Going Down Easy (Boys of the Big Easy #1)(43)

“Yes,” he said without hesitation.

She laughed and took his hand, leading him down the hall. “Stella? Gabe and I will be in the family room,” she called into the kitchen.

“Okay, Mommy!”

Addison turned left where the kids had turned right and led him to the couch. They settled onto the cushions together, and Addison kicked off her shoes. She shifted to face him, resting an arm on the back of the couch and tucking her legs underneath her.

“Thanks for today,” she told him.

He faced her, also propping an arm on the back of the couch. He ran a strand of her hair between his finger and thumb. “Thank you. I had a great time.”

She nodded, studying his face. “It was a good day.”

“And . . . ,” he prompted, “not so bad with two kids? When you have someone else there to help?”

“I have to admit that having someone else pet alligators with Stella was really nice,” she said.

Gabe felt his heart give a little extra thump. That was something. “Addison,” he said seriously, “Stella will never have to face an alligator—literal or figurative—alone as long as I’m around.”

Addison groaned.

He smiled. “What?”

“That was amazingly sweet,” she said.

His smile grew. “Yeah?” He wrapped the strand of hair around his finger and tugged slightly.

Addison leaned in. “Yeah,” she said softly.

“It’s true,” he told her. “It’s not just about softening you up with sweetness and charm and sexiness.”

She laughed, but her gaze was on his mouth. “I didn’t say charm and sexiness. Just sweet.”

He leaned in until their lips were only an inch apart. “But it is sexy, right? It kind of turns you on knowing that I’m kind of crazy about your daughter.”

“You are?”

“How could I not be?”

“Our kids are pretty different,” she reminded him.

He nodded. “Yin and yang.”

She sighed, but it was a happy, contented sound. “I’m kind of crazy about your son, too.”

Gabe’s heart turned over in his chest, and he moved his hand to the back of her head. “You wore a blue dress today.”

“Yeah.”

“Because he told you blue was his favorite color.”

She shrugged. “I thought maybe it would make him feel better about sitting with me on the boat.” Her cheeks got pink. “Probably silly.”

Gabe’s throat felt tight as he pulled her in and put his nose against her neck. “Not silly,” he said gruffly. “And you do smell fucking amazing. I’d sit next to you anywhere.”

Addison gave a little moan as he ran his lips up and down her neck, then turned her head and met his mouth.

The kiss, as always, fired his blood and wound everything in him tight, but tonight it felt like his heart was clenching as well. He wanted her. But he wanted all of her. Everything there was. Everything she’d give him.

They kissed leisurely for several long minutes. Their hands wandered but stayed, somehow, on the outside of their clothing, since there were kids in the house. Gabe ran his fingers through her hair, and Addison ran her hands over his chest and shoulders.

Finally, Addison pulled back, breathing hard. “Okay, so, we need to stop.”

“But it’s so good,” he protested, nipping her bottom lip.

“Yeah, well, I was about to tell you that the laundry room is just down the hall, has a door, and has a table that could be shoved in front of it. And that if Stella gets started on a bead project, we’ve got a good twenty minutes of uninterrupted time.”

Gabe stared at her. “Why the hell were you about to tell me that? As if you’d decided not to?”

“Because Cooper’s here, too. And that’s probably not very good parenting.”

“Cooper’s attention span is scary long anyway, and he’s never done a bead project—whatever that is—which means that attention span will be even longer. He loves doing new things.”

She smiled up at him. “What about the not-very-good-parenting part?”

“Are there sharp objects, fire, or anything toxic involved?” Gabe asked.

Addison shook her head, giving him a look of desire and mischief that he couldn’t resist. “No, none of the above.”

“And I think they’re both old enough not to eat the beads,” he said. “Though we could remind them of that while we get them set up.”

“True.”

“And it’s not like we’re leaving. We’ll be right down the hall.” He leaned in and kissed her. “And I can be fast.”

She laughed. “Is finishing fast something to brag about?”

He ran his hand down her back, cupped her butt, and lifted her into his lap. She straddled his thighs, and he pressed her down against his hard cock. Her skirt hiked up, putting her silk panties right against his fly. “I promise that you’ll finish first.” He kissed her hot and hard. He knew he’d hear the kids coming down the stairs, based on the noise they were making on the ceiling above, so he slipped one of the straps of her dress off her shoulder and pulled the front of the dress below her breast. She wasn’t wearing a bra, and he cupped her breast, teasing the nipple, then put his mouth to her ear. “Please let me fuck you on your washing machine so that every time you go in there to wash clothes, you’ll think of just how dirty I can make you.”