“So…am I coming home with you?”
A little thrill went through her. “Don’t you have work tomorrow?”
“I need to catch up with Jacob about the investigation, so I can start my day there. It’s up to you.”
“Yes. I’d like that,” she admitted. Her body had been in a low-level hum all evening. There had been lots of kissing and touching while they’d eaten, talked and played with Gracie.
“I’ll grab my work clothes and stuff and be ready to go,” he said.
“Chay?”
“Huh?”
“Adult sleepover,” she said just because she wanted to be clear she wanted him in her bed.
“My thoughts exactly.”
She gathered up all of Gracie’s things and carefully put the sleeping baby into her car seat carrier before tucking her blanket in around her. Gracie gave a little coo in her sleep, and Ava brushed her lips on the baby’s head.
Chay might have been unsure about being in Gracie’s life, but she could tell he wanted to be. It was so clear the way heplayed with her and encouraged her to crawl. Her heart almost ached for how clear it was that Chay needed more than his grandmother as family.
Aponi was the best and had done a wonderful job raising Chay, but it was clear to Ava that they both craved a larger family. She saw it in the way that Chay watched Gracie.
“Ready?”
“Yeah. Let’s go,” she said. She’d put the leftover lasagna in Chay’s fridge so he could have it for dinner tomorrow. She was working a later shift at the hospital. She rotated being on call with two other therapists at the hospital to cover anyone brought in overnight.
Chay carried his duffel and Gracie’s car seat. After getting the baby settled, he lifted Ava into the driver’s seat, kissing her hard and deep. “Just to give you something to think about.”
As he walked to his truck, she watched him until she realized he was waiting for her to go. The drive back to her house was a million times better than the drive to his. The stress she’d put herself under earlier had dissipated.
It seemed like something she should have remembered. The power of the mind was immense, and a real or imagined threat could be just as strong. She pulled into the left side of her double-car driveway, leaving room for Chay’s vehicle. They both got out and hurried inside, as the temperature had dropped below freezing.
They got Gracie into bed. She didn’t feel unsure or awkward as she led Chay down the hall to her bedroom. She showed him where to put his clothes, and they both washed up and brushed their teeth.
Which was a bit awkward. “I don’t like to spit in front of other people.” Her toothbrush was in her mouth.
“I won’t look,” he promised, turning away as he continued brushing his own teeth. She spat and rinsed and then movedaside so Chay could and then he pulled her into his arms, his breath against her cheek a moment before she felt his lips on hers.
“Minty fresh,” she said.
“You still smell like strawberries,” he muttered, his mouth moving down her neck.
“They make me feel sunny.” Her words might sound like gibberish, because all she could feel was the heat coursing through her body.
He lifted her off her feet, carrying her into the bedroom and falling onto the bed, keeping her on top of him. “You make me feel that way.”
Framing his face with her hands, she was glad she’d changed into her nightshirt while he’d been putting his clothes away, feeling his big, warm hands on the back of her thighs as she straddled him.
“Same.”
He’d taken off his shirt and wore only a pair of boxer briefs. She’d spent most of the time in the bathroom trying not to ogle him, but now that he was in her bed it was a different story. The bedside lamp was on, casting them in its warm glow.
She leaned back on his thighs, and he stacked his hands behind his head, watching her. Taking her time, she drew her hand down his chest and back up again. Pushing down on his muscly chest.
“What are you doing?”
“You have no give. I like it. You’re a strong man,” she muttered. Chay was so masculine in so many ways…so physical and gruff. Ava found she really liked that.
