Chapter Three
September went by quickly with no word from Kayla, which made Austin nervous. His lawyer said they could take her apart on the stand if it ever got that far. As time passed, Austin became convinced that his ex-wife was more afraid she would be awarded custody than he was of going up against her in court. That was the hope he held on to as he tried to push her to the back of his mind.
Dan had held up his end of the bargain, and by late September, Austin was working three days a week from home, at the office one day for the weekly meeting, and a second when needed. An intended result of his time at the house was more ability to be on call when parents were requested in class. Bailey’s school was big on “Days of the Year” celebrations, and once a week the teacher allowed parents in with the kids.
Today was a celebration of Stanley Berenstain’s birthday, the children’s book author and illustrator, and Bailey had volunteered Austin as one of the parents who would read to the kids this afternoon. Unfortunately an office emergency came up and he had to go in to work, so Mia was going to read for him. Bailey had taken the news in stride, no doubt because she had Mia to take his place.
Mia, who he couldn’t stop thinking about and not as his child’s nanny. She captivated him with her sexy body. Her easy grace, her kindness… everything about her called to him. He wanted to taste her, to feel her curves beneath him. It was quickly becoming an obsession.
She knew him now, took care of him as well as his kid. Each morning she had his coffee—black the way he’d mentioned he liked it—ready for him before he went to work or headed upstairs to his office. But things had changed.
On the night he’d confided in her about his ex-wife, the night she’d reached out and touched him for the first time, he’d known the awareness between them was mutual. Why else would she have fled the kitchen, her cheeks on fire, unable to meet his gaze?
And ever since, it was as if a wall had fallen between them. Maybe it was his imagination but she was more relaxed around him now, less formal. The sharing of his personal pain and her comforting touch had both bonded them and crossed a line neither of them wanted to acknowledge.
They locked eyes often now. They brushed past each other with inadvertent touches he’d never noticed before but couldn’t stop thinking about when he was alone.
Nighttime was painful, as he’d lie in his bed, knowing she was one floor down while he was hot and worked up, wanting her and unable to have her. Showers were worse, but at least then he could make good use of his hand, his mind conjuring images of her naked, kneeling at his feet, her lips around his cock.
It was fucking unbearable, considering there was still that defined line between employer and employee keeping them apart. And he understood, at least on a rational level, that for both their sakes, there had to be one.
He wrapped up things at the office more quickly than anticipated and he decided to surprise Bailey at school. He arrived midway through the reading hour, signed in at the office, and headed to the classroom. He walked down the hallways, cheery only due to the brightly colored drawings done by the children, and approached the room.
The door was open, and as he drew closer, Mia’s voice traveled toward him. She read about Mama Bear, Sister Bear, and Grizzly Gramps, her voice animated with each character she mentioned. He paused in the doorway and took in the sight.
Mia sat in the teacher’s larger chair, Bailey beside her in a small one. Just as the kids who kneeled and sat on the floor eagerly listened to her rendition of the story, so, too, did his daughter, watching with adoring eyes. He was pretty riveted himself and not by the story but by the woman reading it. Her expressive eyes flashed with delight, her cheeks were alight with color, and despite wearing a sweater that covered her well, he could see the outline of those breasts he imagined cupping in his hands.
With a shake of his head, he drew his attention to the stick-figure drawings on the wall, anything to cool himself off. He waited until he heard Mia say the words, “The end,” with a flourish before stepping inside. The kids clapped for her, so Austin joined them.
“Daddy! You made it!” Bailey grinned up at him from her place on the chair. Instead of running straight to him, she grabbed Mia’s hand and looked up at her. “Thank you!” She gave her a big hug before heading over to him to do the same.
“Thank you for coming, Mia. And Mr. Rhodes, I’m glad you could stop by for Bailey,” her teacher, Mrs. Johnson, said.
“I did my best. But I’m guessing she didn’t even miss me. She had a much better reader.” He grinned at Mia, who blushed at the compliment.
“Thanks for having me,” she said to the teacher. “Bye, Bailey.” She waved and Austin did the same as the kids all scrambled back to their desks.
“See you at home,” he said.
He placed a hand on Mia’s back, his palm burning at the innocent touch, as they stepped out of the room. “Thank you,” he said to her.
“You’re welcome but I was just a stand-in for her dad.” She tucked a long strand of blonde hair behind her ear that had fallen out of her ponytail.
