She makes a humming sound, but she does tip up on her tip toes and winds her arms around my neck. I shudder at the contact, and I don’t even try to hide it. There’s no reason for me to hide what she does to me; I want her to know.
The last thing I want is for her to ever question what she does to me. Or how much I crave her.
She teases me, “You think I should kiss you hello?”
“I am your man,” I point out.
Helen tilts her head to the side before a soft smile tilts her lips. “Well,” she concedes, “that is true. Better keep you happy since I didn’t show up with food.”
While I chuckle, she pulls me down toward her and I go willingly. She could lead me anywhere and I would follow. The moment our mouths meet, we melt into each other.
Our kiss starts out slowly, but it heats quickly. It’s passionate and deep while riding the edge of feral in a way which only makes me harder for her. As much as I want to get completely lost in this, in her, something is gnawing at the back of my mind.
I pick her up and grin as she lets out a sound of surprise and clings to my shoulders. Even though I want to cart her back to my room, Ichoose to settle on the couch and love the way she settles so damn perfectly on my lap.
Helen gives me her trust when she leans into me while knowing I’ve got her. She sighs and I can’t help but feel fucking amazing as her entire body relaxes.
“After your visit,” she begins and shoots me a nervous look that has my hackles metaphorically rising, “my dad requested my presence in his office. He wanted to discuss the rumors floating around about us being seen together.”
“He had an issue with me kissing you?”
Even though I ask the question, I don’t fucking care about the answer. Oh, I care about what she’s going to tell me because it has clearly upset her, but the last thing I care about is Mayor Cowell’s opinion on my relationship with his daughter.
I might have cared before. Before she told me all the ways she’s had to put others ahead of herself. Before she told me about how family to her really meant her sister because her dad wasn’t ever truly there, not when it mattered the most.
But now I know the kind of man he is and the kind of pressure he never thought twice about putting on his daughter’s shoulders. The man doesn’t get to judge us being together.
“Dad informed me of the great embarrassment I caused him with my actions,” the bitterness in her voice has me tightening my hold on her. She scoffs and shakes her head. “He expected me to just roll over and go along with his edict about me not seeing you.”
Her eyes take on a faraway look to them, but when her gaze locks with mine they clear. And becomes fierce.
My dick throbs in response. If she notices, she doesn’t comment on it.
“I told him he doesn’t get to have an opinion on my relationship with you.” Pride swells in my chest with her words. “I reminded him that you’re a good man. He tried to tell me about how dangerous your job is.” She purses her lips, her entire demeanor prickly. Fucking cute. “When he tried to tell me to stay away from you, I told him no.”
Her words clang through the house with a finality that has my heart pounding in my chest. I know how much effort she’s put in to not rocking the boat when it comes to her dad, usually because she’s protecting her sister. But this time she put her foot down.
She told her father no.
“You told him no?”
I need to hear it again.
Just to be sure.
Maybe I’m dreaming right now.
She gives one curt nod. “I told him no.”
“You stood up for me? To your father?”
A sweet smile curls her lips, and I fall deeper into her brown eyes. “Of course I did. You’re a good man and when I pushed him and asked him why I should stay away from you, he couldn’t give me an answer. Even if he did, I still would have told him no.” The sigh she lets out is weary and her next words tell me exactly why. “Dad always really liked Thad.”
Her face screws up and the distaste and disgust are clear to see in her expression. I have to blink back the anger which wants to overtake me. Her Dad was fine with that sleazeball, but not me? Yeah, I just don’t fucking think so.
“The only other time I’ve really stood up to him was after we broke up and Dad kept trying to talk me into giving him another chance.” She looks away from me, her eyes turning hazy like she’s more in the memory of the moment long ago than here with me. “That day I lookedhim in the eyes and really let him see my pain, not just from being cheated on, but all of it. It was the only time I didn’t allow either of us to hide behind the masks, the fake.”
My fingers start to run through her hair, soothing her, telling her that I’m here for here. Even as she gets lost in the past. Because I know she needs to; I’ll always give her what she needs.
