Be My Hero (Forbidden Men #3)(87)

"No, I kissed you because I wanted to more than I wanted my next breath, even though I should've pushed down my selfish wants and said no." I pulled at my hair, wanting to give myself a black eye. "What the hell was I thinking? I will not do this to you. I won't start something that can't go anywhere. That's not fair to you. At all."

She opened her mouth, but then closed it and nodded silently before finally adding, "I understand."

I squeezed my eyes closed. Hearing her say that should've relieved me of my worries, but it only made me feel shittier, guiltier, and achier. And it made me love her even more.

Turning my face her way, I opened my eyes and forced a smile, trying not to focus on her exposed breasts. "It was an amazing kiss, though, wasn't it?"

Her smiled bloomed, which finally eased some of my troubles. "Yes. Yes, it was. You're right. A little slice of heaven is better than none at all."

Damn straight.





Chapter 21


EVA


Another week passed. Things between Pick and I should've smoothed out and fallen into a nice, platonic routine.

Well, shoulda, coulda, woulda.

After we—or maybe it was just he—decided we weren't going to be anything more than friends, the sexual tension between us grew thicker.

One morning, I made sure I was awake when he got out of the shower because he never remembered to take clothes with him to change into. And he made sure to drop his towel and give me a show, like he always did. When he glanced my way at one point, giving me a side profile of him, I bit my lip and slid my hand under the sheet as if I was going to touch myself.

His gaze heated and his cock grew out from his body as if on command. I stared at it as I arched up my back and sucked in a breath.

"Fuck," he choked out.

Grabbing his junk, he rushed from the room. The bathroom door slammed a second later and I heard the shower come back on. I laughed, but then let out a little moan when I got to thinking about what he was doing in there, touching himself and sliding his warm hand up and down his thick, wet, slick—

So, yeah . . . I went ahead and touched myself for real. I finished about the same time he did because he cautiously poked his head into the room when I was still coming down off my high.

"Are you done f*cking teasing me yet?"

I grinned and nodded. "Please enter."

"Jesus." He shook his head and strode naked to the dresser. "If only you'd said that before I took a second shower." When I snickered, he shook his head. "That was really low."

I couldn't feel guilty, though, because I felt too good. "But don't you feel a lot better now?"

He speared me with a glare as he jerked his jeans on. "I'd feel better if I could've done that inside you."

Even though I was completely satiated, my body heated again. "Maybe someday," I said.

His gaze flooded with misery, but he nodded. "Yeah. Maybe."

That night, he was beyond restless when he got home from the garage. He played with the babies while I finished supper, but he kept popping into the kitchen and checking on me, asking if he could help with anything.

"You are helping." I threw my hands into the air, flabbergasted with his antsy behavior. "You're watching the kids. Now go. You're driving me insane with your pacing and fidgeting."

"I'm not fidgeting," he muttered but left me with a moment of peace.

He didn't have to work at Forbidden, so we'd be together for the rest of the night. That might've been why he was so on edge. I began to worry I'd upset him this morning. Maybe he was going to kick me out because he just couldn't handle the way I had teased him. He'd already made it clear he wouldn't touch me again. My playful temptation could've come across as not so playful to him.

Julian turned into a little butt after supper, throwing things and crying when we didn't pick them up for him fast enough. Since Skylar wasn't causing any problems, I dumped her off with Pick and focused my attention on the boy, wondering what was up with the guys in this apartment. But I guess the little boy only wanted to hog all my attention because as soon as it was just him and me, he settled down and went right to sleep. Pick carried a sleeping Skylar in a few seconds later.

But with the kiddos down for a while, that just left the two of us.

I silently followed him into the living room, but he didn't sit. He paced from one side of the room to the other.

Leaning against the hallway entrance, I watched him, knowing this was probably it. He was going to give me my walking papers, except I wouldn't go down gently. I set my hand on my hip and lifted an eyebrow. "What is wrong with you tonight? Sit down before you wear a hole through the carpet."

He glanced at me, his gaze intense, but then he followed my order and perched himself on the edge of the couch where he wrung his hands together between his spread knees. He was so masculine and beautiful. Regret speared through me. I was going to miss him.

"I'm getting an annulment," he blurted out, jerking me from my doldrums.

My gaze shot from his tightly clasped hands to his nearly panicked expression. "What?"

He nodded, letting me know I'd heard him correctly. "And I'm asking Tristy if I can adopt Julian."

The breath left my lungs. I shook my head. "I . . . okay." Don't freak out. Just because this was the very best thing he could say to me right now, there had to be a catch. Somewhere. I took another small breath to calm down. "Um, do you think she'll agree to that?"