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This, however, was not the time or place for that. There was an adorable little girl just feet away.
I heaved my body back to the opposite end of the couch, adjusting my over-eager cock and doing my best to catch my breath.
“Wha—? Um...” Clara’s eyes were glassy, and her chest rose and fell rapidly as she looked at me.
I stroked her leg, letting my fingers slide up the smooth skin of her shin beneath the wide leg of the soft pants she wore. “I needed to get hold of myself before I fucked you silly right here on your couch.”
“I think I was ready for that.”
Parts of me thrilled to hear that news and did their level best to drive me right back to the brink of self-control, but I wasn’t going to do it. “Not the right time,” I managed to say, considering the possibility that I was the dumbest man alive for not taking the opportunity when I had it.
“Oh.” Was I imagining the disappointment in her voice? “Yeah, I mean...Katie’s a great sleeper, but it takes her a little while to get there.”
Right. And Katie didn’t need a rated-X education at five years old. I certainly didn’t want to be responsible for giving it to her. And the things I wanted to do to her mother if given the chance...well, privacy would be required.
I rubbed my hands through my hair, and then laughed, looking at Clara. “I promise I didn’t come over here tonight planning to attack you on the couch.”
She sat up and adjusted her tank top, giving me a look so sexy and shy I wanted to tackle her all over again. “I didn’t mind,” she said, sending my heart leaping around inside me. “Can I tell you something?”
Her uncertainty...the shy way she asked me this, dropping my eyes and then catching them again from beneath her thick lashes...I didn’t think I could actually be more turned on, but she proved me wrong. “Yeah.” It was a growl.
“I’ve had a crush on you since high school. That”—she nodded toward the couch we’d come close to christening—“pretty much fulfilled every teenaged fantasy I ever had.”
Shock trickled through me, making my fingers tingle with pleasure. “You’re kidding.”
She shook her head, a little smile on her lips. I scooted close and cupped her jaw again, loving the way she pressed into my hand, her eyes dropping shut like just the feel of me was too much for her.
“Well, we wasted a lot of time then. Because that high school crush?” Her eyes popped open, met mine. “Was completely mutual.” The eyes widened in surprise.
“No it wasn’t.”
“It was.”
“You never said anything. I was dying for you to ask me out.”
“I couldn’t.” I could have, but it would have meant risking rejection. “You were way out of my league.” Honestly, she still was.
She straightened. “You were a star athlete. Everyone wanted to go out with you. Sly, literally no one was out of your league.”
I chuckled. “As nice as it is to hear that...you were. And you probably still are. I’m just tired of fighting it.”
She shook her head. “Don’t fight it.”
I stared at her, still in shock that I was sitting here, in Clara Connor’s living room, my thumb tracing light lines along her perfect cheek as her deep blue eyes stared into mine with desire. “You’ve always been way too good for me.”
She sat up, her expression clearing as her head left my hand. “You’re insane. You spent your day playing dolls and having tea parties with a five-year old. You ordered champagne and flowers out of nowhere to celebrate a promotion you just found out about. You gave up your summer to help your dad rebuild an old fence...”
“Let’s be clear. I gave up a summer to see if there was any chance with the girl next door.”
Clara’s mouth dropped open slightly. “Wait, seriously?”
I shrugged. “And to hang out with my family. Dad’s not doing great, you know?”
She nodded, said quietly, “I know.”
“But mostly to roll the dice on this. I didn’t think there was much of a chance.”
“You’re crazy.”
