Page 101 of In The Game

He steals the bottle of lotion from me. And blocks my path back to the front of the boat.

“Stand here,” he says in a low, demanding voice.

“Arthur, keep an eye on the water. Don’t turn around until I come back,” he says, staring into my eyes like he’s about to devour me.

He pulls me hard against him and laps at my bottom lip before biting and pulling it into his mouth. I gasp but it’s drowned out by the steady rumble of the inboard motor behind us. His kiss is hungry and explosive. Like he’s been thinking about it all day.

His tongue brushes mine. He tastes like watermelon seltzer and Barrett. It’s a delicious combination.

He growls against my lips. “New rule, you can’t wear this swimsuit in front of me when Arthur is around. I’ve been running game plays in my head for the last five minutes to distract my dick.”

I laugh and give him a small push, but he grabs my bikini bottoms and shoves his hand in.Oh fuck.“You’re wet. Does it turn you on knowing how hard you make me?” He shoves the coated fingers in his mouth and sucks them clean.

Nodding, my hands cradle his neck and bring him to my lips again to taste myself on his tongue.

He chuckles and grips me harder; I love the feel of his fingers digging into my body.

“Stay with me tonight. Let’s make it a sleepover. I’ll make you both breakfast in the morning… I’m sick of getting you for only a few hours and having to let go. I fucking hate it.”

No way. That’s too soon…right?Sure, Arthur would love to stay at Barrett’s house, he has stars in his eyes when he looks at him. But what message does it send to his little five-year-old brain? Arthur has never seen me share a bed with another man before.

“You said you wanted to live in the moment, right? I promise it’ll be fine. Let me wake up next to you. Please.”

Ugh, his powers of persuasion are unmatched—or perhaps I have a weak constitution whenever he’s around. There’s a security with Barrett I can’t explain, it’s something I didn’t grow up with, and I imagine this is what people mean when they say something feels like home. I never had that in North Carolina, I hated the feeling of being at home. But this is different. How can I say no to it? Especially when it’s a feeling I spent most of my life craving. This trust we have grows more every day. I like Barrett. And I like the way he is with Arthur—a lot.

“What do we tell him?”

“Let’s ask him. If he doesn’t want to stay, you don’t have to.”

My head tilts to the side and I roll my eyes. “We both know what that answer will be, of course he’s going to want to stay.”What a ridiculous question.

He glances at Arthur still manning the helm behind me. Sometimes, he looks at him the same way I do. It takes the air out of my lungs every time. It’s spooky.

“I would need to get his pajamas and clothes for tomorrow.”

He beams at me, and I smile back.

“Already picked up some spares last week.”Unbelievable.

I knew the night we met Barrett was a good man. He’s empathetic and has a good heart. It’s part of what made him so attractive and why it hurt so much to walk away. One of my biggest regrets.

Opening the cooler, I grab the snacks and nudge him back to the cockpit. For the rest of the boat ride, whenever Arthur isn’t looking, he can’t keep his hands off me—I don’t hate it.

After a spin around the lake, we head back in. As we get closer, I notice someone sitting on the bench attached to his dock. It’s a woman.

“Barrett, there’s someone at your house.”

His eyes go wide the second he sees her. “What the f—what’s she doing here?”

“Who is she?”

“Ral, listen to me, babe.” He takes my hands in his, and my mind starts swirling. “I don’t want you to get all in your head about this, because there’s nothing to worry about. But you’re about to meet my mom.”

THIRTY-SEVEN

His mom!?

“Does she know about—”

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