Page 60 of All I Desire

Chapter Sixteen

MATTHEW

I’m sittingon the front porch swing, drinking a beer and listening to the nighttime song of frogs and crickets. The front door is open. The screen door lets the hall light filter out while keeping the bugs from getting inside. I’m halfway through the beer when Natalia pulls up.

She climbs out of the car wearing what looks like a long, white T-shirt, black flip-flops, and a huge smile. Her blonde hair is loose and straight, and her mere presence makes my entire body warm and tingly.

“Hey,” she says softly.

I stop the swing with my foot and she slides on, sitting close. The beer goes on a nearby table and I slip my arm around her.

“Hey babe,” I whisper, trailing my nose across her cheek. She smells like sugar.

Her hand caresses my face and our lips find one another’s.

I’ve missed you, I want to say. But I don’t, because we’ve only been apart a day and I don’t want to seem creepy or overbearing. Instead, I kiss her slow and deep, and she sighs. That one, faint noise of hers means she’s content. It means I’m making her happy.

I run my hands over her hair. “Long night?” I ask.

She laughs, a little breathy noise. “You don’t even know. How’s Chloe settling in?”

“Good. I’ll tell you how it’s been. Want a beer, though?”

“I’ll take a sip of yours. I don’t want you to leave me to go inside.”

Grinning, I reach for my bottle and hand it to her. While she takes a sip, she moves her foot so that the swing rocks in time with the warm breeze.

“We had a good day. She spent the morning arranging her room how she wanted. She loved the unicorn, by the way. How did you know that those particular unicorn plushies are popular among the tween crowd?”

She shrugs and smiles. “I have my ways.”

“Well, she loved it. Then I took her to lunch at the Square Grouper, then over to the office. We rode around the island, then…let’s see. Got ice cream, watched some YouTube videos featuring some people I’ve never heard of, ate burgers, watched more videos, and then she crashed. She’s excited about tomorrow, though.”

“Excellent. I am, too. I spoke with Leilani and we’re all set. We’ve got snacks, non-alcoholic drinks, face painting, and lots of mermaids set to swim.”

I lean in and nuzzle her neck, kissing softly. “You’re amazing, you know that? Thank you.”

“It’s nothing. I like being the cruise ship director, so to speak. I’m happy when things run smoothly. Some people say I’m a control freak.” She shrugs. “Hopefully Chloe will hit it off with some of the kids.”

“I’m hopeful, too. Tell me about your night. Why were you driving your brother’s dog around? I don’t get it.” I kiss her temple.

“I guess I haven’t told you about Chunky.” She snorts a laugh. “Tate adopted this obese pug a while back, and our mother put the dog on a diet and decided that Chunky could never be alone.”

“Why?” I frown, genuinely baffled.

“I… dunno. We never really asked. We kind of just go along with what Ma says because she’s usually right.” Natalia moves her legs back and forth so the swing rocks gently.

“I see.” The more I find out about the Hastings family, the more I think they’re charmingly eccentric. I can’t wait to meet them.

“Ma put together this entire spreadsheet schedule so we all care for him when Tate can’t. So he can stick to his diet and eat every three hours or whatever. I don’t know. He’s losing weight, so I guess it’s working.”

“So, you had Chunky duty tonight? Wait. Does Mister Sinister like the dog?”

She squints one eye adorably. “Yeah. Except when he farts. Sin batted him on the head when he farted out loud one time.” She sips her beer and I let out a guffaw.

“But no, I didn’t have Chunky duty. I was sitting at home, reading a book and eating cookies. Hoping you’d text.” Her mouth opens and she bites my shoulder gently, sending a surge of lust right to my dick.

“Hey.” I pull her hair, just slightly, so she tips her head back. I kiss her, with tongue. “Love the way you kiss.”

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