Page 21 of Sexting the Silverfox

“There are other ways for you to shut me up, babe,” I shoot back with a chuckle.

She playfully smacks me over the shoulder. “Get your mind out of the gutter.”

“That’s hard to do when I’m around you.”

And just like that, a resolution has been reached, albeit temporarily. The uneasiness lingers in my chest, but at least she’s not running away to an unknown location. At least I get to keep her close and figure out what it is that’s got her wound up so tightly.

Besides, the more I think about it, the clearer it becomes that whatever this is between us, it’s growing, fast and steady, smooth and organic. There’s no pressure, no label, no expectation on either side, yet we are growing closer. Our bond gets stronger with each passing day.

I don’t know what to make of it, but I do know that I don’t want it to end.

Once we’re back at my place, I give Audrey some room to unpack a few of her things so she can make herself as comfortable as possible. Fortunately, this penthouse is huge, and the master bedroom alone is the equivalent of half of her apartment. There’s room for everyone and everything.

I check on Lily in the meantime, content to find her asleep. I am thankful that Rita agreed to stay the night.

After gently kissing my little girl and pulling the covers over her, I move into the kitchen and open a bottle of wine to serve next to a hastily prepared cheese platter. Not that I’m particularly hungry, but judging by the faint shadows under Audrey’s eyes, I’m guessing she’s been too nervous to eat properly over the past few days.

She’s just coming out of the shower by the time I bring the platter and the wine back to her bedroom. She stops in the en suite bath’s doorway, wrapped in a plush green towel, her blonde hair pulled up in a loose bun on the top of her head, her eyes wide as she stares at me.

I only glance at her, too busy keeping an eye on the tray and the wine until I reach the small round table by the window. I set everything down and breathe out a genuine sigh of relief.

“Wine and cheese,” Audrey says with an appreciative smile. “You sure know how to impress a girl, Mr. Winchester.”

“If I told you that all I did was grab some stuff out of the fridge and set it onto the plate, would you be as impressed?” I reply. “I shouldn’t even admit this, but I grabbed the first bottle of wine that I saw in the cooler. I have no idea what it is.”

“Oh, that’s right, you’re not much of a wine drinker,” she giggles.

I have a hard time looking away from her. I love the way she moves. Those long legs with thick thighs, toes sinking in with every step that she takes across the fluffy carpet. Her gaze turns curious as it wanders over the cheese plate, and when hunger glistens in her eyes, I know I hit the right spot with this move.

We sit down to eat and enjoy a glass of crisp California Rosé.

“I may not be much of a wine drinker, but I have to admit, this is a fine bottle,” I say after the first sip. “I keep a few bottles in the cooler for any guests who might fancy it, but that’s about it. Oh, and Rita uses some of it for cooking.”

“Rita is pretty much a staple around this place, isn’t she?” Audrey asks as she gets busy with a piece of mature cheddar. I watch as she dips it into a small porcelain bowl filled with chili honey before popping it into her mouth, but my attention is soon distracted by the smooth curves of her shoulders and the way in which her breasts struggle against the wraparound towel. “Nanny, chef … what else?”

“Honestly, Rita has been like a second mother to both Lily and me. Of course, she is compensated accordingly. I never skimp on the bonuses, either. She’s a loner by nature, though, and so she enjoys spending time with us. She’s close to retirement, but she doesn’t want to ever stop working.”

“I think I can relate to that. I love what I do, too, and hardly see myself retiring from it.”

I nod once. “Rita’s the same. She loves Lily like her own daughter, and she’s been with us through thick and thin. I do a lot of the cooking, too, but there are certain dishes that Rita enjoys making for us. I have a maid service for the cleaning, however. I want Rita to focus on Lily, first and foremost.”

“It’s very sweet and kind of her,” Audrey muses, her gaze briefly lost somewhere over the Chicago skyline. “Devoting so much of her time, so much of her life to you and your daughter. Doesn’t she have a family of her own?”

“Her husband, Marvin, and I were in the service together,” I say. “He was my commanding officer, actually.”

“What happened?”

“He was killed in action,” I say slowly. “I couldn’t save him. He sacrificed himself so the rest of us could escape an ambush on the outskirts of Kabul. We were lured there. It was a mess. When I got back, I felt compelled to do everything in my power to make sure Rita was well taken care of.”

“So, you brought her to work for you,” Audrey replies.

“Yes. Marvin’s pension barely covered the mortgage and monthly utilities,” I say. “While Ramona and I were married, Rita had a full-time job looking after the house and making sure Ramona didn’t get into too much trouble, but that was an impossible mission.”

Audrey knows the story or the gist of it anyway. I never share too many details about Lily’s mother because I hate putting any more energy into that woman and her selfish ways than I need to. She broke my heart, and I thought I’d never be able to love anyone ever again. She left me with a daughter to raise and then dared to sue for custody. We settled for supervised visits twice a year, given her unsavory history and on-and-off relationship with narcotics.

“I’m glad you had someone like Rita looking out for you and Lily when things got rough,” Audrey says and exhales sharply. “And honestly, I’m impressed by how gracious you are when you mention your ex-wife, especially after the troubles she caused.”

“I’m more concerned about taking care of the people who chose to stay in my life than worrying about someone who ran out of it. I’m too busy raising my daughter and making sure she’ll grow up to be a better human than most of us,” I reply and refill my glass.

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