Can't Fight It - Kaylee Ryan Page 0,45

and reaches for his pants.

“Shit,” he says when he pulls his phone from the pocket. “It’s my mom. She wanted to give me a quick update on Milo.”

I give him a smile and nod as he dials the phone. “I’ll just slip in the bathroom quickly,” I tell him, pointing to the hallway.

“Hey, Mom. How’s my little guy doing?” I hear him say as I step behind the door and turn on the light.

Inside, I glance at my reflection in the mirror over the sink. My cheeks are rosy and my lips swollen. There’s the slightest hint of redness on my neck from where he dragged his scruffy jaw along the column of my neck. I can’t stop smiling as I gaze at the woman in the mirror. She’s come a long way since she was in California. She relocated and started over in a new city, a new house. She’s stronger than she thinks she is, that’s for sure.

I slip off my pants and wet socks and set them on the counter. When I turn around, I see the toddler seat in the tub and the yellow rubber ducky on the ledge. There’s a small blue washcloth with Superman on it sitting beside men’s shampoo. Axe bodywash sits beside a bottle of Johnson’s Baby Wash. A wide smile breaks out on my face as I think of that little boy who is quickly worming his way right into my heart. And his father?

Let’s not even go there.

I wait long enough to ensure he’s either finished with his conversation, or it’ll be ending soon. Quietly, I slip out of the bathroom and listen. There’s silence coming from his bedroom. In the doorway, I stop and just stare at the incredible man in front of me. He’s still wearing those tight boxer briefs and standing in the middle of the room, watching me. I can feel the caress of his eyes as they trace every square inch of my nearly naked body.

“Come here,” he rasps, extending his hand toward me.

Stepping into his room, I slowly make my way to him and stop when I’m directly in front of him. His hand grips my hip as he pulls me against him, his other hand gliding along my ass cheek.

“If I had known you were wearing this beneath your clothes, we wouldn’t have made it out of the house to go to class.” He moves one hand up my side and around to the front, trailing a finger down the center of my chest. Air catches in my throat as he caresses my skin. This man is playing my body like a violin, and we’ve only just begun.

My mind spins as desire courses through my veins. “I love the way you touch me,” I confess, my eyes closed as I savor the feel of his skin against mine.

“Honey, we’ve only just begun.”

And then the lights go out.

Literally.

We’re standing in the dark, almost naked, and we lose power. The wind howls outside the eerily quiet house. Neither of us moves as we wait to see if the power comes back on, but after several long seconds, we’re still bathed in total darkness.

“Well, this wasn’t exactly what I had in mind.”

I can’t help it, I laugh. “Talk about a mood killer,” I mumble, glancing around for any sign of light.

“Stay here,” Colton says. I feel his hands leave my body, and instantly miss them. He takes a few steps and then cries out when he walks into his nightstand. “Shit! I didn’t realize I was that close.”

“Oh, God, are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” he grumbles, moments before the light from his phone illuminates the room. He points it around the room and toward the window. “There must be a massive outage. I can’t see any streetlights either.”

“You should check on Milo,” I find myself saying, taking a step his way.

“Good idea,” he replies as he pulls up one of his call list favorites. “Hey, Mom. Yeah, everything’s okay. Sorry to call again. We just lost power and wanted to check on you guys.” He listens to his mom on the other end. “Well, that’s good. It must just be this side of town.” Again, he listens, his eyes meeting mine through the darkness. That sexy smirk crosses his lips. “I’ll be sure to knock on the door and make sure she’s okay.”

My hand covers my mouth to muffle my giggle.

“No, we’ll be fine. I’m going to light the fireplace. I’ll make sure Hollis stays warm,” he