Reckless(76)

“Shh.” I kiss her neck. “The fact that we’ve only had that one injury all summer speaks to the great job you’ve been doing looking out for my troublemakers. Mila will be okay. I promise. No need to beat yourself up about it.” By the time I got home, Tori had already cleaned and dressed the wound. “If it makes you feel any better, when I was a kid, I accidentally tripped Logan, and he flew into the coffee table and knocked out his front two teeth. They were baby teeth, so they grew back, thank God, or my momma never would’ve forgiven me. Baby, you gotta look at the bright side—at least my kids have their teeth.” Cody is still mostly slobber, but he’s damn proud of his three tiny chompers.

Turning in my arms, she gives me a watery smile and burrows into my chest. “I’m really sorry, though. I want you to know that.”

“Tell you what.” I run my fingers through her damp hair. “You can make it up to me.”

Her head pops up, the earnestness in her eyes doing me in. “Okay. Yeah, whatever you want.”

“Go out with me next weekend.”

Her lips tug up in the corners. “How is this me making it up to you?”

I stroke her back and pull her over me so she straddles my waist. “We’re pretty far into this relationship, and I’ve never taken you on a date. Doesn’t seem right.” The night I tracked her down at the club doesn’t count.

Deep down, I’m big on grand gestures, and Tori makes me want to pull out all the stops.

Tears pool in her eyes again. “Really?”

Not that I want to know about the men she’s dated in the past, but if her expression is any indication, they’ve been shitheads.

“Yes, ma’am.” With my thumb, I wipe her cheek. “We should be celebrating. Allison agreed to reconsider the payout, and the judge approved our interim proposal since Allison was amenable. That’s due to you. Who knows what could’ve happened if you hadn’t suggested the co-op? I was already maxed out on alimony payments. You saved the day, darlin’. So no more tears, okay? My kid is tough. She’ll be fine.”

That gets me the smile I’m looking for. And another sniffle.

“C’mere.” I smooth my hand over the back of her neck and bring her lips to mine. They taste like tears and chapstick.

A curtain of silky hair blocks out the dim nightstand light until she’s all I can see. I lick her bottom lip and she opens for me with a soft moan. With her curvy ass swaying on my lap, my cock is already digging into the zipper of my jeans, but I don’t want this to be about me or sex or getting off. Just making her feel better.

Rolling her over until we’re on our sides, I slide her thigh over mine and trail my hand along her shoulders. “We don’t have to do anything tonight, sweetness. I know you’re not feeling well.” Otherwise, I’d be rubbing that peachy ass in those tiny sleep shorts.

“I’m so bloated, and I have the worst cramps.” Tucking her head against my chest, she groans.

“If you hadn’t told me you had your period, I’d never know. You’re so beautiful to me, you could be prancing around in a paper sack and I’m pretty sure I’d still have stars in my eyes.” I tilt up her chin, her shy smile so fucking radiant I finally get why those Greeks fought for Helen of Troy.

In this moment, in our quiet bubble, all the heartache of the last few years is worth it. The divorce. The self-doubt. The loneliness. I’d do it again. Because it brought me to this place with this incredible girl.

I drag my lips against her shoulder. “I’ve heard sex can make you feel better. All those endorphins get released into your body.”

She arches into me, pulling me closer. “Shark Week sex kinda grosses me out, but now that you’re touching me, I’m really turned on.”

A chuckle rumbles in my chest. Shark Week.

“So let me make you feel good.” I suck on that tender spot on her neck, loving that I can feel her nipples harden through her thin tank top. “We don’t have to be traditional about it. I can just get you off. Make you feel good.”

“Mmm.” Her eyes flutter closed, her minty breath on my lips. “Okay, but we both have to come.”

No objections here.

With gentle movements, I kiss her lips, wanting her to feel how much she means to me. Wanting her to know how grateful I am to have her in my life. She’s turned everything around. My outlook. My attitude. My expectations for my family.

When she opens to me on a pleasured sigh, I stroke her slick tongue with mine until her whole body relaxes against me.

“This is for you,” I mumble against her swollen lips. “If you want me to stop at any point or you’re not feeling well, just say the word. I’m not squeamish, so I don’t want you to worry about that.”

Her moan is my answer as I caress her breasts.

“These sore?” Luscious curves fill my hands, and I give them a careful squeeze.

Nodding, she gasps. “But that feels good. And, um… I just took a shower, so I’m, you know, clean.”

Wouldn’t really care one way or another, as long as she’s comfortable. “You smell delicious, and I’m as hard as a lamp post”—which I underscore with a thrust between her legs—“but we can take another shower if things get messy.”

Her lips twist, and I rub her lower lip with my thumb.