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“You’re welcome,” she whispered, her voice husky.
His eyes dropped to her mouth and before she could blink, his lips covered hers. Merry’s breath caught in her throat as his lips pulled at hers, and her mouth opened, allowing Clark to deepen the kiss. She closed her eyes, her hands gripping his arms as she kissed him back, flames spreading along her skin, tightening the peaks of her breasts. The towel slipped without her hand on it, but she was pressed so hard against him, it didn’t fall far.
Clark kissed her desperately, like he couldn’t get enough of her, and she melted into his body until suddenly he broke the kiss and rasped, “What is that smell?”
It took Merry a second to muddle through and pinpoint exactly what he was talking about and then it hit her.
He had his hands in her hair. Her puke-saturated hair.
Merry groaned, resting her forehead against his chest. “Your son vomited all over me, including my hair.”
Clark coughed, covering a low rumble that sounded a lot like laughter, and her eyes narrowed, pretending to be offended even as Merry forced back a smile.
“You think this is funny, huh?”
Merry could tell he was biting the inside of his cheek, but sputters of mirth kept escaping through his lips.
“You do know it’s probably all over your hands.”
“I think I missed it by a hair.” This time, he threw his head back, his hands falling away from her, and she pursed her lips.
“Very punny.”
“I’m sorry. I swear, I’m not laughing at you. I’m laughing because you tried so hard to take care of Jace and you got vomited on as thanks.”
Merry adjusted the towel around her. “And a really great kiss. Well, until my stench interrupted it.”
Clark smiled softly, the tender look in his dark eyes giving her goosebumps. No one had ever looked at her that way.
“Go take a shower and borrow anything you want. Mi closet is su closet.”
Merry kept a tight grip on the towel as she went back to Clark’s bathroom, shutting the door behind her. Her heart pounded in her chest and her lips tingled like crazy.
His kiss had come out of nowhere, but wow. Just…wow.
Chapter 19
Clark
Clark sat on the side of Jace’s bed, watching his son sleep. He remembered the first time Jace came down with croup when he was barely a year old. Clark had been a wreck, unable to sleep while his son coughed so hard his little body convulsed in his arms. Clark rushed him to the ER, where they’d treated him for pneumonia and kept him for several days. Every time Jace got sick, that memory of watching his son struggling for every breath popped up and fear churned in the pit of his stomach.
When he’d heard Merry’s message, he’d taken off across the farm, imagining the worst, and then she’d come out of his bedroom, shushing him like a scolding schoolteacher. Wearing nothing but that skimpy towel and rambling the events off to him as though she was waiting for him to get mad at her for choosing to stay with Jace rather than look after her own comfort.
The raw emotion bubbling inside him when he heard the worry in her voice made the need to have her in his arms unbearable and he couldn’t stop himself from hugging her, from taking comfort in her soft, warm body. If it hadn’t been for the smell of Jace’s vomit getting to him, he would have kissed her just a little bit longer.
Jace stirred on the bed and opened his eyes blearily. “Dad…”
“Hey, buddy. I heard you were feeling pretty crappy. Can I get you anything?”
“Thirsty. Merry gave me a drink, on my nightstand. Can you give it to me?”
Clark picked up the cup next to the bed and handed it to him. “Here you go. Do you still feel sick to your stomach?”
Jace took a drink from the spout and shook his head, but stopped suddenly with a wince. “My head.”
“Anything else hurt?”
Jace motioned to his neck.
