My Ex's Baby (Crescent Cove 8)

“Absolutely nothing.” She took a quick look over her shoulder to assess the shop. Finding it empty, she swayed closer, rubbing her nipples against my chest through my T-shirt. “This is the sweetest thing. I love it, even if I’m not sure what I’m going to do with it yet. Or where I’m going to put it. Thank you.” She rose on her tiptoes and rubbed her lips against mine. “You don’t have to do stuff like this though. I’m a sure thing.”

“You’re the farthest from a sure thing.”

“Not according to my chart.”

“Kinleigh, stop.”

She stepped back. “Sorry.”

I swore under my breath. “Don’t do that. Don’t shut down on me.”

“Seems like you shut down first.” She gripped her necklace, a long yellow crystal wand that dangled between her mouth-watering breasts, discreetly hidden away. But I remembered their exact shape. How her nipples bloomed under my touch, whether with my lips and tongue or my fingers. The way they flowed into my hands, soft and perfect. A vulnerability she never hesitated to share with me.

The only one she’d share.

“Go out with me.”

Her expression turned cagey. She didn’t move back any farther physically, but in her head, she was already bolting all the locks against me. “I do all the time.”

“You stay in with me. Locked away in your bedroom.”

She ran her hand up my chest, her nails lightly skimming the material. My cock jerked against my zipper and her lips lifted. “Not just in my bedroom. Pretty sure we’ve enjoyed a few other inventive spots.”

“I want to walk with you in the sunshine and hold your hand.”

Saying it out loud felt absolutely ridiculous. This was what I was making my stand on? I had access to this woman’s luscious curves almost anytime I wanted them. Basically, I had my brother’s ideal situation, minus the procreation part.

Yet it wasn’t nearly enough. I didn’t want only her moans in private. I wanted her smiles in public and to be able to just touch her hair or cup her cheek. I craved her innermost thoughts and her dreams and her fears.

I wanted fucking everything.

She held my gaze for a long moment before turning toward the front as the chimes on the door sign

aled a customer. “Good afternoon. Is there something I can help you with today?”

“Just browsing, thank you. I love your shop.”

“Oh, thanks. Are you sure you don’t need any assistance? We just got in these new Tibetan singing bowls,” Kinleigh added as the petite brunette paused by the self-care section. It led into a space filled with home relaxation items and a couple of padded chairs meant for taking a moment with a cup of tea. “Have you seen them before? They’re so soothing. If you’re planning a special night, they set the perfect mood for getting ready.”

When she turned away, I left the same way I’d come in. And kept right on walking down the street without even locking up my store for the day. It was Crescent Cove, after all. A lovely safe town, made for families.

I might even be on my way to having my own family, with a woman who wouldn’t let me in no matter how many times I knocked. Whether I used gentleness or a battering ram, the vault of Kinleigh Scott remained on lockdown.

And I’d really believed having a child with her was the answer? She’d probably lock me out of that too. Then what? We’d need to get lawyers involved, because there wasn’t a way in hell I would let her keep me from my baby. It was bad enough trying to understand the distance she put between us. If a child was involved, I wouldn’t be able to let her close the door in my face. Whatever tenuous strides we’d made between us would be destroyed.

What the hell had I been thinking?

I strolled down the street in the fading sunshine, my head down. I didn’t want to chat with anyone. Definitely didn’t want to exchange smiles or waves.

I climbed into my truck and reversed out of the spot and hit the gas.

Without knowing where I was headed, I drove out of town. Aiming anywhere and nowhere, following the curve of the road and the sunshine along the horizon. Spring was coming, but it hadn’t quite arrived yet. Even so, the days were longer now and I drove until the sun dipped behind the far side of lake and the already chilly air turned cold.

My stomach growled and I decided I’d get a pizza for one. No delivery service tonight. If Kinleigh wanted me for any reason other than my dick, she could be the one to make the move this time. I was tired of winding up and striking out.

And if she never contacts you, then what?

Then I’d deal with it. I didn’t know how. The idea of not being with Kinleigh again was like a physical blow to the gut. Not just sexually. I missed her when she wasn’t around. Her voice, her rare laughter, the way she touched me when she forgot her goal and just lived in the moment. I’d spent years watching her and Ivy’s bond grow and deepen, but now if I wasn’t mistaken, even that relationship was faltering. Probably because of me too.