“Roe?” a familiar voice called out.
I stopped dead in my tracks. Brown eyes that I’d once stared at lovingly at met mine. Eyes that had been filled with anger when he left me. “Pete.”
“Hey.” Pete glanced down to the stroller. “You kept it.”
It. We never talked again after he walked out that day. Well, nothing past a few “is this yours or mine” conversations when he cleared out the following week. Every time he spoke about Kinsey he always called her “it,” and I wanted to punch that sneer right off his face.
The eyes of the girl beside him widened. “You got a kid?”
He shook his head. “Nah, that’s something she was stupid enough to get stuck with.”
His comment burned and ignited something inside me. Once upon a time, I’d thought we’d spend our lives together, but as I looked at him I couldn’t remember why I ever wanted that.
He was self-absorbed and never really cared about what I wanted. What I wanted that day was the baby in my arms, no matter the cost.
“I chose her. I wasn’t stuck with her. I chose her, dipshit,” I spat back.
“Once a sucker, always a sucker.” Pete glanced to Thane, who was glaring at him. He looked Thane down, then up, his lips curling. “And you suckered some dope.”
Thane stepped forward, towering over Pete much like he did me. The move was so sexy, that little bit of intimidation, that heat rushed through me and it wasn’t weather related.
“Only half right on that word, but she didn’t need to suck me for me to be a man. Only a boy would run away from a baby.”
I took a little too much joy in watching Pete give a hard swallow. “Whatever, man.”
I shook my head. “How did I stay with someone like you for so long?”
“Because I’m a beast in bed,” he replied with a smirk. So full of himself, so sure that he was “the man.” An attitude he never showed before. My guess was that it was for the clueless girl on his arm and to get back some of the ground he’d lost with Thane’s overpowering presence.
A bark of a laugh escaped me. He was nothing compared to Thane. Thane was caring and kind and strong and sensual and so sexy that I was having a hard time not jumping him right then.
A really hard time because the protective aura he was emitting was working me up. Wow.
“Keep dreaming,” I said with a roll of my eyes.
Thane made a sound and narrowed his gaze on Pete. It was as if he was sizing him up and found him to be a weak opponent. The kill shot was easy. Pete had left himself open for it.
Thane set his hand on the small of my back, his fingers dipping into my back pocket before squeezing my ass. “From what I’ve gathered in the last few minutes, you are a selfish lover who has probably never gotten a woman off. You’re a pussy of a boy who can’t step out of your own self-centeredness to help anyone. And she probably stayed with you so long out of habit and pity.”
Pete’s anger and ego stepped up but Thane was a shark, and sharks could smell blood in the water. It was what kept Pete from opening his mouth and cutting Thane off.
“Bingo,” I confirmed. It wasn’t entirely true. I’d deluded myself into thinking Pete was the one, settling on him.
Thane looked at me. “How many times did I make you come last night?” he asked.
“Hmm, five? Or was it six?” I shook my head. “Honestly after two in five minutes, my brain was mush. I mean, you weren’t even inside me until the last two.” I let out a moan, my lip quirking up into a smirk as I glanced at the wide-eyed look of the woman with Pete.
Our little fake conversation was turning me on even more. I really needed to cool down.
“It was seven by my count, though you were almost passed out by the last one. I had to hold all of your weight up against the glass. Probably gave someone a show.”
I bit down on my lip, pulling him closer. He leaned down and pulled my bottom lip free with his teeth before pressing his lips to mine.
The fire that burned between us flamed high, and we pulled each other closer. I couldn’t stop the moans and was consumed by Thane. His display, his arrogance and strength set me off and I wanted the lie we told them. Desperately. When we separated, we were both breathing hard and I didn’t want to let go.
“Oh, sorry, I forgot you were there,” I said to Pete.
I had. Thane had the ability to wipe my mind of all thoughts.
Pete’s girl stared at us. Her cheeks were pink, lips parted.
“Come on, Amy.”
“See you, Pete,” Thane said with a wave, then winked. “Bye, Amy.”
I smacked him on the stomach, making him laugh. “What was that for?”
He grinned down at me. “Just to get her more pissed off at him.”
“That was an elaborate description you gave them,” I said, feeling my face flame, and I looked back to them.
“Did you see the look on her face?” he asked with a chuckle.
“I saw the glare she gave him. Now you have quite a reputation to uphold.” I pulled him close again, the heat between us almost intoxicating. “Are you up to the task?”
He held me tightly to him, and I was lost in his gaze. “With you? No problem. Give me a day and I’ll triple it.”
“You’re just digging yourself a deeper hole,” I said a little breathier than intended.
He leaned down, his lips ghosting mine. “I like a challenge.”
A moan left me, and I arched into him when our lips met again. There was a high-pitched whistle followed by “Get a room” being shouted that pulled us from our lust-filled bubble.
I felt my face flame as many sets of eyes looked our way. Reluctantly I stepped out of his arms and grabbed hold of the stroller, checking on Kinsey before walking again.
“Was that really why you stayed with him?” Thane asked after a minute.
I shrugged. “First love, so it held that romanticized idea that we’d be together forever. Then we graduated college and started working. I was angry and sad when he left, especially because I think he was sleeping with someone else, but once he was gone, after those initial painful emotions settled, I realized how much better I felt without him around. It’s not that he was some bad guy, or that we fought a lot, but we had become more like roommates. It took me a while to admit there hadn’t been love there in a while.”
Every time I said the word “love” while looking at Thane my heart jumped, as if it was pumping that emotion back to life. As if he was bringing it back to life.
“Sounds like you were comfortable.”
I nodded in agreement. “Since then, my situation has led to an inability to date, because most guys run when they find out you have a baby.”
Thane took my hand and pulled me to him. “Fuck them all, because they have no idea what they’re missing.”
I rolled my eyes, which earned me a swat to the butt. “They’re missing two a.m. scream fests, milk throw up, and poop. Lots of poop.”
“And the beauty that is seeing the way you look at her. The way she reaches out for you, her cute little giggles when you do something silly. They’re missing your feistiness and fierce loyalty. Your beauty and your cock-teasing body.”