Page 21 of Rugged Fox

Now it wasn't just my heart that was taking notice of this conversation. My dick liked the sound of what Lyla was saying. I willed the damn thing to sit down and not jump the gun.

"You do realize I'm fifteen years older than her, right? I'm no spring chicken."

Age had never been a problem for me before because I had never thought past a quick hookup. It was obvious to me that Kati didn't fit that category, even if I didn't know where she fit into my life.

"Are you telling me you can no longer get it up?" Lyla zeroed in on my crotch and instinctively I shifted my hand to cover the area. I was still sporting a semi just from thinking about Kati. The last thing I needed was her best friend to see that. "Because you look like the kind of man to have a decent amount of stamina."

I cleared my throat. Lyla was the female version of Hendrix. She spoke her mind, but where I was used to what would come out of Hendrix's mouth, I was left shocked by how blunt Lyla could be.

"I assure you I have no problems in that department. I just meant that a woman as young as Kati is probably looking to expand her family."

Having children had never crossed my mind in the past. Up until a year and a half ago, I was married to the Marines. I hadn't seen my life outside of that. Meeting Kati didn't suddenly change that for me. There were no sudden visions of having a bunch of my children running around.

"Talk about putting the cart in front of the horse. I'm not suggesting you marry her tomorrow and knock her ass up. I was simply suggesting that the two of you act on your mutual feelings. Geesh, maybe I pegged you wrong after all."

"Wait, stop." I was screwing this up and Lyla made that blatantly clear when she rolled her eyes and reached for the door handle. I needed to fix things before Lyla went back to her friend and told her what a psycho I was. "I didn't mean to imply that's where things needed to go." I ran my hand along the scruff of my beard. "You know, I'm normally much better at talking to people than this. Willow Creek seems to have some strange effect on me."

That last sentence appeared to slow Lyla down. "Willow Creek, or a certain woman in the town?" Kati's best friend was once again turned in the seat and giving me her full attention.

"Probably that second option." I finally admitted.

"Look, I didn't come out here to harass you and I can guarantee that Kati will have my head when I tell her what I talked to you about, but I'm doing it because I know she won't. If you want something with her, then it's going to have to be you who makes the first move. And not because she's old-fashioned, but she's just that much out of practice. Kati doesn't know how to put her needs first anymore, and if left to her own devices, she would hide from the attraction. So if there is something there for you, then make the first move, big man." Lyla slapped my arm three times with a smile.

"That's all the advice I'm going to give. Girl code and all that. Good night, Easton. Think more about what I said."

I let Lyla climb out without so much as a goodbye. Think about what she said. As if I wasn't going to be doing that all night now.

Being the one to watch Kati's house now didn't sound like such a good idea. At least I wouldn't have any issues staying awake. Lyla's parting shot made sure of that.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Kati

Exhaustion was supposed to ensure a person crashed when their head hit the pillow at night. Not toss and turn because a certain man's face kept popping into their head every time said person closed their eyes.

Yes, I'm talking about myself, and no, I'm not happy this morning.

After all the hell at the hospital yesterday, all I wanted was to fall into a blissful sleep as soon as I got into bed, but did that happen?

Hell no it didn't because a particular man decided he needed to sit outside my fucking house all night, so all I could think about was him.

Damn, Easton and his rugged good looks.

Since there was no point staying in bed and wallowing, I threw the covers aside and went in search of my son. Most mornings I had to drag his ass out of bed, so it took me a full minute to grasp what I was seeing.

Or better yet, not seeing. Lucien's bed was not only empty, but someone had made it. I wasn't saying that my son didn't know how to make his bed or anything, but usually that was a morning argument as we were running out the door.

"Lucien?" I didn't bother to hide the concern. Sure, we had a fancy new security system and the chances of someone sneaking in to kidnap my large teenager was slim to none, but none of that meant shit when I didn't know where Lucien was.

"In the kitchen, Mom!"

A sigh of relief fell from my lips. Then what he said sunk in. How long did I spend in bed, and how late was my son going to be because of it? I slid down the hardwood hallway in my fuzzy slippers and nearly fell on my ass when I got a good look at my kitchen.

Well, who was in my kitchen was more like it.

"Ummm . . ." This was twice now Easton was seeing me in less than stellar conditions. At least this time I had on shorts. Even if they were tiny, only barely covered my ass, and were currently hidden under my oversized shirt.

But. I. Was. Wearing. Some. This. Time.

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