Jack practically falls into place, dragging a blanket over the three of us, just like old times. Chelsea giggles and snuggles deeper, wriggling like a baby rabbit in a nest.
“Superhero movie? Horror? Um… I think I have the new Avengers movie. Is Thor still your favorite?”
“He’s my secret boyfriend,” she nods avidly. “I’m not supposed to tell.”
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“I could take him,” Jack sniffs, extending his arm with the remote and flexing obviously.
“Secret boyfriend?” I have to ask, instantly breaking my promise to try to keep a lid on the boiling urge to get closer to her. “Like, so secret that he doesn’t even know?”
“Hey!” She giggles, twisting to nudge me gently in the ribs.
I flinch automatically, suddenly remembering that she makes me ticklish. I don’t want to be tickled right now. Not like that, anyway.
But instead, she twists around, half lying on me so she gets her face even with mine. My hands automatically close over the width of her hips as she gets into position, maybe because she thinks she’s going to say something smart, some jokey challenge.
But that’s not what’s going to happen. With her body lying over my body, her hair in silky tendrils teasing the skin of my jaw, her sweet open lips just inches away…
I hold her hips in my hand, angling her toward me, and before she can speak, I kiss her. My lips cover hers, drowning out her words, tasting her sweet breath and finally feeling those velvety, plush lips as they crush into mine.
To my surprise, she kisses me back.
Chapter 8
Chelsea
This is what I always wondered about.
I don’t know when I decided it, but sometime this afternoon I knew exactly how the rest of the day would go. I knew that it would become pointless to pretend anymore. Pointless to resist. I wasn’t going to be strong enough.
And I suppose it was maybe when Jack started building those towers out of blocks for Ned and Matthew to tromp through, Godzilla style, that I knew exactly what I wanted.
Him. Chance. Both of them.
My heart has been beating so fast all through dinner. I knew the moment was coming. I just didn’t know exactly when. And then Chance sat on the sofa next to me, thrillingly close. I could feel the rock-hard thigh muscles against mine as he slid to the back, and I automatically rolled up next to him. He put his arm around me, and I let him.
I’m done pretending. This is happening.
When Jack came back after putting the boys to bed and sat on the other side of me on the sofa, bracketing me just like when we used to snuggle and watch movies when we were kids, my chest gave a leap for joy. Perfect. Exactly where I want them to be. Exactly how I want them to be.
“Avengers movie?” Jack asks, his eyes serious and intense. I can tell that he feels it too.
I make a joke about Thor being my secret boyfriend, but really I’m just babbling. I’m just saying anything, hoping my thoughts will settle, hoping this earthquake between my ears will stop rumbling long enough for me to figure out what’s going on.
I sense an opportunity and turn around, eager to get closer to Chance. His eyes widen for just a moment, just that instant of revelation where he sees it all coming too. He knows.
Pressed against him, twisted so that my face is just a couple inches from his, I pause for a moment. His hands are on my hips, bringing me closer to his. I can feel his body pulse underneath mine, the strength in his hands as he holds me still against the rock-hard plank of his frame.
For a moment, time is suspended. His breath and my breath mingle in the centimeter that separates us.
But I can’t wait anymore. I’m going to kiss him. No matter what happens next, I have to. I have to do this.
I feel his breath puff out in surprise as our lips finally touch. His fingers dig against my ass cheeks as we brush tentatively for those first few magical strokes of connection. A kiss that has been years and years in the making.
Soon, the heat begins to build. I kiss him harder, excited to feel his lips separating, his mouth opening. He kisses me back, his tongue flickering lightly against the seam of my lips, prying my mouth open, exploring me.
Pangs of desire bolt through me, urging me to kiss him more deeply. He takes my breath away as he holds me tighter, slowly pulling me further onto his lap. I let my knees open and straddle him, wrapping my fingers behind his head as I sit across him, swirling my hips against his, finally feeling the heat between us that I always suspected was there.