One Look: A grumpy, single dad small town romance(71)

“Why not?” he finally ground out when I still hadn’t answered.

Because I’m in love with you and your daughter and I don’t know that I have the guts to leave.

“I don’t know.” It was all I could manage.

I wanted him to fight for me. To tell me that he was choosing me and that he wanted me to stay with him in Outtatowner. Somehow the quirky lakeside town had become a part of me. I was settled and grounded for the first time in my life, but it was nothing without Wyatt.

He pulled me from my thoughts. “And Royal?”

“I talked with him after the boys were arrested. He said he could talk with Lucian and get him to drop the charges. He did.”

Wyatt scoffed. “Just like that?” He shook his head. “Nothing comes from a King without strings.”

“I’m telling you, he just . . . agreed. I told him how damaging this could be and how silly it would be to ruin their futures over a little fight. It wasn’t a big deal. He kind of laughed and said that he’d been in plenty of stupid fights and that he’d talk with Lucian.”

“You should have talked to me first.” Visible tension rose in his shoulders and neck.

“I didn’t have time. It all happened really fast. Royal was right there at the station, and he talked with Lucian. I made the best call I could in the moment.”

“And now you’re indebted to Royal fucking King.”

I rolled my eyes. “You make him sound like some larger-than-life Mafia kingpin or something. It wasn’t that big of a deal. In fact, he was kind of . . . nice.”

Wyatt dismissed my statement with a disgusted sound and shake of his head. Heavy moments passed, tense and silent. My palms felt damp. I rubbed them together, looking around his farmhouse.

This night, this entire conversation, was too intense. Too close to a real relationship with its ups and downs. Every part of me craved that connection, but it was clear that the lines between personal assistant and girlfriend were blurred, and Wyatt wasn’t sure what to make of it either.

I stood and took a few steps toward the front door.

“Stop.” The hard, grumpy tone of his voice halted my feet. “Don’t go.”

I froze, my heart beating wildly.

“I owe you an apology.”

I glanced over my shoulder but didn’t turn back. “I get it. Tonight was . . . a lot. It’s fine. Everyone just needs a little time to cool off.”

Wyatt stood and took a step toward me. “It’s not fine. I was a dick. You didn’t deserve that.”

A tiny smile played on my lips. Wyatt’s arms wound around me as he pressed my back against him. His warm breath moved over my ear. “Can you forgive me for losing my cool and being a jerk?”

I lifted my shoulder and shot him a playful look. This I could control. When we were lost in each other, I knew exactly where I stood. “I dunno. I guess that depends on how you’d like to apologize.”

He grunted, low and deadly, as his hands moved down my sides and over my skirt. “What would you say if my apology included bending you over this table right now and showing you just how sorry I was.”

“Wyatt Sullivan,” I hissed, a blush staining my cheeks. “There’s a house full of people.”

His fingers teased my exposed thighs, dragging higher and higher, dipping beneath my skirt. “Then you’ll have to work extra hard at keeping quiet.”

A thrill danced through me. “If you’re doing it right, I shouldn’t be able to keep quiet.”

His teeth nipped the base of my neck. “Exactly.”

I bit down on my lip and tried to listen for any sign of the boys or Penny. Through the ceiling I could hear the low drone of their television and no sign that Penny was awake.

My heavy breaths rattled through me as I considered just how desperately I needed to connect with Wyatt. To use my body to show him all the pent-up feelings I was too afraid to voice.

As Wyatt continued to kiss my neck, I gathered my skirt in my hands. Wyatt was just as impatient because he dropped to his knees and used his strong arms to bend me at the waist. With one hand pinning me in place, my chest pressed flat against the wooden table.

I could feel his face close to my pussy and then the drag of his teeth across the line where my thigh met my ass.

I let out a small, desperate whimper.

“Quiet now.” Wyatt’s teeth clamped down on my inner thigh, and I pressed my lips together to keep from moaning. His tongue darted out to smooth over my skin, and his strong fingers flex over my lower back.

His hand left my back, trusting that I’d stay in place while he explored my body. Both hands trailed up the back of my thighs as his mouth teased and sampled. Finally—finally—his hands looped into the top of my damp thong and yank the fabric down.

Hard.

A strangled sound escaped my throat, and I clamped a hand over my mouth. My hips tipped backward, urging him to put his mouth on me. Begging for it.

His large hands gripped my butt as he spread me open. Wyatt dragged the flat of his tongue through my pussy with an aching slowness. Every nerve ending was on fire, and my body arched and pleaded for more.

I could feel the rattle of his own groan as he spread me wider and devoured me. My knees wanted to buckle. I shifted my weight, pushing my pussy into his face.

“Yes,” he growled into me. “More.”