God, she hated this fucking house. Maybe she should burn it down for the insurance money. Illegal, yes, but she’d be warm for a good amount of time.
Demo was in the kitchen, leaning over the expensive marble counter. At some point, he’d removed his cut, jacket, and boots. His long legs were encased in dark jeans that rode low on his lean waist. White socks covered his large feet that almost looked too big for his narrower frame. A black long sleeve shirt clung tightly to his toned torso and strong arms.
Richard’s coffee cup advertising some damn country club he’d been so conceited about getting membership to was gripped in Demo’s hand. When he brought the cup up to his mouth for a sip, it caused the hem of his black shirt to ride up to show the faintest hint of skin around his navel.
Asleep against his chest was a swaddled up Nelly Bean. Demo had his left arm under her son’s butt with a blue sippy cup of milk gripped between his thumb and pinky finger of his left hand. Nelly Bean’s little face was smooshed against Demo’s chest like he’d fallen back to sleep mid-sip. His mouth was open and his nose looked uncomfortably molded upwards.
Paige thought her ovaries might explode at the sight. Which was completely ridiculous. She’d seen the man in hisunderwearduring his treatment in her clinic. But there was absolutely nothing sexier than the image of him standing in her kitchen like it washiskitchen with her son asleep against his chest like he washisson. Above all, she shouldnotbe admiring his clothed body like he was a present wrapped just for her.
“You want any coffee?” he asked suddenly, making her jump. “Or are you planning on standing there ogling me all morning?” The playful smile he turned on her took out the arrogance of his question.
She was a bit impressed that her cheeks didn’t flush at the suggestiveness in his eyes. She squared her shoulders and walked into the kitchen. “Coffee.”
He immediately put his mug down. One handed, he picked up an empty mug he must have taken out in anticipation of her arrival and poured her coffee for her. “I assume you take it black.” He was keeping his voice low for Nelly Bean’s sake, which made it seem deeper, with more of a rumble. Paige shouldnotfeel jealous that her son got to be pressed up against him so while she was only standing next to him. “I couldn’t find any cream or sugar.”
Thatshe did feel her face heat at. Cream and sugar cost money. She didn’t particularly like coffee without them, but she also couldn’t justify the expense of them. Black coffee was just fine. She was growing accustomed to it, in fact. “I take it black,” she said with as straight a face as she could.
Demo’s raised eyebrows when he handed her the mug told her he didn’t believe her, but he thankfully didn’t call her on her lie as he had the night before.
She accepted the cup with a low, “Thank you.”
From the strong smell, she could tell he’d used new grounds. She’d been trying to make the can of coffee last longer by reusing grounds over a couple of mornings. But she couldn’t scold him for not knowing that or for using new grounds. Someone who wasn’t counting every penny and trying to get a dime from a dollar wouldn’t think to do something like that.
She took a sip of coffee. “I can take him.” She gestured to her sleeping son.
Demo shook his head. “I got him. He’s fine.”
“Did he wake up when you did?”
“Actually, I woke up to him trying to get you up,” Demo informed her. There was no accusation in his voice, just factual. “He needed to go to the bathroom and the house was dark.” Paige’s eyes went wide that she hadn’t woken up when her son had needed her. Demo waved off her shock. “I got him up. We went to the bathroom and then came in here to get something to drink. He fell asleep soon after.”
Shame and gratitude warred inside her. “Thank you,” she pressed. “I can’t believe I didn’t wake up. I am so sorry about last night. I don’t know what came over me.”
“We need to talk, Paige.” Demo walked over to the kitchen table and pulled out a chair, indicating for her to sit with the hand that wasn’t holding her son.
The coffee nearly got stuck in her throat as she swallowed. Dread filled her gut. “Is this the part where you break up with me for being too much? I am so sorry I dumped all of…” Her voice trailed off. She hadn’t actuallysaidanything to him last night. She’d just cried on his shoulder while holding her son and then her oldest had joined them on the couch. She wasn’t sure if that made what happened more or less awkward. “Iamsorry, Demo.”
Demo indicated to the chair again.
Her shoulders sagged as she walked over and took the offered seat. He sat down catty corner to her.
Demo plucked her mug of coffee out from between her hands, placed it a few inches to her left, and then reached forward to grip her hands in his big one. He moved carefully to not jostle Nelly Bean.
“Paige, please look at me.” She hadn’t realized she’d been laser focused on his hand on hers until he spoke. She lifted her gaze to meet his. “First, good morning. I hope you slept well.”
Better than she had in averylong time. Longer than the two years since her husband had walked out on her. “I did,” she assured him. “Um, and you?”
His smile held a promise, one she wasn’t sure she understood yet. “I slept amazingly well. I can now see the appeal of puppy piles.”
Her cheeks flushed. She opened her mouth to respond, but he cut her off.
“Second,” he said with a stern gaze, “if you try to apologize again, I will turn you over my knee and spank your ass.”
Heat flooded her…but for an entirely different reason. That statement should not have beenappealing. She certainly would not have found it so if it had come from Richard.
A bit of cockiness touched his expression, like he knew the effect his statement had on her. “Another time,” he vowed, dipping his chin down at her slumbering son on his arm. Paige was so taken aback by the offhandedness of his promise that she felt like she had gotten whiplash and had to concentrate to follow along to his next words. “Paige, I know you’re going through a lot right now. It can’t be easy thinking you were going to spend your life, your marriage, with someone and then to have them walk out on you. I can’t imagine how hard that was for you.” He squeezed her hands. “And I can see how much you’re struggling. There’s nothing to be ashamed of. Especially when the fault doesn’t fall on you. I want to help you. Ineedto help you. Feelings for you aside, it’s the right thing to do, but it’s something Ihaveto do because I have feelings for you.”
Her breath hitched. Words got caught in her throat and she was unable to respond. Her pride wanted her to argue with his statement. But the fact that her situation had gotten so desperate that it was affecting Mikey’s health stopped her. A tear escaped her eye, trailing down her cheek.