Love After Dark (10 page)

Hope’s need seemed to match his, and she met every thrust of his tongue with her own, driving him slowly crazy. They got so caught up in the kiss that they nearly fell off the back steps, laughing at the near miss. When they broke the kiss, the sound of heavy breathing filled the night air.

Paul found her hand in the darkness. “Come inside for a little while.”

“What about Jenny and Alex?”

“When they said they had stuff to do at the house, they meant each other.”

Hope sputtered with laughter. “How do you know that?”

“Because it’s gotten a lot ‘quieter’ around here since the carpet went in over there.”

“That’s too funny.”

“They’re not coming back here tonight. The coast is clear…”

“Are you sure this is a good idea?”

“No,” he said, laughing, “I’m not sure of that at all, but I’m sure that it feels great to kiss you, and I don’t want to stop. Not yet.”

“I’m afraid…”

“Of what? Not me…”

“No, not you, but if this, whatever this is between us… If it goes bad, my job…”

“I promise you that no matter what happens or doesn’t happen between us, it will never,
ever
impact your job. You have my word on that.”

“What is happening between us?”

“I don’t know, but I’m looking forward to finding out. Are you?”

“Yeah,” she said softly.

He stood and gave her hand a gentle tug. “Come inside.”

She stood and let him lead her indoors, where he faced a decision—the sofa or his room? Because he couldn’t be entirely sure that Jenny and Alex were gone for the night, he took a left down the hallway to his room, where the rising moon provided a faint hint of light through the open windows.

“Paul,” she whispered, hesitating. “We shouldn’t…”

He closed the door and put his arm around her waist, bringing her in close to him. “Just this,” he said as he kissed her. “Nothing more.”

Her arms encircled his neck and her body pressed tightly to his, making him want much more than her enthusiastic kisses. They stood there like that, in the dark room, for a long time, kissing like two people who’d been starving until they found each other.

Paul walked her backward to his bed and came down on top of her, making her gasp from the press of his erection against her center.

Her fingers tightened in his hair as she dragged him into another kiss.

He wanted to touch her everywhere, to explore the curves that had captured his attention from the first time he met her. However, he kept his hands flat against her back, because he’d promised they wouldn’t go any further. That promise wasn’t easy to keep, however. Now that he’d had another taste of her, he wanted so much more. He broke the kiss and moved to her neck, where he kissed and licked the sensitive skin there, making her arch into him in silent demand.
 

Her hands moved down his back, finding the hem of his shirt and then sliding underneath.

Paul trembled from her touch, his desire for her exploding the instant her skin brushed against his. As much as it pained him to stop, he pulled back from her, mindful of his promise not to take advantage of the opportunity she’d given him. But God, he wanted to.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Nothing.”

“Why did you stop?”

“Because if I don’t, I won’t be able to.”

She slid her hand from his back to his stomach and then up to touch his chest.

Paul forced himself to stay perfectly still, afraid that if he so much as uttered a sound, she might remember all the reasons this wasn’t such a great idea.
 

“Touch me, Paul.”

He closed his eyes and summoned the control he needed to go slow, to give her tenderness rather than the desperate need that every stroke of her hand was building in him. Beginning with her bare arm, he ran his fingertips over her soft skin, causing an outbreak of goose bumps that made him smile. Returning to her shoulder, he eased the strap of her tank down, kissing the length of her collarbone.

She squirmed under him, pushing against his erection and nearly making him forget all about going slow. He wanted to strip her naked and lose himself in her warm sweetness right now.
 

“I’m having highly indecent thoughts, and all of them involve you,” he said.

“Right there with you.”

He tugged on her top. “Could we maybe take this off?”

“Only if we take this off, too.” She smoothed her hands up his back and took his shirt with her.

“Deal.” He lifted her tank up and over her head and was shocked to discover she was bare beneath it. “Hope… You’re so beautiful.”

She pulled on his shirt, and he helped her remove it, then rolled to his side, bringing her with him.
 

He could think of no way to adequately describe the thrill that traveled through him when her breasts pressed against his chest. Recapturing her lips, he kissed her again, more intently this time around, his tongue exploring every sweet corner of her mouth.

Hope squirmed in his arms, trying to get closer, or so it seemed to him. “This is crazy,” she whispered between kisses. “We shouldn’t be doing this.”

“Why not?” He cupped her breast and teased her nipple with his thumb until it was hard and tight.
 

“I, um… There’s a reason we shouldn’t, but I can’t think of it when you’re doing that.”

“How about when I do this?” He eased her onto her back and took the same nipple into his mouth, running his tongue back and forth over the tip before sucking on it.
 

She grabbed a handful of his hair and held on so tightly that he winced from the pleasurable pain. Her legs shifted restlessly, so he grasped her thighs and pulled them up around his hips without letting up on her nipple. The heat of her arousal pressed against his cock, making him want so much more.

He switched his attention to the other side, teasing her nipple with his tongue, lips and teeth as she arched rhythmically against him.
 

“Don’t stop,” she whispered in a tone he’d never heard from her before. It was needy and desperate and incredibly sexy.

