Page 147 of Renewal After Dark

His huff of laughter took him by surprise. He also did a lot of that when she was around. “I saw Mac over at your place, and he said he’d like to talk to you about bookkeeping for the marina and the construction business.”

“Wow.”

“I think you have yourself a business, sweetheart.”

“You called me sweetheart.”

“So I did. Is that a problem?”

“Not for me. Is it for you? It contains the word ‘sweet,’ which you don’t care for.”

Smiling, he said, “You think you’re very clever, don’t you?”

“I am very clever. I’ve landed liketennew clients in two days, and I’ve got this sweet guy who likes to kiss me.”

“No one deserves it more than you do.”

“Plenty of people deserve it more, but I’m thrilled to be finding a way to make a life for myself and Jax here. That was my biggest concern—that I’d be able to make a living in the off-season.”

Duke couldn’t resist planting a kiss on the tempting length of her neck. He loved the way she shivered when he kissed her there. “They packed up your stuff in bags next door. We can go get it with the truck when Jax wakes up.”

“Sounds good.”

“How long will he nap?”

“A couple of hours probably.”

“That long?”

“Uh-huh.”

“There’s a lot we can get done in a couple of hours,” he said as he continued to kiss her neck.

“I was thinking about opening QuickBooks and getting some work done.”

“That word is the ultimate cockblocker. Everything shrivels up and dies at the sound of it.”

McKenzie rubbed up against his still-formidable erection. “Doesn’t seem to have happened yet.”

“Any second now.”

She continued to rub against him. “Are you sure about that?”

“I might’ve found the QB antidote.”

He loved the way her smile lit up her entire face, and more than anything, he loved being the one to make her smile like that. “Do you need to work now, or can you hang out with me?”

“I’d love to hang out with you, but I really do need to get some things done while Jax is sleeping.”

“How about I figure out dinner, and you guys come over when you’re ready?”

“You made dinner last night.”

“I’m not keeping score.”

“I’ll make it up to you.”

“I’ll look forward to that.” He kissed her once more and forced himself to let her go—for now, anyway.

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