26. Knox
I ’m mesmerized by the smiling beauties illuminated by the soft, amber glow the lantern casts in our makeshift tent.
Indie has completely transformed the living room into a magical looking safari camp.
Lamps from every room are lit around the room.
We’re lying on the soft cushions she pulled off the couch along with most of the blankets and pillows she could find in the rest of the house.
Me lying one way with the view of Hazel tucked in tight to Indie’s side, attention locked on gentle hands, reaching up and sweeping through the air to set the backdrop.
She’s weaving together a story for Hazel that has all her favorite animals in it.
I could watch this woman tell me what it looks like to watch paint dry and be completely captivated.
Watching Hazel's face, eyes so full of wonder, grinning ear to ear, has my mind racing. After my morning with Indie, I haven’t been able to focus on much else.
“Is the baby tiger okay?” my daughter asks.
“Of course he is. He was only hiding in the basket because he didn’t know if he was allowed to be in the human’s camp, but once they find him they’ll make sure he knows it’s safe,” Indie assures, looking down at her and smiling.
Hazel smiles back at her, then settles back in for the end of the story, reaching for one of Indie’s hands, holding it in her tiny one.
I grip Indie’s ankle and her soft gaze meets mine.
We stare at one another for only a few seconds.
Some kind of silent conversation passing between us.
My adoration for this woman, my want for her, only grows at the sight of her with Hazel.
Fear fights with desire, and when Indie finishes her story and we get Hazel tucked into bed; desire wins.
I catch her in the kitchen getting a drink of water. Walking up behind her and placing my hands on either side of her body, I drop my head to her shoulder, placing a small kiss there.
“Thanks for inviting me over tonight, I had a lot of fun with Hazel. I think she likes my stories,” she muses, setting her glass down and turning into me.
“I don’t think it’s possible not to enjoy one of your stories, Honey.” Her arms reach up to thread her hands together behind my neck, softly playing with the ends of my hair.
She grins, her nose scrunching and a flush staining her cheeks. “Is that so, Mr. Holloway?”
“Yeah, I tried to fight it, but I might be in need of a bedtime story from now on,” I tell her, gripping her hips and lifting her onto the countertop.
“I make no promises, but we may be able to come to some kind of arrangement.”
“What’s the trade off?” I ask, running my nose up the side of her neck.
“I would say a dinner for a story, but you already feed me most nights as it is.” Her voice is barely a whisper. I place a kiss to her jaw and her fingers tighten in my hair.
“I’m sure we can come up with something, can’t we?
” I bring my nose to hers now, waiting for any sign that she doesn’t want me to kiss her.
All I’ve been able to think about since this morning is kissing her again.
Her eyes bore into mine, a heat simmering behind them.
She tugs at my hair once more but her hands stay fixed where they are.
I brush my lips gently over hers and her legs flex around my own.
I reach down her thigh, gripping behind her knee to hitch her leg higher over my hip, pressing into her so she can feel how badly I want her.
Letting out a sound between a whimper and a sigh, she moves her other leg up my side, squeezing, before our mouths collide in a kiss that’s full of need and longing.
She sucks my bottom lip into her mouth and I groan, my hands sliding under her ass to pull her as tightly to me as possible.
I lift her from the counter, walking us down the hall toward my bedroom, kissing as we go.
“Shit!” I whisper curse when I stub my toe on the corner of the trim in the hall. Indie tucks her head into my neck, trying to smother her fit of laughter.
“You think that’s funny?” I ask, swatting her on the ass once before we make it through the threshold of my room and shutting the door behind us.
“A little, yeah.” Laughter still in her voice.
“I’ll give you something to laugh about, Indie Baby.
” I lay her onto the bed and tickle her side a little and her giggle burts free.
“Knox! Knox, d-don’t! Stop, I can’t be quiet if you do that!
” She flails in an attempt to get me to stop.
I do, but it’s more about how utterly stupefied I am at the sight of her.
Face flushed, bright smile, shirt riding up revealing the smooth tanned skin of her toned stomach.
She rises up onto her elbows. “What?”
“I like you in my bed,” I tell her.
“Aw, shucks I bet you say that to all the girls,” she teases.
“Honey, I’ve never had another woman in this bed.” Her eyes flare, smile turning more serious.
“Kiss me in your bed, Knox. I want to be the only woman you’ve ever kissed in your bed.”
I crawl over her body until I’m hovering over her then slip a hand behind her head and kiss her.
Slowly at first, tenderly. But it’s not long before it turns into something more.
We kiss for what feels like hours, at some point both of us losing our shirts.
She’s straddling me now, strands on her hair falling around my face like a curtain.
I run my hands over every exposed inch of her warm skin.
I feel like a teenager again, making out with a girl in my bedroom and trying to be quiet.
“Daaaddyyy!”
We both turn our heads toward the sound of Hazel’s voice drifting down the hall, Indie climbs off my lap and starts for the door before remembering she doesn’t have a shirt on.
“I got it,” I say, jumping up as she bends to grab a shirt off the floor and slips it on over her mussed hair that I’ve been running my hands through.
I open the bedroom door and look back at her.
She giggles, drawing my attention to her swollen lips, looking like every fantasy I’ve ever had come to life in my old T-shirt.
I quickly walk to Hazel’s door and open it to see her sitting up in the moonlight coming in from her window. Crouching beside her bed, I place my hand on her head.
“Hazel? Are you okay, babygirl? ”
“I’m thirsty,” she says with a yawn. “I have some water, please?”
“Yeah, sweetheart. I’ll get you some and be right back,” I tell her, kissing the top of her head before walking back out into the hallway.
“Is she okay?” Indie whispers, leaning against the opposite wall.
“Fine. Just needed a drink,” I tell her.
She nods, grinning at me. Her eyes full of the past hour's memories. I hold out my hand to her and when she reaches out for it, I grab her wrist and pull her to me, placing a quick kiss to her mouth before pulling her to the kitchen to get some water for Hazel.
“I should get home,” she says as I secure the lid onto the sippy cup.
“Should you?” I question. I can’t think of anything more important for her to be doing than what we were just in the middle of.
She laughs under her breath. “I should,” she confirms, then stretches up onto her tiptoes to kiss my neck, then my cheek, then grabs my head to kiss my mouth. “I’ll see you tomorrow though. Big spring festival, right?”
“Yeah, we’ll be there.”
“Good. Goodnight, Knox.” I don’t want her to go, but I’m not sure if she wants me to ask her to stay. This is all still so new.
“Goodnight, Indie.” I kiss her forehead and she walks over to the front door, sliding into her shoes.
She opens the front door but pauses, turning around to blow me a kiss.
My heart beats out of rhythm at the sight.
Then without my permission I reach up to catch her kiss. Not willing to waste even one of them.
Her answering grin tells me it was the right choice.
I’m afraid of the things I might do to put that smile on her face.
Then she’s bounding off my front steps and jogging down the path connecting our houses and I’m wishing she would have stayed, that there will be a time that she doesn’t ever leave.