When You're Back - Abbi Glines Page 0,2

The one I talk to for hours every night.” He turned his attention back to me. “Reese, meet my only girl cousin, Aida. She’s a bit spoiled, a lot dramatic, and easily bored.”

Cousin? If that’s all she was, why was she glaring at me like I was standing in her way?

I looked back at Aida, and she smirked. Although I was comforted by the knowledge that they were related, something about the way she looked at me felt like a challenge.

How . . . odd.

Mase

Having Reese in my arms again helped ease the frustration that she hadn’t let me know she was coming home. I would have picked her up from the airport. I didn’t like the idea of her arriving with no one to welcome her.

“Did you take a cab?” I asked, not liking the idea of that, either.

She nodded but didn’t say more.

“I wish you’d called me.” I pulled her against me and walked her back toward my truck. I was tucking her inside and getting her to our home. Where she belonged.

“I thought surprising you would be fun.” She seemed off, like she was upset. Maybe she was just tired from traveling.

“I’d say call me next time, but there won’t be a next time. I’m not going to be separated from you like that again. If you want to go to Chicago, I’ll go with you.”

Her body seemed to relax then as she leaned closer to me. This was what I needed today. Aida was exhausting and demanding. Having her here had helped ease the hurt of missing Reese but only because she was full of distracting, nonstop chatter.

As soon as Momma got home she would have to entertain Aida.

I took Reese’s suitcase and put it in the back of my truck, then slid a hand under her perfect ass and lifted her in. The giggle that escaped from her sent a warm sensation rushing through my veins. I needed her laughter.

“I’m not letting you leave my side for at least two days. I’m needy,” I said as I climbed in. “Besides, I picked you up a couple of books at the library last week. I’m ready for you to read them to me.”

She laid her head on my shoulder and sighed contentedly. “I read to you almost every night while I was gone.”

“Yeah, but you weren’t naked in my bed.”

She laughed again, making everything in my life feel perfect. She was what I had been waiting for. Everything before her had been dull, including the girls. No one had made me feel the excitement of waking up every morning and seeing her face. Or going to bed every night with her in my arms.

“You want me to read naked in bed?” she asked in an amused tone.

“Hell, yeah, I do. I want you to do everything naked.”

Reese tilted her head back and looked up at me. “You’re not serious.”

I glanced down at her smiling face. “Yes, baby. When I’m talking about you being naked, I’m very, very serious.”

She laughed again and I pulled her closer to me. This was what I needed.

Reese headed inside as I lifted her suitcase out of the back. I took a moment to watch her walking into my house, soon to be our house. It felt different with her here. She brought warmth and sunshine with her.

Glancing back over her shoulder, she smiled. “Are you coming?”

“I was just enjoying the view,” I replied with a grin, and I made my way to join her.

As soon as I was through the door, I set her suitcase down and reached for her. She squealed in surprise as I picked her up and carried her over to the sofa. Sinking down onto the worn leather, I held her in my lap as she clung to my shoulders.

“Welcome home,” I said, just before I captured her lips with mine.

The guy in me wanted to strip her naked and fuck her against the door. But the man who knew what she needed was going to hold her and love her a little while first. I never wanted to make her think it was all about sex for me. I had been in love with her before we’d ever had sex. She was too precious to be treated like a hot piece of ass . . . although her ass was divine.

Reese took my hat off and tossed it onto the seat beside us, then sank her fingers into my hair. Her kisses were like warm honey,