Page 37 of Stolen Kisses

Standing there in all his glory, his niece tucked into his side, is Theo. I come to a screeching halt as I take in his face. He looks utterly pissed,if the tightness in his jaw is anything to go by.

“Your door was f–,” he pauses, looking down at his niece. “Unlocked.Again!” His anger is practically filling up the room; even Kenny’s attempting to put distance between her and her uncle, but he’s holding her hand, so there’s only sofarshe can go.

I smile at Kenny, before setting my sights on Theo. “Iwasexpecting my sister.”

“But we’re not your sister and we could have been any fu– … one!” He scrubs his beard with his free hand.

“Well, you weren’t just anyone. It’s all good, so you can calm down.” I widen my eyes, rolling them down toward Kenny to make my point.

His shoulders drop incrementally as a heavy sigh leaves his lips. “What have you got against keeping you and your boys safe?”

I can’t believe the gall of this man. Who does he think he is? I work to temper my response in front of Kenny and my boys,as theystepout of the kitchenat the sound ofTheo’s voice. Kenny manages to pull her hand free and runs to the boys with her usual level of excitement.

“Hello, Theo,” the boys call out tohim. They move back into the kitchen with Kenny, talking excitedly about what happened at school today, leaving the two of us alone in my foyer.

Crossing my arms, I dig in ready to have words. “Stop it!”

He looks puzzled.

“Stop coming at me with your attitudelike I’m some helpless woman who needs a man to tell her what to do.” I drop my hands, slapping my thighs. “I don’t need you or anyone else, coming into my ho—” His hand grips the back of my neck, cutting off my diatribe as he steps into my body. Before I can take a breath, his mouth slams down onto mine. The suddenness of the action catches me off guard and it takes me a moment to realize what he’s doing.

He’s kissing me.

His soft lips, surrounded by soft bristles,move across my lips in an unexpected swipe. I open my mouth ready to ask what the hell he’s doing when his tongue darts inside. He presses his hard body into my softer one and groans into my mouth. Ishouldpush him away, but for some reason, I don’t. His kiss is firm and as his tongue finds mine, I relax and kiss him back. The roughened palm of his hand slides up to the back of my head, releasing the towel. I feel the weight of it fall away, the wet strands of my hair falling free. He grasps a handful and uses his grip to direct my head exactly where he wants it, all the while stroking my tongue with his. This kiss is full of passion and fire and I don’t ever remember being kissed like this before.

As though I’m his air.

The scent of timber and something else fills my nose. His other hand glides around my waist, pulling me impossibly closer, eliminating all space between us. The hardness behind his zipper is unmistakable as he grinds into my belly.

“My, my, my. What do we have here?”

My sister’s voice interrupts our moment, dousing icy water on me. I hastily remove myself from Theo’s hold, stepping back to put some much-needed space between us.In my embarrassment,my foot catches on the discarded towel and I struggle to maintain my balance. Theo’s hand shoots out, grasping my forearm to prevent my fall. I’m certain my face is on fire. My sister’s smirk isunmistakableand I know she’s going to want all of the details later.

“Hey, Sis. Hey, Theo,” she says airily.

Theo moves to stand behind me, his hands on my hips. “Hey, Sarah.” He clears his throat. “Nice to see you again.”

She laughs as she moves further inside, banging the screen door behind her. “I’m sure itis, Handsome.” She pats him on his shoulder as she strolls past, calling out to the kids.

Myhunkyneighbor edges his way around me, bending down to pick up my dropped towel before handing it to me. “I would say I’m sorry about that, but I’m really not. I’d better head home. I’ll see you in a while when I come back to pick up my girl.”

I stand, stunned in silence, watching his retreating form move across my porch and down the front steps. I’m not sure how long I remain rooted to the spot, trying to make sense of the last however long. I’m dragged out of my thoughts when Sarah bumps her hip into mine. A smile graces her face as she wiggles her eyebrows up and down.

“Sooooo…” She leaves the word hanging, expecting me to fill in the blank, but I can’t. I have no words. He kissed them out of my mouth. Right as I was giving him what for, too. Her wide eyes are begging me to tell her something I can’t make sense of. I shake my head to clear my thoughts and focus on what I need to do, rather than trying to work out the man next door. And he’sallman from what I could tell as he pressed up against me.

“C’mon, we need to get ready. Can you watch the kids while I get dressed, then we’ll work on Kenny?” I walk away before she responds.

I’m meant to look like a server tonight, so I’m wearinga black pencil skirt and white silk blouse, ensuring I engage the press button between my breasts to ensure it doesn’t gape.Dressing quickly, I pull on my thigh highs and head into the bathroom to dry my hair and put on a littlemakeup. The school likes to treat the evening as though the fathers and daughters are dining at a ritzy restaurant. It’s always so cute to see the girls in their party dresses and theirfathersdoting on them.

Stepping into the kitchen, Kenny rushes to me, wrapping her little arms around me. “Hello, Emma. You look sopwetty.”

I giggle. “Thanks, Kenny. You ready to get dressed up? Your Uncle Theo will be here soon to pick you up for the dance.”

“Oh yeah. Sarah said she could even curl my hair. Is thattwue? Iwannalook like apwincess.”

“Of course.” I smile at her. “Are you boys okay while we get Kenny ready?”

“Yeah, Mommy.” The boys go back to watching one of their favorite movies and Sarah and I take Kenny upstairs to my bathroom.

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