Page 40 of Something Reckless

ALBA

M y heart jumps into my throat at the loud knock at the door. I know who it is even before Jagger sprints toward the door.

“It’s Dad! I’ll let him in!” the little boy yells, before unlocking the deadbolt.

“Just be sure to check the…” Peephole . The word dies on my lips as I hustle behind him, drying my hands with a dishtowel.

Jagger has already opened the door and jumped into Easton’s arms. “Dad!”

“Hey, my man.” Easton swings him around, laughing at the big, warm welcome he’s received. “Boy. This is the best feeling in the world, coming home to all this love.”

“Better than hockey?” Jagger asks, eyes wide, as the tower of a man sets him back on his feet.

“Even better than the championship cup,” Easton responds in a loud whisper, making the little boy beam with importance.

Easton meets my eyes over the top of Jagger’s head and sends me a wink. I shake my head at him, but my attempts to fight back a grin fail miserably.

“I brought you something,” he says to Jagger, handing him a medium-sized box from The Broken Cupcake Bakery.

Jagger gasps, his face lighting up. “Cupcakes?!”

“Is it okay for him to have one?” Easton asks me.

“Sure,” I answer with a nod.“But dinner first.”

The three of us sit down together at the table and eat the meal I prepared. It’s not even an awkward ordeal, trying to figure out whether Easton’s going to join us anymore. If he’s around, and I’m off work, we all usually eat dinner together. Simple as that.

After we’re finished, Jagger nibbles on his cupcake, “savoring it,” he says. Easton tells him all about his trip to Sin Valley.

I’m trying to listen, but I’m too busy struggling not to blush every time Easton looks my way. The only thing on my mind is the spicy wishlist that’s burning a hole in my pocket. We’ve talked about it a bunch, but I find myself wondering when we’re going to actually get started on that.

After Jagger is full of dessert and tucked into bed, Easton and I sit on the front porch, sharing our own cupcake.

It’s quiet out here in the dark summer night, especially with the old oak tree cocooning us from the world.

I pretend to focus fully on my half of the cupcake, using it as a sweet distraction.

Easton is the one to break the silence. “So…did you finally finish your homework?”

There’s an edge to his voice—much like his bossy tone on the phone last night—that makes me shiver.

“Umm. Maybe,” I hedge, pulling my usual blanket around my shoulders .

“Let’s hear it.”He cuts to the chase.

I bite down on my lip, face heating up once more. “Do I have to? I have it written down. You could just read it.”

He shakes his head. “Wishes have to be spoken out loud if you want your genie to grant them.”

I sigh, pulling the paper out of the pocket of the loose summer dress I’m wearing and unfolding it. I take my time, trying to stall, but when I glance up at Easton, he’s staring back at me with patience and understanding and lust . So much lust.

His hungry gaze gives me the courage to do this.

“Fine. Okay. Number one is: I want us to read a scene from one of my favorite books together.”

His eyebrow hikes upward. “Do I get to know what the scene is?”

“Um. I’ll give you some books to choose from,” I mumble, refusing to look up at his expression. “Hold on. Let me grab a few now.”

I get up and quietly hustle through the house, nabbing a few of my favorite novels off of the small bookshelf beside my bed.

I hand the pile of novels off to Easton. I watch a wave of red rush up his neck as he flips through the pages of one of the dogeared copies. “The playboy mechanic did what with the hitchhiking waitress he picked up on the side of the road?!”

Laughing, I snatch the book from his hand, close it and set it aside with the rest. “Not now.” I push forward. “Number two. Making out on the front porch.”

Easton’s nostrils twitch as he fights back a smile. “Got it. What else?”

“Three. A full body massage that ends with head to toe kisses. ”

“That’s a good one,” he says, and I swear his voice just got deeper. “Go on.”

I lick my lips and carry onward. “Four. A candlelit bubble bath.”

“Alone?”

I quickly shake my head. “No. With…you.”

Easton lights my body on fire as his gaze burns through me.“Okay. Anything else?”

“Dancing. At a nightclub. Not at a local dive bar. A real nightclub.”

“I can make that happen,” he says with a confident nod.

I list out a dozen sexy fantasies, holding my breath for the one that will finally make Easton run. But he doesn’t even flinch. He simply promises to make each and every one come true.

“The last one is a little over the top, and if you’re not onboard I understand, but…”

“Tell me, Alba,” he requests.

“Number thirteen is: A weekend getaway. Well, a naked weekend getaway. Just you and me.”

I glance up to find a smile teasing Easton’s lips. He’s nodding as though he’s impressed with my wishlist.

