Page 67 of In Spades

My brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”

She swallowed. Closing her eyes, she slipped her hand under my shirt and laid her palm flat on my abs, like she needed more physical connection. “I’m the byproduct of something ugly and vile. No one wants to be around secondhand smoke. I reek with the stench of what my parents did. It doesn’t matter that it wasn’t me who committed the crimes. I’m paying the price just like they are.”

“Sweetheart…”

“After I dropped out and moved back here, things settled down as much as they could, so I decided I’d go out on a date.” Her hand twitched against my stomach. “The guy came to pick me up and saw Zoey. He thought she was my baby and told me right there that he didn’t want someone with so much baggage. Logan and Kylie overheard everything.” Sighing, she said, “It’s just easier to put my head down and focus on them. No one wants secondhand smoke.”

I could feel her pulling away. Not just physically. She was shutting down. Shutting me out.

I tilted her chin up with my finger, forcing her to look at me. “You’re walking around with your heart boarded up like you’re waiting for a storm to roll in.” Our noses bumped and brushed, and her eyelids fluttered shut. “The storm is over, Sunshine,” I said softly. "It’s time to take the boards down.”

She looked up at me with wide eyes. “You’re the first person to look at me with something other than pity in a long, long time. And it feels really good.”

Kristin’s lips met mine, soft and warm. I cupped her cheek and wiped away her tears before deepening the kiss, coaxing more from her. Kristin’s little moans of delight disappeared into the night. I swallowed down her whimpers as I dug my fingers into the soft curve of her hip.

“How are you real?” she whispered against my mouth. Dark brown eyes searched my face. Her thumb grazed my crow’s feet before she wrapped her arms around my neck. “And why aren’t you running for the hills?”

Chuckling, I said, “Real men don’t run, sweetheart.”

I craned my head to the side and kissed down the graceful column of her neck. Kristin’s whimpers were needy. Desperate. I tangled her glossy hair around my fingers and tugged her head backward, exposing her throat.

She let out a heady gasp as my jaw scraped against her skin like sandpaper. She threaded her fingers through my hair, holding my head close. No way was I going anywhere except closer.

“When can I meet them?” I asked as I slid the strap of her tank top down her arm and peppered her shoulder with kisses.

Kristin stiffened, and the hands pulling me closer suddenly pushed me away. “No.” Her voice cracked, but the resolve behind her emotion was resolute.

I was waiting for her to call my bluff, but she didn’t.

“Okay,” I conceded, shifting her body around so that she was cuddled into my chest. “But just know that my answer isn’t me backing down. That’s me saying I respect you, and I’m willing to do this on your terms.”

I shifted onto my side, and she rested her forehead on my chest. “Why are you such a good guy? Why couldn’t you have been a jackass like all the ones before you?”

I didn’t want to say it was because I planned on being the last, but that’s precisely what was on my mind. Was it even possible to fall in love with someone in two weeks?

“I respect the hell out of you, Kris,” I said between kisses. “You work harder than anyone I’ve ever seen, and not many people would have stepped up for your brothers and sisters the way you did.”

She closed her eyes and blew out a breath. “It’s not that I don’t trust you enough for you to meet them. I just… It’s my responsibility, you know? To keep them safe.”

“Do you always plan for the worst-case scenario?”

She shrugged. “Kind of hard not to when life keeps throwing me one curveball after the next. At some point, you just stop swinging and wait for a better pitch.”

“That’s how you strike out.”

Kristin winced. “I’m careful about who I bring around the kids. I don’t want them getting attached to someone, and then they leave.” Her eyes met mine, and I could see deep pools of worry in them. “It’s not just my heart that could get broken.”

“Hey,” I said, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. I eased back in the hammock, giving her a little breathing room. Something told me she needed it. “I respect the hell out of you for that. And if my two cents count for anything, you’re doing it right. I haven’t been in your shoes, but I have been on the receiving end of someone’s shitty choices when it comes to men.”

“Thank you,” Kristin said softly. She tucked her head into the crook of my neck, and I felt like I was on top of the world.

Carefully, I swung my legs over and planted my feet on the ground. Kristin was straddling my hips. I grabbed two handfuls of her ass as I stood up and started across the grass.

She wrapped her arms around my neck and her legs around my waist. I felt the heat between her thighs against my stomach. Was she wet for me?

“Where are we going?” she asked as I took long strides across the yard, then hit the steps of the deck, taking them two at a time. She felt so good in my arms. I liked how she tucked into me.

I liked her tits pressed against my chest even better.

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