Paul pushed harder against her, torturing himself as he gave her what she wanted and needed.
 

And then she released a keening moan and tightened her legs around his hips.

He wanted so badly to go with her, but he held back, giving her his full focus and attention, until she relaxed into the mattress, breathing hard.
 

“That,” she said, “has never happened before.”

Inordinately pleased to know he’d given her a new experience, he teased her parted lips and fell into another passionate kiss.

Her hands moved from his chest to his stomach and down to his shorts, which she unbuttoned and unzipped before his brain could catch up with what was happening.
 

“Hope…” His brain shut down completely when she wrapped her hand around his erection and began to stroke him.

“Definitely shouldn’t be doing this.”

“No, you should. You really should.”

Her laughter made him smile, even as he tried to hold back the orgasm that had wanted out from the second her bare breasts touched his chest.
 

He closed his eyes and gave himself over to the incredible high of being with her this way. The heat of her hand and the pleasure of her gentle yet firm touch made for the perfect combination. Paul groaned as he came, his fingers digging into her hips to keep her close to him.

She kissed him softly and sweetly.

He opened his eyes to find her watching him. “I made a mess of you.”

“I don’t mind.”

“Let me get a towel. I’ll be right back.” He kissed her again and disentangled their limbs so he could get up, tugging his shorts back up as he went. The bathroom was across the hall, so he opened the door and looked both ways before leaving the bedroom. He returned with a towel that he used to wipe up her belly and chest.

“I should go and let you sleep,” she said, looking shy all of a sudden despite what they’d done.

Paul dropped the towel on the floor and snuggled up to her, unwilling to let her go just yet. “Or you could stay awhile longer. It’s only midnight.”

“It’s weird to not have Ethan at home for a night, but I’m glad he’s made such good new friends so quickly.”

“I’m glad for him and for you, because you deserve a break every now and then.”

“I guess, but it still feels weird to have him sleeping somewhere else.”

This would be a great time to ask about the boy’s father, but Paul couldn’t bring himself to bring her past into their very lovely present. He dragged his fingertips over her flat belly, which quivered under his touch.
 

“Please tell me we aren’t making a huge mistake here, Paul.”

“Doesn’t feel like a mistake to me,” he said, though his conscience was still troubled because his father would disapprove of what he was doing with her. “I’m too busy feeling great to think about all the reasons why it might not be a good idea.”

“I don’t do things like this.”

“Like what?”

“Fool around with my boss, for one thing.”

“I’d like to think this situation is a little different than your typical work environment. I’d like to think we’ve become friends over the last few intense weeks with my mom. I’d like to think we’re both adults who can handle whatever complication something like this is sure to cause at some point.”

“You say that as if you’re certain it will.”

“It will,” he said, sighing. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to see where it goes. As long as you do, too.”

“I’ve had a crush on you from the first time I saw you with your mom and how amazingly patient you are with her.”

“Is that right?” he asked, amused and touched by her confession.

“Uh-huh.”

“Well, I suppose it’s only fair that I confess to having had a crush myself after watching you in action with Mom and Ethan. You’re so good with both of them, not to mention sexy as all hell.”

“I am not.”

He cupped her breast and kissed her. “Yes, you are. That skirt you wear?”

“What skirt?”

“The denim one.”

“That skirt is a thousand years old!”

“Maybe so, but it does amazing things for your sexy ass.” He ran his hand down her back to give her bottom a squeeze. “I might’ve once had a highly inappropriate thought about my mother’s nurse wearing that skirt, without underwear, while I take her from behind.”

“I never knew you had such a vivid imagination.”

“Are you appalled?”

“Quite the opposite, in fact. You’ve got my imagination running wild now, too.”

Paul laughed at her frank reply and pulled her in closer, keeping her tucked up against him.
 

“I really ought to go home.”

“Stay.”

“I shouldn’t.”

“Yes, you should.” As he drifted off to sleep, he tightened his hold on her so she couldn’t get away.
 

Chapter 7

A sniffling whimper woke Seamus from a light sleep. He’d been on alert since the boys went to bed hours earlier, but now he sat up in bed, listening intently. Hearing it again, he disentangled himself from Caro without waking her and went into the room across the hall, where the boys were sleeping.

Another sniffle led him to Kyle’s bed. “Hey, pal,” he whispered.

Kyle turned his face into the pillow, as if he didn’t want to be caught crying.

Seamus rubbed the little boy’s back. “I’m sad, too, you know?” He spoke softly, hoping he wouldn’t wake Jackson. “Maybe you could come and sit with me for a while and we can be sad together. What do you think?”

He continued to rub Kyle’s back, giving the child a minute to decide if he wanted comfort or if he preferred to be left alone.

Slowly, Kyle turned over and held out his arms to Seamus.
 

His heart ached as he scooped up Kyle and carried him out of the room, closing the door behind him. He went into the living room and sat in Caro’s rocking chair with Kyle’s head resting on his shoulder. For a long time, they were quiet, with only the gentle sway of the rocker breaking the silence.