body part. First all her naughty bits had fallen under Darius’ spell. Now her brain was tied up with Darius and his new son.
What if her heart came next? Would that really be so bad?
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Darius quickly fell into a routine with Dylan. The boy would sleep in and make his own breakfast. Then he’d walk to the firehouse and put in some time doing community service with the crew. When that was completed, Darius would drive him to Petal to the Metal, where he did whatever Emma required.
Often he would spot Kate at the peony farm, and they’d have a quick conversation along the lines of:
“Can I come up tonight?”
“l’ll leave the deadbolt off. Key’s under the mat.”
In the evenings, Darius would make dinner with Dylan—they both liked to cook. Sometimes Kate would come downstairs to eat with them. Later, after Dylan had fallen asleep on the couch, Darius would slip out the door and tiptoe up the stairs to Kate’s. And they’d spend the next few hours devouring each other and talking late into the night.
They talked about everything—his fears about suddenly being a father; her bad-girl teenager years; his love for the blues and especially Muddy Waters; the frustration and entertainment of being the daughter of Frank Robinson; why he’d become a fireman—with no family in the works, he’d channeled his protective nature into firefighting; what she missed about LA—mostly it seemed to come down to brunch, for some reason.
He hadn’t felt this close to anyone for a very long time. It helped to share his worries about Dylan—how to take care of him, how to get the town to accept him after what he’d done, how to connect with him.
As for Kate, she finally seemed to completely trust him. She no longer talked about leaving, and he liked that. A lot.
Tonight, sleepy-eyed, she opened the door for him wearing the sexiest little sleep tank and shorts he’d ever seen.
He slipped inside and slid his hand onto her ass. Those shorts were just too tempting. Her skin warmed through the thin fabric.
All day long, as he and his crew sat through a session on preparing for biohazard emergencies, he’d looked forward to this moment.
Her smooth curves settled under his hands as if some cosmic sculptor had created her ass and his hands as one perfect work of art. “God, I missed you.”
Against his chest, her body vibrated with laughter. “You saw me at lunchtime.”
“That was hours ago. Let me feel that skin. I need my hands on you. I need to feel you.” His voice was low and urgent. Sometimes his need for Kate shocked him, but he blocked out the alarm bells.
He didn’t care if this was risky, or if he was sliding down a slippery slope into a different kind of relationship. Right now he wanted her and he needed her and she wasn’t objecting. Not at all.
She hooked one leg around the back of his thigh. He felt the radiant heat of her pussy press against him. With a chest-deep groan, he gripped her ass cheek and rotated her against him.
Her nipples hardened under that skimpy little top. He looked down and saw the dark peaks push against the nearly see-through cotton. Her top clung so erotically to the full mounds of her breasts that the saliva dried up in his mouth.
He cupped them in his hands, with the feeling that he was filling himself up with everything he needed. Touch, release, glory, hope. And sexy, sensual woman.
She moaned as he skimmed his thumbs across her nipples. The material of the shirt offered extra friction that made her shudder, so he left it right where it was, at least for now. With thumbs and forefingers, he pinched those plump points of flesh into hot hard peaks. She arched her back so her top rode up and exposed a pale flash of skin. Her head fell back, offering him absolute and total access to her body.
Ah God, what a sight. Under his own sleepwear, his cock was already rock hard and pushing against her belly. She twisted her body back and forth against his, caressing him with the bare skin of her stomach.
He wanted to come all over her, right this second. But he also wanted to claim her from the inside. Yes, inside. Now. He spun her around and planted her hands against the wall.
“I want to see your ass in those little shorts,” he muttered as he kneed her legs apart.