Page 63 of Resisting Temptation (Men of Honor 3)
I suddenly become aware of how close we are, my soft body against his hard, warm one, with my fists clenched in his shirt. Licking my suddenly dry lips, his eyes drop to my mouth and ignite with fire. “Kiss me,” I whisper before I can stop myself.
Groaning, his arms tighten around my back and he lifts me so my feet dangle off the floor, then crushes his mouth to mine and kisses me the way I’ve been aching for him to since leaving the bar last night.
I wrap my arms around his neck and give just as good as I get. Our warm tongues intimately caressing one another, his amazing taste and scent overwhelming my senses in the best way. A hint of my tears and pain mixing in with the beauty our mouths make together. Sliding one hand up the back of his neck, I slip it under his beanie and grip the silky strands of his hair.
“What’s with the beanie, Walker?” I ask against his mouth.
“I don’t know. I’ve grown attached to the fucking thing and can’t seem to stop wearing it.”
I giggle at his truthful answer. “I like it. It suits you and I think you look sexy in it.”
He growls against my lips. “I think you’re fucking sexy, Red, every goddamn part of you.”
I moan, and just when I feel his hands gravitating toward my ass, a little girl’s voice cuts through the air: “Sowwy to intewupt, but I’m hungwy.”
“Shit!” Cade drops me to my feet instantly and jumps back.
It takes me a second to get my bearings before I turn to see Ruth Jean smiling at us innocently. Thankful that she doesn’t seem bothered by what she just saw, I walk over to her with a smile of my own and bend down. “Well, good morning, Ruth Jean, did you have a good sleep?”
“Yup!” she replies happily, and gives me a quick hug and kiss on the cheek before making her way over to Cade, who is leaning against the kitchen table.
“How about you, big guy?” she asks, grabbing the chair next to him. “Did you sweep good?”
Cade looks down at her grumpily, but there is no denying the small warmth in his eyes that wasn’t there before. “I slept all right, considering I had a kid glued to my chest.”
“Well I had no choice since dere was no woom on de touch,” she replies honestly.
“Well I told you the couch wasn’t big enough.”
“I know dat. And I told you dat I was small. So it’s good dat we both had a good sleep den.”
I bite back a smile as Cade stares down at her, not knowing what to say. I take pity on him and decide to cut in. “What would you like for breakfast, Ruth Jean?” She shrugs, unsure. “Well, what do you normally have?”
“Sometimes Twistiphwor makes me baton and eggs, if we have any food.”
I try not to think about them not having food or I will be a blubbering mess all over again. “Well unfortunately I don’t have any of that and I won’t. I’m a vegetarian.”
“A vega what?”
“You’re a vegetarian?” Christopher asks in disbelief as he walks into the kitchen, freshly showered. He takes a seat next to his sister and I’m just about to respond, but one look at Ruth Jean’s sad face, when she looks at her brother’s battered one, stops me cold.
Without thinking twice, she hops off her seat and crawls up on Christopher’s lap, then wraps her tiny arms around his neck before kissing his cheek softly. “I wuv you, Twistiphwor,” she whispers before burying her face in his neck.
I try my damnedest to blink away the tears that immediately blur my eyes. Christopher shifts, uncomfortable at her affection in front of us, but replies, “I love you too, squirt.”
I watch something flash in Cade’s eyes, something so painful I know mine doesn’t even come close to matching his. It makes me wonder if he’s thinking about his sister and I decide it’s best for everyone to change the topic.
I clear my throat and answer Ruth Jean’s original question. “A vegetarian means I do not eat meat.”
She looks at me in surprise. “Den what do you eat?”
“I eat lots of things. Fruits, veggies…I eat everything else, just not meat.”
“Why?” she asks curiously.
“Because I think animals are our friends and I don’t want to eat them.”
“So awe we bad if we eat meat?”
“No, not at all. This is a personal choice for me and I do not judge if someone else wants to eat it. You are welcome to continue to eat meat, but it will have to be either when we go out or when you are at school because I won’t cook it.”
She shrugs. “Otay. Well I’ll twy not eating meat wif you. I wike animals too.”
I smile. “That’s great, but if you decide you want to eat it again that’s okay too.”
I look at Christopher and he raises his hands out in front of him. “Don’t look at me. Sorry, but I am not giving that up. I’ll die without it.”
Cade grunts in agreement then takes a seat next to them. I roll my eyes but smile. “That’s fine. Like I said though, I won’t cook it but you are welcome to eat it anywhere else. We will go grocery shopping later today and make sure we get food that we all like and can eat.”
“Twistiphwor too?” Ruth Jean asks hopefully.
I look at her; a little surprised she would ask. “Yes, of course Christopher too. We have to make sure we get things he likes too.”
She smiles softly at him. “Dat will be nice, won’t it, Twistiphwor. Now you will get to eat too and you won’t have to…”
“Ruth Jean!” he snaps quietly and shakes his head.
“Sowwy,” she apologizes with a whisper and drops her head.
I can tell Christopher immediately feels guilty. Walking over, I sit in the empty chair next to Cade and face the kids. I grab Ruth Jean’s hand to get her to look at me. Christopher doesn’t but I know it’s because he’s embarrassed.
