Page 13 of A Father's Bliss

“I’m a fan of pretty bows. I like happy endings.”

“As do most people, but they also want tofeel.You know the angst in a good romance? That tug and heavy weight on your heart?” I nod, and he continues. “I want that in my thrillers. I want to be at the edge of my seat, rooting for the wrong person only to have the carpet ripped out from beneath me.”

“I see.” I log the information away for when I’m reading blurbs and manuscripts. “So you want to be moved?”

“Yes. That's the whole point, at least for myself.” He tugs on the pole before rotating the reel’s handle twice. “Isn’t that why you read romance? To be moved by a love story?”

I smile. Yes, but I also enjoy learning about all the ways a man can please me but hasn’t. “Of course.”

“Precisely. We get one life, but in books, we live a thousand. I only want to consume those that pique my interest, challenge my mind, and make me forget I’m reading and feel as if I’m living in another world completely.”

“You want it to consume you.”

His eyes flash, but before he can respond to my question, something else catches his attention. “Ah, we got one.”

I snap upright and spin around. “A fish?”

He huffs out a laugh. “I would hope.”

Excitement threads through me as he begins spinning the handle of the reel.

“Here, practice this with me.”

Before I can protest or even really process his request, he stops reeling, and quickly tugs me in front of him. He repositions himself behind me, placing my hands where he wants them before stepping back. “Alright, slow and steady.”

“But it feels like the line is about to snap.”

“That’s just tension and it’s a good thing. You want to keep it steady and start reeling in. Make sure to keep the rod tipped up.”

Adrenaline flushes through me as I do as I’m told and watch as the stick begins to bow. “Is that supposed to happen?”

“Yes, a slight bend is fine. Keep reeling and take a deep breath.”

My hand continues to rotate, my own labored breathing filling the air as I rotate the handle.

“You’re doing great, Renee.” His husky voice is close to my ear and despite my nerves flaring from the possible capture of a fish, butterflies take flight at hearing the praise paired with my name. It rolls off his tongue and over my libido like honey. “Don’t stop.”

Fuck, why does that sound so good?

A wave of arousal flushes through me, and my thighs squeeze together. I know I’m supposed to keep things professional, to not read into his words and instead focus on team bonding, but at this moment, I would do anything to hear him say those same words in another capacity.

To see what he’s like on the brink of an orgasmic bliss, brought about by me and only me. I want to know what it’d be like to bring him to his knees.

Lost in thought—or perhaps fantasy—I realize too late that when the fish breaks water, the tension changes. Off kilter, I also learn how weak my stance is, and find myself falling back.

A strong arm wraps around my waist and together we fall, only stopped when Marcus collapses in the chair with me on his lap.

Being a person of a thousand words and even more comebacks, experiencing speechlessness is completely foreign for me. The entire evening, Marcus has had me in a metaphorical chokehold, and the ability to care about why Ishouldn’tlet this man do X-rated things to me is bordering on non-existent.

This could be the fact that almost everything that comes out of his mouth is ridiculously sexy, and has my underwear uncomfortably wet. Or, because when he caught me on my fall, my skirt lifted, somehow becoming trapped at my hip, and said damp underwear are the only thing covering my cunt, which can very clearly feel the thick bulge in his pants.

No, not just a bulge, but a defined, rigid,thickerection.

I’m not sure how long I stay still and stupidly dumbstruck, locked in a state of arousal overdose with my heart pumping painfully and my core throbbing, but the fish on my line begins to wiggle, splashing me with my last shred of decency. I readjust, trying to regain my balance to stand, but when I do, my ass slides against him, and his cock twitches in response.

I suck in a sharp breath, my core contracting. “Oh.”

“Oh?” he repeats, his voice low and his breath hot in my ear.

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