“I’m starving, actually.”
“Great.” Her eyes narrow on me. “Kids, why don’t you go watch some Scooby?”
“But I’m helping with the s’ghetti,” Kelsey points out. “It’s my job today.”
“It just has to cook for a while,” Tash replies. “Go ahead and take a break. I’ll let you know when it’s time to stir again.”
The kids run for the living room, leaving us alone, so I pull her to me and kiss the hell out of her.
And just like that, I feel better.
“Hey,” I whisper.
“Hi there.” She leans her cheek on my chest. “I’m glad you came by. I was going to call you later.”
“I tried to get time to call you, but that fire was a mess.” I sigh and hug her close. “One of the worst I’ve seen.”
“Is everyone okay?”
“The humans are,” is all I’ll say. She doesn’t need to hear about what happened to the animals. “Lost some buildings and crops. It helped that it cooled down so much last night, and the rain started early this morning.”
“I’m glad. Do you get a couple of days off now to rest?”
“Three,” I confirm. “I plan to sleep at least one of those.”
“I don’t blame you. I’ll get you fed so you can get home to bed.” I frown, and she tilts her head to the side.
“What is it?”
“I thought I might bunk here. Stay with you and the kiddos. You’ve been with them for a few days all by yourself. And, honestly, I missed all of you.”
Natasha wraps her arms around me again and presses herself to me in a gentle hug.
“You’re definitely welcome to stay. In fact, I have something to show you. Come on.” She takes my hand and leads me through the living room, catching the kids’ attention.
“Are you showing him?” Kelsey asks and bounces to her feet to follow us.
“Sure am,” Tash replies as she opens a door and steps inside. “Ta-da!”
It’s her third bedroom, all cleaned up, with a queen bed and a dresser.
“What happened to all of your stuff?”
“I cleaned it out.” She smooths the navy blue comforter on the bed. “I got rid of some of it, stored the rest, neatly, in the garage. I figured with the kids here and everything, you might want to stay sometimes. And my couch isn’t the most comfortable for sleeping.”
I narrow my eyes and reach for her hand.
But she pulls away when the kids both walk into the room.
I don’t like that. I don’t like it at all.
Before I can say something, Kelsey slips her little hand into mine and smiles sweetly. “Do you like it?”
“It’s great.”
“We helped,” Kevin announces. “We each earned a dollar, too.”
“Good job.” I give him a fist bump, and then the twins are off again, hurrying out to finish watching their show. I focus all of my attention on Tash and watch as she bites her lower lip.
I want to tease those lips. And every other part of her, now that I think about it.
“I’m not sleeping in here,” I inform her.
“You don’t like it?”
“I like it fine, but why in the hell would I crash in here when I can lie next to you all night?”
Her cheeks flush with pleasure, but she shakes her head. “We have kids here, Sam. They’re only five, and their parents just died. They’re not ready for us to start acting like a couple.”
I want to push. I want to put my foot down and tell her that she’s dead wrong.
“Even we don’t know for sure what’s going on here,” she continues. “I don’t want to confuse them. So, for now, this is your room. That doesn’t mean that it’s forever.”
“It’s definitely not forever.” I lean in and kiss her forehead. “But if this is how you want to do things, I’ll be good.”
“Thank you.”
“Does this mean I can bring my bag in from outside?”
“You packed a bag?”
“Yeah. I’d like to hang out here, whenever possible.”
“I’d like that, too.” I frame her face in my hands and lower my lips to hers. Her skin is soft, and the little moan in the back of her throat is enough to make a man sit up and beg.
Before I can take it deeper, she plants her hand on my chest.
“I need to finish dinner.”
“Yeah.” I kiss her forehead and back away. “Do I have time for a shower?”
“Sure. Help yourself. Dinner should be ready in about fifteen minutes.”
She saunters out of the room, and I follow behind, enjoying the way her ass sways back and forth in those jeans.
Thinking about her nonstop while I should be doing my job probably isn’t the smartest idea, but I can’t get her out of my mind. It’s like she’s permanently stuck there, front and center, in my brain. Everything reminds me of her. The minute I shift my focus to something else, she pops right back in again.