His fingers itched to touch those strands and see how soft her hair actually was.
He cleared his throat. “You’re hardly just a stand-in.” He shoved his hands into his front pockets, doing his best not to stare.
Today she wore a pair of tight-fitting jeans and that V-neck sweater, totally school appropriate, but his brain didn’t want to cooperate with that fact. All he could see was her barely there cleavage and think about the luscious fullness hidden beneath. He spent hours in the gym trying not to think about what color her nipples were or whether she’d fill his hands or overflow them. Yeah, you could call him a breast man.
He started to sweat and decided a subject change was in order.
“Want to get a cup of coffee? After sitting in on meetings for the better part of the morning, I’m dying for some caffeine.”
She glanced at her watch. “I don’t know. I need to be back in an hour for pickup, and if I go home, I could get dinner started.”
Did she not want to be alone with him? He wasn’t sure nor did he plan to take no for an answer. He wanted to know more about her and this seemed like the perfect opportunity.
“Or you could get coffee with me, I’ll drop you back off here for your car and to get Bailey, and we could order in Chinese or sushi.”
She narrowed her gaze. “Wow. Coffee and no cooking or going home to prep dinner. You drive a hard bargain,” she said, laughing so her pretty green eyes lit up with delight.
His dick perked up at the sound. “Don’t forget to factor in the good company when you’re weighing your options.”
“When you put it that way, how can I resist? Let’s go to Starbucks.”
A little while later, Austin sat across from Mia at the local Starbucks, not far from the school. She took a sip of the vanilla latte she’d ordered, ending up with cream on her upper lip. The desire to lick it off her and taste her mouth was strong. Only the fact that they were in a public place kept him sitting in his seat.
She slid her tongue over her lip, pulling the white froth into her mouth, and moaned. “Now this is a luxury,” she said.
He was grateful for the table that hid his erection, because if they were standing, it would be loud and proud.
“Are you telling me I don’t pay you enough?” he asked.
She laughed. “You pay me plenty. I’m just saving for my future.”
He nodded in understanding. “I can respect that.”
“Aren’t you going to drink yours?” she asked.
He nodded. “Cheers,” he said with a grin, lifting his cup before taking a sip.
She smiled and did the same.
“So I’m curious. How did you end up being a nanny? What was your path?” he asked.
She glanced at him over the top of her cup. “I was in foster care from the age of seven until I aged out at eighteen,” she said.
He thought of his little girl, and the idea of her being left alone, to the clutches of the state and whatever person took her in, made his stomach turn. “I’m sorry,” he said, suddenly envisioning her as a little thing like Bailey, only a few years older, going to live with strangers.
“Don’t be. I mean, I had it better than most. Good families, decent people took me in. As I got older, I loved taking care of the younger kids and the babies in the houses I was in. I didn’t make trouble, so I didn’t get switched around too often.” She shrugged, seemingly having made peace with her past.
“So you always liked kids.”
She nodded. “I put myself through a local college. I majored in early child development and minored in psychology, and I could have gone on, gotten my master’s in education, been a teacher…”
“I hear a but there,” he said, enjoying the story and her attitude toward life.
She smiled. “But I’d been working as a nanny while I was in school, and it suited me.” She shrugged. “Not a very exciting story.”
“It is to me.” He met her gaze, hoping to convey that he really did appreciate her life and admire her. “You’re strong, Mia. And you made the best of the hand you were dealt.”
She blushed. “Well, thank you for saying that.”
“No thanks necessary. Just telling the truth. So what’s your end game?”
She paused, lowering the cup from her lips. “You’ll laugh. Or at the very least, you won’t think it’s overly ambitious.”
He ignored his coffee, more interested in the fascinating woman sitting across from him. “Try me.”
“Someday I’d like a family of my own. A lot of kids, not all mine. Kids who’ve been in foster care too long and never adopted because everyone wants babies.” She rubbed her cup between her palms, not meeting his gaze. “See? Nothing all that enterprising, like becoming a teacher or succeeding in business.”
He couldn’t stop staring, enthralled not just by her beauty but by her heart. “I think it’s inspiring, what you want to do.” And the man by her side when she fulfilled her dreams would be one lucky SOB. “Not for me, because been there, done that… the family and marriage thing, but I’m sure it can work for the right couple.” He shrugged, realizing he’d admitted way too much. “I hope you find what you’re looking for,” he said, meaning it.
