Page 35 of Finding Home
I settle deeper in my chair as she feeds me this little tidbit about her. “What’s your favourite then?”
“Aladdin. Jasmine was always so independent and ‘I don’t need a man.’ I looked up to her.”
“Is this you trying to tell me you don’t need a man?”
She steps closer and settles into one of the chairs on the other side of my desk. “There’s a difference between needing and wanting a man. I don’t need one. I can support myself, and I have plenty of friends to spend time with. Wanting a partner in life, someone to experience intimacy with, that’s different.”
I lean forward on my desk and watch as her breathing slowly increases and her eyes trace up my arms before meeting my eyes again. The way her eyes gently caress me has my dick getting hard.
“Do you want intimacy?” I ask, my voice lower than before.
She leans forward, her eyes holding mine. “Who doesn’t? I don’t know a straight woman who doesn’t want a man who will eat her pussy like a man starved, fuck her like it’s the only thing that lets him survive, and then holds her after, whispering sweet nothings to her as she falls asleep in his arms.”
This forwardness from Chloe is new since I’ve come back to town. It’s more reminiscent of when we first met and she forced me to talk to her and then stripped in front of me and asked if I was coming in. The way her eyes heat and she licks her lips as she talks about getting eaten out and fucked tells me she’s thinking about our night. The only thing missing from that scenario was me holding her and whispering sweet nothings to her afterwards. Instead, I left with nothing more than a thank you and a kiss on her shoulder.
I hate myself for leaving that way, but we both knew it was just one night. Just sex. But then why do I keep thinking about it? Why am I looking for a repeat?
When I don’t say anything, she drops my gaze and sits back. “I should get going,” she says, pushing up from her chair.
“I’ll walk you out.”
She shakes her head. “I’ll be fine.”
“I’ll walk you out, North.” I don’t know how I let the nickname slip, but it does and I try not to draw attention to it by standing and outstretching my arm for her to go first. She leaves my office, and I follow her to her car.
“I’ll see you at pick up tomorrow,” she says as she slides into the driver seat. I watch her do her seatbelt, and when she turns to reach for the door to close it, I say, “Text me when you’re home.”
“It’s a five-minute drive,” she says on a laugh.
I lean down. “I don’t care. Text me when you’re home.”
“Yes, daddy,” she says with a roll of her eyes, and I tighten my grip on the door.
I lean down and drop my voice, ensuring that no one around can hear me. “Be careful with what you say, Chloe. You don’t want to go asking for things you aren’t prepared for.”
I watch as her chest starts to rise and fall faster and her pupils grow. She licks her lips, and dammit if this woman isn’t everything I want and can’t have all wrapped in one beautiful package. I close the door and watch her drive away before stomping back into the fire house.
Thomspon is leaning against the door watching me.
I stop in front of him, arms crossed over my chest. “Something you’d like to say, Thomspon?” I grunt.
He shakes his head, a small grin playing at his lips as he says, “No, sir.”
I brush past him and head back into my office to finish my report and dig into those cookies Chloe brought.
After my shift, I make a stop at the grocery store to get everything I need to make chicken parm, or as my daughter affectionately calls it, cheesy chicken. I know I make a mean chicken parm, so not only amI making it because it’s my daughter’s favourite, but also because, for some reason, I want to impress Chloe.
At home, I shower and take a quick nap, making sure to set my alarm to pick up Lila after school. When I pick her up, I notice how Chloe hangs by the front door, making no moves to come say hi as Lila runs to join me. I lift a hand in a small wave, and she offers me a smile and a small wave back before she turns and heads back inside.
I have dinner in the oven when Chloe eventually comes home a few hours later. I would never say the words out loud to her, but she looks tired. Like she hasn’t been able to get a good night’s rest in a while. I open a bottle of red wine and pour a glass, handing it to her as she walks past me in the kitchen. She smiles, accepting the glass and taking a sip before sliding into a chair at the dining table and facing me.
“Smells good. Watcha making?”
Lila’s footsteps approach the kitchen as she cheers, “Cheesy chicken, cheesy chicken!”
Chloe and I both can’t help but laugh at her excitement.
“Daddy, are we having potatoes or pasta with cheesy chicken tonight?”
