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“You found a home.” That was all I ever wanted but I looked for it in all the wrong places. “A home and an impressive life. I envy that.”
Slate finally looked up from the screen and stared at me. He studied me for a long time, and I started to squirm. “Don’t envy me, Emma. Now it’s your turn. All you have to do is decide what you want to build.”
Our gazes remained locked for a long moment and my heart squeezed tight. This man who I once thought was so gruff and tough, who wouldn’t want to be saddled with a kid, was everything I thought Alex would be. He was the one offering to give me a second chance at life.
A chance I wasn’t sure I deserved considering what I’d done, why I had denied him for five long years.
Chapter 17
Slate
Emma was so rattled when I came home the other day, I’d planned on having a talk with her but one look at her face and all my carefully rehearsed words went out the window. I’d been chasing ghosts, and the last thing a woman needed to hear after you’ve spent the night with them is that she reminded you of an old fling. Vick was history and I was seeing things that weren’t there, but Emma was the present. I couldn’t imagine what she was going through right now, or what she’d gone through with that bastard, but I wanted to do something for her.
“What is this?” Emma stood in front of me with a look of genuine confusion on her beautiful face. She held a tablet against her chest and stared at me.
“A tablet?” It was a smartass answer, but I needed to diffuse the situation because I had a feeling that she was about to get upset.
“Obviously.” She rolled her eyes as if she was annoyed but her full lips stretched into a reluctant smile. “I meant the links you sent me. Is that like a hint or something?” Worry darkened her gaze, and she nibbled her bottom lip.
“I’m an ass,” I said and shook my head. “No Emma, it’s not a hint. It was meant to be a help. You said you wanted to work but I know that right now things are a little up in the air for you and for Ash. Those are remote jobs you can do without worryingabout the cops showing up at your office.” I wanted to help in any way I could but somehow, I’d gotten it wrong.
She stared at me for a long fucking time, and I braced myself for her anger. Still, she stared.
“What?” I finally asked the question when the extended silence became too much.
Emma’s lips parted into a smile, and she closed the short distance between us and wrapped her arms around me. “Thank you, Slate. This was,” she sighed and shook her head, “incredibly sweet.”
“It’s just a few links,” I said, suddenly nervous by her praise and the soft way she was looking at me.
“No, don’t downplay this,” she said and held me tighter. “Your support means a lot to me, Slate. No one other than Sara has ever supported me like this before. You won’t regret it.”
“I know I won’t because I didn’t do it for me, I did it for you. And for Ash.”
Her unwavering stare was a little unsettling but then her smile grew again, and I felt blinded by the beauty of it. “Slate,” she whispered. “Thank you. It means the world to me.” She pushed up on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to mine in a gentle, chaste kiss. Her tongue slipped out and teased the seam of my lips until I opened up and she dove right in.
Her kiss was hesitant at first as if she wasn’t sure I would welcome her kisses, as if I could do anything but take the thing I’ve wanted since I last had it. My hands went to her hips before sliding around to grip her ass.
She pushed up a little more and pressed her body against mine with a moan.
That moan, low and deep and guttural, and the feel of her beautiful tits against my chest snapped the last thread of control I was hanging on to and I tightened my grip on her ass and pulled her flush against my cock. When she moaned again, I deepened the kiss. Took it to the next level. She kissed me back greedily and once again I was reminded of Vick.
Vick.Shit.My gaze was clouded over with lust and all I could see was Emma as my hands slid up her body, molding over her fantastic curves until my hands cupped her face. “You feel so fucking familiar to me.”
Surprise lit her eyes, and her mouth parted into a shocked ‘o’ before she pulled me down and kissed me again.
I wanted answers. Hell, I needed them.
But right now all I wanted was her lips on mine.
Chapter 18
Emma
You feel so fucking familiar to me.
Slate’s words played over and over in my head while we kissed like teenagers right there in the living room. The truth was that he felt familiar to me too and it had almost nothing to do with the fact that I knew we weren’t strangers. It wasn’t his kisses or his body, though those were familiar too, that made him feel like home to me. It was his heart and his spirit, the way he made me feel.
I didn’t have a response for him so I kissed him again, poured my heart and my soul into the kiss, hoping that when he learned the truth he wouldn’t toss me out and run in the opposite direction. I sighed and tilted my head back when his fingers tangled in my hair, offering up more of my mouth for him to devour.
