And how she sounds when I’ve been making her hit high notes for other reasons.
“That happened,” she continues, a smile playing at her lips. “Again.”
“Sure did.” I chuckle, trailing my fingers up her back just to feel her shiver against me. “And I wouldn’t mind it happening again and again, either.”
“Mmm…I guess that means we should have the talk.”
I blink. “Broccoli, you realize no man has ever wanted to have the talk?”
“You’re not every man.” With a sunny smile, she kisses my shoulder. “And I don’t think you’re scared to talk to me about your real feelings. Or about what this means.”
Shit, she’s right.
Still, it makes me pause.
I know this girl’s practically been after me ever since she laid eyes on me, if I’m being honest about the way she was looking at me that night I found her standing on the side of the road next to a burning van.
But I don’t know if she gets what wanting me means.
I turn that over for a minute, picking my words carefully before I say, “I can’t do casual.”
Might as well be blunt and get it out there. She’s watching me intently.
“Not with Andrea to think about, I mean. After the way she lost her ma, I can’t afford to have someone in her life who’s just gonna leave her. So when I say I like you, that I feel things when I’m with you…I ain’t saying that easy, Peace. Not saying it light. It’s serious shit. If we’re gonna do something, I’m gonna treat it that way. Serious.” I look down into those rich, warm green eyes that watch me without judgment, without even a flicker of hurt. “But I know you don’t do permanent. I know you don’t stay. And I don’t wanna tie you down. Especially at your age. No twenty-five-year-old wants to jump in with a family and a kid already waiting.”
Her eyes sparkle.
There’s a long, breathless silence. Like waiting for a verdict.
Then she smiles.
“Blake Silverton, you might just be the dumbest man I’ve ever met,” she says firmly.
Huh?
She pushes herself up, breasts plush against my chest, and kisses me like mad.
It’s a fierce kiss full of half-breaths of muffled laughter, her mouth curling on mine, and despite myself I can’t help but laugh against her lips as I lift a hand to weave my fingers through her hair.
When I nip her upper lip, though, starving for her taste, she pulls back, smirking down at me, and I grin.
“So you wanna tell me why I’m dumb, why you’re laughing at me, and what I did to earn that?”
“Easy. Did you ever ask me if I do or don’t do permanent?” she asks softly. “Or did you just assume because you’re scared I’m going to leave?”
I want to tell her that’s not fair.
Dammit, though, she’s right.
She’s right, and it’s almost frustrating, how easily she sees through me.
“I didn’t ask,” I admit. “I should’ve. Sorry.”
She settles against me again, folding her arms on my chest and watching me thoughtfully. The way her eyes glow, rich and deep makes me feel like I’m the only man she’s ever looked at in the world.
“Maybe I wander,” she murmurs. “Maybe I take flight. But it’s because I’m looking for a home that’s not my poor van. It’s not that I can’t stand staying in one place. It’s just that I haven’t found the place I want to stay just yet. That doesn’t mean I won’t stay, once I find it.”
Am I it? I wonder. Are we it?
Because there ain’t no denying.
I’m a package deal.
Love me, love my daughter, pain in the nub she might be.
I smile faintly, coiling Peace’s hair around my fingers. “So what about Andrea?”
“I adore Andrea.” She smiles shyly. “As much as I adore her father. I think she likes me, too.” Then she laughs, biting at her lower lip playfully. “Not sure about her dad, though. He gives me a lot of mixed signals. Especially when he’s hurting and grouchy.”
“Hey,” I grumble. “Pretty sure what we just did wasn’t a mixed frigging signal.”
“Okay.” She rolls her eyes playfully, wiggling her body against me, and fuck if my cock isn’t already springing to life at the feel of her. “So are we coming through loud and clear and reading each other, then?”
“Yeah,” I growl thickly, tightening my fingers in her hair, drawing her toward me. “I’m addicted to Broccoli now. And I want you to be addicted to me. So get your cute ass down here and kiss me, lady, and I’ll show you exactly what kind of signals I’m giving off.”
17
Out of Tune (Peace)
If I wasn’t on birth control and Blake wasn’t stocked up on condoms, I’d be in major trouble.
Because as often as we fall into bed together, I’d be giving him a second kid after an entire week of this.