She glanced down, her gaze sweeping over her watch on her wrist. “Oh! It’s time to pick up Bailey.” She crumpled the napkin beside her and picked up her cup as she rose to her feet.
He stood, joining her as they tossed their half-finished drinks in the trash. They headed to the car and he beat her there, opening the passenger door before she could grab the handle herself.
He turned back and she stopped short. He caught her before she bumped into him, grasping her around the waist and pulling her close. She sucked in a surprised breath but didn’t back away, her face inches from his. Her mouth so damned close.
He knew better, he really did, but he was tired of denying himself what he wanted and his body was definitely on board. He waited for a sign she wasn’t right there with him. If she pulled back or jerked away, he’d apologize and they’d move forward from there. Instead she swayed toward him, sealing her fate.
He grasped her waist, anchoring himself by touching her, the soft sweater doing little to hide her slender body or delicate curves. He tipped his head, sliding his tongue across her lips, and with a soft moan, she parted her mouth and let him inside. She tasted of vanilla and coffee, a sweet flavor that was all Mia.
Their tongues touched, tangled, and his body came alive with a hunger he hadn’t known before.
She raised her arms, hands coming to his biceps, holding on for a brief second before she gave in and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him close, giving him all the excuse he needed to deepen the kiss. He tilted his head and consumed her, swirling his tongue around the farther recesses of her mouth.
He had no wall, no car door to push her against, which was a good thing because he wouldn’t have been able to control himself if he crushed his body against hers. The kiss would have to do, and it went on, him lost in the scent of her, the way her breasts crushed against his chest, and the feel of her silken tongue rubbing against his own. He bit down gently on her lower lip and she moaned into his mouth, the sound going straight to his dick.
“Get a room!” someone called out, breaking the spell that had come over him and caused him to kiss her in a parking lot like they were alone in his garage.
She lifted her head and he touched his forehead to hers, needing time to catch his breath. It would be awhile before his body calmed down, his dick hard and erect in his pants.
“I should apologize,” he said, not letting go of her waist. “I don’t want to but I should. Because I’m your boss and I don’t want you to feel taken advantage of. Or sue me for sexual harassment, God forbid.” He laughed but the thought wasn’t the least bit funny.
“It was mutual,” she whispered. “I just don’t know what to make of it. I’ve never crossed that line with an employer before.” Her voice trembled and he hated that he’d put that quiver there.
“Listen,” he began.
“No. That kiss shouldn’t have happened and there won’t be a repeat. It’s fine.” She ducked past him and slid into the car. “Let’s just forget about it,” she said, reaching for the handle so she could pull the door shut and seal herself inside.
He stepped back, giving her space, but his body and mind still buzzed from that simple kiss. There was something brewing between them that she couldn’t discount by pretending it had never happened. Something that would bring them together again.
It wasn’t like he didn’t still have concerns about sleeping with his kid’s nanny. He did. He just knew the desire between them was stronger than their common sense, and sooner or later, she’d come to the same conclusion.
Still, for now he’d respect her wishes and back off. But he wasn’t foolish enough to think they could avoid the inevitable.
Not anymore.
* * *
Mia was shaken by what had happened with Austin in the parking lot. She hadn’t seen that kiss coming, no matter how much she might have desired it, and now that they’d crossed that line, she didn’t know what to say or do except to pretend it had never happened. The hottest, most sensual kiss of her life and she had to put it behind her.
She couldn’t let her mind drift into memories of how his mouth had captured hers, gently at first, his tongue gliding over her lips, his tongue tangling with hers, and then it’d turned molten, his teeth nipping at her lip, the sensation traveling straight to her core. No, she wasn’t supposed to think about that at all.
Somehow she’d managed that feat for the rest of the week and tomorrow was Friday. She blew out a breath and pulled a lasagna from the oven, placing it on a cooling rack on the counter.
“Mia!” Bailey shouted, running into the kitchen from upstairs and skidding to a stop in front of her. “I was FaceTiming with Grandma and guess what? I’m going there for a sleepover tomorrow night!”
Mia smiled at the enthusiasm in her tone. “That sounds like fun.”
“Will you miss me?” Bailey asked, seating herself on a stool by the counter.
Mia glanced at the little girl. “You bet I will but I’m going out with some friends tomorrow night, so that’ll help me get through it.” She was taking the train to New York City to see friends from her days living there for school and work.
“Like a playdate?” Bailey asked.
“Exactly.”
