Clearly, he didn’t believe her, and the wisest thing to do would be for her to send him home. Or make him go get a hotel room. She pointed to the sofa. “That folds out.”
She expected him to argue. To charm her. To kiss her until she gave in and shared her bed. Instead, he grinned as if he’d just gotten his way.
“See you in the morning.”
Chapter Fourteen
Any Man of Mine:
Recognizes the Need for Speed
Sam stood at the kitchen counter and lowered a couple of whole-grain waffles into the toaster. The previous night’s storm had blown over, and the bright morning sun poured in through the windows.
“Mom makes pancakes that look like hearts.” Conner knelt in a chair by his side, waiting for the waffles to pop up.
“You told me, but you shouldn’t tel anyone else.”
“Why?”
“ ’Cause some guys at school might not understand heart pancakes and think you’re a sissy. You don’t want to get your butt kicked.” He put his hand on Conner’s head and ruffled his fine hair. Sam had risen with the sun pouring in through the windows and had already jogged five miles on the beach. He’d needed to clear his head. To think about the last two days. About Thanksgiving and last night. Had he been bored?
Yes. The Chinooks were on the road, and he was dying to get back in the game, but that wasn’t the real reason. He could tel himself that it was about Conner. That he wanted to spend more time with his son before he was cleared to play. And that was true. He did want to spend as much time as possible with Conner before he left again, sometimes for weeks at a time, but Conner wasn’t the only reason. And if Sam was honest with himself, he’d admit that his son wasn’t the reason he’d jumped in his truck last night and driven through a storm. It was Autumn and the hot compulsion he felt whenever he was around her. The percolating memory of a few days in Vegas and not getting enough.
He’d arrived on her porch last night, rain beating on his shoulders and running down his face, staring at the door. Hot compulsio
n and percolating memory churning in his gut. He’d stared at the door, a tangle of confusion and desire. For the first time in a very long time, uncertain about a woman. Uncertain whether she’d let him in or slam the door in his face. Uncertain whether she’d let him touch her al over with his hands and mouth. Uncertain if she’d get naked and let him do something about the hard-on she’d given him the night before. Sam had had a lot of sex in his life. A lot of sex with a lot of different women, but he’d never had sex like that. Autumn had been so hot and turned on. So wild in a way that had nothing to do with whips and handcuffs and naughty outfits but everything to do with how much she wanted him. She hadn’t been faking it. Hadn’t been trying to impress him or play games. She’d wanted him. Maybe it was just because she hadn’t had sex in over five years. Maybe not. Either way, he wanted more.
A lot more.
Earlier, when he’d returned from his jog, he’d found Conner watching cartoons in the middle of the fold-out.
“Dad?” Some sort of long blue fruit snack had been hanging from one side of Conner’s mouth. “You’re on vacation, too?”
Sam had brushed the forearm of his sweatshirt over his sweaty forehead. “Yep. Is your mom up?”
Conner chewed, and the blue snack slipped up his chin. “Not yet.”
“What are you eating?” he’d asked.
“Fruit By The Foot. Want some?”
“No.” He’d checked the cupboard and was surprised that there wasn’t any real food. Just coffee, some milk, and kid snacks. “Get dressed, and we’l go get some real food.” It took them about twenty minutes of driving to find a strange little market that smel ed like a weird combo of fish and kettle corn.
“Get a few plates down,” Sam said as he slid his hand down Conner’s back.
Conner climbed up on the counter and opened a cupboard. “I saw a slug yesterday. Yuck. I hate slugs.”
“I smel waffles,” Autumn said from the bottom of the stairs. “This is a ‘no cooking’ vacation. Where did you guys get breakfast stuff?”
Sam looked over his shoulder at Autumn, moving toward the end of the counter in her dried wiener-dog pajamas, and his throat got a little tight. He’d seen a lot of naughty lingerie in his life, for some reason, the wiener dog was hot as hel . Maybe it had something to do with the memory of her cold wet breasts the night before.
Conner peeked around the cupboard door. “Mom, Dad’s here,” he announced. Like she hadn’t known that. Like she hadn’t jumped on top of him last night.
“I can see that.”
“We found a little store while you slept.” Sam pointed to the toaster. “Up for some waffles?”
She raked her fingers through her hair and pushed it behind her ears. “Coffee first.” Her bare feet moved across the kitchen floor, and she grabbed a mug above the coffeemaker. Morning light poured in through the windows and caught in strands of her red hair.