Page 84 of Mended Hearts

“Please, Ollie,” she mewled, her breath hot against my lips. “Please.”

“Please what, beautiful?”

“More. I need more of you.”

Fuck, I wanted to give her the world. “Same.”

“Then give me what I want. It’s been six weeks of lady blue balls.”

I huffed a laugh and shook my head. “The next time I fuck you, Leighton Rhodes, it won’t be in a closet.”

“Psh. This is the size of my old bedroom.”

Grinning, I rubbed my nose over hers like the lovesick bastard I was. “Next time I fuck you, I won’t do it just because it happened. I’ll do it because I earned it. Because I showed you that whatwehave is real—and worth keeping.”

“You say that with a great deal of confidence.”

“I don’t hear you arguing.”

“No,” she admitted, breathing hard. “No, you don’t.”

“I can’t do this anymore. Can’t pretend you don’t mean the fucking world to me. Can’t look at you like I’m not dying to touch you. I’m done hiding—from your family, from Grey, from my kids. Being with you would be the proudest accomplishment of my life, Leigh.”

“I think you kissed me stupid. My mouth isn’t doing the sentence-making.”

When she bit her lower lip, I reached up and hooked it free with my thumb. “When do you leave for Christmas?”

“Monday.”

“So… Saturday?”

“Dinner?”

“Yeah.” I brushed my mouth over hers, smiling when she lurched forward like she couldn’t stand one more inch of space. “I’ll have Emmaline take the kids for the night. They’ll love it. Then, it’s just me and you.”

“Deal.”

“Good.” I took a step back, sliding my hands to her shoulders to hold her in place. Her groan was music, and I wondered how many more sounds I could pull from her when I took my time. Her lips were kiss-swollen, her cheeks flushed, and those wide eyes locked on my face like she didn’t want to miss a second. I reached out to smooth her hair—but she caught my hand and pressed it to her chest, right over her heart.

“You mean it? This. Me. You wantthis.”

“More desperately than you could possibly comprehend.”

A soft smile bloomed on her lips. “I think I can relate.”

“Daddy?”

We both froze at Beau’s voice—quiet, uncertain.

Shit.

We straightened ourselves in record time and rushed out of the pantry. I was still tucking my shirt back in when we rounded the corner and saw him stumble out of the living room.

“What’s up, buddy?”

“There are crabs pinching inside my belly.” His face was pale as paper. “Daddy?”

We both sprang into action—me diving for the trash can, Leigh swooping him up in her arms just as I shoved the can forward.

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