“Hi, ladies.” Austin walked into the room, his gaze zeroing in on the cooling dinner. “That smells incredible.”
“Thank you.” He seemed to like her cooking and it made her ridiculously happy to know she was doing something helpful for him, even if it was her job.
“Daddy, Mia has a playdate Friday night when I’m at Grandma and Grandpa’s. Isn’t that good? So she won’t have time to miss me too much.”
Although she was technically off Friday night, if she didn’t go out, Bailey sometimes made her way down to her room and encouraged her to watch television with her until bedtime.
“What’ll you do when I’m gone?” the precocious little girl asked.
“I’m sure I’ll find something to keep me busy,” Austin said wryly.
Mia didn’t want to think about what Austin might do to keep busy on a Friday night without his daughter. No doubt the man had women he saw, discreetly, because in the time she’d been working for him, he’d never brought a female around Bailey nor had he mentioned going out. He hadn’t dressed up in the evenings for a date, either. Still, that didn’t mean he was celibate. Hell, his kissing skills were off the charts and that kind of thing took practice. Didn’t it?
She glanced over, noting he wore his typical hanging-around-the-house outfit, black track pants and a tee shirt, and she had trouble tearing her gaze away from those muscular arms and, in particular, the one sleeve of tattoos. God, the man was sexy. And although she knew it was her imagination, she thought he’d gotten more so since their kiss and her vow to forget it had happened. It was as if the heavens were punishing her by making him look even hotter and more edible.
“So what kind of playdate do you have, Mia?” Austin asked, a handsome grin on his face as he settled into his chair at the table.
She frowned at his inquiry, not wanting to get into her personal life when she was trying to keep a professional distance from him.
Still, this was an easy question in front of Bailey. “I’m having dinner with friends.”
“Female friends?” he asked, surprising her.
“Friends from my city days,” she said vaguely, if only because it really was none of his business. If they were going to keep things normal, he shouldn’t be asking.
She swung around, picked up oven mitts, and carried the casserole tin to the already set table.
“How are you getting there?” he asked.
She told herself this was normal conversation, not to read anything into it. Even if they’d never discussed her social life before and she had gone out on the admittedly rare Friday or Saturday night.
“The train,” she said, joining them and sitting down, pulling her chair in so she was more comfortable.
He frowned at that.
“Something wrong?”
“Nothing going in. It’s just a little empty and dangerous coming back alone at night.”
“I’ll be okay,” she said, understanding his point. “I’m not coming home all that late and I’ll keep my eyes open.”
A growl-like noise sounded from deep in his throat. She couldn’t tell if he was agreeing or still unhappy with her choice in transportation, but he didn’t get a say.
“Going anywhere fun?” he asked.
“I’m meeting the girls at happy hour after my friends get off work.” She caught her slip immediately. Yes, she was going with her girlfriends.
His frown turned into an obviously satisfied smile, telling her he’d have cared if she had plans with guys, too. The notion pleased her, which was ridiculous. She shouldn’t care what Austin thought of her social life. They weren’t going to go there. No repeat of the kiss. Not again.
Mia served Bailey a smaller portion of lasagna and busied herself giving Austin his before taking her own. Bailey, meanwhile, had watched the grown-ups talk in unusual silence, and now she dug into her meal quickly and with gusto, spreading the dinner all over her face.
Mia nudged her lightly. “Napkin,” she said, pointing to her sauce-covered cheeks.
The child wiped her face, succeeding in smearing the red sauce around even more. With a chuckle, Mia dipped her napkin into a glass of water and wiped Bailey’s mouth and cheeks.
Austin’s gaze followed the interchange, his dark eyes warming at the sight.
Flustered, Mia focused on her meal. Luckily, Bailey finished her food quickly and the chatting began again, giving Mia a much-needed break from Austin’s questions and concerns and her desire for a man she couldn’t, shouldn’t have.
* * *
It had been a long time since Mia had been in a bar during happy hour. The loud din of voices and laughter rang around her, and she couldn’t hear her friends talk over the noise. She turned down offers from guys who wanted buy her a drink, not in the mood for small talk with strangers. She’d rather be catching up with her girls than fending off potential advances. Besides, her mind was occupied with thoughts of one man only and she couldn’t get him out of her head.
From the bar, they went to a nightclub, and though there still wasn’t quiet time to talk, she danced with her friends and had a great time. The night went fast, and before she realized it, it was past eleven. She wanted to grab a train home, not wait until the last one that would be completely empty.
