Page 82 of Single-Minded
As I rolled to check the time on my phone, the past few hours refilled my head. I’d made her fly apart no less than three times before sinking into her gorgeous body and finding my own release. Afterward we’d lain there, talking quietly about a wide range of topics until apparently both of us had drifted off.
That was crossing a line I knew better than to cross.
It was going on four thirty, and the sky was starting to lighten. I sat up, alarmed.
Presley rolled to her back. “What’s wrong?”
I rotated to the side and stood. “I need to get you home before the sun comes up.”
She sat up, and I could see her just enough that I could make out her pushing her mane of hair out of her face as she glanced around, as if getting her bearings.
“Right,” she said eventually, but I wasn’t sure she was on the same page as me.
“If we don’t want people to know…”
“Yeah.” Her voice was sleepy and so sexy I froze for a second, wondering if I was the dumbest man alive. Presley Holiday was naked in my bed, and I was going to have her get dressed so I could sneak her out?
I shook my head, clamping down on my imagination. The second the world found out we were sleeping together, everything would change. I liked things just the way they were. Secret. Sexy as fuck. Safe.
I dressed quickly, pulling on athletic shorts and a T-shirt.
Presley threw the covers off, then stretched from head to toe. Even though the light was poor, I could see just enough to go rock-hard.
“Are you trying to get me back in that bed?” I asked.
She grinned. “I wouldn’t be opposed.”
Seconds ticked by as I fought with myself. How long would a quickie take?
Fuck. I wanted more than a quickie with Presley. I wanted hours with her. More.
An alarm went off in my head at that single word: more.
This was what I did. I rushed in. Wanted too much too fast.
This thing with Presley was not that.
“If I get you home now, you have time to sleep some more before we get started at the shop,” I said.
She rolled out of bed, planted a kiss on my lips, picked up her clothes from the floor, and disappeared to the bathroom.
I blew out a breath and reminded myself I was fine. This was fine. I was a goddamn grown-up, and while my pattern was to rush in, this time I was taking meticulous care not to.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Presley
Kayaking with three little girls was a lot different from kayaking alone at dawn.
Paddling by myself right after the sun rose was peaceful, centering, almost meditative. Watching nature come alive for a new day was a different adventure each time. A way to relax that kept me busy and involved at the same time.
Taking three girls out near sundown was loud, chaotic, and at times hilarious.
I wasn’t complaining. In fact, I seemed to have invited chaos into my life in multiple ways lately.
Like adopting three kittens, for example.
Told you. Chaos.
