Page 35 of Something Reckless

EASTON

J agger and I are in my car, playing I Spy as we wait to pick Alba up from work.

I’ve had my son with me all day, wanting to give Alba’s mom, Patty, some time to herself. Jagger and I have happily spent the past few hours together, hanging out, running errands, and just doing guy stuff.

Even still, we made sure to squeeze in a lot of studying and reading for our upcoming father-son reading challenge at the library.I’ve never been so serious about learning new things. Anything to make sure Jagger and I kick ass in our first big activity together.

My boy is nerdy as hell, and I’m here for it. I’ll support him in every way. If I have anything to say about it, Jagger will be strong and smart and happy and loved.

More than anything, he will be loved.

Ever since finding out that he exists, that’s been my number one goal. Making sure he knows how much I care about him. Ensuring that he doesn’t feel invisible like I did growing up. Ensuring that he knows he matters to me .

When Alba climbs into my car after a long day at work, she’s wearing the biggest smile.

“Knock, knock!” Jagger yells as soon as the car door closes.

I turn around, chuckling. “Whoa, Buddy! At least let the lady fasten her seatbelt before you’re hitting her up with knock-knock jokes!”

Giggling, Alba reaches into the back seat to ruffle the little boy’s head. She gasps when she sees a whole bunch of new books piled on the seat next to Jagger.

“Easton, you took him shopping? Again?”

I smirk. “Yup. And we got you something, too.”

“You did?” she asks, looking both surprised and suspicious at once.

“Yup.” I hand Alba her present before putting the car in ‘drive’ and pulling out of the parking lot.

Her hand covers her heart when she digs into the gift bag and sees what we got her.

“Easton…” she breathes, staring at the box in awe. “An e-reader?”

Her eyes instantly get glassy and I know I’ve hit the jackpot.

“Do you like it?” Jagger demands excitedly from his seat.

“I love it…” she says, flipping the package over and opening it carefully. Twisting in her seat, her gaze bounces between Jagger and me as she clutches the device to her chest. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”

I’m beaming like a little kid when she smiles at me. “I knew you’d like it,” I say. “Jagger agreed. So we just had to get it.”

I’ve noticed that she always has a book peeking out the top of her purse, and there’s always a random romance novel tossed on her kitchen counter.

The cutesy illustrated covers often look innocent enough, but I stole a peek at the pages of one of her books once, and the heat was enough to blow my freaking hair back.

“Well, thank you for thinking of me,” she says, sounding so heartfelt it makes my chest hurt.

Wow—this woman needs to be loved. Correctly. Because there’s no way that small gestures like this should make her so emotional.

We drive across town to Alba’s home, and I’m hit with a sudden realization.

She needs love. Real love.

Not just a man who will come in and check off her sexual fantasies one by one like it’s just another grocery list. Not some guy who will take advantage of her body, without taking care of her heart when all the toe-curling orgasms are over with.

She needs love.

And I can’t be the one to give her that.

Because I’m only in town for a short time. Because she and I could very likely end up in a custody battle over Jagger. Because I’m her sister’s baby daddy, for crying out loud.

I can’t be the man to love her. And this sex wishlist thing is suddenly starting to feel like a not-so-great idea.

All of a sudden, I want to reconsider this whole thing. Maybe it’s all moving too fast for Alba. I don’t want to push her into something she’s not comfortable with.

Or maybe it’s me.

Maybe I’m the one who’s having second thoughts. Maybe I’m the one who’s going to get too attached. Maybe I’m the one who’ll get hurt.

But that’s just ridiculous. That’s ridiculous, right?

Pushing the worry aside, I pull up in the yard and help Jagger and Alba get their stuff out of the car and up the stairs. “You guys have a good night now,” I say awkwardly from the front porch, seeing if I can make an easy escape.

Alba laughs, eyeballing me over her shoulder. “Don’t you even think about it,” she says in that bossy tone I’ve come to like so much. She’s wearing a sexy smirk, and somehow that makes me even more nervous.

I swallow hard, when she jerks me inside by the hem of my T-shirt and kicks the door closed with her foot. “Yes, ma’am.”

I know exactly what I promised her last night. I told her we’d start her sexy exploration lessons today. And I meant it. Then .

But right now, I’m sort of chickening out.

“How about dinner and a movie? A PG-movie.” I add when she gives me another lustful stare as she leads the way to the kitchen.

