Chapter 18 Hide-and-Seek
Hide-and-seek
Abby grinned when Olivia, Sierra, and Will returned from the building with Angie.
The girls were dressed in dark green coveralls, rolled at the hems and sleeves, while Will wore a large black T-shirt over his clothes that hung past his knees.
Their faces were covered in streaks of tan, brown, and black.
“We didn’t have any coveralls small enough to fit him,” Angie said. “But he wanted a ‘uniform’ to wear too.”
Will raised his hands like claws and roared.
Her mom pretended to clutch her chest. “Oh my goodness, you’re terrifying.”
“Ms. A, can you give me your number so I can send you the pics we took? Liv said she doesn’t have a phone,” Sierra said. “What’s up with that?”
“Sierra, that was rude,” Graham said.
“Sorry.” Sierra looked down and slid her phone into the pocket of her coveralls.
The gruffness of Graham’s voice made her want to apologize as well. “It’s okay. I’d planned on getting her a phone this weekend. We haven’t had a chance to get to the store yet. I’ll give you my number before we leave.”
“Okay.” Sierra still seemed subdued when Olivia slid her arm through hers and whispered something. Sierra grinned and they strolled off toward the village.
Warmth spread through Abby’s chest that had nothing to do with the late spring day.
She wasn’t sure where Sierra lived most of the time since both Tinker and Graham had mentioned it was her week with Graham, but she hoped it was close enough that she and Olivia could continue their friendship.
This was the first time she’d seen an honest smile on Olivia’s face.
Having her own friends was what she needed to settle in.
Abby made a note to ask Tinker about it later.
“Hide-and-seek! Hide-and-seek!” Will jumped up and down in front of them.
“Okay, little man.” Tinker bent so they were close to eye level. “You see that village over there?”
Will looked in the direction Tinker nodded. “Yeah.”
“Do you think you can beat me there if we race?”
“Race!” Will took off, pumping his little legs for all he was worth.
Tink looked at Abby. “That little cheat.”
She couldn’t help but laugh at his look of shock. “He’s faster than you’d think.”
“Gotta go.” He gave her a quick kiss and took off after Will.
Heat suffused her cheeks. She wasn’t sure if he’d given any thought to kissing her in front of his coworkers, and she felt them all staring at her.
But when she looked around, it was only Angie and the tall woman, Samara, and they weren’t looking at her.
The women hugged and Samara headed toward the building while Angie headed toward her.
“Samara isn’t playing hide-and-seek?” she asked.
Angie laughed. “No. And I quote: ‘Oh, honey, no. I don’t do dirt.’ You ready for hide-and-seek? I can’t remember the last time I played. The village is perfect for it, but they only ever use it for tactical training as far as I know. At least, no one has ever invited me to play hide-and-seek.”
Abby smiled as Angie kept up a steady stream of conversation while they walked across the tarmac toward the village and the rest of the group. It looked like almost everyone else had decided to play as well.
“Is my mom here?” Abby asked.
Olivia shook her head. “She said she was going to watch.”
“Who’s it?” Paige asked.
“I’ll be it,” Graham said.
“No,” Paige said. “You’ll take it too seriously.”
“How can you take hide-and-seek too seriously?” Graham demanded.
“I agree with Paige on this one, Boss,” Harrison said. “You’re too competitive.”
“I’ll be it,” Jeremy said. “I’ll go behind the tower and count to two hundred.”
As soon as he rounded the corner, he shouted, “Go” and started counting.
Angie grabbed Will’s hand and exchanged a look with Tinker. “Come on, Will. I know the best hiding spot. They’ll never find us,” she said.
“What was that?” Abby asked.
Tinker raised his eyebrows. “What was what?”
“The look Angie gave you.”
“What look?”
His picture of innocence wasn’t fooling her. “The ‘hubba hubba’ look.”
He grinned. “Hubba hubba?”
Abby frowned. She hadn’t imagined the look. “You know what I mean.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean.” He grabbed her hand. “Come on. He’s at fifty.”
She jogged along behind as Tinker power walked to one of the buildings.
He entered the open doorway and glanced left and right before leading her further into the makeshift building.
It was laid out like a small house with room names spray painted on the plywood walls.
They passed through the living room, kitchen, and dining room before reaching a bedroom.
