Page 92 of Beneath the Quiet

“I never lie to my daughter.” I step aside to get my boxers and quickly put them on. “But she’s at the riding school. She gets a lift home from the riding school with her friend’s mother every Tuesday. We take turns, and I pick them up on Thursdays.”

“I see.”

I flash her a grin when I catch her eyeing my crotch. I’d be lying if I said her direct stare meant nothing to me. The sound of my belt clings loudly in the silent room, and it’s with a note of regret that I get dressed. All I have eyes on is the woman standing in front of me, fully naked, hip leaning on the bedpost, her arms over her chest, pushing her gorgeous breasts up. She’s so comfortable in her own skin, standing in front of me.

It turns me on like nothing else.

“So…” I push my arms through the sleeves of my flannel shirt and take a step closer to her, wrapping my arms around her back. “Will Tuesdays work for you?”

She places her hands on my arms and tilts her head. “Tuesdays?”

“Yes. I can come here every Tuesday around the same time.”

Understanding dawns in her eyes. “Oh. Yes, I think so. I get off work early every Tuesday, so that should be fine.” She taps her chin, smiling up at me. “Our Tuesday Fling has officially commenced, then.”

I groan.

“That sounds like the title of a bad romance novel.”

“Hey, don’t you dare mock my favourite pastime, Aidan.” She starts buttoning up my shirt, her eyes shining with laughter. “They’re the reason I even learned there’s a thing such as orgasms.”

Shaking my head, I rest my forehead against hers. “Don’t tell me.”

She tucks her chin, but not quickly enough that she can hide her grin. “Fine. I won’t.”

“Now it’s all I’m going to think about tonight.” I suck in a breath. “You wicked woman.”

“Mmm.”

I lean down and kiss her, unable to resist having another taste of her sweetness before I leave. My heart thumps in my chest when she goes pliant in my arms, her body growing soft underneath me, her lips fused to mine. My head screams at me to pull away.

We’re moving into dangerous waters too quickly.

Her low moan sends a shockwave of lust straight down between my legs. I dig my fingers into her buttocks, moulding the soft flesh, before I wrench my mouth away.

“If I don’t leave now, I’ll fuck you again, Mae.”

“As much as I’d love that, I won’t keep you.” She tugs my lower lip with her teeth, and I hiss at the shot of lust that settles in my cock.

I kiss her once, twice, three times before I force myself away. Her cheeks flush a beautiful shade of pink, and her swollen lips beg for more.

“Get dressed.” I ignore the scrape of my voice. “Don’t you dare touch your pussy until I see you again.” The blood whooshes in my ears, and I realise what I’m asking of her is so much more than a simple friends-with-benefits deal.

But I can’t take the words back.

She juts her chin out.

“I don’t take orders from anyone, or have you already forgotten that?”

I ball my hands at my sides. I’m strung so tight I’m worried I’ll snap if I don’t keep my distance.

I lower my voice.

“Trust me. As long as you’re with me, I’ll take care of you.”

I wet my lips, never once dropping my gaze from hers as I wait for her answer. I haven’t been a possessive man in years. She brings out a side of me that I haven’t seen for so long. One I thought I’d buried a long time ago, only now I realise it was never buried that deep.

It was lying in wait for someone.