Page 82 of Starcrossed Colorado

Once there, he lay her on her side on the soft grass. She kept coughing. Thank goodness she’d only been under the water for a second or two, and the current had been weak in that spot.

Ashford’s hands were steady as he checked his daughter over. But from the concern in his eyes, I could tell that he was shaken. “How you feeling, monkey?” He rubbed her arms to warm her up.

“My nose hurts. Water went in there. And in my mouth. I was scared.”

“I know you were. I would be too. But Emma grabbed you, didn’t she?” Ashford looked gratefully at me.

“I just got there half a second before your dad.”

“Thank you, Emma.” Maisie reached out to hug me. I returned the embrace. Poor thing was soaked and shivering. Stella edged in and gave Maisie kisses to help warm her up too. In no time, the little girl was giggling again.

But Ashford didn’t seem the same. Like a dark cloud had descended over his mood.

I took his backpack, and he carried Maisie all the way back to the car.

When we got home, I toed off my damp shoes. Maisie bounded off to her room to change, though our clothes had mostly dried. Stella followed. Ashford stopped in the kitchen and braced his hands against the counter, taking a breath.

“You okay?” I rubbed my hand over the thick muscles of his back.

“I know she’s fine. But close calls like that get to me. Hard not to think about what-ifs.”

“You’re allowed to worry.”

“Am I? Callum loves to tell me how useless it is, and he’s probably right. But if I lost that little girl…”

I didn’t tell him that he’d never lose her. Because we both knew that loss was always a possibility. So instead I dug my thumbs into the knots between his shoulder blades. Ashford groaned.

“Is this okay?” I asked.

“Amazing.”

I worked on loosening his tight muscles for a while. Until he stepped to the side and pulled me in front of him, trapping me against the counter. “That felt great. I want to return the favor.”His fingers searched out the points of tension in my upper back. But he added soft kisses to my neck. His tongue swiped the juncture where my neck met my shoulder.

“I’m sweaty from the hike.”

“I know. You taste good.” Those strong fingers kneaded down my back to my butt cheeks, digging into my soft curves. “Can’t wait to have you spread out and at my mercy,” he whispered. “I am going to make you come so hard. Harder than last night.”

I bit into my lip so I wouldn’t moan. I’d never been with any guy who could turn me on this quickly. Not just interested but raring to go. If he had unzipped my hiking pants and let those fingers wander inside my panties, he’d find me dripping.

“Stop,” I said, keeping my voice low.

His hands instantly lifted away from me, going to the counter instead. Though his body still caged me in. “Too far?”

“No, not far enough, but we can’t right now. Anybody ever told you you’re a shameless tease?”

He chuckled and leaned to kiss my neck again. “I enjoy teasing you. It’s fun for me.”

“Mean.” I kissed him firmly on the mouth, just once, before pushing him away. “No more of that. We need to make dinner.”

He boiled water for the pasta and chopped vegetables. To a big pan, I added olive oil and garlic to start a quick, lemony tomato sauce. Shrimp and fresh greens would go in last. We’d had this dish last week, and it had been a hit.

“I can’t believe you can get Maisie to eat shrimp,” Ashford said. “And spinach.”

“Anything covered in lemon-garlic sauce is a crowd pleaser.” Though I’d subbed in penne instead of linguine. Much easier for a six-year-old to eat without making a huge mess.

Ashford poured us glasses of white wine and a cup of milk for Maisie. The three of us ate at the dining table, Stella sitting dutifully beside her new best friend. Ashford smirked as hissocked foot nudged mine. But I got him back by teasing my foot along his thigh. Until he grabbed hold of it and wouldn’t let go.

“Why are you laughing, Emma?” Maisie asked, delicately spearing a cherry tomato on her fork.

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