I took a sip of wine, then licked my lips as I swallowed. “Not a dad and definitely not an accountant.” I gave her a wry smile. “I spent most of my early years working on my lightsaber skills, pretty sure I would grow up to be a Jedi.”
“A Jedi. Wow. I’m impressed.”
“What about you? Did you only ever want to be a mom?” Her admission earlier had broken my heart. Amelia would have been a perfect mother. Her kindness. Her patience. Her willingness to go with the flow, combined with the attention she paid to the people around her. It was a cruel twist of fate that she couldn’t have children, when she was so well-suited for it. My kids were better having her in their life, and for some reason, I found that sexy.
Almost as sexy as the way she slipped grapes into her mouth.
Or the way her tongue slipped past her lips after she swallowed her wine.
Or maybe, everything she did was sexy.
Amelia bobbed her head back and forth. “There was that phase where I wanted to be an international super spy.”
I snorted laughter. “I did not see that coming.”
“Obviously, my spirit guides didn’t either, because here I am.” She leaned on the counter. “Charlie has better self-defense skills than I do.”
“Maybe we should get you enrolled at the dojo.” I snapped a grape from the bunch and popped it into her mouth. “Though Toby Hinkle’s mom might get nervous to see you in class.”
“As she should. You heard how dangerous I am with a little bottle of sage spray.” She plucked a piece of gruyere off the cutting board and held it out for me to take a bite.
I kissed her fingers one by one, then bit into the cheese, smiling as I chewed. “I like this.”
“Gruyere? Yeah. It’s good.”
“No. This. Midnight snacks.” I moved behind her, gripping her waist as I discovered that sure enough, the shirt had ridden up high enough to show off her underwear. “The view. I definitely like the view.” I growled as I ran my hands along the curve of her ass.
She gasped. A tiny thing, but strong enough to light me on fire. I slipped a hand between her thighs and found her warm, wet, inviting. My dick throbbed and I slapped her ass, fighting the urge to strip her naked and slam into her right there in the kitchen. Amelia was like a fine wine, something to savor, but so good I wanted to finish it all in one long swallow. Then have another. And another.
And probably some more.
She pushed her hips into my hand, craning her neck to stare at me over her shoulder. Her pink lips parted. Desire sparked in her eyes.
“Come with me.” I took her hand in mine.
“Where are we going?”
“Back to bed.”
“But I’m not sleepy,” she said with a sexy pout.
“Fuck sleeping, Amelia. I have better things in mind.”
Like her lips, her tits, and the sexy moan she made as I slid inside her again.
Chapter Twenty-One
Amelia
I opened my eyes to an unfamiliar bedroom. For a minute I panicked, then remembered where I was, what I’d done, and who I’d done it with. I rolled over to find Jack just waking, his eyes blinking open, his hair adorably mussed, scruff darkening his cheeks and jawline.
He smiled when he saw me. “Looks like we fell asleep.”
I nodded, stretching my arms overhead as a yawn took control. “What time is it? I should probably go before the kids wake up.”
The statement was half question. Jack had said he didn’t want to bring the children into a relationship until he was sure it was serious, but our situation was a little different. The kids were already involved. We could try to hide it from them, but we were sure to fail, just like we did with Garrett on the porch last night.
A secret smile tugged at my lips as I remembered what else we’d done last night. Not once. Not twice. But three times. We hadn’t been able to keep our hands off each other. After all these weeks of trying to ignore the lust that surged through me every time he smiled, I had a lot of pent-up energy to release. And release it, I did. The man was skilled.
Jack checked the clock, then bolted upright, looking surprised. “It’s eight o’clock. There’s no way someone isn’t already up and moving.” The words had barely left his lips when the door creaked open, and a headful of dark curls peeked through.
“They’re awake!” Charlie called down the hallway, then took a running leap onto the bed. “I was so excited when I saw you guys had a sleepover.” Totally oblivious to the implications of said sleepover, she snuggled into the space between us while Jack met my eyes with an expression I couldn’t quite read.
Maybe he was worried about his kids seeing us together.
Maybe he was concerned I wasn’t ready for the kids to launch themselves into bed with us first thing in the morning.
Or maybe he was uncomfortable knowing I was wearing one of his shirts and not much else. (I sure was.)
Connor joined us with a little less enthusiasm while Garrett hung in the doorway, his arms crossed over his chest, his face guarded.
“Well, come on then.” Jack gestured for his oldest boy. “Let’s get in for a Cooper cuddle.”
I lifted an eyebrow, definitely questioning my ability to hide the fact I wasn’t wearing enough clothes. “Is there even room?”
Jack laughed. “There’s not. But that never stopped us before. Right, Garrett?”
The boy rolled his eyes and climbed into bed.
Jack was right. There wasn’t enough room. Knees and elbows dug into my back and shoulders, but the laughter, the joking, the wrestling between the kids and their dad…it all made up for it. I forgot the close quarters, the morning breath, the lack of decent clothing, and lost myself to the warmth of family time on a Saturday morning.
“All right! Who wants pancakes?” Jack sat up in bed as three little heads perked up. “Nobody?”
Connor and Charlie clamored their excitement, but Jack ignored them.
“Seriously? I’m offering pancakes on a Saturday where I won’t get distracted and burn them and there’s not even one taker?”
Connor raised his hand. “Me! I want them!”
“I’m a taker!” Charlie’s curls bobbed with her vigorous head nodding. “Can Amelia make them?”
Jack started to respond, but Garrett spoke over him. “I like Dad’s.”
I met Jack’s gaze over Garrett’s head and quirked my head in question. He gave me a ‘who knows’ shrug and turned back to his son.
“You’re kidding, right?” He half-laughed. “No one likes my pancakes.”
“I do.” Garrett had a strange set to his jaw as he hopped out of bed and disappeared down the hall. The other two scampered after him and I stared at the empty doorway.
“What was that about?” I scrunched up my face, worrying at my lip. “Did he seem off to you? Or was that just me?”
“Garrett’s not much of a morning person. Just one more way he takes after me.” Jack collapsed back onto his pillow with a long sigh. “One morning, I will sleep past nine and it will be glorious.” He turned to me with a grin, his eyes drinking me in. “Though, this morning’s pretty damn glorious with a view like that. Forget the pancakes. The kids can handle breakfast and we’ll stay under the covers all day.”