I smirk and am so grateful he’s not afraid to talk to me about my dad. He doesn’t walk on egg shells anymore as so many others do. I think Aunt Ruthie had a talk with him before he left Wisconsin last weekend.
I stop to poke a finger in the hamster cage. “Hi Fred. Nice to meet you.”
Leo just watches as I slowly make my way through the room. His room.
“So, this is Leo Beckett.”
He nods. “Yup, this is me.”
There’s a small basketball hoop hanging on a wall, a desk with a computer, tv, gaming stuff. What grabs my attention is the board of photos. There are a lot of photos of football players, especially him, Carlos, and Brent. It’s nice. There are some of people I don’t know—I’m guessing family. Then I spot the little girl.
“Is this your sister?”
He walks over. “Yeah, that’s Lana when she was eight. She hates that picture.”
“I bet.” Her hair’s all over the place and she’s got peanut butter and jelly on her face from the sandwich she’s holding. “She’s adorable.”
“She doesn’t look like that anymore,” he informs me, then points to a different pic.
“Oh wow.” She’s beautiful. She looks a lot like Leo but a gorgeous female version. Long eyelashes, dirty blonde hair, amazing cheekbones, full lips. “She’s so pretty.”
“Don’t think she doesn’t know it and use it to her advantage. She bats those eyelashes at Dad, and he gives her anything. Seriously.”
“How old is she now?”
“Fourteen.”
“She’s not so little anymore.”
“No, and I’ve been beating the guys off with a stick. Bunch of dogs.”
I lift a brow and he, at least, has the decency to look sheepish.
“Yeah,” he tells me. “I know.”
“Double standards are totally acceptable when it comes to siblings,” I inform him.
“I like that rule.”
“Me too,” I agree softly. I suck in the butterflies and fear, and step closer to him. “I don’t think you really missed me very much.” I put my hands on his chest.
His brow furrows. “What do you mean? I missed the hell out of you.”
I peer up at him. “Yeah?” I’m trying to be sexy, but I know it probably looks like a floundering fish since he’s clearly not catching on. “Kiss me and prove it.”
His brows go up in surprise now, but he doesn’t smile. Oh boy.Epic fail, Jillie.
“I thought we were going to take things slow…”
I poke him gently. “You said that, I didn’t.”
“I just don’t want to rush you,” he replies.
I sigh. “I’m going to reach elderly status before you evenkissme again. You need to speed up a bit.” I don’t wait for a reply. I reach up, wrap my laced fingers behind his neck, and pull him down for a searing kiss.
It doesn’t take long before he’s into it, too. He’s kissing me back with a hunger that matches my own. His hands slide down to rest just above my ass. Then he’s backing me toward his bed. When my knees buckle, we fall onto the soft mattress. He’s on top of me now, his scent surrounding me.My Jack.
I spread my legs apart so he can rest between them.Oh yes, he did miss me.He’s hard. I can feel it when he presses his pelvis into mine.
