CEO Daddy (Crescent Cove 6.50)

“There you are.” Asher stood with an easy smile. No pinched lips or frown lines now. Thank God. “How was your talk with your sisters?”

“Good.”

I tried to reel in my reaction to all of his hard work. I didn’t want to make him feel self-conscious about it, but at the same time, I was so afraid to make it too big of a deal. Instead, I went with my instincts and smiled back at him.

Pleasure unfurled in my belly, along with a warmth that I hadn’t felt this deeply since that very first night.

That night had included the floor and a fireplace as well.

Instead of a suit, Asher wore a pair of jeans with a button-down white shirt. Not the kind he wore to the office every day, but one that looked like it had been with him for a long time if the frayed tails were anything to go by. The sleeves were rolled back on his forearms and he was barefoot. Such a domestic look, at least for his temperament.

Right then, I felt a little frumpy in my old college hoodie and yoga pants. I’d meant to change for our picnic, but with the rain—well, it just didn’t seem important.

Now? I really wished I’d taken the extra steps.

He crossed to me and curled his arm around my waist. “Had a bit of a rain delay, but I thought we could maybe do a carpet picnic. Seemed stupid to waste all the food.”

“As I was just thinking downstairs that we should go out for pizza.”

His smile slipped a little.

I went up on my toes and kissed him. “This is so much better.”

His hold tightened and the kiss lengthened, his ink and leather scent seeping into my bones with each sweep of his tongue. The muscles that flexed and rolled under my fingers urged me closer. Each little touch the last few weeks had been leaving me starving for more.

Maybe that had been his plan all along. Right now, I didn’t care.

His fingers slid away from me, coming up to cup my face. The kiss was sweeter now. The undertow of emotion and raw passion that rose up between us was more like frothy lace. The kind that tickled and teased.

I felt his smile in the kiss before I opened my eyes.

“What?”

“I’ve missed touching you like this.” His voice was thick and gentle. “Feeling like I should touch you like this.”

“Things are complicated.”

“They don’t have to be.”

I leaned my cheek into his touch. “Easy for you to say. You’re not technically my employer and baby daddy.”

He winced. “When you put it like that…”

“Yeah.”

“But that’s not what it is about for me.” I tried to pull back, but he held me tighter. “It’s more that I don’t deserve you.”

“Asher—” I twisted my fingers into his shirttails.

“No, it’s true. You came into my life when I couldn’t see my way clear to find any kind of happiness. I didn’t even think I should be happy. Not after what had happened with Billy. He died, and here I was, living the life he hoped to have with his baby girl.”

“You’ve done right by her. So right.”

“Now I want to do right by you.” His Adam’s apple rose and fell. “I still can’t believe you’re here. That someone as strong and amazing as you would stick around and give me a second chance. Or hell, fifth chance by now.” He lowered a hand to my middle. “And that there’s a piece of us growing right here no matter how many times I fuck things up.”

I opened my mouth to answer him, but he kissed me again.

All I could do was hold on. He was like a wild storm. He blew into my life with snow, and now with rain, he was asking for so much more. One season and we were speeding toward something bigger than both of us.