“Good work,” he mumbles, his eyes lingering on my lips as I lick them again. “Is that it?” he asks me.

“Y-yes.” I nod.

But that’s not the truth. There’s the one thing I wasn’t brave enough to write on my wishlist. The one thing I want the most.

I want to hear the words ‘I love you’ from a man who truly means it. I want to be able to say it back.

But I don’t think that’s what Easton had in mind when he tasked me with writing this wishlist, and I know better than to even bring it up. Because sure—things have been heating up between us over the past few weeks. Yet, I can’t let myself stray too far from reality.

Easton is still my nephew’s father. No amount of spicy wishlists is going to change that. And I wouldn’t want it to.

Building a sustainable relationship with Jagger is Easton’s priority. If he can squeeze in a little time for some fleeting fun with me, that’s just a bonus.

“You get to pick one fantasy tonight,” he says, making my stomach do a flip. “What’s it going to be, Tiny Tiger?”

“Oh, umm.” I read back over my paper. “Making out on the front porch?”

“Well, that’s an easy one,” Easton answers, and before I can say another word, he’s taking my cheeks in his large hands.

He slants his mouth over mine.I don’t even hesitate—the second his lips make contact, I’m kissing him back.

“Mmm. Fuck…” he mumbles when my fingers rake into his hair. “Somebody’s eager tonight.”

“Shut up,” I respond, chuckling against his lips. “Shut up and keep kissing me.”

“Yes, ma’am.” His arms come around me and he drags me across the bench, pulling me closer.

My arms tangle around him, too, as his tongue sweeps along the seam of my mouth. When my lips part, he deepens the kiss, igniting tingles in the core of my belly.

He pushes at the strap of my camisole, allowing it to slide over the curve of my shoulder. Then, his lips continue their trail of exploration, coasting along my collarbone. I let out a hungry, little moan.

That’s when it hits me—my god—I’ve been craving this. Easton only left town for a day, and I missed him like crazy while he was gone. I spent the entire time trying to distract myself from thinking about him. But it was hopeless. My head was full of the thought of him.

What the hell am I getting myself into?

It’s fine, Alba. It’s just hormones. And maybe a tiny, little crush. Nothing you can’t handle, I try to console myself.

But there’s a niggling voice at the back of my mind, questioning whether I really can handle this thing I just signed up for.

What happens when Easton leaves town for good? How will I be okay then? And what about Jagger? What are Easton’s intentions for Jagger? Easton and I haven’t even figured that out. Will we end up in court, battling for custody? Will we end up hating each other when all is said and done?

I’m so distracted from the runaway train in my head that I don’t notice when Easton’s right hand slips beneath the blanket that’s draped over my lap. My thoughts snap back into focus when a big, rough hand gently grasps my thigh, traveling from my knee and moving upward. Oh god .

“Is this okay…?” Easton whispers. He’s pressing kisses behind my ear and down the length of my neck now.

I shift my hips, silently begging his hand to climb higher. “Yes,” I hear myself respond in a raspy voice that sounds unfamiliar. “Yes, it feels good.” I spread my legs a little wider, feeling the slickness that’s pooled at my core.

I want him to touch me. I want to feel his hands on me, in places no man has ever touched before. My whole body is trembling from the anticipation.

Easton’s fingers graze along the scalloped edge of my panties. The touch is feather-soft. The way you’d touch the petal of a flower. He’s in no rush at all. Meanwhile, I feel like I’m about to combust.

“Easton. Please,” I beg softly, my fingers clasping around his wrist and pushing his hand further between my legs .

He growls lightly. “You sure you want this? Here ?” He glances around the porch.

Aside from the dim streetlights, the neighborhood is shrouded in darkness on this starless night. Everything is perfectly still except for the slight sway of the leaves and the rhythmic chirps coming from the crickets in the grass.

“No one will see us…” I whisper back. The dense branches of the oak tree shield us from unwanted eyes.

Easton chuckles quietly, hooking my leg over his and pulling me closer. “So my girl wants to be bad tonight, huh?” His fingertips brush over my clit—finally—and excitement sparks in every nerve ending in my body. “Do you want to come for me, Alba?”

My breathing stutters. My fingers tighten around his wrist like I’m scared he might disappear.“Yes,” I groan, a little bit too loudly.

Easton drags his stubbly jaw along my bare shoulder and the friction almost drives me wild. “Shhh,” he whispers in a voice that’s wickedly dark. “You have to be quiet, Tiny Tiger. That’s my only rule.”

I nod, swallowing back the fractured sound that travels up my chest when Easton’s teeth softly nip at my throat.