Page 137 of Beneath the Quiet

“Changing our…our thing.”

“Look, Mae, all I want is for you to enjoy a home-cooked meal with me and my daughter. What’s wrong with that?”

She works her lips between her teeth. “What are we doing?” she whispers.

“We’re having dinner. We’re enjoying ourselves, and I’d like us to spend more time together. Get to know each other. Don’t be scared.”

“I…I don’t do well with irregularities.”

My eyes shoot up. “I’m an irregularity now?”

“No!” she groans and rests her hands on my pecs, digging her fingers into the hair on my chest. “I just don’t know what to make of us.”

I sigh and shake my head.

This woman. This woman.

“Stop overanalysing this. We don’t have to have all the answers to everything right away. We can enjoy ourselves and see where things go.”

She stares at me, and that’s when I realise that her vulnerability is a part of her that I have to embrace, or I’ll lose her before I’ve even had her. I put my hand on her cheeks and pull her down for a soft kiss.

“I don’t know what we are, Mae,” I breathe, our lips still touching. “I just know that I’m yours. You have me wrapped around your pretty fingers, and I don’t want to lose the way I feel when I’m with you.”

“What do you feel?” she whispers.

“I’m not sure, but I don’t want it to stop.” I run my hands up and down her ribcage to soothe her, and watch her nipples harden as her entire body breaks out in goosebumps. I reach her nipples and rub my palms over them to distract her. I’m not ready to show my hand yet.

Her eyes darken as the beautiful buds turn harder from my touch. When her cheeks grow a dark shade of rose, I grin cheekily at her. “You know you can’t resist me, Mae. Don’t even try.”

“Fine.” She rubs her crotch against my hardening cock. I hiss at the friction, enjoying the little cat-and-mouse game we’re in the middle of. “I’ll come home with you for dinner.”

“Good. Now, hop off and get dressed. We need to get going.”

I tap her lightly on the arse. I fully expect her to do as I say, but she narrows her eyes and leans down. She takes my mouth, nibbling on my lips, her tongue sweeping out to trace them, and my breath stutters. I bury my hands in her hair, curl it around my hand, and pull it gently. I tilt my head, needing to take control of the situation, but she never ceases to surprise me. She wrenches her mouth from mine, her breaths rising rapidly.

“There. That should tide you over for a couple of days.”

“Days?” I huff.

“Yes. I’m going away with Roísin for the weekend, and men aren’t allowed.”

With something closely resembling triumph and laughter in her moss-green eyes, she nods and then jumps off my lap. I narrow my eyes and jump off the bed, ready to drag her back to it, demanding that she take the words back. I only manage a couple of steps when she holds her hand up, and I jerk to an abrupt stop.

“Stop right there, Farmer. You need to cool off a bit.”

I huff in disbelief. “Are you being serious right now?”

“If you want me to keep being a good girl, you need to be a good boy for once.”

My jaw grows slack, and with a teasing wave, she saunters into the bathroom and shuts the door. The resounding click of her turning the lock fills the room, and I shake my head and look down, grinning like a fool.

Maeve: one.

Me: nil.

Chapter Thirty-Two

Maeve