way it was supposed to be. Not third time’s a charm, damn it.

  Ignoring his are you kidding me expression, I headed into the living room, finding the coffee table filled with all things princess. Crowns, feather boas, fake earrings, and… “Is that makeup?”

  He cleared his throat. “Yeah, um, give me a second, would ya?”

  I grinned at him, watching as he bowed his head—this time rubbing at the clingy black goo on his eyes and, yes, the red lipstick on his beard.

  Oh. My. God.

  He’d let the kid put it on him?

  Be still, my beating heart.

  “Sure. Take your time.” My lips twitched as I watched him rush down the hall. The bathroom door shut a second later, followed by some seriously explicit content as the water began to run. I giggled, knowing exactly what he was doing. Washing it off.

  Something tugged on the leg of my pants, forcing me to look down. I couldn’t help but smile wider when I found the little lady who had enamored my bestie—and maybe even myself—standing at my feet.

  Chloe was dressed in jammies, yet she wore a fancy crown.

  “Hey, kiddo.” I crouched in front of her, touching her shoulder. “Are you having fun with Uncle Gavin?”

  She nodded wildly, her eyes bright and blue like her daddy’s. She pressed her tiny hands over her mouth a second later and giggled, looking over my shoulder. I stood and turned, finding Gavin shirtless and using his T-shirt to dry his face, the abs of that gloriously flat stomach making my throat run dry.

  My knees grew weak at the image, and I plopped onto the edge of the chair, trying to curb the shaking in my hands. Jesus, I needed to get it together.

  “Beaner. Grab your pretty princess stuff and put it back in the bag before Addie gets home, okay? Remember our secret? No telling her about the makeup.”

  Her head bounced up and down and she hauled the stuff into her arms.

  With my bottom lip pulled between my teeth, I watched him sit on the coffee table in front of her, holding out the bag. As a team, they piled up all of the stuff and stowed it inside. Seconds later, Chloe ran down the hall, her feet pattering against the floor.

  I looked at his lap, briefly scanning his long legs tucked under a pair of mesh basketball shorts. They came to just above the knee and were navy blue, the letters USMC written along the edge. “You wanna sit on my lap?”

  “Um…” Sweet Jesus, yes! Yes, please!

  “You keep staring at my shorts.”

  “Oh, uh, no. I was just…” I looked away and nibbled harder on my lip, the temptation far too…tempting. If I sat on his lap, I might not be able to get off so easily this time. Not just in the sexual sense—though Gavin was very skilled at making a lady come—but in the emotional sense too. Because, well, I wasn’t as strong as I wanted to be, and being in his arms was something I’d vowed not to do again. Mainly because I’d liked it so much.

  “I’ll pass.”

  “Hmm.” He nodded, elbows on his knees, hands dangling out front.

  Surprisingly, Gavin seemed unaffected by my presence now that he’d cleaned up. Bored, almost. And as much as I didn’t want to admit it, that nonchalance sent my ego spiraling into a hole. The guy was far more immune to my charms than I’d thought he’d be, which bothered me more than I wanted it to. If anything, he was acting like our one-night stand had never happened. Which was weird. Because everything I’d come to know about this guy from Addison was that he was all-or-nothing about life relationships—friends, family, and lovers.

  Oh…and he was picky, which could’ve been why he was acting unbothered by my presence. Maybe he wasn’t as taken with me as I’d thought.

  I chewed on my thumbnail, trying to keep myself in check, but a crash sounded behind me, breaking my thoughts. I’d never been more excited about a Chloe act of trouble in my life.

  “Beaner, no.” Gavin jumped up from the couch and grabbed the little nugget as she tried to climb into her high chair. Somehow or another, she’d snuck back into the room. Showed just how inattentive I was to kids.

  “You’re gonna get hurt, kid.” Gavin tucked her against his side, and she all but melted against his chest. With a grin on her face, she met my gaze from across the room.

  I narrowed my eyes. Little stinker did that on purpose. The girl was playing him to a T…and because of it, I’d never adored her more. Apparently, she was going to take after her pseudo-auntie Kenna after all.

  From the back, I watched as Gavin’s shoulders and muscles moved, secretly thanking all the gods in the world for the fact that he hadn’t bothered to put on a shirt yet. With practiced ease, he picked Chloe’s high-chair tray off the floor with one arm and set her inside with the other. He cursed under his breath as he fumbled with the buckle.

  I sat on the armrest of the chair, watching. “She’s not gonna fall out once you put the tray on. I wouldn’t bother with that.”

  He froze. “It’s safer to keep her buckled.”

  “It’s not necessary.” I stood and moved to the chair across from them. “Once you get the tray on, she’s stuck. Ask Addie and Collin. They do it all the time.”

  “You’re kidding, right? The nurse is telling me I shouldn’t care about safety?”

  “I do care about safety. I’m just saying the buckle isn’t entirely necessary if you are right there with her.” I pulled my ice cream from the bag, then popped the lid off my container. No thoughts to my madness, not caring if he saw my dirty little habits either, I dug two fingers into the mass of chocolate and coffee bean goodness. I shoved the ice cream–coated digits between my lips and moaned at that first bite.

  “You’re like a damn porn star with that stuff.”

  I blinked, meeting his heavy stare. “This is nothing, trust me.”

  Chloe babbled loudly, yanking his attention away. “What is it, kiddo?�
�� he asked as she tossed a handful of crackers across the room. The rainbow Goldfish crunched against the wall and rained down the plaster like a waterfall. Seconds after that, her hands were in the air, reaching for me—or, more so, my half-hidden B&J’s.

  I grinned. “Girl’s got my taste buds.”

  “You’re not related.” Gavin frowned, scooping out another handful of crackers, only for her to toss them against the wall again. He shut his eyes, clearly frustrated. He was as good with kids as I was, it would seem. Which was not good at all. Still, when a tot tossed crackers across the room, that usually meant she didn’t want them. Common knowledge.

  “So? I’m a woman, and she’s a girl. Our taste buds are inevitably going to share some similarities, right?”

  Standing, I moved around the table and to the left of her high chair. Digging my pinkie into the chocolate portion of my B&J’s, I pressed it to her mouth. She opened right up, smacking her lips and clapping when she was done.

  “I sure as hell hope my niece doesn’t have your cravings.” He shook his head.

  I snorted out a laugh. Who would’ve thought that broody-pants Gavin St. James had an actual sense of humor?

  He grumbled something else under his breath and took Chloe out of her chair once she was done snacking on my ice cream. She clung to his neck with one arm and tucked a thumb in her mouth, her signature move.

  He moved around me and went back into the living room, only to set her in a little chair with light-up buttons that played music. She bounced her legs, waiting as he scoured Netflix. Once he’d stopped on some show with a giant, talking bunny, he kissed her on the forehead and went back into the dining room to clean up the Goldfish mess. While he was occupied, I grabbed my ice cream and headed into the kitchen to put it in the freezer.

  I hustled back into the living room, for some reason afraid to leave him alone with the kiddo, even though he seemed to have things under control.

  Chloe’s gaze was still glued to the TV when I rounded the corner, but Gavin was nowhere in sight. Part of me wondered if I should hang with her, but another part was curious to find out where Mr. Beastly had wandered off to. Because I didn’t claim to have perfect pseudo-parenting skills, I went with my gut and followed him instead.