by Laura Brown
“Something wrong?” Izzy asked as Nolan got close, placing a hand on her son’s back.
Nolan shook his head. “Nothing’s wrong.” Then he shifted, blocking Lisa from seeing him. “I know it’s not time to switch yet, but I think we need to.”
Izzy narrowed her eyes, trying to read Nolan’s face and find the hidden meaning. He wasn’t in view, but she still was, so her options were limited. “Of course.”
They transferred the sleeping baby, and Izzy breathed in his scent, using it to calm her rising worry that something was wrong here. Very wrong.
Lisa got up and left, and Nolan tracked her movement until they were alone, his thumbs twitching by his sides. “Sorry about that. Someone complained to Deanna about the amount of time Archie’s been with me.”
Izzy’s jaw hinged open. “What?”
Nolan shrugged. “I don’t get it but figured we needed to be extra cautious.” His gaze lingered on Archie, an almost sad one that turned Izzy’s worries into hope—hope for the future of Archie with Nolan.
“I think we have to.”
“Are you O.K. taking him?”
Izzy nodded. “We’ll be fine. I’m used to this.”
“I know. You shouldn’t have to be.”
Izzy’s insides melted at his words and how he’d stepped in for their son. Then her gaze settled on Lisa’s empty desk and the animosity the woman had toward her. Izzy had a suspicion she knew exactly who had filed the complaint. She needed to be extra cautious. If Lisa discovered her real connection with Nolan, both past and present, their jobs would be done for.
Chapter Seventeen
Nolan sat on his couch, laptop balanced on his lap, making some tweaks to his presentation, determined to burn the midnight oil to get it perfect. No other option existed. If this wasn’t perfect, he’d fail.
Izzy’s phone vibrated on the coffee table, and the screen lit up. He paid no attention to the notification and instead focused on the background. A younger picture of Archie. Thinner cheeks, sleeping, wrapped in fabric. He knew it to be the same baby but it also felt different. The kid wasn’t even a year old, how could he have been different only a few months ago?
The screen darkened and went black before he could finish chronicling all the changes. He wanted to get the image back up, but he had no reason to pick up Izzy’s phone. And yet he couldn’t bring his attention back to work, the fading memory of the image playing in his mind.
Izzy appeared in his peripheral and he forced his gaze away from the phone. “You got a message.”
“Oh, thanks,” Izzy said and grabbed her phone. She scrolled immediately past the home screen image that Nolan wanted to see, read the text, and then typed a response, before her eyes met his again. “What’s wrong?” she signed.
“Nothing.” He turned back to his work but couldn’t even formulate a word. The image stuck in his mind like an in-game object he had to find before being able to progress further. He faced Izzy. “You have a picture of Archie on there.”
Izzy grinned. “I have his whole life on here.”
Fascinating. “I mean the screen saver. Archie looks different.”
Izzy smiled and loaded the image before handing him the phone. “That was his first night home. I was clueless. My mom helped me wrap him.”
Nolan looked at the newborn face, cataloguing similarities and differences, itching to draw it. He thought of what Izzy had signed, realizing how much he missed out on, a bunch of little and big moments they’d had without him. It pained him, but life had unfolded that way, for better or worse.
He handed the phone to Izzy and tried once again to focus on work, but he couldn’t. Izzy moved around in his kitchen, cleaning and prepping Archie’s things for the next day. And each time she shifted, he followed her movements, liking her being in his space far too much. It didn’t make sense. Surely after spending most of the day every day for four days together they’d be wearing on each other’s nerves, but he found he wanted more of her, and he wanted to know her better.
His work wasn’t getting done, not tonight. Not with the week nearly over. Who cared it was only Wednesday? Tomorrow they’d be busy with the board meeting. Then Friday would plow into their lives, and Izzy and Archie would leave.
That thought caused his chest to physically ache, but it had to be done. They didn’t live with him, and his and Izzy’s jobs were on the line. He’d work with Izzy to figure something out for Archie’s care, but the policy meant their brief rekindling needed to stay just that, brief.
Izzy caught him studying her facial expressions as she worked, and now her dark eyes held his and he had trouble remembering what he’d just been thinking about.
Nolan closed his laptop and made his way into the kitchen, a heat-seeking missile with only Izzy as the target. She stopped what she was doing, and he hadn’t a clue what that was. She could have had a knife in her hand, or a banana, and his reaction would have been the same. He kept moving until their toes touched and he leaned down to press his lips against hers.
She kissed him back, wrapping her arms around him, and every damn worry in his head fled. He swept his tongue into her mouth, tangling with her taste and texture. All the reasons why he shouldn’t be kissing her sailed out the window.
He was already hard and throbbing at the barest touch of her lips. He gripped her sides, attempting to hang on to a sliver of control, being mindful of her physical concerns. But she rubbed against him, more of an impatient squirm, and his control wanted to snap. He held on tighter, knowing that with their history, she was the one person with whom he needed to retain control.
Izzy’s nails scraped down his back, and he damn near lost it. He collected her hands and pulled back, noting she breathed just as fast as he did, though she wore a sly smile. “What do you want?”
