Chapter 4 #3
With a sigh, she closed her eyes and pursed her lips, giving her best impression of a sucker fish.
Rough, calloused fingers traced along the line of her forehead and brushed her hair out of her face.
The tips of his fingers left a trail of fire on her skin.
And that was all it took to pucker her nipples.
When nothing happened, she opened her eyes. He was staring at her like he’d never seen her before. Like he was intent on memorizing every eyelash and freckle.
His gaze probed deep, wandering down her neck. He blinked several times, his chest moving with a harsh intake of breath. “I love your hair. I want to kiss every beautiful freckle on your face.” His voice was a low, rumbling whisper.
His gaze wandered down her neck and paused. Fire lit his already heated eyes. She should have gone with her first instinct and worn a turtleneck sweater. The scooped neck of the one she’d chosen now put the tops of her breasts on full display.
“Daddy, I don’t—” she began, but then lost herself in the seductive burn in his eyes.
“You don’t what, Foxy?” He drew his gaze back up as far as her lips.
A different, even more intense light shimmered in his eyes.
She recognized that look. She saw it in the mirror every morning when she thought of him as she readied for work.
A heat she’d never experienced lit her body and softened her thighs.
She’d feel guilty about that later. Right now, she wanted to commit every second of this moment to memory.
He was every bit as affected as she if the hard length of his cock pressing against her thigh was any indication. She bit her lip to hold back her groan.
This was such a bad idea. And she wasn’t going to do anything to stop it.
“Now for that kiss, babygirl. I’ve been wanting to do this for six months.”
And, God help her, she wanted it, too.
Her eyes widened to let in more light. “It’s not a good idea,” she whispered, not trusting her voice. One of his hands held her face, the other pressed her closer. Thank goodness.
She should stop this. Leaving would be so much harder if he kissed her. No matter how much she wanted it to happen. It was such a bad idea.
She didn’t realize she’d spoken aloud until he answered. “It’s not.”
His lips met hers so slowly, she thought they’d never touch. There was no hesitation, no second-guessing—as if they were meant to be right here in this moment. His tongue was wild and demanding. I was as if he dared her to resist. Resistance was the furthest thing from her mind.
She couldn’t have held anything back if she’d wanted to. And she didn’t. He tasted of time wasted, power, and desire. It was the intense, burning, demanding desire she’d always wanted a Daddy to have for her.
Her mind cautioned her the girls could interrupt them at any moment, but her body didn’t care. He had lit a flame inside of her that could not be denied or ignored.
The heartbeat pulsing in her ears wouldn’t let her hear her friends. So, she surrendered to the heat growing inside. Being discovered became a distant memory.
His arms enfolded her, his hard body holding her so close she could barely breathe. And she loved it. To be so desired was a heady thing. And when his tongue caressed hers, she didn’t hold back, mirroring his every move. Pleasure so fierce it burned lit her ablaze.
The bunker slipped from her mind. As did all her thoughts of leaving or danger or anything except her desperate need. Not just for a Daddy. No, her need was for him.
It was all she could do not to pull him back when he broke the kiss. The only thing stopping her was the brazen male hunger consuming his eyes. His breath came in pants, even as he shifted her from his lap. It thrilled her that she wasn’t the only one affected.
She followed his lead, allowing him to put distance between them. Her mind spun as she tried to pull herself into the reality of where they were.
“Trace, you know I can’t stay. We can’t do things like that, no matter how much you…we… want to.” She had no way to camouflage the words as anything but the breathless plea it was.
That quickly, all hints of desire slid from his face, replaced by determination.
His chin firmed. “Leave? You think after a kiss like that, I’m going to allow you to leave?
I don’t know what you’re running from, little fox.
But one day, and it will be soon, you’ll tell me.
Then I can fix it and we can pursue the relationship we both want. ”
His eyes dared her to deny it. She wouldn’t do that. She couldn’t lie. She wanted to be with him more than anything she’d ever wanted in her life. But he had no idea who was after her. If he did, he’d kick her off his ranch and never speak to her again.
She wouldn’t blame him. But, God, it would hurt. That was why she had to leave. Summoning her courage, she started to tell Trace everything. “The kiss was incredible, but I still have to leave because—"
“We’re back!” Kenzie called out. Her eye bobbed between Kip and Trace. With a sly smile, she spoke with false innocence. “I hope I wasn’t interrupting anything.”
Giggling, the girls crawled back under the table, making more noise by shushing each other every time Ruby’s boots creaked overhead.
What followed could only be described as ten minutes of chaos. They were so caught up in their play that they didn’t even notice how quiet she was. Trace’s phone buzzed in his pocket. He crawled out, read the screen, and thumbed it to read Chance’s text.
Trace exhaled. “Shit.” He ducked back under the table, cupped Kip’s cheek, and dropped a quick, firm kiss to her lips—warm, grounding, mine. “Hold the fort, Captain Kip. I’ll be back for debrief as soon as I can.”
The girls watched him go, then turned to Kip with identical mischief.
“New mission!” Joy declared. “Nametags for the Christmas baskets!”
They scrambled out, blankets sliding into a heap. Tildi fetched her glitter glue, Kenzie her sticker collection, Joy her label maker, which went ka-chunk like a tiny typewriter. Under the table’s soft glow, they sprawled on their bellies, tongues out in concentration.
Before long, Kip was in the middle of the friends she had longed for all her life.
And wished with all her heart she wasn’t there.
Everything here was too perfect to leave.
A moment of sadness tore through her heart.
The afternoon had been perfect. Perfect town.
Perfect friends. And most of all, perfect Daddy.
That was the problem. The life she’d dreamed of was within her grasp, and she couldn’t have it because, regardless of how much she would love it…
love them…love him…Kip had to leave all of them behind.