“You’re home,” Jessie said. “I was worried.”
He only had so much willpower. Walking back, he stopped in front of her, wished he wasn’t so glad to see her. “You should be sleeping.”
“I wanted to be sure you were safe.”
“I’m okay.” He ran a finger down her smooth cheek. “You did good tonight. With any luck Tank will show up tomorrow night, and we’ll get this thing done.” He told himself to turn around and go back to his own room, but he couldn’t make himself move.
“I missed you,” Jessie said, looking up at him with those big green eyes he found so appealing.
“I missed you, too, baby.” Bran bent his head and settled his mouth over hers. His groin tightened as hunger clawed through him with surprising force.
“Stay with me,” she whispered.
He kissed her again, slow and deep. “I was afraid you wouldn’t ask.” She led him into her bedroom, helped him undress, and they slid beneath the covers. He loved kissing her, loved the way her plump lips sank so softly into his.
The sex was good, better than good, the way it always was between them. It scared him a little. He’d had only a couple of serious relationships, and they hadn’t ended well. Women seemed to expect more from him than he knew how to give. Better to keep things on a strictly physical basis. In Jessie’s case, he valued her friendship as much as he enjoyed her luscious little body. He didn’t want to lose it.
Or her.
The thought surprised him and made him even more wary. He didn’t want to think about it so he just leaned over and started kissing her again. Jessie responded, welcoming him into her sweetly feminine warmth. Afterward they slept curled together.
The gray light of dawn slanting through the curtains awoke him. Reaching across the mattress, he realized the bed was empty and Jessie was already gone. Needing to get to his own room before the kids got up, he pulled on his clothes and slipped quietly into the hall, drawn toward the kitchen by the sound of children’s laughter.
Jessie sat at the table with Chris and little Sarah playing Fish, a card game he remembered playing with his brothers.
Jessie laughed at something Chris said, and the little boy grinned ear to ear. It was the second time in two days Bran had felt a pang just looking at her.
“Okay, you two, time to get to school,” Ty said. “Say goodbye to Jessie and let’s get going.”
“Bye, Jessie!” Chris and Sarah both called out as Ty helped them collect their things.
“Bye, guys.” Jessie smiled. “See you this afternoon.”
Ty loaded the little boy into his wheelchair and Sarah fell in beside him as he pushed the chair off toward the garage where the Subaru was parked.
Bran’s attention returned to Jessie, whose gaze followed Ty and the kids. Her wistful smile held a softness different than he had seen before. She would want that for herself, he realized, a family, at least a couple of kids. Most women did.
What kind of father would he make? Not the spend-every-weekend-at-home, never-miss-a-PTA-meeting kind of dad. Not the go-to-work-at-eight-and-be-home-by-five kind, either. He rubbed a hand over his unshaven jaw. He had no idea why he was even thinking about it, since he was never going to have any children.
Still standing in the hall out of sight, he watched Jessie moving around the kitchen, cleaning up the cereal bowls left from Chris and Sarah’s breakfast.
His mood darkened. Instead of heading into the kitchen to pour himself a desperately needed cup of coffee, Bran turned and walked back down the hall to the bedroom he should have slept in last night.
