“Yeah.”
“We could order in.”
“I’m going to make mac ’n’ cheese.”
I grin at her. “That actually sounds really good. I have a box in the pantry, I think.”
The way she turns her nose up at that is adorable.
“That’s disgusting. Do you know how many preservatives are in that? No, babe, I’m makingrealmac ’n’ cheese.”
Babe.
I think that’s the first time she’s called me anything other than my name.
“Why do you look like that?” she asks.
“Like what?”
She tips her head to the side. “Gooey.”
I laugh and take her hand, leading her to the stairs. “I’mnevergooey.”
Thirty-Eight
ROME
“Ithought we were going to the kitchen,” she says.
“We will. I need to do something first.”
She doesn’t ask any questions. Maybe she can feel the need coming from me. I lead her into the bedroom and immediately turn to her, unzip the back of her sexy-as-fuck dress, and let it pool around her feet.
She’s in lacy black panties that make me growl low in my throat, and when my eyes find hers, they’re wide and still full of anger, fear, and lust.
This woman feelseverything.
How could her father hurt her? How couldanyonewant to hurt her?
“Come here.” Without hesitation, Eloise steps forward and pauses in front of me. I love the trust she shows me every day. “Undress me.”
She catches her bottom lip in her teeth and her little fingers unfasten the buttons on my black shirt, and when she’s finished, her mouth opens on an audible inhale as hergreen gaze flows over my skin, eating up the ink in front of her.
“What is this for?” she asks, brushing her fingertip over the angel on my chest.
“My mom.”
Her eyes fly up to mine, but she doesn’t press for more. She leans in and presses a sweet kiss there, making my breath catch.
She’s so fucking precious.
She unfastens my belt, then my pants, and when I’m standing before her in just my red boxers, she pauses.
“I’m not naked, firefly.”
“I know.” She takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. “I’m just enjoying this. I like it very much that you let me touch you.”
I reach out and push my fingers into her thick, dark hair. “I’ve come to crave your touch.”
