Page 109 of Set Me On Fire

But not just him.

I could see Charlie walking in bleary eyed, scratching his head as he clustered closer to watch our child feed, and Noah crouched down beside me, offering me a tall glass of water. There was no reason to entertain these fantasies. I hadn’t even gone on a date with Charlie or Knox, but that’s not how hearts work. They run on blood, oxygen, and hope, just like Knox said, and that’s what had mine beating right now.

“Millie—”

“You haven’t shown me the rest of the house yet,” I rasped in a low voice. “I think I need a tour. Can we start with the bedroom first?”

Chapter 49

Knox

This was not how I planned for things to go, and yet as we pushed past my bedroom door, I couldn’t seem to regret it. I should’ve straightened up, picked up the towel laying on the floor, made the bed properly, but it didn’t seem to faze Millie at all. Instead, her eyes took on a dangerous gleam as she looked around.

“More grey. Colour me surprised.”

“I can… Fuck!”

I wanted to do this right, to take her out to dinner and make clear my intentions. It was terribly old fashioned, but I couldn’t help but feel like the tradition of men proving that they were good providers was a good one. I’d convince Millie to move in, let me look after her, and she’d… Cup my rock-hard dick through my jeans, forcing my hips to buck up and into her caress.

“No. No.”

My penis was about ready to revolt, jumping off my body and chasing Millie around, ever her loyal slave, but I knocked her hands away and pulled back.

“Ohh-kay.”

I didn’t like that flash of hurt in her eyes one bit, but she mastered herself quickly.

“Millie, I want to.” I sucked in a breath, feeling the ache in my balls. “Like really, really want to.”

“So unless you have a secret wife in the attic of this place, why wouldn’t we have sex?” she asked. “It’s not like you can get me more pregnant.”

“You're killing me here.” I leaned down and kissed her gently. “I’m trying to be a good guy.”

“You are a good guy.” Why did I need her to stare up at me and say that with complete conviction? Probably because no one would ever accuse my father of being in any way good. “You were really sweet at the store.”

“I was going for manly, providing for my woman,” I grumbled.

“Very manly. Very secure.”

She was joking, and yet I still felt a flush of pleasure at her words. I watched her lean back on the bed, resting on her elbows, and tried really hard not to notice the way her blouse pulled tight over her breasts.

And failed.

“So let me take you out for dinner. There’s an awesome fish and chips place by the beach. We could take Buster for a walk afterwards and we could… talk.”

That’s what people who wanted to take the next step did, right?

“We can talk.” She kicked off a heel, which seemed like the opposite to what needed to happen. I watched her foot move, unable to look away. That delicate arch found the front of my jeans, the ball pressing down really distractingly on my rigid shaft. I wasn’t really a feet guy, but I could be if she kept doingthat. “We can talk a whole lot, but what I had in mind for my mouth…”

Fuck, she was rubbing me up and down, my whole focus narrowing down to that, but I picked her up and tossed her further up the bed.

“We rushed into things that night,” I said, the words spilling out because if she reached for me again, I wouldn’t have been able to say no. “It’s why you slunk out, then blocked Charlie. That fucking killed me.” Her eyes went wide, and I didn’t want to keep going, but I had to. “Then you turned up at work looking so damn perfect and I was forced to watch you walk right past me, close, but always out of reach. That night was crazy. You guys were drunk, but I wasn’t. I could’ve stopped things, done things right, and then you wouldn’t have been forced to block anyone’s number.” I shook my head. “We could’ve been talking this entire time, getting to know each other.”

Millie stared at me, a small frown forming, and my heart was beating way too fast. I thought I’d completely overwhelmed her, taking her to the baby boutique, but we’d gotten over that hurdle and she was all smiles. This couldn’t be the thing that derailed us, it couldn’t. I wanted her, wanted her underneath me, hot, wet, and willing, but not if she was going to slip free afterwards. I needed her in my life for good and so that’s what I said.

At first there was only an imperfect silence, the throb of my heart too damn loud in my ears. She shifted, sitting cross legged on my bed, the mood well and truly soured. I’d fucked up. Even I could see that. I’d come on too fast, too strong, and had rushed things again and?—

“I didn’t think you’d want to see me again.” I blinked, hearing her words, but not processing them. “You’re right, it was a crazy night. So much so I assumed it was just some kink the three of you were into and that was it. I blocked Charlie asa protective measure.” She smiled but there was nothing happy about it. “Reject him, reject you, before you could reject me. There was no future in my mind where that night could result in anything serious.” Her bitter laugh broke my heart. “It never does. I’m good for a good time, not a long time.”

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