She rubbed against him again, clueless to the ledge he wobbled on. “You.”
That one sign did something funny to him. He wasn’t used to being wanted. Wasn’t used to someone knowing some of his faults and still wanting more. He wasn’t used to any of this. “Tell me what you need. I’ll give it to you.”
She took his hand and backed out of the kitchen, down the hall, eyes hot on him the entire time. He stumbled after her. She could have walked right into a fire pit and he’d have followed.
In his room, she pointed to the bed and he lay down, heart hammering, body pulsing, in this woman’s complete control. She rubbed her chin, face scrunched in concentration, then signed, “Clothes off,” with such precision he forgot her newbie ASL status. He yanked off his shirt, shoved down his pants, until he lay there in his socks and boxer briefs, dick trying in vain to get through the flap of fabric.
Izzy pointed to his feet. “Socks.”
Right. He crossed one leg, then the other, removing the offending items.
Her eyes raked him up and down, as though she liked what she saw, and anticipation threatened to steal his sanity. Then she gathered the hem of her silky green top and pulled it over her head.
He forgot how to breathe. Her full breasts struggled in the white nursing bra she wore, the clasps on the sides he’d learned were convenient but not for him. Then she undid the buckle on her beige pants and shimmied them down her long legs, and Nolan was pretty sure his heart stopped beating as well. She was gorgeous, all of her.
Izzy took a step toward the bed, then stopped and reached behind her. The next thing he knew her bra was on the floor, those full breasts and tight nipples bared to his view, and now his mouth went dry. She was killing him with her beauty, no other way around it.
But when she climbed onto the bed and straddled him, all his vital functions sprang back to life. He ran his hands up her legs to her waist, an aching need to touch those breasts. Slow and steady. He didn’t know everything about her body or what she wanted and needed, not yet, but he knew to be careful and ensure her pleasure.
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nbsp; She kissed him and his hands moved to her back, holding her close, the tips of her breasts somehow cool against his overheated skin. She shifted the center of her against his erection, and he considered doing math equations to keep from finishing too soon. Then she deepened the kiss, and he lost himself in the wonder of her.
His hands worked to her sides, caressing skin as he inched to her breasts. A rumble of a moan vibrated through her and she lifted an inch, giving him access to her nipples. He took it. Gentle swipes against her peaks, as she rested against his shoulders, eyes shut in pleasure. His dick demanded to be freed and plow into her, but he kept at his pace, even as his entire body yearned for more.
She held her weight with one hand, the other trailing down his body, making lazy circles on his skin, before she shifted and those same lazy circles began over his dick. He throbbed, painfully hard. She freed him and he sucked in a breath as she wrapped her fingers around him and pumped.
He closed his eyes, and her body moved. Before he could open them, her lips were around his dick, and he forced his hips not to lurch forward. She swallowed him farther and he opened his eyes, needing to see her long hair swept behind her as she sucked him. His dick kicked and Izzy grinned. His heart damn near rolled over and waved a white flag with Izzy’s face imprinted on it.
She sucked harder. His balls tingled, and he knew he had to make some move or she wouldn’t get her fill. “Stop.” He prepared to explain, but the sly grin on her face told him she knew exactly what she did to him.
No more Mr. Nice Guy.
He slipped out of his boxers, reached for a condom, and rolled it on. “How do you want it?”
Izzy bit her lip. Then a twinkle damn near glistened in her eyes. She stepped out of her panties and he traced her skin, waiting for her. She climbed onto the bed, ass high in the air, eyebrows raised, and he nearly lost his battle right then and there.
He kissed her fast and hard before moving around behind her. She glistened between her legs, and he swiped a finger against her folds, finding her wet and warm and everything he wanted. Then he pushed in slowly before checking on her.
“More.”
For someone who’d been worried about sex after having a kid, she had an appetite for more than a light fuck. He pulled back before pushing in, her body lurching at the action. And then he forced himself to stop, checking on her.
She glared at him. “More.”
“You sure?”
“Yes!”
He gave her what she asked for, hard thrusts from behind, filling her with him. The caveman inside wanted to rip off the condom and take her flesh to flesh. But he knew the risks in that act.
Those thoughts didn’t dampen his drive. He bent around her, reaching forward, rubbing her nipple. She shook under him, her body tightening against him, and he increased his pace, mindful of only their mutual needs, of fueling her as much as he could.
The tingling started again and he increased his pressure, holding back until her quakes slowed, until her breathing regulated; then, and only then, did he let himself go.
He pulled out, even though he wanted to stay in her warmth. She collapsed to a sitting position, and he took her face in his hands and kissed her. Soft, sweet, nothing like the sex they just had.
When he pulled back, her cheeks were flushed.
There’d never been anyone like Izzy. And he had a sneaking suspicion there never would be.
Chapter Eighteen
Archie’s cries yanked Izzy out of a happy dream filled with entire nights to enjoy Nolan’s body and uninterrupted sleep. She took a moment to wake, as she’d fallen asleep in Nolan’s arms, the same arms still surrounding her. His warm chest her pillow, his steady breaths proof that he didn’t hear a thing. At least not the piercing cries of their son.
