Page 37 of Single Dad's Second Chance

Thank God.We had been depriving each other of oxygen like that.

“We—” She swallowed and tried to regain her composure without parting from me. Her hand remained on the back of my neck, keeping me close. “I— Yeah. I need a moment.”

I leaned in to press a kiss to her brow. “A breather makes sense.” Backing up from her was torture, but I endured it. “How about I drive you home?”

She nodded, taking the hand I held out to her. “Yeah. Thanks. That’s… yeah.”

I laughed lightly to myself, amused that merely making out like that could fry a bit of her brain and mental power. She wasbewildered to the point of not speaking well. So was I, but I refused to retreat.

We got in my car, and once we were buckled in and I was ready to drive, I glanced at her. I found her staring at me, quizzically and amusedly.

“What are we doing, Henry?” She touched a finger to her lips, almost as though she struggled to understand that we’d actually made out like that, desperate and needy.

“I don’t know,” I admitted. “I’ve always wanted to kiss you like that.” I tore my gaze from the road to glance at her again.To kiss you like that and much more.

“But lines are getting blurred between us.”

I nodded. “I don’t care. I can’t care. Not when it comes to you.” I was glad to show her how I felt about her, but telling her that I’d wanted her for years would be coming on too strong, too soon.

“What about the rules at work? All those ethics policies and no-dating and such.”

“We’re not on the clock now, are we?” I smiled at her as she blushed again.

“No, we’re not,” she agreed.

Internally, I had to cringe. We were off the clock now, but that hardly mattered. Obviously, the no-fraternization policies were in place so people weren’t getting involved at the office and having quickies all over, but it was a general clause for employees not to hook up at all.

Hell, I was the reason that policy was enacted in the first place.Had Mackenzie taken the breakup better and not caused so much drama and strife, I bet none of those rules would’ve been put in place at all.

We remained quiet on the drive to Mia’s apartment, but it wasn’t an awkward silence. She kept peeking glimpses at me,almost coy and shy, and I struggled to focus on the road. I parked soon enough, and I walked her to her door.

She stalled there, taking her time to unlock it. Each time she glanced at me, I felt tugged closer. I grew needier. Her desire was clear in her eyes, in the short, panted breaths. She couldn’t stop looking at me with that raw hunger, and I knew I wouldn’t be walking away.

We were unsteadily balanced on the edge between right and wrong. It was a fine line, and I so badly wanted to fall with her. Whichever way it ended up being. It felt right to be with her, like we fit, but then I was well aware that it would be frowned upon.

She was my secretary. A friend. But neither of those made sense with the yearning that pulled me toward her.

“Do you want to come in?” She set her teeth on her lower lip as she asked, gazing at me with trusting eyes so bright with lust.

“There’s not a chance in hell I can walk away, Mia.” I stepped in to kiss her, feeling the smile on her lips as I met them with mine. She unlocked the door as she kissed me back, and together, we entered.

I walked her back, leading her inside. With our lips locked, our hands all over each other as we fought to erase any gap between us, we moved as one. I had the foresight to pause long enough to close the door behind me, and she arched up toward me, pushing my back to the wooden panel I'd locked.

“This is insanity,” she whispered against my lips as I scooped her into my arms.

I nodded, kissing her back. “It is. But I can’t get enough of it.”

She grinned as I carried her toward her bedroom. I hadn’t been over here that often, just stopping by or dropping her off. Once, we caught up on paperwork in her teeny kitchen late into the night. It was such a small place that I couldn’t err in which way to go.

“I can’t get enough of you,” she replied as I lowered us to her bed.

Like her apartment, it was small. Yet, it held us. We dropped together, and as we resumed kissing until air was irrelevant, I eased her onto her back as I lay on my side.

She cupped my face as I slanted over her, keeping me where she wanted me. No distance remained between us, but still, it wasn’t enough.

I wanted to relish the heat of her body next to mine. On mine. Around me. Now that we werehere, alone and able to finally act on this desire burning so hot for too long, I was desperate to taste every inch of her smooth skin.

“Tell me to stop,” I warned her as I moved my hand from her hip toward the zipper of her short shorts.

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