“Yeah?”
I swear his gaze drops to my lips, but I try to shake that thought away. I’ve wanted him for years, but there’s no way he feels the same. “I don’t know what I was going to say,” I admit.
“You think too much, Bailey. You always have.” His thumb on his free hand—the other is still cupping the back of my neck—runs over my bottom lip, and I think I stopped breathing.
When he leans closer to me, I’m almost certain I’m dreaming. Or maybe I fell into the lake and am drowning. Hell, maybe I’m dead.
But when his firm lips press against mine, I couldn’t give a fuck if I’m actually dead because this is my heaven.
His hand around the back of my neck grips me tighter and pulls me closer as a growl escapes my throat, and I don’t think . . . I just attack his mouth with mine. Taking everything I’ve wanted for so damn long.
My hands move to his thick, soft hair, threading my fingers through it and pulling him to me, not able to get close enough. His mouth opens for me as my tongue darts inside, tasting Grady. Finally.
God, he tastes good.
Our moans mingle as he shoves me onto my back on the dock, and I think this is it. This is when he’ll wake up from his drunken daze and punch me right in the face.
But he doesn’t.
Instead, his body covers mine, settling between my legs, and I know he can feel how hard I am. But what really fucking shocks me to my core, something I’ll never forget as long as I live, is the erection that’s not mine. His hard dick is pressed against mine as our lips meet again, and we grind against each other. Groaning and moaning with need as we kiss and writhe on the old wooden dock. My body is larger than his—both in pure muscle mass and in height—but he has no problem taking control, grabbing both my hands and pinning them above my head as our clothed cocks rub against each other, and I’m about to lose my mind.
“Grady,” I gasp, close to coming in my jeans.
He pulls back enough to look down into my eyes, not releasing his hold on me. “Yeah?”
“What are we doing?”
I could kick myself for stopping this, but this is Grady. He doesn’t make out with guys. I can’t be a drunken mistake. Not to him.
“Celebrating?” His right eyebrow kicks up along with a cocky grin spreading on his too handsome face.
I’m shocked he isn’t flipping the fuck out. But again, this is Grady. He doesn’t freak out. He’s calm, cool, and collected. Always. It’s why he’s a fucking fantastic pitcher. Nothing rattles him. “Like this?” I rasp as I feel his body on top of mine while I pant and plead with him silently to come back to me.
The spell broken, he sits up, letting go of my wrists and kneeling between my legs. “Maybe not the best idea.”
It’s like a knife plunging into my heart, but deep down I know he’s right. There are so many things I want to say to him. I want to pull him back to me, kiss the fuck out of him, and tell him I’m an idiot for saying anything. To get lost with me.
But I don’t. Instead, I take his hand when he stands and then pulls me up, ruffling my hair in the casual, easy way that’s just Grady.
He isn’t freaking out that he kissed a guy. His thoughts aren’t swirling around in his head that’s moving far away while I’m staying in the same state where we grew up. He doesn’t worry about any of that.
“Come on, fucker. This is our last night before the real world comes calling and we make it our bitch.”
I follow, but it’s on shaky, uncertain legs.
Because now, I’ve had a fucking taste. And I have no idea how I’m going to come back from that.
* * *
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WOULD YOU RATHER?
Rather have a single father/kindergarten teacher romance? Go to the next page for a peek at Totally Schooled!
TOTALLY SCHOOLED
CHAPTER 1
“Daddy! Are we going to school now?” I grin at my daughter, who just bounced into our living room, her blonde hair a total wreck from her nap. “Pleeeeasse.”
I laugh at her, swiping her hair behind her ear and pulling her onto my lap. “In a minute.”
“Yes!” She’s so damn excited to go to kindergarten this year. It will be her first time in school, and although I’m excited for her, I’m also scared as hell. She’s never been in the care of anyone she wasn’t related to before.
“It’s just to meet your teacher this evening though. You know that, right?”
Her little bottom lip pokes out like it does when she’s thinking hard about something. “Yeah. That’s okay. My teacher is going to be awesome.”
I laugh, I can’t help it. I’m definitely not a laugher, but when it comes to Hailey, I laugh. I joke. I play. Hell—I’m a princess when she tells me I’m a princess and we’re going to have a tea party with her dolls. I’ll do anything for the kid. “Yeah. I’m sure she’ll be really nice, sweetie.”
Or at least, Ms. Burke had better be nice or my ass will be out of that school so fast. I try to shake away my nerves. I know this is part of the whole parenting thing, but I’ve come to terms with this being the hardest part of parenting for me a long time ago.
Trusting someone else with Hailey.
Other than my Aunt Jo, I don’t let anyone watch her.
Guess that’s all changing now.
I move Hailey to the floor in front of me so I can try to wrangle her hair into a ponytail. It’s a mess of curls—just like her mother had. My heart clenches in my chest when I think about Heather, but I try my best to put a smile on my face by the time Hailey jumps up, turns around, and grabs my hand. “Okay, Daddy. Let’s go.”
“Yeah? You sure you want to go to school?”
She puts one hand on her hip, cocking it at an angle and giving me the stink eye. “Yes. Let’s goooooo.”
I chuckle, and we walk outside of our small apartment. I lock the door before Hailey drags me down two flights of stairs to my car. I unlock the car, buckle her into her car seat, and drive to the school. We’ve driven past it several times in the last two days since we moved to Shawnee, a Kansas City suburb.
The school is close to our apartment, so it doesn’t take long to get there. As soon as I pull her out of her seat, she’s already dashing toward the entrance. “Hailey!” I holler after her, remotely locking my car while catching up with her and taking her hand with mine. “Don’t run off, okay?”
“I’m just so excited!”
I grin. I know I shouldn’t. I should lecture her on how dangerous it can be running in a parking lot, but damn those blue eyes and blonde curls . . . The kid is just too damn cute. “Okay. Just be careful. Hold my hand.”
She agrees, and we walk inside. We’re greeted by the principal—an older, but friendly woman who directs us to Hailey’s new classroom, which we find easily. When we walk inside, I’m suddenly frozen in place, struck by the sight of the hottest man I’ve ever seen.
I stare.
Hailey squeals as she looks around.
The man stands with a bright smile on his handsome face. He probably has a year or two on me, but he’s still pretty young. His light brown hair is perfectly trimmed and styled, cut short on the sides but with thick waves on top. He has a manicured, short beard that is immaculate. And his eyes . . .
Fuck, his eyes.
They actually sparkle. I’ve heard of that but always thought it was bullshit. But his brown eyes? Yeah, they have little flecks of gold that actually sparkle when he smiles. Which so far, has been always.
We’re about the same height, although he might have an inch or two on me. And he’s broad-chested, stretching out his crisp lavender button-down to the max. His muscles strain against the sleeves, and I can’t shake the thought of wanting to see him out of his starched, perfectly fitting dress clothes.
He clears his throat and holds his large hand out for mine. “I’m Mr. Burke.”
“Mister?” My brain finally catches up, and I can feel my eyes widening. “Mister Burke?”
“Yes,” he says, his lips curling with amusement. “I’m sorry about the mix-up. I know the enrollment form said ‘Miss.’”
“You’re a boy,” Hailey says next to me, and I can’t tell if she’s sad or happy about that fact.
Me?
Yeah, I’d rather it was a “Miss” and not an insanely hot “Mister.”
Once again, the universe is fucking with me. I clear my throat and shake his hand firmly. “I’m Rafe Scott. You can call me Rafe though.”
He smiles and nods politely, releasing my hand. “Okay. Then you must be Hailey, right?” He looks down at my daughter with a fondness I didn’t expect.