I kiss my brother on the cheek. “Thanks for keeping us fed and hydrated.”
“I’m a cookie machine, Ma,” he says.
Babs crooks her arm in mine, and I pat her hand. “You, too, Babs. You found the books and got them hung.”
“Ah, don’t get misty on us. We still need to clean up the kitchen,” my brother says.
“You need to go home,” I tell him. “I’ll want you back in the store at eight to make more cookies.”
“Nooooo,” he wails, and I shoo him away.
“And thank you to Graham for the idea,” I say as we move to head back inside the store.
I glance at him, and his eyes are already waiting, a heat there I don’t want to acknowledge.
I can’t.
My heart should be—is—stone when it comes to him.
Andrew gives me a hug. “I’m gonna head out, Ma. Call me if you need me, all right?”
We head inside and go into the kitchen. Cas says he’s still hungry, so I grab croissants and pull some fruit and cheese out of the fridge for them to munch on. After sticking dishes in the commercial dishwasher, I leave Graham and them chatting as I go to Terry’s office to check on Babs.
I open the door, and sure enough, she’s sitting in his chair, looking glum. “Missing him?”
She dabs at her eyes. “It’s not just the sex. I miss his messy office, his crazy hair, our trysts.”
“Call him. I’m sure he’d love to hear your voice, Babs.”
After she leaves, I wander into my office to get my purse, and just before I’m about to go, I see a small package on my desk.
“It’s from me,” Graham rumbles from behind me, and I turn around. He’s leaning against the doorjamb, his hair a mess where he’s been raking his hands through it. His shirt is damp against his chest, and I swallow. We have the AC set to automatically go off at five, and the store has slowly heated up.
“You don’t need to keep getting me gifts. You’ve bought my silence forever already.”
He straightens, with his arms crossed in front of his chest. “This isn’t about keeping you quiet. It’s personal.” He pauses. “I’m sorry about before, in the basement. I know this marriage has been hard for both of us. I shouldn’t have stayed away so long.”
I glance down at the gift. Part of me wants to rip it open, but the other side of me doesn’t want to know what he bought.
“Open it.” His eyes caress my face. “I enjoy watching you.”
I inhale a deep breath. Fine. I tear at the little string and unwrap the brown paper. My lips tremble when I see what it is. My fingers delicately touch the jacket on the paperback, an illustrated picture of a girl holding a pig as a spider dangles down on a web. Inside, the book features an aqua-colored page with a beautiful web. Little illustrations of the story are in each chapter.
My eyes find his. “You got me a first edition copy of Charlotte’s Web, and it’s signed.” I want to clutch it to my chest and weep. “You shouldn’t have.”
“Why not?” He eases down on the couch.
Because it’s breaking me.
He’s chiseling away at my heart piece by piece.
Pretty soon he’ll own it forever.
“You deserve that book. You deserve beautiful things, Emmy.”
My heart swells with a mixture of emotions at his soft tone. Everything around me suddenly feels fragile and delicate, as if the slightest gesture might shatter everything into a million pieces.
I must resist giving in to these feelings.
I should put him aside and move on.
He is temporary.
We are temporary.
“You asked me once what my greatest fear was, and I didn’t answer you,” he says as he leans forward.
“Yeah?”
A gruff sound comes from him. “It’s letting someone in. And you? It’s yours too.”
And it’s too late for me.
Like a thief, he snuck into my heart before I knew what was happening.
He rubs his jawline. “We have something. I tried to push it aside. I tried restraint. It’s not working. As soon as I saw you this morning, I . . .” His words trail off.
I swallow. “Too much tension.”
“Perhaps we should just give in to it.”
My stomach knots in anticipation.
He says the words quietly: “What would it take?”
Barely anything.
His eyes hold mine, a knowing there, a desire. I’m drawn into his gaze, being pulled toward him, an invisible force controlling my limbs.
He inches closer to me. “Do you want me, Emmy?”
I say nothing as he tucks a piece of hair out of my face and says, “Let’s see what it’s like between us if we face this fear together.”
“What if it . . . ends badly?” My breath trembles in my chest.
“Focus on the good.” His intense gaze is filled with hunger and desire, and my lashes flutter.
I want him. I want him to make me forget we’re not real.
I feel his breath on my skin, and my whole body tingles with anticipation. His hands slide up my arms, sending shivers down my spine, and then up to my neck, pulling me close until our lips are just a breath away.
I close my eyes, savoring the moment, before his lips finally meet mine. His kiss delves softly, brushing me with little tastes, and I can’t help but moan in pleasure. Our tongues intertwine, and my hands caress his shoulders, feeling the strength and power in his muscles.
His hands move to my hips as our bodies press together.
The heat between us burns like a fire, and passion rises with every kiss. His hands wander to my blouse, his fingers expertly undoing the buttons, eliciting moans from me.
My shirt is tugged from my skirt, and he tosses it to the couch. He kisses me hungrily, his lips growing passionate, his mouth open as he explores the recesses of mine. With a snap, my bra is off, and he groans as he finds my piercing and tweaks it between his fingers. His breath is in my ear as he kisses up my neck. “I’ve been dreaming about these tits.”
I gasp, my head falling back to give him more access. “They’re all yours.”
“And this luscious ass.” His big hands palm my butt as he pushes my skirt up to my waist.
I bite his bottom lip gently, and he hisses, burying his face in my neck. He sucks on a piece of skin, and I swivel my hips against the bulge in his shorts.
“Clothes. Off.” I tear at his shirt until he pauses enough to rip it off.
Holy mother of . . .
His bare chest under my hands is mind blowing, his tanned skin, the dust of dark hair on his pecs, his glistening eight-pack. I gasp his name, and he pushes me against the wall, caging me in as he takes deep breaths.
“Strip.”
My core flutters at the command in his voice. I marvel at how safe I feel with him, how sure I am that here’s a man who would never hurt me physically. He wants to protect me. He gives me gifts that speak to my heart.
Holding his eyes, I remove my skirt, unzipping the side with slow movements. My lace panties are next as I slide them down and let them fall at my feet. “You like?”