She tucked her chin into her chest. “I’m sorry. I guess I still have PTSD from…”
“The last time I fired you.” I nodded. “Yeah, I got that. Your job is safe as long as whatever happens between us doesn’t affect your relationship with Poppy.”
She let out a little laugh. “Are you kidding? You have no idea how much I love your little girl, Michael…”
“I have a pretty good idea.” My heart warmed as my eyes moved over her face. No other woman has ever come into mine and Poppy’s life and proved tolovemy daughter more than the thought of getting into my bed.
“I want to keep my job because I adore her.” She ran her fingers through her hair. “I mean, I can’t say how long I’ll stay in the line of work, but the thought of leaving her…” She shrugged. “It breaks my heart. I haven’t even been here that long. Is that weird?”
I swallowed hard as our gazes collided, and I clearly saw her sincerity. This woman was burrowing herself into the depth of my soul. Did she somehow discover that the way into my heart was through my daughter? The things I’d been feeling lately were scary as fuck.
“No,” I said, clearing my throat. “It’s perfect. I appreciate that.” Her admission helped to lessen my worry. If she was as attached to Poppy as Poppy was to her, then serious shit would have to hit the fan before she walked away from the job. I could work with that comfort for now.
“Um…” Mia nibbled on her lower lip. “Last night was…”
“Incredible?” I asked.
Her cheeks turned crimson as she nodded. “Are we going to do what we did before?”
“Do you mean go back to skirting around each other and pretending I don’t want to be buried balls deep in you every time I see you?” I asked incredulously. For the sake of my sanity, we could not go back there.
Her jaw slackened.
My filter wasn’t on yet. Maybe it was because I thrived on routine, and my morning regimen—which consisted of a rigorous workout that helped me to blow off steam and gather my control—had been sidetracked. Mia would get my raw honesty.
“Fuck no,” I continued. “The horse has gone through the gate, Mia. There’s no going back now. You’re in my bed and…” I gave her a slow appraisal. “I like having you in it.”
She inhaled deeply in response.
The cynic in me, who wasn’t easy to suppress, had to put in his two cents. “I’m not promising some epic romance,” I warned. “But I’m attracted to you and clearly the feeling is mutual. We’ve already tried ignoring it, and that didn’t work.” I took a deep breath before I said what I was about to say because I couldn’t believe the words were about to come out of my mouth. “We can keep things casual and see where it goes.” I held her gaze. “If you’re interested, that is.”
“Casual?” Her eyelashes lowered to hide her eyes, but I heard the hesitant note in her voice. It worried me because if she wanted more, I wasn’t sure if I could give it to her.
“Maybe I’m thinking crazy…” I said. I definitely didn’t sound like my usual self.
She met my gaze again. “What about your initial problem with my age?”
I sighed. “Honestly, when I made a big deal about your age, it was because I made a wrong assumption.”
She lifted an eyebrow. “What’s that?”
I shrugged and rubbed my nape. “I was very much into you when we met… before that, even. However, when you told me your true age, I was convinced you’d be… bratty… and every moment with you would be drama-filled.”
After a few beats of silence, I feared I had offended her. However, she nodded. “I understand your skepticism. You already have a child, and you don’t want to deal with another one.”
“Precisely.” I watched her closely, praying she didn’t take it the wrong way.
“I get it.” Her lips then lifted into a smug smile. “Ugh, I want to bebrattyright now and tell you tosuck itbecause you were so wrong.”
I fought to keep down my amusement and maintain my typical serious air, but with Mia around, I couldn’t help but laugh. The deep sound floated around the room and it was a hell of a thing. There hadn’t been any laughter in my bedroom since… ever.
She giggled when I reached for her and pulled her against me. I laid down and carried her with me so she was sprawled on top. The heat and softness of her bare skin on mine had me reared up and ready to go. “When you saysuck it, where exactly would you like me to suck?” I threaded my fingers through herhair to angle her head to one side so I could run my lips along the side of her neck. “Because I can think of several delicious places…”
Mia let out a low moan when I slid my free hand between her legs from behind and stroked her slit. God, she was already wet.
“Michael…” She moaned again. “We can’t. I should get back to my room. I have to wake Poppy and get her ready for school.”
“Okay… I can make you come in a minute and half… two minutes tops.”