NICE GIRL TO LOVE (THE COMPLETE THREE-BOOK COLLECTION)(76)

She nibbled over the hard lines of his abs and ran her tongue over the crazy-sensitive skin just below. “I wanted to do this to you the day you were in here wearing nothing but your towel. Could you tell? Could you tell I wanted to slip my tongue right into this hollow here?” She licked over a spot at his hip. “Or that I wanted so desperately to tug that towel open so I could do this?” She stroked her hand slowly down to the base of his erection and held him firm as she bent down and blew a stream of air against his now painfully captivated hard-on.

The woman was trying to kill him.

He felt her hot little tongue gliding over his skin then, tasting, torturing him from base to tip.

Definitely trying to kill him. “Abby,” he warned raggedly.

With that same wicked glint in her eyes, she held his gaze for an overlong beat before sliding him past her lips—inch by slow inch.

And then she swallowed him deep.

A throttled groan burst past his lips and he bucked helplessly as she drew back to take the entire length of him again. And again. Hands clenched at his sides, fire in his veins, he tried to hold back, but the liquid heat of her mouth, the searing desire burning in her eyes as she held his gaze pushed him past his breaking point.

His hands fisted gently in her hair and he pumped his hips, control a fleeting memory now as shockwaves of electricity shot straight to the base of his spine. He unleashed a muffled shout and every muscle in his body locked as his release barreled through him, pummeled him with wave after wave of raw, savage pleasure that quickly sent him crashing into an abyss.

It felt like an eternity passed before he slowly came falling back down to earth.

“Come here,” he murmured thickly, pulling Abby up to lie across his chest.

Skin flushed, eyes half-drunk with need, she placed her hot cheek against his racing heartbeat and whispered, “I love you,” against his skin.

And just like that, he was ready for her again.

“Get ready to test your theory about the next round, sweetheart.” He flipped her onto her back and slipped between her legs. “But don’t say I didn’t warn you...”





CHAPTER EIGHTEEN


“THANKS FOR THE RIDE, dad. Love you.”

“I love you too, Sky-bug.” Brian kissed the top of Skylar’s head and winked at Abby. “You too, Abby-bee.”

Abby felt that now familiar added thump in her heartbeat whenever he directed those three words at her. She never used to. He’d been telling her he loved her for years now, practically since the week they became friends. He was just that kind of guy—more generous with his affection than his entire family put together. Times twenty. Though Abby had only been to a few barbeques and parties with Brian when Connor was in attendance, she still remembered how Brian never failed to track Connor down at the end of the night to give him a hug and tell him he loved him…after which, Connor would always reply with a wordless, albeit affectionate, pat on the back.

She realized now how much she’d missed hearing Brian say those words to her the month she’d spent with Connor.

And now…now, the words meant so much more. She didn’t know when exactly it had happened. It was untraceable and almost undefinable when the shift had occurred in their relationship. But somehow, that made it feel that much more meant to be. The words didn’t sound any different, but they certainly felt it. Just as they felt and meant so much more when she said the words back to him now.

She loved him.

So much so that her heart couldn’t remember how it felt not to love him.

“I’ll be back at the mall entrance in three hours to pick you girls up. Have fun dress shopping. And remember, nothing says high-fashion like turtleneck dresses that go all the way down to the ankle.” As he headed back to the parking lot, Brian shot Abby a totally ‘dad’ look that said he was not kidding. Abby smothered a laugh. She could only imagine what sorts of dresses he’d pick out for Skylar’s first school dance.

Nuns’ habits came to mind.

“That’s so cute that dad calls you Abby-bee. It’s so much prettier than Sky-bug.” Though Skylar crinkled her nose at the endearment, Abby could see the underlying smile peeking through as well. “I like that he’s starting to use nicknames again.”

Come to think of it, Skylar was right; it had been a while. With everything going on the past few years, she hadn’t really stopped to analyze it. “It was really more something he did back when we were taking undergrad classes together,” Abby reasoned. “Your dad was big with the nicknames back then.” Smiling, she reminisced, “If I recall correctly, it was always insect or animal names for his close friends, while he reserved all the food item names for your mother.”

“Really?” Skylar frowned. “I don’t remember that.”

Abby’s smile faded. She forgot that for the latter part of Beth’s life, Brian hadn’t been able to call her anything other than her given and maiden name because of her dementia. Nicknames and her married name used to confuse her, even distress her at times.

Was that why Brian had slowly stopped using nicknames altogether the past five years?

Linking her arm through Skylar’s, Abby decided to stroll them both down memory lane. “You were probably too young to remember but yup, it was always food nicknames for your mom. Your dad was always trying out new ones, too. And some of ‘em were really bad. Nutmeg and Honeybun definitely didn’t last, neither did Buttercup or Cupcake, for that matter.” She laughed when Skylar made a face.