Chapter 4
RHETT
My focus ebbs and flows, moving from my work to the sound of Melodie and Katie playing in the living room.
A part of me reminds myself that I should look into daycares, searching for a spot where Katie can socialize with other kids.
The rest of me knows the moment Katie’s off to daycare, Melodie won’t come here as often, and I can’t imagine her leaving.
Beautiful Melodie, with her bright smile, the way she laughs, and her mesmerizing curves.
Shit, I’m obsessed with a younger woman, a woman I can’t have.
Even if her eyes seemed to glitter yesterday, I know that’s wishful thinking.
That’s my imagination seeing what it wants.
Desiring her so badly, it’s trying to fool me into believing she wants me too.
No. I can’t fall into that hole. It won’t take me anywhere.
Melodie’s face appears in the doorway. Her eyes meet mine and she smiles. She smiles in that way that makes my heart skip a beat. Every. Damn. Time.
“Hey. I’m taking Katie to the park across the street. Is that alright?”
Katie pops up next to her, bouncing on her feet. “Say yes, Daddy! Please!”
She keeps jumping, reaching out to grip Melodie’s pant leg. The way the two got along from the start doesn’t help with my fight against this feeling. Melodie is too young to be anyone’s mother, but I can’t help but picture her helping me raise Katie. Katie and children of our own.
I shake my head to dispel the thought. Katie stops bouncing, her lips downturned. Shit, she must think I was shaking my head at her.
“Of course, sweetie,” I blurt out as fast as I can. Poor girl has been through too much already. I want to make her happy, and I want to see her smiling at all times. “Obey Melodie, you hear me?”
Her smile stretches her lips again. “Okay, Daddy!” She looks up at Melodie, clasping her pants with both hands. “Can I have some ice cream?”
Melodie chuckles, putting a forefinger in front of her lips.
“Shh, the ice cream part was secret.” And she looks at me and winks before she leaves.
Holy crap, it’s the wink that does me in.
My heart skips one beat after the other until it aches inside my chest, and I might be having a heart attack or something.
But no. I’m pretty sure it’s just these damn feelings I’m developing for her. As if I were a teenager with a crush, or someone her age that could ask her out. This is madness. This is utter madness.
The two leave, and it takes another full minute for my heart to calm down.
I get to my feet, force myself away from the cardigan Melodie left on the back of the couch, and then go into the kitchen, where I brew some strong coffee and hope it helps.
Another couple of minutes, and I’m back behind the computer, ready to tackle some work.
The full hour they stay away from is both quiet and strange.
I got used to having the sound of Katie around the house, calling out, singing to herself, and chuckling at her cartoons.
The footsteps of Melodie are a staple, her quiet laughter, trying not to bother me.
The steady, soft sound of her voice. Every part of their existence has become a background sound that fills my days.
And it’s so strange to spend some time without it.
I find myself not wanting to repeat the experience.
The keys jingle in the door and two pairs of steps come inside. Katie announces herself with “Daddy! Daddy!” then she runs into the office, and I drop everything to turn to her. God, I missed the sound of them. The girl races to me, hands landing on my knees when I turn to face her.
“Did you have fun?” I ask, unable to stop smiling at her. Her hands are brown with dirt, but her eyes glimmer with excitement.
“So much fun! I went up the stairs to the slide, then down all by myself!”
“Really? That’s amazing.”
“Mel helped me up the first time, but then I did the rest all by myself. And then we went into the sandbox, and there were two girls there and we are friends now!”
“That’s so nice, Katie. What are their names?”
Her smile freezes. “I don’t know!” And then she starts laughing. Melodie walks in, smiling.
“Come on, young lady,” she says, motioning a hand. “Let’s get you washed up.” Her eyes meet mine. “I swear, she’s trying to become a mole. I’ve never seen a kid who likes to dig in the sand so much.”
I laugh, and Katie leaves with Melodie. Fifteen minutes pass with me trying to work, but I'm too focused on capturing the sounds of the two laughing in the bathroom. Silence takes over after a moment, and I go back to work. Not for long.