“Be quiet and look pretty, Easton. And stop trying to worm your way out of this.” She knows exactly what I’m doing, but I doubt she has a clue how fucking scared I am.

After checking out the fridge and pantry, Alba and I agree that it’s too late to cook anything, so I order some takeout. When the food arrives, the three of us eat in front of the TV.

By the end of the movie, Jagger is out cold and snoring softly, his head resting on my ribs and his feet in Alba’s lap. “I’m going to put him to bed,” I whisper to her.

She gives me a nod, and then I carefully scoop up Jagger and carry him to his room. I place him in bed just as slowly, kiss him on the head, and then stare down at him for a minute.

I can’t wait for more days like today , I think to myself .

When I finally turn around to exit his bedroom, Alba is right there. Like, right there .

I have to press myself against the wall to keep from rubbing up against her heaving chest. The house is dark and quiet now, with the two of us standing here in the hallway. It’s making me want all sorts of things I shouldn’t want.

I’ve always been attracted to Alba, but right now, the sexual tension crackling between us is making it hard to breathe.

“Want to sit outside with me?” I ask, breaking the thick silence.

A smile begins to form at the corners of her lips. “Will there be dessert?”

“Of course there will be dessert.” I chuckle nervously, heading toward the kitchen. There’s definitely some innuendo in her words, but I choose to keep that door closed a little while longer.

This time, I ordered a large slice of frosted cherry cake to go with our dinner. I snatch it off the counter, while Alba snatches the forks from the drawer.

We make our way outside and get comfortable on the porch, sitting in our usual spots.

“So, yesterday…” Alba says eagerly, as soon as she’s swallowed her first bite of cake. “You promised me…things.”

My cock twitches. Fuck.

Alba Anderson clearly didn’t forget the conversation we had last night. I’m not sure why I was hoping she might have.

“I did,” I say, then I take my time to chew my next bite. “But I shouldn’t have been so demanding. Are you sure you want to go through with this? We don’t have to go through with anything if you don’t feel comfortable.”

She glances up at me, eyes shining as she pauses to clear her throat. “I want this. I do,” she says, all breathy. “I was thinking about it, and well, you’re the only man I’ve ever felt comfortable with in that way.”

“Hmm,” I hum, my brain going into overdrive.

That sounds sweet and all, but suddenly, I’m not so sure it’s actually a good thing. If every other man makes Alba nervous and I don’t, then she’s really not attracted to me like that.

Why do I even care? A lot of women would love to be with me. But right about now, it sure feels like Alba’s the only woman I actually want.

“Easton, I want to do this,” she insists, her eyes shining at me in the dark.

“Okay,” I say, somewhat reluctantly. “But if we do this, there have to be rules.”

Alba nods eagerly. “Yeah. Rules. Definitely.”

We spend the next few minutes laying down the ground rules for our unusual arrangement.

“Remember—Jagger comes first. He’s the priority,” she says.

I nod. “We put an end to things immediately if this starts to affect him in any way.”

Her head bobs in agreement. “And no physical affection in front of him.”

“Right. So we don’t put ideas in his head or confuse him.”

She chews on the corner of her lip, then says, “And it goes without saying, no falling in love.”

“Of course.” I swallow. “No falling in love.”

Alba gives a stiff smile. “Sounds easy enough.”

“Anything else?” I ask.

She thinks for a moment. “Uh. I don’t think so?”

I nod.

She nods back.

It seems that once we’ve decided on the rules, things are now quiet and awkward between us. The cake is long gone, and we just sit there under the moonlight, avoiding eye contact.

“So do we, uh…start?” Alba asks after a lengthy silence.

I tap my foot, realizing I don’t actually know what to do next. Just because I’m more experienced than she is in the bedroom doesn’t mean I’ve done this before.

I try to buy myself some time. “You should never give up the goods to a guy without making him work for it a little,” I scold her.

She lets out a snort. “Work for it? I don’t even understand what that means.”

“Okay. We’re role playing, Tiny Tiger,” I whisper conspiratorially by her ear. “I’m some guy you just met, trying to get into your pants. Make me work for it.”

She blinks innocently. “How?”

I rise to my feet, acting casual and hoping my erection isn’t too obvious. “By making me take you on a date, silly.” I tap the tip of her nose. “Tomorrow night. Are you free?”

She nods, a glorious smile unfolding across her face. “Yes, actually. My real estate exam got rescheduled.”

“Good. Get a babysitter, and get dressed up. I’m taking you out to dinner.” Then I head down the stairs.