Dakota chuckled. “I’ve got Providence on speaker.”
“Hey, cuz, what’s the word?”
“My bank account got hacked and my money was stolen.”
“That sucks. Need some dinero?”
“I’m good, thanks.”
“You got the account number?”
Providence read it to him.
“Just because it’s you two, I’m dropping everything. I’ll see what I can find.” Stryker hung up.
Dakota shoved his phone back into his pocket. “What about this? We rent out your condo. That would give you another income stream, your apartment would get used, and Sammy and I could see you every day.”
Her mouth dropped open, but no words came out.
“Too much?”
“I’m not sure how to process that. Is that a business proposition or…” She trailed off.
“It’s the other.”
“Okay, well,wow.” More silence. “I’ll give it some thought. Thank you for the offer.” She opened her laptop “Let’s get to work.”
Undeterred by her reaction, he went to her, and drew her into his arms. “Work can wait an hour. I don’t hear the pitter-patter of little feet or soft tapping on my office door. I want to show you how much I missed you.”
“Dakota…” A few seconds passed. Her gaze softened. She leaned up and kissed him. “I missed you, too. So much.”
* * *
Providence locked Dakota’s bedroom door, pulled off her shirt, then shimmied out of her tight pants, leaving her in her bra and panties. Dakota was by her side, drawing her into his arms, and pressing his lips to hers. She inhaled his baseline scent and exhaled a sigh. She had missed him.
She worked quickly to strip off his clothing. He pulled back the linens before they tumbled onto his bed. “Condom?” she asked.
“Are you more comfortable naked or in your bra and panties?”
“It’s going to be hard to have sex if I’m dressed, though you could move them out of the way.”
“Let’s focus on you.”
“Dakota, please.”
“Work with me on this. This is important to me.”
“You are so good to me.” She relaxed onto the mattress and stroked his bearded cheeks.
“Time to let go of the tension.” He inhaled a slow, deep breath, then slowly released it. He did it again before she realized he wanted her to follow his lead.
She did, and when she released a few soul-calming breaths, the stress started melting away. Staring at him made her happy. Running her hands over his muscular shoulders and down his triceps worked, too. Using his fingers, he combed through her hair, then kissed her shoulder. He stroked her chest, but not her breasts, caressed her torso and legs, but stayed clear of doing anything sexual. His touch was tender, his words were encouraging.
“You look relaxed and happy.”
She swooned.
“I could stare at you for hours.”