“Hey,” Amber, her good friend from her days being a nanny in Manhattan, said, having to yell in her ear. “You have that I’m-done-here look.”
Mia smiled. “You know me.”
“Let’s go. I’ll share your cab to Grand Central. I have to pass there on the way to my place anyway.”
“Great!” They said good-bye to the others and she and Amber headed for the exit.
They walked through the doors and into the fresh, cool night air, the silence surrounding them a welcome relief.
“Oh my God. Peace and quiet!” Amber exclaimed.
“Tell me about it. Oh, look, there’s a coffee place on the corner. Let’s get something before we grab a cab.”
They headed into the shop and placed their orders, sitting down to wait for them to be made. “So what’s up with you? You seem a little off tonight. Not that we could talk over the noise but that’s why we’re here. Problems with the new job?”
Mia shook her head. “Just the opposite. It’s a dream job. Great kid, nice room, access to the car, pay is good.”
“Then what’s wrong?”
Amber knew her well. She’d held Mia’s hand and seen her through the trial with her last employer, and the wife’s ranting and raving that Mia had ruined her family, even though it was her husband who’d done an illegal deed. Parker Alexander, thinking he was home alone, had a business meeting with an associate during which they discussed the kind of retirement scam that would make Bernie Madoff flinch.
Mia had heard enough to grow concerned, especially given the memory of the swindle that had cost one of her foster parents everything. Instinct had made her turn on her phone to record the conversation. And when whispers about embezzlement in Alexander Investments started to come out, she’d taken the recording to the police.
Unfortunately, due to New York law, the tape couldn’t stand on its own. It had merely proven to the DA that Mia’s story was true… which was why they’d subpoenaed her to testify. She’d literally had to sit in the hot seat, knowing every word she said was helping to put her former boss in prison.
“Mia? Are you going to tell me what’s going on?” Amber asked.
Mia blew out a long breath. “The guy I work for? He’s drop-dead gorgeous and… he kissed me.” And she’d kissed him back, and she hadn’t stopped daydreaming about it since.
“Whoa,” Amber said, shock in her gaze. “Is this a good thing? Or a bad thing?”
“That’s what I’m trying to decide.”
“Mia!” the barrista called out, letting them know their coffee was ready.
“Be right back.” Mia rose and picked up their cups, sitting back down in her seat across from her friend. “Here you go.” She slid Amber’s cup across the table and took a sip of her latte. “Ooh, it’s hot.”
“Okay, let’s figure this out. Did you like the kiss?” she asked bluntly, as was her way.
Mia’s cheeks flushed. “Umm, yes. It was the hottest kiss of my life.”
“So it’s the employer issue?” Amber asked knowingly.
Mia wrapped her hand around the cup. “In part.” And that’s what she’d been struggling so hard with. If she got past the fact that she worked for him, there were deeper issues she didn’t want to think about.
Amber took a sip of her mocha-flavored coffee. “This is me you’re talking to. What’s going on?”
Mia swallowed hard. “He’s the whole package. A sexy man, a good-hearted guy who adores his child… and his daughter is great, too.”
Amber leaned closer. “This is all good! It’s not like you’re telling me he’s a player who hits on every woman he meets. So—”
“So I can’t afford to fall for him! He admitted he’s done the family thing for the last time. He was burned. Badly. But from my perspective, he has, he is everything I’ve ever wanted in my life.” She rubbed her hands on her jeans, hating having to admit these things out loud. “So how foolish would I be to sleep with the man I work for? And possibly fall hard, knowing ahead of time that we want drastically opposite things out of life? Then I’d have to get over him while working in his home. I know that’s not wise,” she said, voicing her greatest fears.
Amber twirled her brown hair around one finger as she listened thoughtfully. “What if you didn’t have to get over him? What if you fell for him and he fell just as hard for you?” her optimistic friend asked.
No, that wasn’t in the cards. “Life hasn’t typically given me the family I wanted,” Mia murmured. “And he’s already made it clear he isn’t doing the commitment thing again.”
“Then go into it for the sex. If that kiss is anything to go by, you’re in for some spectacular orgasms.”
“Be quiet.” Mia crumpled her napkin into a ball and threw it at her friend, her face on fire from the direction of their conversation.
“Just giving you your options,” Amber said unrepentantly.
“Let’s just say you’ve given me a lot to think about and leave it at that.”
