Page 60

COLTER
Zeke and his friend, Charlie, hunch forward toward the projector while some kids’ movie,Soul, blares through the speakers. It’s been about ten minutes since either of them glanced back at Abi and me, so I’d say their attention is solely on the movie.
Good.
“You know you looked hot as Hell in that bikini, right?” I whisper into Abi’s ear. She’s got herself propped on her elbow, laying on the floor while I’m leaned back on outstretched arms holding my weight. There are state of the art recliners in here going to waste, but apparently, young boys like to blind themselves with how close they sit to screens.
It doesn’t bother me, though. The view is pretty damn nice where I’m at. The green bikini top pokes from Abi’s dress, and I have an eyeful of cleavage.
Her eyes widen from my words as she looks between me and the boys, and if I wasn’t concerned they’d hear me, I’d laugh.
“They’re distracted, it’s okay.”
Abi slowly raises onto her knees and scoots back until her back bumps one of the recliners. I scoot back with her.
She isn’t looking at me, her eyes are focused on the movie, but I can tell she isn’t watching it. She’s got a smile she’s trying to fight, and her cheeks are turning red.
She turns her head slightly my way. “You’re not so bad yourself.”
“I don’t wake up for a 5AM workout every morning to be ‘not bad’, sweetheart. I know you can do better than that.”
I’m just teasing her, but when she meets my gaze, embarrassment and arousal both swirling in her eyes, I want her to go on. I want her to tell me she finds me attractive, that she wants me. There’d be nothing to stop me from taking her upstairs and fucking her the way I should’ve been this whole time.
“You’re very good looking.”
I purse my lips and squint. “Mmm, nope. Not good enough.”
“Jesus, you are narcissistic.” Abi rolls her eyes, but her slight smile gives away that she doesn’t mean it. “You’re a stud. God’s gift to women. Your abs have abs, and you make me drool like a dog staring at a bone. Happy?”
I smile and lean in close, brushing my lips over her ears. I can feel her tense beneath me, still concerned about Zeke, I’m assuming. I like him. He’s a good kid, and it’s obvious he loves his mom. I don’t know what the situation with the dad is when it comes to him, but if he’s anything like I was at his age, he’d just want his mom to be happy.
And I think I can manage that.
“Come upstairs with me.”
Abi turns toward me, her brow furrowed.
I nod to the boys. “They’re entertained for at least another hour. More if you let them stay the night.”
She shakes her head. “We can’t stay. It wouldn’t—”
“Abi, look at your son.”
She stares at me another moment before moving her gaze to Zeke.
“He’s happy. He’s having a great birthday. You’re not doing him any favors making rules for yourself. Ask him if he’d like a sleepover and then give it to him. It’s that simple. There isn’t anything you need to protect him from right now.”
She stares at her son several more seconds, her fingers tapping the carpet. She blows out a breath and looks my way. “You’re very bossy, you know that?”
“You have no idea,” I whisper, my eyes dipping to cleavage and traveling to the exposed skin of her thighs.
When I raise my eyes, the ivory skin on her chest is flushed. Her nipples pebble beneath her bikini top. Her cheeks redden for about the fifth time since arriving here, and I wonder what it must be like to have your emotions on display like this. I like it. It makes her real, incapable of convincing me she doesn’t want this and incapable of manipulating me. Even the night shedidtechnically manipulate me, it was so obvious what she was feeling. Her nervousness, her arousal, her pleasure.
I didn’t know it at the time, but I think that’s why she was addictive to me, leaving me wanting more. She isn’t someone pretending to want me, none of what she does is an act. She’s real.
“I’m gonna go upstairs,” I say. “You can do whatever you want. Finish the movie and take Zeke home. Or stay.”
I press my lips to her ear and brush back her hair. “If you decide to stay, you know where to find me.”