Page 80 of Starcrossed Colorado

I squeezed her hip. “WhatIwant is for every other guy in town to know you’re taken.”

“That won’t be an issue.”

I hummed. “Good.” My hand wandered down to massage her bare thigh. “How much time do we have?”

“Not enough for whatever you’re thinking.”

“Not fair,” I grumbled. If I didn’t get this woman naked soon, I might explode. But I didn’t want a quickie with her. Emma meant a lot more to me than that.

She deserved to be wooed first.

“Will you go out with me tonight? I’m thinking you, me, Maisie, and Stella.”

“The four of us? I’m in. Where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise.” Which I hadn’t planned yet, since I’d just come up with this.

“I can’t wait.”

“Me too.”

I was not usually a spontaneous guy. At least, I hadn’t been for a long, long time. Being responsible, holding up every aspect of my life so it didn’t cave in around me, didn’t lead to spontaneity. But she made me want to try something new. Made me want to grab onto the parts of life I’d been missing and just hold on for as long as I could.

“Daddy, Emma, can Stella splash in the creek? She really wants to.”

“Not here, monkey. The current is too strong. Just wait.”

My daughter pouted. I had no idea where she’d gotten that impatience, because I had the patience of a saint. Felt like it today, anyway.

I’d packed some snacks and water, dressed Maisie in her hiking gear, and knocked on Emma’s door at four sharp this afternoon. My mouth had watered as soon as she’d appeared. Long, dark hair back in a braid, snug cropped shirt, and high-waisted hiking pants. Even a touch of gloss on those sexy full lips.

I’d figured a hike was a good bet for a first official date. Especially on a trail that showed off Silver Ridge to the highest degree. We’d walked up a series of shallow switchbacks to a panoramic vista, then descended into a valley full of wildflowers with an oxbow creek. Now that we were on flatter ground, Maisie took Stella’s leash, and the two of them ran ahead. Stella’s tongue lolled to the side, shaggy fur flying.

Most trails around Silver Ridge were busy with hikers every summer, but we’d gotten lucky, probably because there was an art festival in the square today. One of the endless number of festivals going on during July and August.

But out here, we had the trail and this secluded valley to ourselves. This was exactly what I wanted right now. The three of us—make that four of us—just being together without anyone else interfering or commenting.

Since Maisie wasn’t watching, I reached for Emma’s hand. “Those two are having a great time.”

“So am I.” She glanced at me coyly, eyelids heavy. “I want you to know. After the drama with my ex, I got tested. All negative. I haven’t been with anyone else since. And birth control is taken care of.”

Just like that, a fire lit in my belly like a furnace roaring to life. “I’m negative too.” I tugged her closer, putting my arm around her waist and enjoying the contact with her bare skin.I would rather be licking it, but for the moment, this was good enough. “I’m kind of dying here,” I murmured.

Emma’s hand sneaked back to grab my ass through my hiking pants. “Same here. I want to know what you feel like and taste like. How you sound when I’ve got my mouth on certain parts of you.”

The sound I made was far from dignified. I took my metal water bottle from my pack for a drink of water, just to cool off a little. “I’m not just dying. You’re killing me.”

She laughed, teeth digging into her lower lip.

We reached a calmer stretch of the creek with a shallow portion where Maisie could safely get her feet wet. Stella charged right in, splashing in the icy-cold water. It was snowmelt down from the mountains, so it was always frigid, even in summer.

After I helped Maisie get her boots and socks off, she tip-toed in and bent to examine the river rocks beneath her feet.

“Don’t go past that boulder there,” I said, pointing.

“Okay!”

Emma and I sat on a large flat rock by the bank. I’d worn a baseball cap. I took it off and put it on backward, then leaned in and whispered, “I want to know what you taste like, too. Every part of you. I want to bury my face between your legs and feel your thighs squeezing me while I drive you wild with my tongue.”

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