He pulled her to the side of the door and pressed her against the wall.
He ran his mouth up the side of her neck and nipped her earlobe. “I’ve been dying to do this all day.”
She grabbed his upper arms and tilted her head. “Someone is literally trying to find us.”
“We have a few minutes, so we should make the most of them.”
He took her mouth, hot, wet, and hard. He buried his hand into the hair at the nape of her neck, and he tilted her head. Abby gave herself over to the sensation of his mouth and hands, wrapping her arms around his neck. Lifting onto her toes so she could align their bodies better.
Tinker moved back to her neck. “I want to touch you, Abby. Please let me touch you.”
His voice was deep and growly and full of need, vibrating against her skin. How could she turn down a request like that? “Yes,” she panted.
He spun her and put her hands on the wall. One hand went under her shirt and cupped her breast, pinching and rolling her nipple through the thin material of her bra. His other hand popped the button on her jeans and pulled down the zipper before sliding in and unerringly finding her clit.
Abby whimpered when his finger slid through her slick folds.
How? How was it like this every time? How did she forget all her inhibitions once his hands were on her?
His friends and coworkers, her kids, were only a few thin sheets of plywood away, but every nerve ending in her body was consumed by the feel of his hands.
His calluses dragging roughly across her skin sent sharp sparks of desire coursing through her.
Her orgasm was already building—had started the minute he’d asked to touch her.
He dragged his finger through her slick juices and around her sensitive nub.
She shifted her weight to one arm and grasped his hard thigh to pull him closer while pushing back against him, the thick, full length of him rubbing against her ass.
“God. Christian.”
“Shh,” he whispered. “You have to be quiet, or they’ll find us.”
She grabbed the back of his head and strained her neck, searching for his mouth. He gripped the side of her face and kissed her—deep, rough, and hot. His rough finger tracing steady circles around her clit. She moaned and bucked against him.
He cupped her mound and slid two thick fingers into her. He pumped in and out, grinding the palm of his hand against her clit.
She felt like a plasma ball. Her muscles quivered as the sparks continued to course inside her, seeking a point of discharge.
She bucked against his hand when it hit, ripping through her like a cannonball.
It exploded outward before collapsing in on itself and bursting outward again.
She dropped her head to his shoulder and arched her back, riding the wave of bliss coursing through her.
Slowly, she became aware of the world around her. Laughter in the distance. His hand gently caressing her through her underwear while he rubbed his lips back and forth on her neck.
“You good?” he asked.
“Define good.” Because good didn’t even begin to describe it.
She felt his smile against her neck. “Can you stand on your own?”
“I have legs?”
His deep chuckle vibrated against her skin. “Yeah. You have legs. Think you can use them?”
“I can try.” She blinked her eyes several times and lowered her arms while he zipped and buttoned her jeans.
She bit her lip and shyly turned to face him, unease worming its way through her. “I feel guilty.”
He tilted her chin up to look at him. “Because Will’s hiding? Angie’s with him.”
“Yes, but also because I always seem to…you know. And you don’t.”
He grinned. “Oh, I do. As soon as I get home while I replay you coming on my hand.”
“Oh.” Now she had the image of him sliding his hand up and down his length while he thought of her. And her cheeks were on fire.
He chuckled and lowered his mouth to hers, languidly tangling their tongues together.
She jumped when a throat cleared close to them.
They looked toward the doorway. Jeremy stood there, looking up at the ceiling with a wide grin. “You’re it.”
“I don’t wanna go, Mama. I wanna play again.” Will sat abruptly and kicked his feet back and forth, tears streaming down his face as he cried to stay and play more hide-and-seek.
Abby set her hands on her hips and stared down at her son.
He was beyond tired and would fall asleep as soon as they reached the car.
Which would make it difficult to get him to sleep that night.
They should have left an hour ago, but selfishly she’d been having fun.
And not just with Tinker. All his friends had welcomed them with open arms.
“I know, Bubs, but it’s time to go. Mr. Tinker and his friends need to lock up so they can go home.” She bent and scooped up her son, hugging his upper body and legs so he couldn’t squirm out of her grasp and hurt himself or both.
He screamed and kicked his lower legs back and forth. Abby pressed her lips together.
“Abby, we can—”
She pressed her lips together and shook her head at Paige.
“Okay.”
