Page 82 of Can't Get Over You
Chapter Sixteen
Livingunder the same roof with the only woman he’d ever really wanted was the worst kind of torture. Her sweet scent lingered in the hallway, and her laughter filled the house whenever she played with Cody or talked to a friend on the phone.
It gave him a pang of jealousy because he wanted to be the reason she smiled.
Though he didn’t give her much opportunity to do that, did he? He’d have to work on that. Be less…gruff. He needed to be gentler for both her and the boy.
Or maybe just in general. He remembered a bar owner once telling him to be careful because the lethal look in his eyes could “incinerate” their customers. He’d argued that it was only particular patrons, but okay. He saw her point.
The problem with Finlay was that sparks flew whenever they were close. He wanted to get his hands all over her, but he shouldn’t do that, right? Not when their focus had to be on the boy.
It was too complicated.
No, don’t go there.
He set his toothbrush on the counter and flicked the light switch. The darkness made him think about Cody. Was he scared all alone in that big bed? He’d check on him one more time. As he headed down the hallway, he wondered if he should sleep in the boy’s room.
He was way out of his element. Not only did he know nothing about being a dad, but the boy’s past brought an extra layer of complexity. How did Cody understand the difference between his father dying and his grandpa having surgery? Bottom line: Both were gone.
Do I ask him how he feels about these things? Or wait till he brings shit up?
Maybe best to consult a therapist.Yeah, I’ll do that.
As he passed Finlay’s room, he found her door ajar, her nightstand lamp on, and the covers thrown back. It made him wonder what she did before bed. Read? Watch TV? Scroll through social media? He wanted to know her habits, her routines.
He’d thought he wasn’t cut out to live with someone, yet all he wanted was to be with her. He wanted to share coffee in the morning before work and go grocery shopping together. He liked the idea of shoveling the driveway while she was under a blanket on the couch, reading.
If they shared a bed, he’d reach for her all night long, slide into her first thing in the morning, and come home for a quickie a couple of times during the day. He’d never stop wanting her. He couldn’t think of another person he’d ever been so comfortable with. Sohappywith.
As he approached Cody’s room, he found her coming out of it. “Everything okay?” he asked.
She held a finger to her lips and waved him down the hallway. “When I checked on him, his eyes were wide open, so I stayed till he fell asleep.”
He liked everything about this woman, but her purity, her essential goodness, really set his gears churning. When he looked into her eyes, he had a clear shot straight through to her soul. He knew where he stood with her. He trusted her.
“Why’re you looking at me like that?” she asked.
The yellow glow from the hallway night-light gilded her. It turned her dark hair bronze. “Because you’re beautiful.”Oh, shit. He probably shouldn’t have said that. “And I admire you.”
“Oh.” A flush swept across her cheeks. “I just left my groom at the altar. I’m not sure there’s much to admire.”
“You starting to have regrets?”
“Not at all. I’m just lost. I’ve been walking this path for a long time, and suddenly, the road”—she pinched her fingers together and released them quickly, her hand opening wide— “blew up. It’s scary.”
“But maybe a little exciting, too?”
“Oh, well.” She let out a shaky laugh. “I’m pretty sure the exciting part is living with you for the next five weeks. It definitely distracts me from the bad stuff.”
“You know, your honesty’s a big fucking turn-on, right?”
The vulnerability shining in her eyes, the raw openness of her heart, undid him. Desire slammed into him, and he wanted to haul her up against his chest and carry her to that unmade bed. He was desperate to learn every curve of her lush body.
“Yeah, well, I’m never going to survive if we keep having midnight talks like this.” She slipped into her room. “Good night, Jude.”
“Wait.” He couldn’t say what came over him, but he couldn’t let her go. His hand shot out, blocking the door from closing.
Her eyes went hot, and he got a flash of her naked on the bed, ass pitched high, his red handprint on her cheek. His mouth watered as he imagined licking into her from behind, holding her squirming hips in place with his hands. He could imagineher cry as he flipped her onto her back, hiked up her knees, and spread her wide for his mouth and tongue. He knew her neck would arch, her eyelids would flutter shut, and her moans would send him out of his mind.
