Page 72 of Someone You Deserve

She tosses the tweezers down and slides the game to Lilly. “That one definitely added to it.”

While I was working on my house earlier, I envisioned our reunion going a lot differently than this. She’d open the door, our eyes would lock, I’d slam my lips to hers, and pin her up against the wall, showing her how much I want her so she doesn’t question whether this was a one-time thing or not.

But scenarios like that don’t happen in real life when kids are involved, especially given that Lilly and Bentley have absolutely noidea anything is going on between us. I mean, fuck. We haven’t had a chance to say two words to each other since I walked through the door and Lilly shoved Operation in my face.

Our Thursday night game ritual was interrupted last week because of Bentley’s fight and Astrid’s date with Dick that never happened, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned about little seven-year-old girls, they don’t forget a damn thing that you promise them.

Lilly screams as the buzzer goes off, making us all laugh. “This game is scary!”

“You’re the one that chose it,” Bentley says.

Lilly glares at him before sliding the game over to me. We’re down to two pieces, the Adam’s apple and the wishbone, and with my big ass fingers, I already know I’m going to lose. Sure enough, it only takes a few seconds and the game fucking buzzes. “Shit,” I mutter.

“Ooooo, Uncle Penn said a bad word!” Lilly giggles.

Astrid motions for Lilly to sit down in her chair since the kid is practically lying on the table right now. “Lilly, Uncle Penn is an adult. He’s allowed to.”

“Can I have kisses from Daddy again?” she asks, changing the subject. But just like she did earlier, Astrid meets my eyes as soon as Brandon is mentioned.

Fuck, these kids need to go to bed.Now.

“No, sweetie. You already had three.”

Lilly leans back in her chair and crosses her arms over her chest, pouting. “Not fair. You’ve had more than three chocolates.”

I brought over Ferrero Rocher for Astrid like I always do, and she’s practically eaten the entire package, which means she’s nervous. She always eats when she’s got a lot on her mind, and the image of her licking her lips while eating said chocolate has been on my mind all evening as well.

Lucky for us, Bentley finishes up the game on his turn and then, because it’s Sunday and the kids have school tomorrow, they go to bed early. As soon as Astrid comes back from the hallway to say good night to them, our eyes lock across the living room.

“Hey,” I say as I hear my heart beating in my ears.

“Hey,” she replies softly.

And then I move toward her, grabbing her hand and leading her into the kitchen, out of sight in case one of the kids comes out of their rooms. Spinning her around, I press her back to the pantry door, pin her hands above her head, and slam my lips to hers just like I wanted to, immediately feeling her melt beneath my touch.

Kissing now. Talking later. That’s what my dick decided about ten minutes ago.

Astrid pushes her hips against mine as we kiss, so I reach down, hoist one of her legs up to wrap around my waist, and push my cock into her, letting her know how much I want her, how much I fucking need her.

“Penn…”

“Astrid…”

Our tongues tangle again and she lets out a soft moan. I release her arms and lift her up, wrapping both of her legs around my waist and pushing her against the door. She digs her nails into the hair on the back of my head, rubbing her pussy against my stomach, searching out friction.

We’re supposed to be talking, using our words like adults. But it looks like we’re desperate to talk with our bodies instead.

I rear back and take a moment to look at her. Her lips are wet and plump from the assault I just gave her mouth. Her hair is falling from her clip, framing her face. And her eyes—they’re more golden than their usual green.

God, she’s so fucking gorgeous.

I rest my forehead on hers and take a few deep breaths, trying to calm my dick. “Fuck, Astrid. God, I want you so much…”

She leans forward and kisses me again, deeply, intensely, before breaking our kiss and whispering, “I guess we could talk later then.”

“I like the way you think.” Smiling against her mouth, I hoist her up and carry her down the hallway to her room.

I lower her to the ground and shut the door softly, locking it for good measure. But that’s when it hits me—I’m in her room, her room that she shared with Brandon. My eyes scour the space, taking in every detail that’s hers and not finding much of my best friend anywhere.

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