Tempt the Hookup (Tempt 3)

I laugh and look over at Eliahn, who kind of glares at me. “No, there will be no pole.”

“That’s too bad. She could pretend to be a fireman,” he says while he takes a bite of pizza and chews.

“It is too bad,” I say, and Eliahn full-on glares at me. “She would be a great fireman.”

“Hurry up and eat so your father can give you a bath,” she says, and I shake my head. This right here, this meal with the three of us, is exactly what my life was missing.

Chapter Sixteen

Eliahn

“What story do you want me to read to you?” Luca asks Aiden when he finishes wiping him down from his bath. I have to say I didn’t think I would be able to share Aiden at the beginning since I’ve been doing it myself for so long, but having him here and seeing him bond with Aiden is everything I could ever hope for.

“I want a spider one,” he says, and Luca folds his towel and then cleans up his bathroom.

“Go get a snack and kiss Mom good night and then pick the book,” he tells him, and I pretend I’m not listening or waiting for him when he comes down the stairs to get a snack.

“I cut up some fruit for you,” I tell Aiden who climbs on the stool. “Do you want water or milk?” I ask him.

“Water, please,” he says, eating a piece of cantaloupe. I fill up a glass of water for him and bring it to him and then Luca comes down. His shirtsleeves are pushed up to his elbow, no doubt from when he was playing car crashes with Aiden in the bath.

“Hey there.” I look over at him, and I can’t even stop the smile from filling my face. He comes over to me and stands beside me, putting his hand around my waist and pulling me to him. “Did bath time go okay?”

“It did,” he says softly. I want to lean in just a touch to kiss his lips, but we stand here looking at each other.

“All done,” Aiden says, breaking our stare and finishing his water. “I’m going to choose a book, Daddy.” He gets off the stool and comes over to me. “Night, Mom,” he says, and I lean down and kiss his sticky lips.

“Good night,” I tell him, and then he turns to run upstairs.

“He has to wash his hands and his face,” I tell Luca who stops me from talking by putting one hand on my cheek and coming in for a kiss. I moan into his mouth as my hands go around his neck, his tongue dances with mine, and my body arches against his. The kiss deepens, and I suddenly want his hands all over me. My hands leave his neck and go to his waist, and I slowly creep them under his shirt, my fingers finally feeling his abs, and I’m about to throw my head back and make him devour my neck when we hear the shouting from upstairs.

“I got the book, Dad!” Aiden yells, and I try not to laugh, but I can’t help it.

“Jesus,” Luca hisses. “That boy has the worst timing of my life.” I bury my face in his neck and laugh and then kiss it. “I’m going to go read the story. I’ll be back.” He kisses my lips. “We are going to continue this,” he says, walking away, and I watch him adjust his front.

“A little tight there?” I roll my lips to not laugh when he just looks over and shakes his head.

I clean up and turn off the lights in the kitchen, then dim the lights in the family room as I wait for him to come down. I turn the television on and flip through the channels, and thirty minutes later, I hear him coming down the stairs. Walking into the family room, he comes over to the couch, grabs my legs, and sits under them with my legs in his lap. “Is he out?”

“Halfway through the book.” He smiles at me.

“You were up there for thirty minutes,” I point out.

“I had to find out how it ended,” he tells me, and I laugh. “You can’t just leave the book. I had to know if Spider-Man finished his job.”

I look over at him. “Did you really try to find me?” I ask him, thinking about what Nick said this morning.

“Yeah,” he says softly and grabs one of my hands and comes closer, and by the time he gets comfortable, I’m sitting in his lap with his hands around my waist. One of my hands is around his shoulder and the other in my lap. “When I got back home, I was … I don’t know, it just felt off.”

“Yeah.” I listen to him. “I felt the same way.”