Nolan stared at his daughter, a slow, adoring smile spreading across his lips and Shannon had to steel herself against the butterflies that erupted in her stomach. Was there anything sexier than a man holding his child with obvious love in his eyes? Oh goodness, her ovaries were kicking in high gear because seeing that look in Nolan’s eyes just made him ten times sexier than he already was.
“I think I can handle that,” he said, nodding as he sank into the rocking chair and accepted a book from Shannon. “The Pretty Pink Princess,” he read in a soft voice as Aubrey listened with rapt wonder, leaning against his chest as if Nolan was a part of their routine and not a stranger. Tears stung Shannon’s eyes as something heavy dragged on her heart and she backed out of the room before she started crying. If Nolan were a normal guy, maybe it would’ve worked out between them but Nolan was more than just a good guy she’d hooked up with. In fact, she wasn’t even sure he was a good guy at all. The stories she’d heard…they just didn’t gel with the man she saw in her daughter’s bedroom, reading a silly story to a toddler as if it were the most fascinating story in the world. Her father had always taught her to judge people by their actions and thus far, Nolan’s actions had been pretty above par. So what did that mean?
She didn’t know — all she did know was that Nolan had suddenly jumped a few notches on the sexy meter and she was trying hard to remember why it was bad idea not to throw her baby daddy down on the sofa and have her wicked way with him.
That would be bad, right?
So bad.
And so, so, awesome.
-8-
Nolan emerged from Aubrey’s bedroom fifteen minutes later and the softness in his eyes was the final straw. Shannon’s gaze traveled hungrily across the wide planes of his shoulders and down to the hard ridge of his stomach, knowing from past experience that a slightly furred trail of hair disappeared behind his zipper and lead straight to a cock that haunted her dreams and refused to leave her memory. Really, it was like fighting a losing battle, she justified to herself, as she poured fresh glasses of wine and met Nolan in the living room. He hesitated at the wine, saying with open regret, “I have to drive. I probably shouldn’t…”
“You don’t have to leave just yet, do you?” she asked, her heart beginning a rapidly accelerated beat as her adrenalin hummed with pent up sexual tension. It’d been so long. Her vibrator was good for a quick release but it didn’t compare to the feel of a man between her legs — specifically Nolan.
Nolan accepted the glass and read the look in her eyes. Suddenly, his gaze darkened and he said in a low tone, “You really ought to stop looking at me like that.”
“Like what?” she asked, touching the rim of the glass to her bottom lip.
“The last time I saw that look we ended up leaving a club together and fucking all night. That’s the kind of look I’m talking about. Unless you’d like a repeat of that night…I’d suggest you start thinking about puppies or kittens or basketball…whatever shuts down the engine.”
“What if I don’t want to shut it down?” she asked, holding her breath. What if he rejected her? Oh God, she’d die right there on the spot. But as he advanced, plucking her wine glass from her hand and pulling her tightly to him, she knew he wanted her just as badly as she wanted him and she nearly buckled. “Nolan,” she whispered, her head dropping back as he immediately nibbled the soft skin of her neck. “I know we shouldn’t but I can’t help myself. This doesn’t change anything, if we do this. Understand?”
He growled and the sound both thrilled and terrified her because she knew he was calling her bluff. Everything would change and they both knew it. She clutched at him, reveling in the way they fit together like two puzzle pieces and within a heartbeat he’d hefted her into his arms and her legs wound around his torso as their mouths found one another. Tongues and lips began a carnal dance as their lust climbed to a fevered pitch between them and Shannon no longer cared about the potential consequences. She’d been dreaming about Nolan since the day she’d walked away from his penthouse but she’d been too stubborn to admit that their one-night stand could’ve been a prelude to many more nights together. She’d known he’d wanted more but for how long? She hadn’t wanted to be the one left behind when the time came and so had left first.
He carried her to the bedroom and quietly shut the door. His consideration of Aubrey, even in his lust-fueled haze, caused her to spiral deeper into a place she might never willfully return.
“God, woman,” he groaned, his hands filled with her ass. “What have I been missing all this time?” They tumbled to the bed and she rolled on top, ripping at his clothes as eagerly as he tore off hers. When they were blissfully naked, she realized with a hot flush of embarrassment that her body had changed since they’d last been together. Was he disgusted by her stretch marks? Did he notice that her breasts were slightly different after breastfeeding Aubrey for a year? He caught her hands just as she started to cover her breasts, his gaze hot. “You’re beautiful to me. More so than any woman I’ve ever seen. Don’t ever hide from me.”
“Pregnancy changes a woman,” Shannon said quietly, sliding her tongue along her lips as she gazed at him, feeling vulnerable and exposed. “I was afraid.”
He rose up and cradled her to him, the warm head of his cock nudging her. “Does this feel as if I’m disappointed in what I see?” he asked, his voice a sensual caress across her nerve endings. She shook her head with a shy smile. “I could never be disappointed in your body. You gave my daughter life,” he said, right before claiming her mouth again and plunging his tongue inside.
They rolled and he was on top, traveling down her body, raining kisses down her belly and across her hipbones until he came to the triangle of trimmed pubic hair. “Such sweet strawberry curls,” he murmured before delving straight between her folds without hesitating. God, Nolan knew what to do to a woman’s clit to make her squirm and cry out. Shannon thrashed her head, unable to stand the intense pleasure rippling through her but she tried to muffle her gasping cries for fear of waking Aubrey. The need to be quiet only intensified her pleasure as his clever tongue coaxed a monster orgasm from her.
“Ohh, Nolan,” she cried softly, rocking against the sensations cascading through her like a rainbow of sexual joy. “Oh, God…”