Page 71 of Just My Luck

I stopped her as I stood, careful not to jostle the sleeping girl. “It’s okay. I can get her.”

Sloane frowned. “Are you sure?”

I scooped up Tillie, and when she didn’t seem to notice, I nodded toward the bedrooms. “After you.”

Sloane guided Ben back to his room, and I quietly followed behind them. His padded footsteps flopped against the hardwoods, and I watched as he tipped forward and landed face-first on top of his bedsheets with a plop.

Sloane laughed and began to work him under the covers. I turned and carried Tillie across the few steps toward her bedroom. In the few weeks they’d been there, she’d made it her own—decorating the walls with doodles. My current favorite was a drawing of a cat with a hot dog body. It was weird and oddly cute. Something akin to pride moved through me. She was a blossoming young artist, and I wondered where she got that talent from.

With one arm, I moved her blankets out of the way and gently set her in bed. After tucking her legs beneath the covers, I made sure the blankets were right. Before I turned to leave, I looked down at her sleeping face.

She looked so much like her mom. Without thinking, I bent down and dropped a kiss on the top of her hair. I stood and turned toward the door to see Sloane leaning against the doorjamb, watching me.

Had I overstepped a boundary? Fuck. I had no right.

Nerves raced through me. “I, uh?—”

“Shh.” Sloane smiled. She motioned toward the hallway with her head and whispered, “Come on.”

Unable to resist her, I silently followed her into the hallway. Racked with unease, I stopped. “Sloane, I’m sorry I?—”

Sloane’s hand reached out and gripped my shirt, pulling me toward her. Her mouth moved over mine in a quick, chaste kiss that left me aching for more. “Shut up.”

I nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”

A grin spread across her face as her sultry voice filled my head. “Oh, I like that.”

I moved forward, bracing one hand against the hallway wall and caging her in. “Is that right?”

Sloane licked her lips and nodded as she smoothed her hands up my chest. “I do like it. I also like that you care about my kids.” Her wide eyes searched mine. “Thank you for showing them kindness and affection. I do my best, but sometimes I know it’s not enough.”

My hand cupped her face. “You are an incredible mother, and they’re lucky to have you. I promise it’s enough.”

Her eyes flicked down. “Thank you.”

I stayed where I was, enjoying the way her sweet perfume floated between us. My thumb brushed across her cheekbone as I committed every line and curve to memory.

I leaned down, brushing my lips across her brow, peppering soft kisses around her eye and across her cheekbone. Every kiss was a silent promise to protect her.

Her hazel eyes slid to mine. “Abel, what are you doing?”

I took her face in my hands. “I am giving you the kindness and affection that you deserve.” My lips brushed hers. “Is this all right?”

Her breath was like a whispered promise in the darkness. “It’s more than all right.”

My mouth crashed to hers, a plea for her to also feel whatever it was that was building inside me. Her soft moan moved through my chest. I pressed my hips against hers, and one leg hitched beside my hip. My palm grabbed her leg, grazing the outside of her thigh, and I squeezed.

I lifted Sloane, wrapping her legs around my waist. We fumbled and kissed as I made my way in the darkness toward her bedroom. Behind the closed door, I walked toward the bed and gently set her down. Sloane removed her cardigan and whipped the T-shirt over her head. Her nipples puckered beneath a sheer black bra, and my mouth watered. I slid her leggings down her thighs and deposited them on the ground beside the bed.

My world stopped when her legs spread to show off her bare pussy. I removed my shirt and palmed her breast. Sloane’s head tipped back, and my mouth found the thumping pulse of her heartbeat at her neck. I licked and sucked at her pulse point as my cock hardened in my jeans.

At the edge of the bed, Sloane watched me remove my jeans and slide my black boxer briefs to the floor. My cock jutted from between my legs, hard and ready for her.

I slid my fingers into my mouth to wet them. “Look at me,” I demanded.

Her eyes whipped up as I slid two fingers into her hot, wet cunt. She gasped and spread her legs wide, and her hips began to move.

I stepped between her legs, planting a hand at her chest and pressing her back into the bed. “That’s it, beautiful, look at me while I warm you up.”

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