Chapter Seven
Grant
Harrison sprints down the sidewalk to the playground leaving me behind in his dust. Cole likes to think Jett’s the wild child of the bunch, but Harrison picks and chooses when to behave, and today he’s all wild.
I watch closely as he reaches the large wooden castle waiting for him to pop up in one of the windows. This park is our favorite which is why I brought Hazel here for our first date. From where I’m standing, I can see the tree where we had our picnic and our first kiss.
I’m already planning a return visit.
Harrison calls down to me from the tower, his head barely high enough to look over the edge and I wave up at him before he takes off to play. Which is fine with me because now I can be on the lookout for Hazel.
We set up this playdate with Mason to help Harrison get used to the idea of Hazel being around.
He sees her in passing at his soccer games, but we try to keep a low profile until we can formally introduce them.
The only woman he’s had in his life is his grandmother and I don’t want to force Hazel on him.
If I have a say in it, she’ll be sticking around for the foreseeable future.
I’ve never been happier than when I’m with her.
It’s fresh and new and exciting, not to mention, sexy.
Whenever I can, I make sure to spend time with her much to Cole and Wells’ delight.
They have fun teasing me when I drop Harrison off for the night, but I know they’re happy for me. And maybe a little jealous.
Hazel’s black sedan pulls into the parking lot and already my chest warms at the sight of her.
She doesn’t see me watching her as she opens the back door to let her nephew out.
A loving smile spreads across her face before she laughs at something her nephew says, grabbing his hand and walking through the parking lot.
Hazel’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. Even as she picks hair caught in the corner of her mouth, she’s stunning.
God, I love her.
“Daddy! Mason’s here!” Harrison runs to the middle of the bridge clutching the railing to keep his balance as it wobbles and points to his friend across the park.
His dark blonde hair, similar to my own, shines in the mid-morning sun.
We picked a Saturday with no soccer games to make the most of our time together and for her and Harrison to get to know each other.
I’ve been looking forward to spending time with the two people I love the most. Daydreams are about to turn into reality and I couldn’t be happier.
“You better get down and go greet him,” I call up to him, loving his excitement. By the time he makes it down, I’m waiting at the gate, one eye on Harrison and the other fixed on Hazel.
The gate opens with a creak as Harrison pushes through it running full force toward them. “Hi, Mason. Want to play?”
Hazel chuckles as her nephew pulls his hand from hers. “Someone’s excited to see you, Mase.”
Someone else is excited to see his aunt.
“Harrison, you remember Hazel, Mason’s aunt?” My son glances up at her with a polite smile and quiet ‘hi’ before both boys run off into the playground. “Well,” I chuckle, “that went well.”
She sighs as I wrap my arm around her shoulder pulling her close. “It’s good like this. We’ve got all day to spend time getting to know each other.”
“I know.” Her hair smells faintly of fruit and coconut as I breathe her in before planting a soft kiss on her head. I want to do more, to hold her tight and press my lips against hers, but I won't. I can't. Not right now anyway.
Later, I promise myself.
“Auntie Haze! Come push me!”
Hazel laughs, patting my chest before stepping out of my embrace. “Alright, Mase. You ready to touch the sky?”
The time we spend at the park is full of fun and laughter, both from the boys and from us. Hazel’s great with the boys, practically glowing as she plays with them. Harrison warms up to her, grabbing her hand as we play hide-and-seek.
Seeing her with my son like this, seeing her around children, has me dreaming of what our future together would be like. Family dinners, Christmas mornings, Hazel glowing as she cradles our growing child in her belly.
I want it all.
With her.
Since becoming a single father on top of trying to start a career, I never let myself imagine sharing a life with someone else. A love life was the last thing on my mind.
Until her.
Watching her now as she makes sure her nephew is buckled in the backseat, I can’t stop the desire for her. My eyes linger on her round ass and I force myself to keep my hands at my side.
The door closes with a muted thud. “We’re all set.” Wind spreads its fingers through her messy curls, drawing it across her face in an unpredictable pattern. “I knew I should’ve worn this up. I never learn.” She opens the front door, smiling as she brushes her hair aside.
I reach across the space between us catching the wayward strands and brushing them away from her face before tucking what I can behind her ears. “I like seeing your hair all wild and crazy. I think it’s sexy.” My wink earns a smile.
“Yeah, well that makes one of us.”
It’s time for her to go but I don’t want her to leave. No amount of time with her is ever enough. “Thank you for today. I’m glad the boys had fun.”
Those brown eyes focus on my face before flicking down to my lips. “I had fun too.”
God, I want to kiss her.
“Come over later.” I make sure to keep my voice low, careful of the listening ears in the backseat. Having her this close all day and not being able to touch her is driving me crazy. After the other night, she knows exactly just how much.
