Page 39 of Hello Tease

And okay, maybe I was using the kids to stall, but they were damn cute too. How could you not?

When I finished, Larkin jerked her thumb toward my kitchen then turned to walk away, her silk robe swaying tantalizingly around her ass. In the kitchen, she spun to face me, arms folded tightly across her chest, nipples taut against the matching silk fabric of her nightgown.

Holy shit, she wasn’t wearing a bra.

Fuck me. This was so messed up. She’d just been in bed with another man and—I could feel my fists tightening at my sides. I needed to stop thinking about that.

“What’s up?” I finally asked her.

She held up the whoopee cushion and smacked it down on the table. “Knox Madigan, what were you doing in my bed?”

I swallowed hard.

“I’m very thankful you watched the children tonight,” she continued, and then her chin wobbled, a dozen emotions crossing her face.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, confused at the change in direction.

She sniffed, clearing her expression. “I’m sorry. It’s just my house is a mess, and I hardly get a full night’s sleep with Jackson still waking up in the middle of the night. The last thing I need is you messing around in my bed.”

I stepped closer, so close her chest, her tight nipples nearly touched me. I looked down at her, my jaw flexing. With tension. With desire. With everything I wanted to do to her and everything I hoped Bennett hadn’t gotten to do.

“Larkin,” I said, my voice rough. “Would that be so bad?”

Her eyes flared as she looked up at me, her delectable lips parted. “What are you saying?”

I reached up, cupping her loose and wild mane at the back of her neck. “I’m saying it was fucking torture to watch from this house, seeing him walk down your driveway. I’m saying I died a little inside when I watched him put his hand on your back, helping you into his truck. It was madness to watch you smile through his windshield as you drove away.” I gripped the back of her neck tighter, making her darting eyes stay on me. “I’m saying it gutted me to see you come here in your nightgown, face flushed, hair messy, knowing damn well it should have been me making you scream tonight.”

“Knox...” she gasped.

But I was a man possessed. Seeing her with him, knowing I could have missed my chance. I was done playing nice. Not when it was Larkin on the line.

I drew my face closer, breathing into her ear. “Tell me you don’t feel the same way. Tell me you don’t want me to touch you. Taste you. And we’ll pretend this never happened. We’ll act like you just came over here, got the kids, and went to bed. And we’ll never talk of this again.”

She shuddered under my breath, her chest arching until I could feel her hard nipples against my chest, through her nightgown, through the thin cotton of my T-shirt.

Her lips were centimeters from mine when a tired, raspy voice called from the living room.

“Knox?”

20

LARKIN

My heart hammeredagainst my rib cage as Knox turned and walked to get my daughter.

What just happened?

I’d been so close to giving in, to feeling what it would be like to have his lips locked with mine. His large hand tangled in my hair still left a tingle at the back of my neck, and my nipples ached against the silken fabric of my pajamas.

I raked my fingers through my hair, trying and failing to dissipate the heat building in my cheeks, in my core. But seeing Knox come into the kitchen with Emily in his arms did just as well as an ice bath would have.

How could I have been so careless to let myself fall into his arms without even a discussion? Shame washed over me. I felt like a terrible mother as Emily curled into his arms, her cheek pressing against his.

“Hey, Mama,” she said with sleepy eyes.

“Hey, baby girl,” I replied, reaching for her. She easily cuddled into my arms, squeezing me tight. In the back of my mind, I wondered how much longer I would be able to carry her like this. I closed my eyes, breathing in this moment and grounding myself to remember what really mattered.

Knox’s voice was soft as he said, “I’ll get Jackson and walk you to your place.”

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