Steal My Breath (Elixir #1)

“Honestly, Paris, I’m just happy to be here with Luke and Sean. We don’t need alone time to be happy.”


She pauses and gives me a smile. “I love that about you, Callie. I always thought it might be hard for Luke to find a woman willing to take Sean on too, but he scored gold with you.”

Luke wanders into the kitchen wearing only shorts and catches my complete attention, effectively ending our conversation.

“Put your tongue in, Callie,” Paris says before she leaves.

I ignore her and track Luke’s movements. He pours himself a drink before finding my gaze. “You sure you’re good with this?”

“With this no shirt activity?”

I am more than okay with this.

There should be more of this in my life.

We could even go so far as no shorts, too.

His lips twitch. “Yeah. That and you watching Sean while I mow.”

I move to where he stands, unable to resist. Placing my hand on his abs, I trail my fingers over the ridges of his muscles. “Any day you wanna mow, you just call me. I’m all over this.”

He drinks some of his water before placing the glass on the counter and taking hold of my face with both hands. Bending his face to mine, he kisses me. I lean into him and slide my hands up his body to loop around his neck.

There should definitely be more of this in my life.

When his lips finally leave mine, he says, “Fuck, I was looking forward to your A-game. I’ll take a raincheck on that.”

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe we’ll manage a quick game later.”

He smirks. “I like the way you think.”

I move out of his embrace. “I’m going to check on Sean. You should go mow before I rip those shorts off you.”

“Come see me later,” he demands with one final kiss before leaving me.

I find Sean playing in his bedroom. “What you up to, mate?” I ask as I sit on his bed.

He only gives me a quick glance. His attention is firmly on the toy cars he’s playing with. “Police chase,” he says.

Upon closer inspection, I see the police car he has. “Do you want me to play with you?”

He shakes his head but doesn’t answer me. I figure there’s no time to answer when you’re busy chasing baddies.

I stand and move to the doorway. “I’ll be in the lounge room if you change your mind, okay?”

Again, no words, just a quick nod.

I end up on the couch with the notebook and pen I always carry in my bag. I’ve been writing more the last week than I have been for a long time. Curling up with some words today sounds like my version of heaven. Well, besides playing with Luke.

I lose myself for what must be an hour or so. Sean is awfully quiet so I make a quick visit to check on him. I find him still playing quietly—this time with his blocks and puzzles. Being so engrossed in his toys, he doesn’t notice me, so I quietly leave him be.

I’ve just settled myself back on the couch with a cup of coffee and my notebook when a knock on the front door demands my attention.

Glenda’s bitchy face stares back at me when I answer the door. “Oh. You’re here again,” she mutters, bustling past me without waiting to be asked in.

I close the door. “Yeah, me again.”

She walks past the kitchen after noting there’s no one there, to the lounge room. Stopping, she turns to face me. “Where’s Luke?”

The mower has stopped so there’s no way for her to know he’s outside. I briefly consider telling her he’s not home, but I can’t bring myself to lie. “He’s outside, gardening.”

“So why are you here, then?”

What the fuck?

I settle in for a bitch fight because that seems to be all this woman wants. “Well, I came over so Luke could spend some time with my mouth… you know, he seems to like that part of me on a certain part of him, but Paris couldn’t look after Sean, so I’m doing that while he does his gardening.” My gaze zeroes in on her shock, and I push the point a little further. Leaning closer, I whisper, “Later on, I’ll suck him so good he’ll never forget my lips.”

“Glenda,” Luke’s voice sounds from the hallway.

Her eyes are wide with distaste from what I’ve just said and she takes a moment to look away from me. Turning to Luke, she says, “Callie was just telling me that Paris couldn’t look after Sean. You should have called. I would have been happy to take him for the day. Save you looking elsewhere for help.” I don’t miss the nasty way she says that last bit.

He frowns and takes a moment to reply. “There was no need. We’re both here.” I don’t miss the way Luke says “we”. It makes putting up with Glenda worth every second.