“Let’s go then.” Her words sound like a promise.
I have the strangest feeling when Selkie walks inside my house. It’s like it comes alive. The shadows and silence retreat as she looks around curiously.
“This is nice,” she says as she kicks off her sneakers. I hear a tremor of nervousness in her voice.
“Needs renovating and new furniture.”
“Well, obv, but it wouldn’t be polite for me to point it out.”
I raise my eyebrows at her. “Since when has that ever stopped you?”
I grab two beers from the fridge, open them and set them on the table. The tension between us is suffocating, but I don’t know how to cross the barrier between us. She matters to me. I don’t want to fuck this up.
“You need something to eat?” Joker’s right. I’m fuckin’ feeble.
She looks at me like I’m nuts. “Yeah. What do you have?”
I think of this morning – so much has happened since then. Henri and her coffee, her comments on the toast and jam, and how she dressed Brielle. I look at her mother. Know she’d do the same thing. And in that moment, I fall in love with both of them.
“Toast and apple jelly.”
She wrinkles her nose, then takes a swallow of beer. “Not really a fan of apple jelly, so just the toast.”
I sense Chloe hover over my shoulder while I slide the bread into the toaster. It’s time, Nathan, she whispers. She’s the one to help you move on. She’s the one you need.
And then Chloe’s gone and so’s the sadness and guilt, at least for now. What’s left is the extraordinary woman sitting at my table drinking beer and watching me intently.
She plunks the beer down on the table. “I changed my mind about the toast. I need a shower more than I need to eat. Wash the crime-boss slime off me. You okay with that?”
I nod. “Fresh towels in the closet at the end of the hall.”
She leaves as the toast pops, then I hear her call, “Hey, why’s Henri’s duffle still here?”
I walk into the hall as she steps out of the bedroom Henri and Brielle slept in last night. “After we heard you were picked up, we left in a hurry.”
“Makes sense.” She pauses, then, “We should call the kids. Tell them I’m okay.”
Fuck the kids. The last of my control snaps. I stride up to Selkie, grab her by the arms and slam her against the wall.
“Hey!” she protests, then instead of struggling, she grabs my face between her hands and kisses me hard.
My heart pounds in my ears as I kiss her back, then press her head closer to mine and force my tongue into her mouth.
She scrambles under my T-shirt with her hands, short nails raking down my chest, fingers frantically tracing my pecs and abs. “Oh god,” she moans. “I’ve been thinking of this for too long.”
Me too, I think, but don’t say because even though I’m making my peace with Chloe, I’m not ready to be that vulnerable. Still, there’s no mistaking my erection as she cups it.
I jerk and gasp for air. “You’re gonna make me come in my jeans.”
“Don’t,” she warns as she kisses me on the lips, on the face, on the neck. Everywhere she can reach. Her breath is hot against my skin, inflaming me. Making me harder than I’ve ever been in my life. I open my jeans for a little relief, then my animal instinct takes over.
“Fuck it,” I snarl as I grab her T-shirt and rip it down the front.
She holds my head close to her chest as I slide my tongue through the crevice between her tits. She tastes and smells female. I know she scents me too. Nothing between us but pure animalistic passion.
“Christ,” she moans as I slide my hand inside her bra and twist a nipple. “Harder. I can handle a little pain.”
Fuck me. I bite her shoulder as I squeeze harder, then release as she gasps. “Too hard?” I say gruffly.
