She nods and looks down at her hands on the counter. Several minutes pass before she looks back at me.
“I was fourteen when I got pregnant with her. Fifteen when I had her.” She takes a step closer and lowers her voice even more. “She doesn’t know.” Her eyes plead with me to understand.
I hold back my surprise to her admitting it, but even more so to the age she gives me.
Grabbing her hand, I lay it over my chest. “I’m not going to tell her, Emberleigh. It’s not my business to say anything.”
She nods again, relief relaxing her features some.
“What happened?” I ask, because I know something did. I don’t know how I know, I just do.
She’s shaking her head before the question leaves my lips. “I can’t talk about this right now.”
Understanding now isn’t a good time, I jerk up my chin in acknowledgement. “Okay.”
Releasing her hand, I turn back and stir the contents in the mugs.
“Why did you come here tonight, Nathan?”
I look over. “I didn’t want to wait until Saturday to see you.”
She bites her lips. “You know we can’t….” She pauses. “With Avery here, we can’t have sex.”
I nod once. “I know, and I didn’t come here expecting that. I came because I wanted to watch a movie with you both. Nothing more.”
She turns and leans a hip against the counter. I mirror her stance.
“But why? You have to have more interesting things to do than hang out with Avery and me.”
Crossing my arms over my chest, I tell her the truth. “I don’t know. This is new for me. I’ve never wanted more than sex with a woman, but even standing here making hot chocolate and getting ready to eat popcorn while we watch a scary movie with Avery sounds a lot better to me than anything else I can think of.”
She smiles, and it fucks with my chest, sending a weird feeling to the center. Accepting my answer with a single nod, she turns and grabs both bowls of popcorn. “I’ll grab these, you get the hot chocolate.”
I watch her ass sway as she walks away, then maneuver all three mugs in my hands and follow her.
ChapterTwelve
Nathan
I HANG UP THE PHONE, EAGERNESS making my body tight with need. Everything is set, with ten minutes to spare before I’m due at her apartment.
Willow’s warning from the other day is coming back to bite me in the ass. It’s obvious that I want more from Emberleigh than just a good lay. Spending time with her and her daughter a couple of nights ago was way more than I imagined. I liked it. I liked it a lot. I enjoyed watching the two girls huddle together as Jack Nicholson tormented his family on the TV. I wanted them to huddle up next to me.
It kind of freaked me out at first, the need to be the one comforting them, but it quickly dissipated until it was all I could do to keep from hauling them both to my sides.
Avery is such a sweet kid, and she’s obviously close to her mother. I saw the love shining in Emberleigh’s eyes each time she looked at her, so I know her feelings for Avery run deep. Even though it isn’t my business to ask, I want to know the story behind Avery not knowing the truth, and hope one day Emberleigh will tell me.
It only takes me five minutes to leave my apartment and take the short walk over to Emberleigh’s. When she answers the door, I’m once again assaulted by an unimaginable amount of lust. My body’s never gone from soft to rock-solid so fast as it does when I’m around her.
I rake my eyes up and down her body, taking in the lime green sundress she has on. It stops midthigh, leaving most of her gorgeous tanned legs bare. The top portion dips down into a V, showcasing her cleavage in a mouthwatering display.
Her lips part when a growl slips past my lips. A sexy as fuck blush creeps up her cheeks, and it only makes me want her more.
“Jesus fucking Christ,” I mutter, then say more loudly, “What in the hell are you doing to me, woman?”
Before she has a chance to answer, not that there’s really an answer to my question, I walk forward so she has to take several steps back. Once I’m in the door, I slam it shut with my boot, snag an arm around her waist, and haul her to me. She lands against my chest with a squeak, then my lips
are on hers in a brutal kiss. I take her mouth like I want to take her body: hard and unforgivingly.