Page 62 of Rowdy Hearts

His smile turned into a wide grin. “Me, too, Princess.”

That nickname was growing on me. If anyone else had triedto call me that, I would’ve ripped them a new one. But Rowdy… The rules were different for Rowdy.

“I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Then I leaned across the console, and he met me halfway, our lips coming together harder than either of us intended. But the second we touched, that fire in my blood burned hotter than ever. My hands rose to cup his face so he couldn’t pull away, not that I thought he would. No, he kissed me deeper, his mouth more demanding, until I couldn’t breathe, and my heart pounded against my ribs. Until I was ready to crawl over the divider and onto his lap.

Just when I thought I might actually do it, he pulled away, that grin gone but the heated intensity in his eyes letting me know he wanted more.

“Not that I don’t want to continue this, but before I strip you naked, and we end up pretzel fucking in my truck, you should go inside.”

I laughed at the wry humor in his voice, but I could also hear the promise, too. And no, I really didn’t want either of his parents to accidently look out a window and catch sight of me and their son fucking in his truck. I would never be able to look either of them in the eyes again.

Hell, I wasn’t sure how I was going to face Raffi in the morning as it was.

With that thought in mind, I watched him get out of the truck and walk around to my door. He gave me his hand to help me out, and I had a momentary panic when I realized I didn’t want to let him go.

When I tried to release him, he curved his fingers around mine and walked me to the door, hand in hand.

“You and Krista want to go to brunch with the team and the Angels tomorrow? It’s another tradition, but mostly it’s just to gossip about what happened the night before.”

He must have seen the look of panic on my face because heimmediately added, “Trust me, no one’ll give you a hassle. You’re new. You get a pass. At least for a few weeks, anyway. The girls will make sure of it.”

I wanted to go. I wanted to spend more time with him. Wanted to be part of this world, if only for a few short days.

“Sure. What time?”

“Be back around eleven.” Then he leaned over and pressed his lips against mine for all of two seconds before he pulled away. “See you tomorrow, Princess. Sleep well.”

He walked back to the truck but didn’t get in until I’d opened the door and shut it behind me.

“Mommy?Are you okay? I’m hungry. And it’s, like, almost lunch.”

Krista’s voice made my eyes fly open as I shot from sleep to instantly awake.

“Are you okay? What’s wrong?”

Krista laughed as she bounced on my bed before snuggling in beside me. “I’m hungry. You’ve been sleeping for so long. I thought you’d never wake up. I wanna eat.”

Turning to look at the clock on the bedside table, I groaned when I saw the time. “Baby, it’s only seven-thirty. And it’s Saturday. We can sleep later on Saturdays and Sundays, remember?”

“But I’m awake, and I’m bored. Can I watch TV until you get up?”

A yawn caught me off-guard, making Krista giggle again. “Mama, you must have gone to bed late.”

Heat flooded my cheeks as I remembered exactly what I’d been doing last night that had kept me awake late.

“You know what, hon? You can watch TV. If you do it in the other room.”

Krista smacked a kiss on my burning cheek then scrambled off the bed to run to the sitting room where the TV was located. Ifigured she’d call for me in a few seconds because she wouldn’t be able to find the remote or wouldn’t be able to work the TV. But I was proven wrong when I heard the distinctive sound of cartoon voices filter into my bedroom.

With a tired sigh, I flopped back down on the bed and closed my eyes again, though I knew I couldn’t fall back to sleep. Yes, I was tired, but Krista needed me. A little alone time with my thoughts was not too much to ask, though, right?

Was I having regrets about last night?ShouldI have regrets about last night?

No. Because I wasn’t a child, and sex wasn’t dirty. And, oh my god, it had been the best sex I’d ever had. Ever. I wanted to have sex with Rowdy again tonight and the next night and?—

Krista and I couldn’t stay forever. Not even for a month. I had made a commitment to my business partners. Our agency was only four years old. I had clients who depended on me, who trusted me withtheirchildren. And even though my business partners would cover for me for as long as I needed, I had to go back to the city because that’s where my clients needed me to be.

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