“Hey, sit up and face me.” Seth does as I ask, tucking his foot under his thigh, and leans against the back of the sofa with his head resting on his hand. I drag the backs of my fingers across his cheek, and he closes his eyes to the touch before opening them again. “I may be clueless on this parenting thing, but I’m aware enough to realize that you want something serious, not only for you, but for your kids. You want to give them consistency and have someone dependable around.”
His eyes are hooded as he smiles wistfully. “You get it, then. The question is, are you ready for that? Are you ready for what it takes? My kids alreadylike you, and you’re nice to them. That’s important.” Seth presses his hand against my heart, and I curl my fingers around it and hold it there. “You’re amazing so far with Braeden. He’s still struggling, but he’s coming around and smiling more. That’s because of you.”
“God, I’m trying. I don’t want to fail him.”
“You won’t. I know it.”
We sip more wine, processing our words, at least that’s what I’m doing before I open up to him. “You know, the thought of coming home to a partner scared me for a long time. My ex kind of traumatized me, I think. You’re getting baggage, Tiger. No, you’re getting an entire luggage set, crammed full of crap.”
He breathes out a laugh. “We all have baggage. I have my own, as you’re well aware.”
“Yeah, well, you’ve handled it better.”
Seth pulls away from my grip and squeezes my shoulder. “You didn’t know me before. I nearly broke, Cal. I thought for sure Malcolm would want to be a part of the kids’ lives, even if he didn’t want me anymore. We went through hoops to adopt them. Then,poof, he’s gone. If I hadn’t had my kids, maybe I would’ve fully broken, but I had friends to hold me up, to remind me I wasn’t alone. It helps. Anyway, my point is your luggage set doesn’t bother me as long as it doesn’t bother you.”
I take another sip of wine before cupping his face. “I haven’t been tender like this in so damn long, but I like it with you. You’re a good person, Seth, and I know I can trust you. Having that trust helps. I think us establishing a friendship first helped, too, because we had no demands or expectations placed on us. How about you?”
“How about me, what?”
“You got hurt with Malcolm, but also by Leo.”
“And you were there to help me get through it all. That moment when you called me and were there for me… that’s when I realized it was you I wanted. When did you realize you wanted me back? Was it during poker night? It was the cologne, wasn’t it?” He waggles his cute brows. “My plan to lure you worked.”
I chuckled, my hand still caressing his face, prickly under my palm since he hadn’t shaved since earlier this morning. “That’s only when I was going to get you to kiss me. I wanted you since you came out huffing and puffing at me when I was building that toy totem.”
“You’re so weird.”
“So you keep telling me.”
“Seriously, then?”
“Meh, mostly to play with. I wasn’t in a ‘relationship’ mood at that point, but I’ve always found you to be cute. Preppy adorable. That should be a fashion name.”
Seth plucks my empty glass from my hand and sets them both down on the coffee table. Then he climbs onto my lap, straddling my thighs. I rest my hands on his hips while he threads his fingers through my hair. “Let’s skip the movie,” he says.
“Oh, feeling frisky, are we?”
“Aren’t you?”
“With you? Always.”
Chapter 22
Seth
Ipressmylipsto his, pull back, and do it again. “Do you think Brae is fine?” Calvin asks between kisses.
“He’s fine.” I reach behind me and grab the monitor sitting on the coffee table, and show it to him. “See? He’s snug as a bug, sleeping away.”
Calvin smiles and runs his hands up my body and to my shoulders. “Now, where were we?”
“I believe I was peppering your face with kisses.”
“Ah, yes. Pepper away.”
I lean forward, kiss his forehead, kiss one cheek, then the other, before kissing his soft lips. My fingers gently dig into his jaw as our kiss deepens. I love the feel of his scruff on my skin and palms. I also love sitting on his rock-hard thighs. And Iespeciallylove how he’s dominant, but he lets me control the kiss, showing me he doesn’t have to be in charge of everything.
His hands slide from my shoulders, down my pits, and run along my back. They’re warm and strong; hands that make you feel safe; hands that would never hurt me.
