The Single Dad (Red's Tavern 4)

“So what if I’m blushing?”

He dipped close to me, pressing a soft kiss to my cheek.

“I like it,” he said.

I let out a moan, turning my face and catching his lips in a kiss. He returned the kiss, lingering there, letting his tongue slide out against my lower lip.

I hummed as he pulled back a little, running his fingers through my hair.

“Definitely going to need a fence if we’re going to be doing this back here,” I said.

There was a muted panic in my chest, imagining what might happen if Gary Thornton or his wife decided to hobble over and saw what was happening. My kids could find out. It could be awful, them hearing about me making out with a shirtless hunk in the yard, not knowing what the hell was going on in their home while they weren’t around.

But everything with Luke felt so right. Even if I could only let myself enjoy him temporarily, in bits and pieces, it was far too good to refuse.

“Hey,” Luke said, gently putting a finger under my chin and tilting my face up. “I told you I wanted to do something bad.”

I bit my bottom lip. “I know.”

“Exactly,” he said. “And I can tell your mind is running a mile a minute right now, thinking about all the reasons we shouldn’t be doing this.”

I let out a breath. “Yes. It definitely is.”

“One. Day. At a time. I mean it, Cam,” Luke said. “I just wanted to kiss you. It doesn’t have to mean anything more than that. And I promise you that it won’t mean anything more than that. Okay?”

My heart twisted. I was so comforted to hear him say it—to know that he really did understand my situation.

But I also hated it.

I totally fucking hated that it had to be this way. That he did have to be my little secret. That he agreed we’d never be anything more.

“Kiss me again, then,” I said, pinning his body between me and the deck railing, running my palm up his chest.

He hummed, grabbing my waist and pulling me close. He kissed me harder this time, squeezing my body close. The trees rustled all around us in a gust of wind, and I held close to his body, already knowing I was hopelessly addicted to his touch.

8

Luke

I wasn’t at Cam’s house to cause problems.

I wasn’t there to make him do things he’d regret, or to tear his clothes off right here in the backyard and fuck him, only for one of his neighbors to come by and turn us into the latest piece of Amberfield gossip.

But goddamn, did I want to kiss him. And keep kissing him. I savored it, holding his smaller body close to mine as my tongue slid against his. My cock responded under my jeans, but I didn’t push it. I knew the moment I gave it any attention, I wasn’t going to be able to control it.

And after a minute, I felt him shiver suddenly in my arms. I pulled back, looking down at him.

“You okay?” I asked.

He shivered again. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m actually a little cold.”

I smiled. “It is cold in the shade, still,” I said.

I knew he was also nervous. And that it was completely my fault. It was true that we shouldn’t have been kissing, especially not in an open yard like this one.

“Put your sweater back on, and go inside while I take care of the staining,” I said. I reached behind me for his cardigan, handing him the crazy soft thing.

He took a deep breath. “Okay. Yes. Good idea.” His cheeks were still flushed, and his light hair was all messed up now from my fingers.

He was so goddamn sexy, all disheveled like that. He was normally so put-together, and I loved seeing him a little looser, even in a small way.

I turned away back toward the yard, trying to focus on something that wouldn’t keep my cock getting harder and harder.

For the rest of the afternoon, I worked on staining the wood on the bird feeder, and Cam flitted in and out of the house. It was a strange feeling, working with somebody else nearby.

I was so used to being alone. Even when I’d worked with Liz in the past, she and I had mostly worked like independent units, nearby but always just focused on our own tasks in front of us.

Cam was different. He doted on me like I was royalty. The sandwich he made for lunch was ridiculously good, with bacon and avocado and a tangy sauce all on a nice, crusty bread. Then he emerged with a jug full of fresh-squeezed juice, some combination of oranges and lemons and fizzy water.

He wasn’t much use when it came to using actual tools, but his presence was a help in itself. He turned music on, sound gently piping through the fancy speaker system attached to his house and back deck. He opened up a bunch of the big, paneled windows on the back of the house so I could see him in there, too.