“That is fine with me. I’ll come alone.”
“Alone?” He sounds genuinely surprised.
I get it. It’s a dangerous decision for me, but I’m trying to prove myself. Ryker has agreed to marry my sister. It was the first move in making these men allies. It’s time to make a few more. “This one is about trust. I come alone.”
Silence stretches between us for a moment, then two, before he finally answers. “My house. Ten tonight.”
“Good. See you then.”
I bury myself in my work for the rest of the afternoon and evening, catching the occasional sound of Anna and Ava in the house. It takes everything in me not to join them.
But finally, as the evening wears on, I step out of my office to find them in the kitchen.
I don’t like having a lot of support staff in my space. I have acleaner that comes in a few times a week and a meal service that delivers food.
I find Anna and Ava at the table together, Anna eating macaroni and cheese, and Ava with a salad.
Ava might have one of the most perfect figures I’ve ever seen in clothes. But she could stand to gain a few pounds, of that I’m certain.
Opening the fridge, I pull out some sliced pork. “This cut is one of my favorites,” I call. “Want to try some?”
“I’m fine, thank you,” Ava answers.
“Me,” Anna says from her seat. “Please.”
With a smile, I cut some smaller pieces, putting them on Anna’s plate, and then I take one and hold it toward Ava. “Bite?”
She hesitates and I reach over, gently placing the piece between her lips. I’m hardly touching her, but I still see a wariness in her eyes before she opens her lush lips and lets me place the piece between her teeth.
Her mouth is as gorgeous as the rest of her and my muscles tighten as my fingertips brush her lips.
My plan is to touch her often and without sexual intent. I want her to be comfortable with my hands, my presence. To feel safe in them both.
She closes her lips and chews the pork, her eyes closing. “That is delicious.”
“Have more,” I answer, returning to the island to cut several more slices. Then, carrying the board over, I scrape them onto her salad.
“Bossy,” she rumbles but stabs her fork into the salad, taking a bite of the pork.
I smile, because much of the awkwardness is gone, I touched her without her stiffening, a definite desensitization occurring, and she’s eating the kind of protein she really ought to have more often.
“I have a meeting tonight, I won’t be back until late. Is there anything you need before that?”
“Not much. Any tips on bedtime?” Ava asks between bites.
“Three songs, lots of hugs and kisses, but only ten minutes,” I say then turn and wink. “She’ll keep you there all night if you let her.”
Ava softly laughs. “I see, and thank you for the information. That’s very helpful and very wise.”
“You think so.”
“My mother never indulged those things with me either. I guess kids need love, but they also need…boundaries.”
“Very true.” I sit down next to her, my arm lightly brushing hers. “Do you think your mother made a difference for you? Even though she left you so young?” I watch as Ava brushes her fingers over the locket around her neck. I’d wondered where it came from and now I know. It was her mother’s.
My own daughter doesn’t have a mother. Something I’m hoping to change. I look down at my plate to keep from frightening Ava with another possessive stare.
“I have a best friend. She never had a real mother, no boundaries. I think she’s struggled more than me because of it, even though our experiences were very similar in foster care.”