Page 163 of Beyond the Blue Horizon
Like I was floating.
Free.
As if all of this could be a possibility.
“Oh, I’m not doing it as a favor. It’s purely for selfish reasons.”
“Because youwuvme?” Finn peeped it as she swept him into her arms.
“That’s right. Because I love you.” She smacked a kiss to his chubby cheek then set her knowing gaze on me and Theo. “Besides, I wouldn’t want my little man to suffocate on all the tension that’s clouding this room. It’s a wonder any of us are still breathing.”
I sent her a scowl, though it was soft. “You stop.”
“Just telling it like it is. Maybe you should start doing the same.”
She shifted her attention to Finn who clung to her side. “Now give your mommy a kiss and tell her to have areal goodnight.”
Another scowl, but it only lasted for the flash of a second since Finn leaned in my direction, his sweet face so full of joy and calm that I felt a rush of it roll through my being.
He gave me a sloppy kiss then pointed a chubby index finger at Theo. “Feonight-night!”
Nelly swooped Finn in his direction, and Theo reached out with those big, tattooed hands. Tenderly, he cupped Finn’s jaw and placed the gentlest kiss on the middle of his forehead. “Goodnight, Finn-Finn.”
Nelly was totally right. I couldn’t breathe.
Finn flapped a hand, then Nelly turned and plodded with him toward her bedroom. She paused in the doorway and wagged her brows at us from over her shoulder. “Don’t worry, this door will be locked up tight until at least dawn. You have the whole place to yourselves. We’ll leave you to it.”
She shut the door to the sound of Finn’s sleepy voice calling, “Night, Mommy andFeo!”
We sat there staring behind them for a few moments until Theo finally let go of a light laugh as he shifted in my direction.
“Does your grandmother make a habit of throwing you at the men who come crawling to your feet?” A soft ribbing filled his quiet words.
I rolled my eyes. “I hardly have men crawling to my feet.”
Another holiday movie had begun to play, the volume barely audible in the background.
That dark gaze slipped over my body.
In an instant, tension filled the two feet of space that separated us.
“I’m not sure how that would be possible,” he grunted.
I gave him a huff, voice hinting at a tease. “I think the shock and worry over coming up on that accident blinded you that first night. Or maybe you were the one who bumped your head.”
He drew a leg up as he turned to me, and the lapping flames cast shadows across his striking face.
Every severe angle etched in mischief and possession and lust.
“I was blinded, all right. Blind to everything else but the sight of you. Most gorgeous girl I’ve ever seen.”
Heat warmed my cheeks, and my teeth sank into my bottom lip.
Theo groaned.
“You know exactly how to drive me wild, don’t you, Little Liar?” His words were gravel, and energy pulsed through the air.
A disorder of need and desperation tossed with a feeling of belonging.