Melodie appears in the doorway, tucking a strand of hair behind an ear. God, she’s beautiful. I turn fully to watch her, the plump lips, the cheeks turning a soft pink. There’s no way a warm-blooded man could avoid an erection when she’s standing there like this, so fucking beautiful it hurts.
“Katie is asleep,” she says. “And I bet she’ll be asleep for another couple of hours. She ran a lot.”
I nod, getting to my feet, but burying my hands into my pant pockets. “I hope she wasn’t too much trouble.”
“No, never. She’s a lovely kid.” And she steps into my office.
I lean against my desk and watch her coming closer. I’m hypnotized by the way her hips move and how her eyes settle on me, unblinking. “She is. And she likes you a lot.” How couldn’t she? Melodie is sweet, sunny, and good-humored. She’s everything I am not, and she makes it look good on her.
She approaches once more, stopping in front of me. God, she’s so much smaller than I am. I have to crane my neck down to look into her face. A shiver of desire races down my spine, shooting straight into my cock. Shit, she’s so hot. I might have developed a size kink because of her.
“And what about you?” she asks, catching me off guard.
“Me?”
“Do you like me?” And she cocks her head, hair spilling down her arm, her cheeks going red. Shit. Shit, she has no idea what these red cheeks do to me. No idea how much I want to rip her clothes off, put her against the wall and fuck her senseless. That would get her flustered.
Words choke me. Lust makes my vision go hazy. I like her. I like her so fucking much, and it’s so easy, so comfortable to talk to her. Something tells me she would hear me out just fine. She would believe anything I told her, and she would always have my back.
It makes little sense. And it’s so wrong. But I can’t stop myself.
Closing the space between us, I cradle her face in my hands, as gently as I can.
She’s small, fragile, and breakable. A man my size could easily hurt her.
In the space of a heartbeat, I lean closer to her face, brushing our lips together.
I wait for her response, and Melodie’s eyes flutter closed, her lips parting with a breath. It’s all the sign I needed.
I kiss her, a gentle slide of lips at first, holding back my hunger.
No use. It takes over, and my hand fists her hair as my tongue dips into her mouth.
She tastes like chocolate and mint, and I’ve just found out my favorite flavor.
Her lips are addictive, and I devour every tiny whimper of hers, pressing her small body against mine with a hand on the small of her back.
Melodie melts into me, and her knees buckle.
I hold her up, not breaking the kiss, drinking from her lips as much as I can.
Her tongue comes out to play, and I dig my erection into her stomach, my cock pulsing, aching with need.
Her fingers grip my shirt as she keeps her balance, and she trembles all over as she kisses me back.
It’s fucking beautiful. She’s temptation in the flesh. I would spend my entire life learning every nook and cranny of her mouth, and I know for a fact I will never tire of her taste.
She comes up for air, gasping against my mouth. Her eyes open, and they burn like embers when our gazes lock. My heart skips another beat, and fuck, this is it. This is the moment I know I’ve fallen for her.
“B-but,” she starts, then clears her throat when her voice comes out strangled. Dry. Shit, in the back of my mind, I can only picture her spread on my bed, her voice failing after she moans at the top of her lungs. “What about Katie’s mother?”
I shake my head. “We aren’t together. She doesn’t matter.”
“Really?” She holds herself even closer, every delicious curve of hers pressed to my muscles. “She’s not in the picture then?”
“No.” I brush a thumb up and down her cheek. “No, she’s too damn complicated. I’ve never met someone as irresponsible as she is in forty years.”
And I don’t know if it’s the shit-talking about another woman or if it’s because I said my age, but something snaps her out of it. Melodie blinks, then looks away. Her jaw locks. She pushes off me, and I catch myself trying to scamper after her again.
She clears her throat, tucking her dark hair behind her ears. “I’m leaving then. If you don’t mind. There is some... bank stuff I have to solve. Call me if she wakes up.” And she whirls around and leaves my office. I don’t even have the time to point out the bank is already closed.
The message is clear. Whatever I said, it was the sign she needed to step away. She’s not interested, or not as interested as I am, and I should not get close to her again. No matter how much I want this woman.