“Sierra, can you help Olivia get their stuff together?” Graham asked his daughter.
“Sure, Dad.” Sierra and Olivia jogged off toward the tower where Abby had left their things.
“I’ll walk you out,” Tinker said. “Do you want me to take him?”
She shook her head. “It’s okay. He’s difficult when he gets like this. He wouldn’t go with you anyway.”
“Abby, I’ve got your keys,” Lindsey said. “I’ll start loading up the van.”
“Thank you.” She called her goodbyes over Will’s continued cries and fell in step with Tinker as they walked across the wide paved area toward the building. She knew the moment Will fell asleep. His cries turned to deep snuffles and his breath puffed out against her arm.
“Wow. That was fast,” Tinker said as they walked through the open office area.
“Yeah. When he gets like this, the easiest thing to do is bear hug him until he passes out.” She looked down at his relaxed face—so angelic compared to the demon possession of a few minutes ago.
“I’m sorry if I kept you for too long,” Tinker said as he unlocked the outside doors and pushed through them.
“I wanted to stay. We were all having fun.” The side door of her minivan was opened on Will’s side, and she eased him into his booster seat and buckled him in. She turned to Tinker. “Thank you for inviting us. Everyone was wonderful and I had a really good time.”
He grinned and stepped closer. “I had a good time too.”
She could feel the blush rushing across her face. “Not just that,” she whispered.
“Abby, I can’t find Maw Maw,” Olivia said.
Abby started and looked over at Olivia and Sierra.
“Come to think of it, I haven’t seen her since we started playing hide-and-seek,” Lindsey said. “Did she go home?”
“I don’t think so. She told Olivia she was going to watch. I assumed from the tower,” Abby said.
“I saw her and Grandpa go into the building during one of the games,” Sierra said.
“She went in with Senior?” Tinker asked.
Sierra nodded. “Yeah.”
Tinker tilted his head back. “Ah. Yeah. Follow me.”
“Lindsey, will you stay with Olivia and Will?” Abby asked.
“Sure, we’ll be here.”
“Thanks.” Abby followed Tinker back into the building. Instead of turning to the right to where the offices were located, they went left to an elevator and pressed the button.
“What’s downstairs?” Abby asked as they entered the elevator.
“Garage, firing range, gym, supply room, and…”
“And what?”
“We call them crew rooms. It’s where we sleep if we stay overnight for some reason.” He looked down at her. “There’re beds in the rooms. For us to sleep in.”
“Oh.” She realized what he hinted at. “Ooohhhh.”
He led her down the industrial gray hallway and knocked on a door, waited, then pushed it open. Empty. He did the same for the next room with the same result. The third room was locked and he knocked louder. “Senior! Abby and the kids are leaving.”
The door opened and the older Graham filled the doorway. Abby peeked around him and caught her mom straightening her blouse.
Abby gasped, even knowing what she’d been likely to find. “Mother!”
“Oh, hi, honey. Aiden was giving me a tour of the building. It’s really quite impressive.” She pushed past Aiden. “Did you grab my purse? This way, right?” She pointed down the hall toward the elevators. “Are you coming?”
Abby shook her head and looked at Aiden, who folded his arms and grinned.
Grinned! She and Tinker caught up with her mother as she entered the elevator.
His shoulders were shaking, and his face was red from holding in his laughter.
She looked away from him and pressed her lips together so she wouldn’t be tempted to join him.
Lindsey was leaning against the hood of the van when they got back to it. “Hey. You found her. Where was she?”
“She was getting a tour of the building from Graham Senior,” Abby said.
Lindsey glanced at her mom and raised an eyebrow. “She was getting something, but I don’t think it was a tour.”
“Eww,” Abby said.
Tinker lost the fight and doubled over, laughing.
Lindsey held up her fist as Sue passed her. Sue fist-bumped her and got into the back row of the van. Lindsey grinned and got in the passenger side.
Tinker was still chuckling when he opened the driver’s door for her. “Text me when you get home so I know you got there okay. Don’t give your mom too much grief.”
“I’m not talking about it.”
She backed out of the parking spot and waved at Tinker through the windshield.
“Well. That was fun,” her mom said from the back. “We should do that more often.”
Thankfully, they had stopped at a red light, because Abby started laughing so hard her eyes watered.