Page 35 of Icebound Hearts

“Hey, I get it. You’ve gotta multitask as a parent sometimes,” Jeffrey says. “Well, good to see you. Feel free to hang out when you’re done. We’ll be here all day.”

“Okay. I already dropped Carter’s gift on the table. Tell him I said happy birthday, and I’ll be back in a couple hours to pick up Jake.”

“No rush. He’s in good hands,” Hazel says with a smile.

“Thanks. See you in a bit.”

After doing one last quick check to make sure that Jake is happily occupied with his friends, I head back to my car.

Thankfully, my errands don’t take long, and I’m able to wrap up everything I planned to do while Jake was at the party in under an hour. It’s too soon to go back to pick him up, so I decide to head home for a bit instead.

When I get back, the house is empty. I find a note from Violet on the kitchen counter, written in her neat, loopy handwriting.

Sawyer,

Had some shopping to do and errands to run, so I decided to knock them out while I had a little free time. I’ll be back in a bit. Give me a call if you change your mind about picking up Jake and want me to do it on my way home. I’d be happy to! I wouldn’t mind having the chance to snag a leftover piece of cake if the kids haven’t eaten all of it. ;-)

XOXO Violet

A grin tugs at one side of my mouth as I set the note back down on the counter. There’s something so bright andhappyabout Violet, a kind of lightness that I haven’t been around in a long time, and I feel like that energy has been infusing my house just as much as her belongings and the scent of her shampoo.

I like her. And as much as I’ve been fighting against the truth, I’m so fucking attracted to her.

As I head through the living room on the way to the stairs, I can’t help glancing over at the spot where she and Jake were“getting their wiggles out.” The memory of her body bent over into a perfect A-frame, her ass in the air and her t-shirt riding up just enough to show of a strip of pale, smooth skin at her lower back, makes my cock twitch.

“Fucking hell,” I mutter, reaching down to palm myself as I make my way up the stairs. My cock is half hard against my palm, and I give it a squeeze, willing the arousal that’s been simmering under my skin for days to dissipate somehow.

Of course my damn body refuses to follow my mental commands. Hell, even my mind isn’t cooperating right now, as images of Violet keep flashing through my head as I enter my bedroom and swing the door shut behind me.

Her lips were so fucking soft against mine when she kissed me at the mall. Her cherry and almond scent, which I’d been doing my best not to notice, was impossible to ignore, and when we broke apart, the feel of her breath against my lips almost made me forget what the hell we were doing and kiss her again.

“Shit,” I groan, glancing down at the fully formed bulge in my pants.

Rather than calming down, my cock seems to have developed a goddamn mind of its own, pulsing against my zipper as I grit my teeth.

Maybe I just need to take the edge off. I’ve been so dead set on not allowing myself to think of Violet that I haven’t even touched myself since right after she moved in. But maybe my attempts to keep my thoughts from wandering to places they shouldn’t is only making the problem worse. I’m so damn pent up that I feel like a taut wire that could snap at any moment.

“Fine,” I whisper, reaching down to slide down my zipper and pop the button above my fly. “Just once. Just to take the edge off.”

My cock throbs against my palm as I tug it free, leaving my pants and boxer briefs slung low on my hips. I lean against thewall beside my bed, tipping my head back as I wrap a hand around myself, rubbing my thumb over my crown to gather up the precum that’s already leaking from the tip of my cock. The metal balls of the piercings that line the underside of my shaft are warm to the touch as I start to stroke myself, and my eyes drift closed as I give in to the thoughts I’ve been fighting against for days.

Like what it would feel like to kiss Violet again—without an audience this time. Without having to stop.

What it would feel like to slide my tongue between those perfect, plush lips of hers that are so often turned up in a smile. What she would taste like as I explored her mouth with my tongue, fisting a hand in her hair to tilt her head back so I could take the kiss even deeper.

What kinds of noises would she make?

Would she get loud for me?

What does she sound like when she comes?

That last thought enters my mind suddenly, and I groan as my cock hardens even more. My fist works up and down my length a bit faster—rough and almost desperate, no real finesse to it at all. Just me and this simmering, inescapable desire and my forbidden thoughts about Violet.

“Jesus, that’s so good,” I rasp softly. “So fucking good.”

My breath catches in my throat, my teeth gritting together as my balls draw up tight. I don’t know if it’s because it’s been too long since I did this, or if it’s just the thoughts of Violet, but I’m about to come faster than I have in a long time, busting a nut like a horny teenager.

“Fuck,” I bite out, my voice rising in volume. “Violet… ohfuck.”

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