Hazel laughs softly. “You’re not sick of me yet?”
Temptation gets the best of me and I reach up to brush her cheek with my thumb. “Never.”
***
“He’s out for the night.”
It’s been hours since the park and Harrison could barely stay awake, his face drooping into his mac-n-cheese. He’s been asleep for at least an hour and once he’s asleep, he won’t wake up ‘til morning.
“I know that look.” Hazel leans back into the couch with a hint of mischief in her eyes. She’s sitting in the corner of the sectional looking like she belongs there.
Belongs here.
“What look?” she asks innocently, batting her beautiful eyes. “I’m not looking at you any sort of way.”
I cage her against the back of the couch. “Mmhm.” She tilts her head back, offering her lips as I lean down to kiss her. All the feelings I pushed back for her come flooding in and I deepen the kiss, desperately needing her. She hums in the back of her throat as my tongue brushes against hers.
Hazel slides down on the couch, lying down without breaking contact and I settle between her spread thighs.
Her small hands slip under the waist of my pants gripping my hardening cock.
My head falls to the crook of her shoulder barely able to contain my moan.
“If you keep doing that, I don’t think I’ll be able to control myself,” I warn her as she slides her hand up and down my length.
Hot breath tickles my ear as she whispers, “That’s the plan.”
Whatever restraint I have left melts away. With fumbling hands, I push her shirt up exposing her round breasts and teasing her nipples to peaks with my teeth. Her head digs into the cushion of the couch, her grip on my cock loosening as I drag ragged moans from her.
She wanted me untethered, that’s what she’s going to get.
She’s managed to get my pants unbuttoned to give herself more room to maneuver, but it gives me the opening I need. Hazel gasps as I pin her hands above her head, my free hand slipping under the stretchy fabric of her leggings to cup her pussy.
She moans before biting her lip, her eyes popping open. “Wait,” she gasps, and I freeze, afraid I’ve done something wrong. “Should we go to your room?” Her voice is a whisper.
I shake my head sucking her nipple into my mouth.
“W-what about Harrison?”
The sound of my son's name brings me up short. “That kid sleeps like a rock. If we’re quiet, we won’t wake him.”
She shakes her head. “Let’s go to your room anyway. I don’t want to risk that chance of traumatizing your son.”
As much as I don’t want to stop, she has a point.
“You’re right.” I adjust her shirt before standing, helping her off the couch, and scooping her into my arms. Hazel lets out a whispered hiss of laughter and I’ve never been happier in my life.
With her in my arms, her body pressed against mine, nothing else matters.
My steps pause with the gentle stroke of her hand along my jaw. “I love you.” My heart stops every time she utters those three words.
“I love you, too.”
Safely behind the closed—and locked—bedroom door, I lay her on the bed ready to pick up where we left off. With determined fingers, I slip my hands under her top pulling it up until she’s exposed for me. Her hands do the same, sweeping across my abdomen to my back, her nails lightly scraping.
She laughs as I tug her leggings off, dragging her down the bed with each pull. Now that she’s naked, on my bed exactly where I want her, I’m never letting her leave.
Everything but her slips from my focus as I settle between her hips once more and kiss her lips. She moans against me before stiffening, our kiss breaking suddenly. “What’s wrong?” I pull back to look at her face.
“You don’t hear that?” Her eyebrows furrow and her eyes squint as she focuses on a sound.
“Hear what?” I cock my head, trying to hear what she’s hearing. It’s not coming from down the hall from Harrison’s room but from the living room. A low buzzing noise accompanied by a chime. “It’s my cell,” I say with a relieved sigh knowing I’m not on call. “Ignore it.”
Her small hands knead the back of my neck and that single touch drives me wild. “Are you sure? What if it’s important?”
“Not as important as this.” I push any thought of the phone call from my mind with the gentle touch of her lips. Hazel begins to melt against me, the sound of the phone ringing dying in the background.
“Grant?” Hazel’s voice is breathless. “It’s ringing again.”
With a groan, I bury my face in her amazing breasts before sitting up. “Don’t move.”
Both phones, work and personal, are sitting on the coffee table, and based on the ring alone, it’s not work. Frustrated, I snatch the offending phone from the table, answering it with an angry jab. “Wells, what’s up?”
“Tristan’s got a fever.”
In an instant, the anger and frustration dissolves. There’s only a handful of things that could pull me from the woman currently lying naked in my bed, but this is one of them. “How high?”
I listen carefully as Wells describes his son's illness taking into account my nephew’s medical history.
I’ve been his doctor since the moment he was born and both Wells and myself don’t trust anyone else with his well-being, especially with everything my friend has been through.
I don’t want to see him go through that again.
By the time the phone call ends, I’m already reaching for my keys dreading the fact that I have to leave.