“Why? I’m?—”
“Magnificent,” he breathes, reaching up and taking hold of my chin gently, tilting it so I have to maintain eye contact with him and can’t shy away.
I wet my lips. “That’s a very specific word.”
His eyes narrow with intensity. “I feel a very specific way around you.”
He mirrors my movements, wetting his own lips slowly as he runs the pad of his thumb along my lower one.
“You don’t care who I am. You stand up to me when I’m an asshole. And you’re gentle and sweet when I’m not.” He dips his thumb inside my parted lips, just a fraction, so it grazes the tip of my tongue. “You treat my daughter like she’s precious.”
“She is,” I breathe.
“I know.” He smiles softly and I’m blindsided by how rare and beautiful he looks when he lets his guard down.
“It’s the first thing I noticed about you. Not your hair.” He tucks a strand behind my ear. “Not your eyes. Not your…” His gaze rolls down my body, drinking in my cleavage. “… not your… that’s a lie. I noticed your curves in that tight little uniform, how could I not?”
His lips curl into a hint of a smirk as a small laugh dances past my lips.
“But I onlynoticed. The way you spoke to Molly whenyou dusted that rabbit onto her drink, that’s when Ilooked.Really damn looked.”
A tingle runs up my spine.
“You’re so natural with her. So genuine. I didn’t want to look, Tate. But I couldn’t tear my eyes away, even if that meant…”
“Meant?” I inhale slowly as he cups my face.
“Meant letting you get close to Molly... close tome.”
“It’s natural for a father to be protective, Sullivan.”
His eyes pinch. “She saved me. She’s my reason for everything.”
“I understand.”
“And that’s another reason I can’t stop looking at you…” He dips his head and his breath fans over my lips. “Now,please, let me fucking kiss you.”
My core clenches at the deep groan of relief that leaves Sullivan’s throat when I nod my agreement. But before he can slant his lips over mine, I rise up and press mine to his, loving the way he sucks in a surprised breath as we connect.
Our kiss starts off slow and sensual, full of unspoken promises and teases of what’s to come.
I reach up and wrap my arms around his neck, inhaling the scent of his aftershave on warm skin. It’s a scent I know I’ll recognize anywhere for the rest of my life. One that’s so uniquely him—a confident sexy man who knows how to turn me inside out with pleasure.
“Tate,” he murmurs into my mouth, making my core clench with need. “Baby…”
That single word is husky and rough, weighted with desire and pure carnal need. And I know from now on I’ll melt whenever he calls me it.
He sinks into me, angling my face in his hands so he can kiss me deeply, taking his time to slide his tongue against mineuntil I’m practically panting into his mouth. His erection digs into my stomach, and I grind against it.
“Fuck, yeah,” he hisses, teasing my lower lip between his teeth.
He kisses me again, then pulls away with a groan, creating a gap between our bodies. His lids hood as he looks down at me.
“Sit on the stool.”
I glance at the piano stool. “That one?”
“There’s only one stool here, Tate,” he rasps, hitching a brow. “Sit. On. It.”
