Page 92 of If I Didn’t Have You

“I’m not sure what to say to that.”

As she shifted to move off me, I clamped down on her thighs, refusing to let her leave.

“What I mean is that…I’m starting to see how much I’ve missed over the years.”

Biting her lip, the confusion only grew. “That still doesn’t answer the question.”

“You look fucking beautiful,” I grinned. “Sexy and so damn feisty. Yeah, I fucking like it.”

I saw the moment she was about to chastise me for my language, but instead, she snapped her lips shut.

Tugging her back down, I let my hand slide over her back, brushing the dimples just above her ass. I hadn’t held her like this in so long, and now that I had her, I never wanted to leave. But we had to get a few things straight if this was going to work.

“You don’t dance with anyone but me. You got that?”

Her head jerked up and she glared daggers at me. “Really? Then you don’t flirt with other women.”

My jaw dropped in shock at her words. “And just who the hell am I flirting with?”

“Oh, please!” she snapped, pulling away from me, grabbing her dress to cover up. “Like you don’t know!”

“I really have no fucking clue. And stop getting dressed,” I growled, tearing the dress out of her hands.

“Please, the whole fucking town saw you with her!”

“The whole fucking town? I would love to know who I was flirting with and why the hell you’re swearing.”

“Everyone else swears. Why can’t I?”

“Because it’s just not natural to hear those words from your lips!” Then I remembered what she said to me not even a half hour ago, how those dirty words left her lips. “Unless we’re fucking.”

“Oh, right. It’s okay on your timeline.”

I was getting really pissed off by her attitude. “Who the hell was I supposedly flirting with?”

“River!” she shouted, snatching the dress out of my hands.

I sat there stunned for a good three seconds before I burst out in laughter. “River Ainsley?”

“Oh, don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about.”

“I would love to know why the hell you thought I was flirting with her.”

“I saw you! You were in the gym, showing off your muscles! She was fawning over you!”

I barked out a laugh, surprised by what she thought was going on. It was time to set the record straight. “Sam has been helping me get in shape, and he thought River could help with my…” I cleared my throat, a little embarrassed by it. “My flexibility. For you.”

“For—” She stopped, narrowing her eyes at me.

“You’ve been doing all this shit to make yourself better. And I realized how flabby I was after Sam made me jog back to the gym with him. So, I started working out and running with him. River was merely commenting that my muscles were becoming more defined. She said she could notice the difference working out was making. That’s it.”

Suspicion coated her gaze, but she wasn’t completely lost to me. “So, you weren’t having an affair with a younger woman?”

“Honey,” I laughed, “I’m having a hard time holding onto you. Why the hell would I try to keep up with someone younger than me?”

I pulled her against my body, kissing her roughly. Damn, I loved this woman.

“Well, next time, tell River to keep her eyes to herself. It’s bad enough that everyone else sees you with your shirt off. I don’t want to compete with women half my age.”