Royally Broken by Elle Boon Page 0,32
percentiles in both height and weight. That was one thing he did get from the Kincaid’s or maybe the Coker’s since her side did tend to have tall men. As for her, she’d only ever been called her given name.
“Thank you.” She selected a couple different things for Jaxson to try. He’d been eating baby food for several months, but she didn’t have the ones that had been specially made and delivered just for him, with her. The fact his...father, goodness, she couldn’t even think about Thomas Kincaid in regard to Jaxson without pain. He was a monster, a dictator in every aspect even what their son was allowed to eat when he wasn’t nursing. Thomas had told her a company that specialized in all organic baby food would be delivering his food weekly to their home. At first, she’d feared he was going to hurt her son, but then she’d researched the business and found they were legitimate, she was fine with them. For all the bastard’s faults, he was actually doing something good, or as she’d found, he wanted to control one aspect of her life with Jaxson.
“You have a very pensive look, sassy girl.” His hand gripped her chin, forcing her to look up at him.
Palmer swallowed; nervous he’d see through her tough girl veneer. “What? We’re in the middle of the local food market chatting. I’m a new widow talking with a gorgeous stranger. Imagine what the old biddies are gonna say at the sewing circle this Thursday.”
Chapter Five
Keys brushed his thumb along Palmer’s lips, loving her response to his nearness. Her words registering like a sucker punch. She was a widow. He had no competition to eliminate. Alright, he admitted it. He’d planned to seduce her and then steal her from the loser of a husband. All’s fair in love and war. And where Palmer was concerned, it would’ve been war between him and whatever man stood in his way. He hadn’t planned it, not until he’d seen her walking into the store pushing a stroller. He’d been sure he could come, see what was going on and get out without scraping the scab off of the need he’d had for her. Even then he’d thought he could control the bastard within him. He was wrong.
“Should we give them something to talk about?” he asked her, still stroking her soft, totally kissable lips with his thumb. Her breath moistening the digit made his dick a jealous part of his anatomy.
“Silas, don’t you dare,” she whispered.
He stilled, hating that name. “I’m not Silas anymore, sweetheart. Call me Keys. And, sassy girl, you’ll learn I dare so fucking much,” he told her in a harsh tone he regretted almost instantly. Dammit, why did her saying one word, one name, have such a visceral effect on him?
She took a step backward, putting distance between them. “I apologize. I...I didn’t mean to offend you.”
Palmer turned toward the stroller, attempting to put the fussy baby down. His wail was one of outrage, and loud enough that if anyone in the store had thought the two of them were messing around, they would know they had an audience of one.
“Hey there, hoss man. What’s the problem?” Keys squatted down so that he was face to face with the red-faced boy.
The little boy quieted, his big blue eyes blinked, wet tears gleaming on the extremely long lashes women paid good money for. As Keys watched, his bottom lip began to quiver.
“Ah, now, none of that.” He reached in, scooping the kid into his arms. “Come on, how about I carry you while your mama picks out some yucky food. I bet you like the view from up here. I’ll let you in on a secret between you and I. Up here, we see a lot of things those who are vertically impaired don’t.” Keys winked down at Palmer.
“Um, what are you doing?” she asked.
Keys jerked his head to the side. “Clearly, me and wee man here are having a meeting of the minds. Ain’t that right, little buddy?” Keys found himself pressing his forehead to Jaxson’s when the little boy began blathering. Sure, he got a shitload of drool down the front of his leather jacket. Hell, he was probably the first Royal Bastard who would say that, and it be from a baby not an ole lady. But hey, the kid had stopped crying, so it was a win.
“Si...err I mean, Keys. You realize he’s liable to throw up on you