Page 62 of Sins of the Father

“Are you still going to skip your workout tomorrow so your body can heal?”

“Yep.”

I’ll be more than happy to work out with you in bed.

Assuming she doesn’t change her mind.

She scoots closer and sets Hope on the floor so we can both see her. We play patty-cake and peekaboo with her until bedtime. The entire time, we take any opportunity we have to touch the other person. It’s just a hand on a leg, or finger on an arm, or Harper rubbing my shoulders and flooding me with her scent. The atmosphere is electric, and by the time Hope goes to sleep, the ache for Harper is at an all-time high.

Please don’t change your mind.

You’re breaking your rules. You’ve only known her a few days.

I clean up the kitchen then go into the bedroom. The voice in my head that never shuts up won’t go away.

Don’t be like him.

What if she regrets me in the morning?

When Harper enters the bedroom from putting Hope down, I’m pacing.

“Steven.”

I freeze.

She circles her arms to the front of my body and stands flush to my back.

I put my palms on her thighs, wanting her so badly but struggling with my demons.

She lifts my shirt and kisses my back, and so much heat rolls through me, I groan her name.

She makes her way to the front of me and continues to jolt me with lightning bolts from every kiss. “You’re stressed.”

Great. I didn’t pack condoms.

“Harper, do you have condoms? I didn’t think to bring any.”

“No. I get the shot and am clean. Are you?”

“Yeah, but…” I blow out a big breath.

She tilts her head up. “You seem agitated. Did you change your mind? Do you not want me anymore?” Hurt passes in her eyes.

“I don’t want you to regret me,” I blurt out.

A line forms between her eyes. “Are you going to regret me?”

“No.”

“Then I won’t regret you.”

“Are you sure—”

She puts her finger over my lips. “This gnawing in my body I’m feeling, I’ve never had before. It started when I laid eyes on you. You weren’t even there. It was a picture, and it stirred whatever this is inside me. Every second I spend with you, it spins and grows. And it’s so potent right now, I don’t just want you. I need you, and I need you to take care of me without any regrets or worrying about the future. That is...if you want me.”

She summed up things I didn’t know how to verbalize. “I wanted you from the moment I saw you. And what you just said, it’s how I feel, too.”

She nods.

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