Page 52 of The Naughty Elf

Should I be more upset that he’s closer to my dad’s age than mine?

I smooth his collar out and enjoy the flash of darkness in his eyes. “You say that like you’re in your fifties or something. Are you old enough to be my grandpa?”

The way he watches my mouth when I pop thephas me growing warm. I grin at him.

“You’re trouble.” He says it like it’s a good thing.

“Have been my whole life.”

Ashley shakes his head and straightens, seeming older than I usual. We let the subject drop as we play until we’re alone in the elevator and I’m teasing him by getting too close.

“Are you afraid of me knowing how old you are?” I’m between his feet, breasts pressed into his chest, head back to meet his gaze. “You know how old I am, don’t you?”

Brushing my cheek and cradling the back of my head, he leans in for the whisper of a kiss. Tension blooms in the small space. “I’m old enough to be your father.”

“Dad was twenty when he had me.” I search his eyes to see if this bothers him, but it doesn’t seem to. Not with how close we still are. I say with my lips against his, “I’m twenty-four.”

He sucks in a deep breath. “Forty-six.”

I try not to laugh, but my smile hurts my cheeks. “That’s not bad.”

That earns me another shake of the head, and the elevator doors open behind me.

“It doesn’t bother me. Just so you know.” I step out of his grasp and wait for him to follow.

He stands in the doorway, taking me in for a few seconds before he stalks forward and wraps an arm around my waist. It feels different than the times he’s touched me before, even when we had sex around the side of the hospital.

This is more serious. More like an adult man with strong feelings he’s not sure how to express.

I spread my hands up his arms but try to keep us appropriate in front of the kids all around us. “Are you about to impress me with all of thesephysicaltests?

“You have no idea.” God, the gravel in his voice sends heat straight to my core. I bite my lip and lead him to the gymnastics setup.

We jump and play and perform strength tests. Ashley is fast, agile, strong. Me, not so much. When I try to do a pull-up, his hands have to cup my waist to help me lift my chin over the bar.

I want his hands on me all of the time.

In fact, the longer we spend at the museum, the more that’s true, and by the time we make it to the gardens, I’m ready for him to take me home, so I can get my fill of him.

Still, I force myself to stop and examine the exhibits before me. We don’t stop to play with any of the construction equipment because we don’t need to. We already see that stuff every day.

By the time Ashley walks me back to his truck, I’ve imagined what’s coming next for a while already. He boosts me into my seat, hands lingering around my waist.

“Are you going to kiss me, Ashley?” I tip forward enough to tease him without taking action for myself.

His muscles flex under my arms, his fingers knead my back, and he dips closer. “Yes.”

Capturing my lips with his, his kiss is firm, hungry, but I can feel him holding himself back. Now is not the time and place for much more than this.

Yet the tension between us makes it hard to pull apart.

My stomach growls loudly, and we both laugh. “Don’t worry, that’s not my vagina growling at you.”

The way his head falls back with his delight spikes more joy in me. “I guess it’s time to feed you.”

“Yes, please.”

It doesn’t take us long to get back to our neighborhood, the five-mile stretch with the ranch, but he pulls onto one of the access roads and parks us in the middle of the field. Evening is beginning to arrive as he helps me out of the truck again and around the back.

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