Total pages in book: 23
Estimated words: 21278 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 106(@200wpm)___ 85(@250wpm)___ 71(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 21278 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 106(@200wpm)___ 85(@250wpm)___ 71(@300wpm)
Just as my vision returns, I feel him jerk inside of me. I wish I could feel his come. I want to know what it would be like to have it drip between my thighs. Maybe next time, his words play through my head just as he stills.
He lets out a soft sigh and collapses onto the bed. But somehow, he manages to keep our bodies intertwined, still holding onto me as he turns. There’s a soft glow in his eyes and he opens his mouth to say something. I’m pretty sure this is the moment he’s going to say that we should do this again sometime. I’ll be cool and sophisticated like a woman who has flings all the time and tell him that would be nice.
But before any of that can happen, a shrill tone interrupts us, a cellphone ringing. It’s not mine and he lets out a small groan. Guilt crosses his features as he pulls slowly out of my body.
I grab his phone from the nightstand and pass it to him but not before I see the tell-tale word on the ID. Home.
That’s when the horrible truth hits me. This man belongs to someone else.
5
LINCOLN
The moment I became a father, I stopped being the most important person in my world. Suddenly, that spot was reserved by my beautiful twin babies. Part of being a parent is getting used to your needs coming second.
But when you’re a single dad? Hell, my needs barely register in the top ten anymore. It’s all about my kids and when that phone rings, I can’t help the soft groan. I want more time with this woman. I want to stay inside her sweet pussy all night long.
As soon as the thought crosses my mind, a wave of guilt washes over me. How many nights did I sit in the NICU, praying they’d make it through? How many times did I kiss my kids before a surgery and tell them that they were fighters? How many days did I wander into the hospital chapel and make deals with every deity I could think of?
“Is your wife calling to let you know the baby is out of formula?” Scarlett asks. She might be teasing me. It’s hard to tell and I’m too rattled to analyze it right now.
I dispose of the condom in the trashcan near the bed. Then I grab my jeans from the floor and put my phone into my pocket. My shirt is next and somehow, I manage to put it on right. My only thought is getting to my twins. They both have serious health problems, and I wouldn’t have been called if it wasn’t important. “Something like that.”
I’m at the door when I realize that I’m abandoning her here naked in a hotel room. Clearing my throat, I glance at the center of the room where she’s already slipping into her skirt. “Do I need to call you a cab or—?”
She lifts her chin and I’m pretty sure I see hurt flicker in that beautiful blue gaze before she hides it. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll find my way home.”
I wish I could stay. I wish I could explain. But my kids need their dad and they’ll always be my top priority. I swallow down the explanations that don’t matter. This was just supposed to be a quick fuck anyway.
I jog across the street to Club Cocky where the parking lot is still crowded and slip into my truck. The moment I’m on the road, I use hands-free mode to call Camden on my house phone. He’s a fellow firefighter and the one I left to babysit my kids tonight. He’s practically their uncle and adores them. I wouldn’t trust anyone else with my kids.
He answers on the second ring and lets me know that Leo had an asthma attack. Since he and his sister were preemies, they’ve had to face more than their fair share of health problems. He got the lung problems, and his sister has a digestive disease. It breaks my heart how my kids have struggled since the day they were born.
“You got him the inhaler?” I ask as I turn onto the interstate that will take me on the road home.
“Yeah, he’s doing fine now. He’s breathing normally,” Cam reassures me. This is why you get first responders to babysit your kids. They’re damn good in an emergency. “But he’s scared, and he wants you. Nothing I’ve tried is distracting him.”
“Put him on the phone.” A moment later, I hear my son’s voice. I hate that he needs me and I’m not there to put my arms around him.
All through the drive, I talk to Leo and Lyla. Slowly, they both calm. Because this is what dads do. They show up in the tough moments, and they offer reassurance. I am their port in the storm, the rock my kids can always rely on.