Page 73 of Wasted On You

“I’ve never thought about it, but…”

“But?”

“What do you think?”

Mike Paul wasn’t sure what the right answer was. This was new territory for him. If he answered wrong, he could fuck things up. And the last thing he wanted was to screw things up with Ivy. Not when it had taken them years to get to this point.

But a baby? His baby? Was he ready for something like that?

“I ah…” He fell silent because he had no response.

“It’s okay,” she said, reaching for him. She smiled, her eyes shiny and warm. “Like I said, it’s not the right time. I’m not worried.”

Relieved, he let out a long breath. “Are you sure? We can talk about this.”

Her answer was a kiss. Then a groan. His world fell away, and Mike Paul spent the next twelve hours in heaven.

Chapter20

Ivy woke slowly.She was on her stomach, and something warm pressed up against her side. For a moment, she was confused, but then she remembered the night before and smiled. So. Much. Sex. And all of it was so good, it hurt. Literally.

She moved a bit, then groaned and opened one eye. It was still dark, and when her eyes adjusted, she spied two wagging tails attached to two dogs with wet noses and wetter tongues. They watched from beside the bed.

Ivy reached over and scratched their heads, wondering how they’d managed to open the bedroom door, then turned to Mike Paul. He was on his back, arms flung above his head, sleeping like a baby. Her smile widened, and she moved a lock of hair from his forehead, then gently pressed a kiss to his cheek. He didn’t move.

Her heart was full because he filled it up, and truthfully, she could have spent the entire day watching him sleep. He was perfect. He was imperfect.He was everythingshe wanted. “I love him,” she whispered to herself.

And he loves me.He’d said the words.Out loud.Three little words she’d hadn’t known she needed to hear.

Ivy considered snuggling back in and falling asleep, but the clock on the dresser glowed six a.m. Carefully, she slipped from the bed and then padded to the bathroom. She was sore. Everywhere. Her arms. Her abs. Her thighs.Between her legs.But it was the kind of sore a woman didn’t mind. It told her she’d been thoroughly loved.Six times. Nope, she grinned to herself,seven. There’d been that last time when he’d done the thing with his tongue, just before they’d fallen asleep.

The man was insatiable. They’d spent all their time in the bedroom. Had all the sex, ate all the pizza, and devoured two pounds of wings. Then, more sex. Could a girl be sexed out? Was there such a thing as too much? Could a vagina break?

“Geez,” she whispered.Don’t be dumb.

Ivy studied herself in the mirror. Her eyes were glassy, her lips bruised, and there were obvious signs of beard rash on her face, and she glanced lower, between her legs.

Just thinking of Mike Paul down there made her blush. The man knew his way around a woman’s body. Knew how to use his tongue. And the way he curved his fingers and pushed upward when he was inside her?Bingo.He could patent that move and make millions.

She winced a bit as she edged up to the sink and searched for a toothbrush, but there was only a lone electric device on the counter. She stared at it for a couple of seconds. What would she have done if she’d found a pink toothbrush squared away in a drawer? Mike Paul was no saint, but still, she was pleased to note no evidence of another female in his bathroom.

She used her fingers to clean her teeth with a liberal amount of paste, then eyed the shower. But with no toiletries or clean clothes to change into, Ivy decided to wait until she got home. She would have loved nothing more than to spend the entire day with Mike Paul, but there were loose ends to tie up. She didn’t need a buffer anymore.

Smiling to herself, Ivy headed back to the bedroom, found her clothes on the floor, and got dressed. Mike Paul had turned onto his side, and she wondered if she should wake him. Didn’t he have chores and animals to look after? She took a step toward the bed but then paused. She could check on the animals in the barn and make sure they had food and water before she left. It couldn’t be that complicated.

It was the least she could do, considering this had been, hands down, the best night of her life. She dropped one last, light kiss on his forehead and closed the bedroom door.

Ivy hummed a tune and made her way downstairs, the dogs hot on her heels. She let them out and filled up their food and water dishes. There was another bowl on top of the washing machine with a box of cat food beside it. She filled it as well, even though Mike Paul’s mysterious feline had never made an appearance. She figured it must be somewhere.

Quickly, she scribbled a note, then headed toward the door to let the dogs in, but it opened before she was able to. Jacob Clappison walked inside, Weiner and Bun jumping at his feet. He stomped snow from his boots and was in the process of hanging up his winter coat when he spied Ivy.

“Hey,” he said gruffly. If he was surprised, he didn’t show it. Jacob snuck a look toward the stairs, and Ivy blushed, then sidestepped him in a bid to grab her jacket and purse. She had no intention of chitchatting with the teenager. She probably smelled like sex. God, she was a walking sex stick.

“Good morning,” she replied brightly. “I was going to check on the barn before I left, but since you’re back, maybe you?—”

“Already done.”

“Okay.” She pasted a smile on her face. “Good.” She pointed to the kitchen. “There’s a note for Mike Paul. Can you let him know it’s there?”

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