Amber shrugged. “Go for the orgasms. That’s all I’m saying.”
Mia rolled her eyes. “You just had to have the last word, didn’t you?”
Amber grinned over her coffee cup and laughed.
They spent a few more minutes talking about Amber’s life and live-in boyfriend, her job as a guidance counselor for junior high school kids, and life in general before heading to hail a cab so Mia could take the train back to Austin’s house.
* * *
Austin paced his family room at midnight on Friday night. He’d long since dropped Bailey off at his parents’ place farther upstate and, at his mother’s coaxing, stayed for dinner. It wasn’t like he’d had other plans, and he hadn’t wanted to be home in the quiet house by himself. You’d think he’d enjoy the break from his usual routine with Bailey, and he did, but he knew if he was alone, his thoughts would turn to Mia. As they did now.
What was she doing at bars in Manhattan? How many guys tried to pick her up? Was she safe wandering Grand Central Station at night, and alone on the train ride home? He didn’t need to tell himself he was obsessed. He was.
Maybe he should have gone out with the guys and Ava, his friends from work, but then he’d have had to ask his parents to drive here to get Bailey, and he didn’t want to put them out. Which left him home, nursing a cold beer and wondering what Mia meant when she said she wouldn’t be out late. Because in his book, after midnight was late.
He shouldn’t have acted so overprotective when she’d told him she was taking the train, or worse, like an overbearing boyfriend, which he definitely was not. But thanks to his job, he was someone who considered all angles of any situation, and he always looked out for the people he cared for. And there was no doubt he cared about Mia. He glanced at the clock once more.
Finally, the alarm beep sounded at the side door, letting him know that Mia had returned. He closed his fingers around the armrests on his chair and remained in his seat. She had to pass through this room—and him—to get to her bedroom.
Having picked Bailey up from school and driven her to his folks’, he hadn’t been home when she left the house. So he was unprepared when she strode into the room, looking like a sexy siren wearing a pair of high wedge shoes and skintight jeans. A cropped black leather jacket completed the outfit with a sparkly low-cut shirt beneath. Her hair, normally pulled up in a messy bun, hung straight down her back, the long strands perfect for him to wrap around his hands and hold on to while he fucked her from behind.
He muffled a low groan, warning his dick not to stand at attention and give his reaction to her outfit away.
“Austin!” She raised a hand to her chest in surprise, obviously startled by his presence. She came to a stop in front of his chair. “I thought maybe you’d be out but the alarm was off so… I knew you were here. But I didn’t think you’d be downstairs.”
That she thought he’d have gone out tonight was interesting. He stored the fact away for later. “I’m just having a drink before I turn in.”
He rose from his seat and picked up the now empty bottle, walking across the room and tossing it in the recycling bin in the kitchen before returning to talk to her.
“How’d you get back from the train?” he asked, yet another thing that had concerned him. He’d have picked her up if she’d asked, but she hadn’t.
“I called an Uber. And I’m back home, safe and sound,” she said, clearly meaning to reassure him.
“Did you have a nice time?” He sat on the arm of the couch.
“I did. I don’t see my friends often, so it was fun.” Her eyes glittered as she answered.
Obviously she’d had a good time while he sat home and brooded. About her. Had she thought about him at all? Would it have bothered her if he’d been on a date?
“Why would you think I went out?” he asked, his mind returning to her earlier statement.
“I don’t know.” But her cheeks flushed pink, as if she knew something and didn’t want to admit to it.
“Come on, Mia. You can do better than that. Where did you think I was tonight, without Bailey here to keep me busy?”
She pursed her lips, the pucker a reminder of what he wanted to do to that mouth. Kissing her senseless was just the beginning of what he desired.
“I figured you were out on a date,” she finally blurted out, the frown on her face as she said the word a dead giveaway to her thoughts on the matter.
He shook his head and laughed, relieved at her admission and the fact that she didn’t like the idea of him with another woman.
She braced her hands on her hips, clearly annoyed. “What’s so funny?”
Pushing himself to a standing position, he stepped closer. Her scent, the citrusy aroma he’d come to associate with her, the same one his body automatically reacted to, wafted around him. “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe the fact that you think I could be with another woman when I can’t get that hot fucking kiss out of my head?”
Those same lips that were the object of his obsession parted in a surprised oh.
“Have you forgotten? Can you get it out of your mind? Or do you lie in bed at night thinking about me the way I do about you?”