“So noted. And appreciated.”
She watches as I lean in closer. I want to kiss her. I need to kiss her.
With the very tips of my fingers, I brush her dark locks off her cheek and over the soft crook of her ear.
She swallows and licks her lips.
Just as I’m about to lay my lips on hers, we hear, “Can I have some water?”
I sigh and glance to the right. Kelsey, looking tousled from sleep, holds her brown bear close to her chest.
“I’m thirsty,” she says.
“Sure, sweetie,” Tash says and stands from the couch. “And then right back to bed, okay?”
“Uh-huh,” Kelsey murmurs as she follows Tash to the kitchen.
I blow out a breath and rub my hands over my face.
What am I doing? Getting tangled up with Tash only adds more complications to the whole situation.
I need to keep my hands—and my lips—to myself.
I’m about to say just that when I hear the woman walking back down the hall toward me.
“You know, I was just thinking—”
Before I can finish the thought, she straddles my lap.
I have no choice but to cup that gorgeous ass of hers in my hands—finally!—and stare up at her, waiting.
“Don’t think,” she advises.
Chapter 3
~Natasha~
Sam’s hands grip my ass, those strong fingertips pressing firmly into the flesh beneath the denim of my jeans, and everything in me goes soft and just plain…wanton.
I’m crazy. I just straddled Sam as if I do it every day.
I’d like to do it every day.
I’ve wanted him for as long as I can remember, damn it, and he literally just admitted that he wants me, too.
So why shouldn’t I get a little forward and enjoy him? Push some of the doubt, sadness, and goddamn fear out of my mind—if only for a little while.
“You’re so fucking sweet,” he whispers, and that’s all it takes for my lips to descend on his. His hands grip me tighter as I wrap my arms around his shoulders and sink into him. And that’s exactly what it feels like: a slow, delicious sinking into something so soft, warm, tender, and familiar that it tugs at my heart and turns me on all at the same time.
I move to push my hand through his messy blond hair, but my hand suddenly sings out in pain, making me gasp.
“What’s wrong?” he asks, gasping for breath himself.
“Ouch.” I frown as reality starts to settle in. “Damn hand.”
“What the hell is wrong with me?” He doesn’t nudge me off his lap, he simply lifts me, shifting until I’m cradled on his lap, my head resting on his shoulder. “I’m sorry.”
“I’m not.” I grin and shift my gaze from my throbbing hand to Sam’s bright blue gaze. “I’ve wanted to kiss you for my whole life. And just like you said a little bit ago, it has nothing at all to do with the situation we presently find ourselves in. I just thought you weren’t interested.”
“I don’t want to hurt your feelings,” he admits with a sigh.
I raise a brow. “But?”
“It’s not that I’ve never been interested in you,” he begins and pauses to kiss my forehead. “But you were my baby sister’s best friend. Significantly younger than me. It would have been damn creepy if I’d been into you.”
“I’m not a baby now.”
“No. You’re a grown woman. And trust me, I’ve noticed. But I’m not going to scoop you up and haul you off to bed when you’re injured.”
“It’s only my hand,” I remind him. “It’s not my vagina.”
He snorts. “Well, I’m relieved to hear that, but you’re still uncomfortable. And the kids are here.”
“Yeah, I can’t argue that point.” I let myself lean on him, just for a minute. Sam’s always been tall and lean. He’s only started to pack on the muscles over the past couple of years. He trained hard for his place in the fire department.
The hot body is a bonus.
“Can I interest you in a date?” he asks, surprising me.
“What kind of date?”
“A real one.” He chuckles. “Noah offered to watch the kids. They’ll have fun at the sanctuary, and I can take you out for a meal that you don’t have to cook. With no one around that you have to cut up food for.”
“I mean, if you need help, I’ve become quite the food chopper recently.”
His lips twitch. “What do you say?”
“Sure.” I nod and lean on him again. “I’d like that. Thanks for asking me.”
“Thanks for saying yes.”
“Auntie Tash?”
I sigh and glance over to where Kelsey is standing by the hallway.
“Yes, baby?”
“I had a bad dream.” Her big blue eyes, so much like Sam’s, well with big crocodile tears, and I open my arms for her to come sit with us.
“Come on, sweetie. Come sit with us. It’s okay.”
“Did you have a bad dream, too?” she asks me once she’s settled on both of our laps.