Izzy pushed herself up and slipped out of the bed, wondering if they could start some sort of alternating schedule, even for the few days they had left together. She’d take an hour of uninterrupted sleep any time of day when offered.
Once dressed she headed to the spare room, where Archie stood with his hands on the side of the crib, his face wet with tears. She picked him up and he quieted down, head pushing in to her shoulder. She bounced him. “Teeth again, kiddo?” She reached into the crib and pulled out the pacifier. Archie accepted it willingly. “Guess you really don’t need nighttime nursing anymore.” She changed his diaper and tried to settle him back into his crib, hoping to go back to sleep herself. Archie immediately stood and started whimpering. So out into the living room they both went.
She picked up her phone, the lock screen reminding her of Nolan’s earlier reaction to three-day-old Archie. “I think we need to gather up your pictures for your father.”
Archie clapped, like he did for everything. Izzy picked up her computer, going through the photos with Archie on her lap. They started with her growing belly, then the hospital, then the days and weeks until now. So many pictures and Archie wasn’t even a year old yet.
She moved most of them into a slideshow. Archie fell asleep on her lap as she worked, losing interest in his own pictures. She tried not to wonder how things might have been different if she’d been able to find Nolan back then, but the images came too easily to mind. He’d stepped up when she needed him, when they needed him, and she had no doubt he would have done the same earlier if he could have.
Ultrasounds, childbirth classes, labor, he would have been there. Her mind conjured up a visual of Nolan holding a newborn Archie, swaddled for the first time, smile on his face, pride in his eyes. She tried to shake those thoughts free, but the image lingered, a truth in the meaning refusing to diminish.
Those thoughts still swirled after she put Archie into his crib and climbed back into bed with Nolan. She cuddled into his backside, spooning him, and he snuggled back into her. If it wasn’t for Archie they might have had a date, perhaps two, easing into things. But having a baby together changed everything. Izzy didn’t want to hope, didn’t want to dream, but the future formed in her mind as she wrapped her arms around a man she suspected she was falling for.
Sleep wouldn’t come, not with the feel of his naked chest beneath her hands, and the gentle rise and fall of his body. She trailed her fingers over his lean muscles, up and down ridges, unaware how low she’d gotten until her fingers nestled into a patch of coarse hair, and Nolan’s breathing no longer came in gentle puffs.
He rolled over before her fingers could dip any lower. She followed his outline as he sat up, unable to see any distinction until he flipped on the light. They both blinked to adjust to the brightness. “What’s wrong? Archie crying?”
Huh. Maybe she could have woken him after all. “Already taken care of. He’s asleep.”
Nolan nodded and ran a hand through his hair. The bedhead look, coupled with bare chest and sheets pooled in his lap, made her lick her lips.
“So what’s wrong?” he asked.
“Nothing.” She fumbled with her words, unsure how to describe that she woke him by enjoying his body, when she realized his eyes weren’t on hers, but on her lips.
She licked them again. Nolan grumbled and leaned forward, fitting his mouth to hers. They fell backward in the bed, lips locked, and Izzy’s traitorous heart nearly jumped ship. Her wanderlust soul found its home and wanted to make one final leap and then follow this man wherever he went, with their little family.
His hands slid under her shirt, up to her breasts, easily slipping inside the loose nursing bra. Izzy arched into him, slightly worried about spillage, since she’d been used to nighttime nursing, but unable to care with him plucking her nipples and setting off a rocket of need straight down to her core.
She ran her hands down his torso, getting a thrill out of him being naked while she wore clothes. Her fingers found him hard, and she held that smooth warmth in her palm, stroking as their lips remained locked and his hands continued their magic on
her chest. The need between them tinged with desperation, but also the growing awareness and care.
Heart overboard and drowning.
Izzy let herself go, let herself revel in the moment, in the closeness and the passion. Nolan’s hand trailed down her body and into her pants. She spread her legs, tiny waves setting off the moment he pushed a single finger into her needy core.
Had she really been worried about her body post-baby? Because he made her forget any and all concerns, made her only feel. If this was sex after having a kid, she should have been doing this a lot earlier.
With him.
He added a second finger and she halted in her pumping, holding him tight, as a wave rocked through her. She forced her eyes open, finding him watching her, so much heat in his gaze her clothes should have evaporated. A big word that started with L and came before “you” threatened to fall from her lips or her hands, and in an effort to keep quiet she grasped the bottom of her top and pulled it off.
His eyes heated further and she squirmed into his hand, setting off another wave, needing his cock inside her now.
When she regained movement, she shifted until his fingers slid out, whimpering at the loss. “Condom,” her shaking hands signed, and he rummaged around in the bedside table, giving her a world-class view of his ass, and she wanted to crawl over and nibble him. Instead she removed the rest of her clothes.
Nolan turned back to her, condom already on, looking like the best damn ice cream one could ever have. Or cake. Or drink. Or man. She shifted onto her back, inviting him into her body.
“You’re beautiful,” he signed as he crawled over to her and positioned himself above her entrance. “So damn beautiful.” And then he pushed in and fireworks went off like the Fourth of July on steroids.
