Page 37 of Healed Hearts

“I’m going to take offense if you don’t park your very fine ass back over here where it belongs, darlin’.” Shocked eyes meet mine, and then he’s laughing too. But thankfully, he scoots over and snuggles back against me. This time I can’t resist. I drop my head, nuzzling my nose into his hair, and breathe in his glorious fucking scent.

He giggles. “Are you smelling me?”

“Yeah, I really am.God, why do you smell so good? That scent haunted my bed for a week. Washing the sheets didn’t even help.”

“I have no idea.” He giggles again. “I don’t even wear anything because I never know what reactions patients might have to fragrances.” He snuggles deeper against me and rests his hand on my stomach, his slim fingers spreading out and tapping against it. I try to suck it in a bit, and he looks up at me. “What are you doing?”

“Um, nothing?” I answer, but it definitely comes out more like a question than a statement.

“Liar. You’re sucking your stomach in. Stop that.” He’s glaring at me, heat burning in the emerald green. Nope. He can’t be looking at me like that. Not when his hands are on me, anyway. I try to adjust my hips to keep my unruly cock away from him so I don’t make him uncomfortable.

“My apologies,” I say, forcing myself to relax. It’s hard. My stomach is something I have a hate-hate relationship with. No matter how well I eat, or how many ab workouts I do, I can’t seem to lose the small layer of fat there or have the muscle definition I’ve managed to gain everywhere else.

He grins. “You should be sorry. This is… lowkey everything,” he murmurs, fingers caressing my lower stomach. I try very hard not to react. He’s making it almost impossible, though.

My throat goes dry as his eyes drop to my mouth. His lips part as he studies them. It seems like it takes all his effort to drag his gaze back to my eyes, and when he does, I’m almost knocked over by the intensity in the green.

He licks his lips, almost unconsciously. “I, um, I really enjoy spending time with you.”

That brings a smile to my face. “I really enjoy spending time with you too.”

He nods and lowers his gaze again before darting his eyes back to mine. “That’s… good.”

I hum, my stomach flipping when his eyes drop again.

He takes a shaky breath, then he’s inching forward—so slowly that if it wasn’t for the fact that I can feel his soft breath against my lips, it would be barely noticeable.

He leans closer until there are mere centimeters separating us. I want to pull him closer, slide my fingers into those gorgeous thick waves and find out what he tastes like. I want it so badly that it almost feels like a physical ache inside me.

I won’t be the one to close the distance, though. He laid out clear boundaries and I won’t cross them.

He lets out a small sound, a mix of want and frustration, and it has my stomach clenching and my cock throbbing in anticipation of feeling his lips on mine.

“Daddy?”

Holden’s on the other side of the couch in an instant. So quickly, in fact, I’m almost convinced he teleported there.

“I’m hungry, Daddy,” Wren says, standing at the edge of the living room, her blanket clutched in her fist and trailing on the ground behind her.

“Okay. I’ll start dinner,” I say, giving her a small smile while I work on getting my heart rate under control.

“I help?” she asks.

“Of course. Let’s go get your hands washed and you can help, okay?” She nods at me with a big smile on her face. Holden has been quiet, so I turn to him. “Are you alright?”

His eyes lock on mine, and he nods slowly. “Can I help with dinner too?” he asks.

I wink at him. “Of course. Let’s get your hands washed.”

He lets out a laugh that fills me with warmth from my head to my toes. Fifteen minutes later, Holden is behind Wren—who’s standing in a kitchen chair—helping her slice veggies for thehomemade pasta sauce I’m making for dinner. His moves are precise, his hands steady as he helps her hold the handle of the knife and slice through the tomatoes and then the zucchini and onions. “You’re doing so well, Wren,” he says, his voice full of pride.

My heart does a slow roll in my chest at how gentle he is with her. God, I really am in so much fucking trouble.

Chapter Thirteen

Holden

Darlin’.

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