Page 111 of The Single Dad

“I still have nightmares about that night,” he admits. “I try to save everyone, and I always let someone down.”

He meets my gaze, and I lean toward him, as if I can comfort him through sheer proximity. Right now, I want nothing more than to close the distance between us.

To kiss him in a way I’ve never kissed him before.

Chapter 34

Cole

The look on Riley’s face makes my chest tighten, but at the same time, it soothes something inside me.

I’ve never told this story in full to anyone, as far as I can remember. Declan and Reed both know all of the details, but I’ve never bared my soul this way, not even to them. It’s affecting, to let someone in like this—to show them the real me—and to see them look at me this way.

With tenderness, and heat, and an emotional understanding that makes me want to admit even more. To tell her everything about myself, everything I can think of, and wait to hear everything about her.

I’m not at all surprised when Riley leans over and kisses me. When she starts to pull back, I cup my hand around the back of her neck, keeping her there for another kiss.

By the time we finally break apart, she’s flushed, her breathing hot and quick.

“Maybe we should get out of here,” she whispers.

I hum, as if in deliberation, then say, “No, I don’t think so.”

Her brow furrows in confusion. “No?”

“I don’t think I can wait until we get home,” I tell her, my voice a low growl.

The flush of pink on her cheeks deepens to scarlet, her thick lashes fluttering as her brown eyes scan the room. Her teeth sink into her bottom lip, and I’d give anything to know what kinds of filthy images are flashing through her mind right now in response to my words.

“What do you mean?” she whispers.

“I think you know exactly what I mean, angel.”

I smirk, then give her a small demonstration of what I’m talking about. My hand finds hers under the table, our fingers linking briefly before I skim my fingertips across her bare thigh, where her dress has hiked up from sitting.

The area we’re in is private and tucked away enough that I don’t worry about any prying eyes seeing us as I slide my hand up even higher. Riley’s legs open for me as if it’s an automatic response, spreading just wide enough that I can drag my fingertips over her pussy through the fabric of her panties. I can feel the heat radiating from her, and the slight dampness of the fabric that makes it clear she’s already turned on.

“Cole…”

She drags the word out, and I swear to fuck, my name has never sounded better than when she says it like that.

“Yes, angel?” I ask, tugging the crotch of her panties aside so that I can feel her wetness skin to skin. “What do you want?”

I slide one finger through her folds and then circle her clit, and she shivers, her breath hitching.

“More,” she whispers, her hips rolling subtly against my touch. “Fuck, I can’t believe… god, that feels good.”

“You want me to make you come?”

She glances around, licking her lips as a hint of nervousness crosses her face. But I don’t want her worrying about anything. There’s not a chance in hell that I’d let anyone else see her like this, and I want her focus solely on me right now.

So I pinch her clit gently in a way I know she likes. Her thighs immediately clench around my hand, her eyes flying wide as she bites down on her lip hard.

“I think you do,” I murmur roughly, answering my own question. “I think you’re such a dirty, greedy girl that you want me to finger fuck you right here, just like I did on that Ferris wheel. Is that what you’d like?”

I tease her clit again, and she whimpers softly, her breath stuttering. Her bottom lip is trapped between her teeth, but when she lifts her head to meet my gaze, there’s something confident and sultry shining in her eyes.

"No.” She shakes her head. “I don’t just want your fingers. I want your cock.”

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