Page 38 of Penn

“He was always in competition with me. Making more money than him, getting married to an attractive woman, and living a dream life pissed him off to no end. Everything in our lives was always a competition, and he’d finally played the ultimate move. He won.”

“No, he lost,” she says, reaching out to take my hand. “Because it sounds like he lost you, too.”

“My entire fucking family did. They all backed him up. Like they always did. Patrick and Veronica are married now, but she’s not happy. And I’m glad. No matter how vindictive that makes me sound. I’m fucking happy she’s unhappy.”

Releasing my hand, Dixie leans back. “I can understand that. I used to hope my father would get herpes or something that would stop him from stepping out on Mom.”

I can’t stop the laugh that comes, and I nod. “That’s funny.”

“I’m serious,” she exclaims through giggles. “I always hoped he’d mess around with the wrong woman. Not to the point of dying because of the woman’s bigger husband but something that wouldn’t kill him but make him undesirable.”

“You hoped your dad would get herpes. That’s fucking amazing,” I say. “Wait, that’s not your secret, is it? Because as great as it is, it’s not really comparable to mine.”

Red fills her cheeks, and she looks down at Princess in her lap. “I honestly didn’t expect you to give something so deep. My secret I planned to share doesn’t really… match.”

“You already had a secret in mind?”

Nodding, she looks up through her long lashes. “Yeah.”

“Tell me.”

“I haven’t been sleeping all that well lately. And it’s not because of the baby or because of my ex. Or the fact my house and all my possessions got burned to the ground.”

I raise a brow. “What is it?”

“You.”

My heart rate spikes, and I’m beyond happy she chose to share this secret. “Me?”

“I just lie awake down the hall from you, and all I can think about is what it would be like to be in the same bed. How your hands would feel on me. Having your body on mine. I’ve been craving you, and it’s like an itch I can’t scratch.”

Fuck. Me.

My sweatpants tent, and I like the way it makes her plump lips part as she stares at what her words just did to me. The physical reaction to even the idea of being with her.

“Dixie, you shouldn’t say things like that to a man like me unless you mean them.”

Her tongue runs over her lips as her chest heaves. “I mean them, Penn,” she whispers, and she picks up Princess to put her on the blanket at the other end of the couch. “It’s been nearly impossible to pretend I don’t want you.”

Reaching over, I wrap a hand around the back of her neck and press my lips to hers. She reacts immediately, pressing herself forward and parting her lips to allow my tongue into her mouth. I pull her onto my lap, and her hips immediately grind against my groin, making us both moan.

“Are you sure about this?” I ask, pulling away just enough to look into her eyes. “If I take you, there’s no going back. If we do this, you’re mine. You and this baby.”

Dixie swallows, her eyes shining with a desire I didn’t know was possible. “I don’t want to go back. I need you.”

That’s all the invitation I need, and I kiss her again. The kiss is deep and possessive, and as much as I hate to admit it, desperate. There’s a pent-up hunger that’s been driving me crazy since the day I met Dixie, and it’s all coming out as she allows me to consume her.

She moans softly against my lips as my hands graze along her body, gently touching the sides of her breasts, and despite the layers of clothing between us, I feel her nipples pressing against me.

I’m finally going to have Dixie in my bed. My life. And hopefully, in my heart.

Chapter 15

Dixie

Penn leads me down the hallway to his bedroom, and my fingers stay intertwined with his the entire way. The door is already open, and he pulls me inside like he’s been waiting for this moment longer than I have.

My heart pounds hard in my chest, and I can’t believe this is finally happening. After all the nights I’ve spent thinking about him, I finally found the courage to tell him how much I want him. No, not want. Need. I fucking need him.