I nod. “Good.” It’s just a word, but it feels heavier than that.
We finish up a little after noon. The fence line stands straight again, the wire tight and humming faintly in the wind. Exactly how it should be. That’s what I call a good day’s work.
“Lunch?” Hollis suggests.
“After we put everything away,” I answer automatically.
As we drive back toward the barn, dust kicking up behind us, I allow myself to look at Remington in the rearview mirror for a moment. Naturally, because the universe seems to want to test me, he catches me. Instead of looking away like we both should, he holds my gaze, steady as the fence post set deep in earth back there. Heat spreads through my veins, and my heart pounds hard. It’s visceral, the way my body responds to the weight of his stare.
I shouldn’t like it. Shouldn’t want it. But I do.
But then Hollis starts talking about something ridiculous, and the moment passes. After we unload the truck and put everything back in its assigned place, we head inside the house. The boys turn on the game in the living room while I whip us up some lunch. Nothing fancy, just some turkey sandwiches and some leftover soup I made the other night.
As everything is just about ready, the sound of footsteps approaching has me glancing over my shoulder. My stomach drops when my gaze finds Remington walking into the kitchen, with Hollis nowhere to be found.
“Smells delicious,” he drawls. He drags his gaze down the front of me, practically undressing me with his eyes. My body heats as it remembers the way his hands felt. The way his mouth felt. Blood roars in my ears as my mouth dries.
“It’s almost ready,” I say, turning my back to him.
He shouldn’t be in here right now.
But because he clearly has no shame, he steps up behind me, his hands flat on the counter on either side of my body as he brings his mouth to the shell of my ear. “Looks delicious too.”
“Remington,” I growl. “You need to back up.”
“Oh, don’t worry, daddy…” His tongue licks a hot, wet path up my neck, and I suck in a breath as my balls twitch. “Hollis is in the bathroom, and you know as well as I do, that means we’ve got a minute.”
I bite down on my molars as I exhale sharply through my nose. “What do you want?”
A groan rumbles in his chest. “What I want is a repeat of the other night.”
Me too.
Except I can’t say that.
“It ain’t happenin’, Remington. Give it a rest.”
He chuckles. “Do you honestly believe that? Because I sure as hell don’t.”
“What happened at the bar should’ve never happened.”
“That’s notreallyan answer, though, is it?”
My pulse kicks up, but I say nothing. I don’t trust myself to because the truth is, I want it to happen again. I want to see Remington on his knees for me. Want to see the hunger in his eyes as he pulls me out. Feel his hands and his mouth everywhere they shouldn’t be. I want it, and I don’t trust myself not to take it. So, it’s better if I keep my mouth shut.
Huffing a breath through his nose, Remington says, “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”
“Yo, Remi!” Hollis calls out, causing my stomach to lurch into my throat.
Remington takes a step back, and it’s like I can breathe again. “In here!” he calls out before lowering his voice. “We’ll revisit this conversation later, daddy.”
I turn around just as Hollis steps into the kitchen.
“Hey, you ready?” he asks Remington before glancing at me. “Need any help with the food?”
Doing my best to tame my racing heart, I clear my throat and shake my head. “No, I’m good.”
Mostly because I can’t look at my son in the eye or turn around without making it crystal clear where my head is at.How is it possible that he has methisfrazzled? I have to find a way to put a stop to this before it goes any further.
