Page 108 of Promise

I lean forward, and he cups the side of my jaw. The kiss is short but sweet.

As sweet as the daisy I find in the sack when we get to the cafeteria to share my lunch.

32

[Trinity]

That night, I’m exhausted from my first day back, but unable to unwind. I take my time giving Mirabelle a bath and tackling the nightly feeding, absorbing more of her love. The day was long but passed quickly enough. I held Mirabelle a little tighter that night, full of gratitude for her arrival and good health. She is such a blessing.

As much as I want to keep Mirabelle in the bassinet near my bed, I set her down in the crib. She’ll be three months old this week, and it’s time to move her on to the bigger space. Not to mention, her little coos and coughs and squirms easily wake me. Or maybe I wake her, like I did last night. She’s ready for her own space.

As I enter my bedroom—our bedroom again—Dart is coming out of the ensuite bathroom. His hair is damp, his chest bare. He wears only black boxer briefs. As he’s aged, Dart only grows more handsome. The scruff on his jaw. The powdery effect of gray here and there in his hair.

He gives me a smirk, catching me in the act of ogling him.

“I know you like to read before bed,” he begins. “Maybe we should read that book.” He eyes the top one on my nightstand.

The one my mom recommended.

Dart stretches across the bed, giving me another sexy view of his toned side and the length of his biceps.

When have I ever been attracted to a man’s obliques? And yet, here I stand, transfixed by Dart’s muscular physique.

When he pushes into a seated position, propped on pillows against the headboard, he holds up the book and pats the bed beside him. “Bedtime story.”

I snort and shake my head. He’s so ridiculous sometimes.

Earlier, almost immediately after returning home, I took a shower to wash off the hospital stench and germs, and I’m wearing soft shorts and a tank top without a bra. I’ve caught Dart checking me out throughout the night, chewing his lower lip a time or two.

He’s just as attracted to me.

We haven’t done anything sexy since the other night.

We don’t need to have sex once a day, the way we did in our twenties, but I also don’t want sex to fall into a routine like it had become before he left.

Brush teeth. Have sex. Read a book.

I want spontaneity, and Dart wanting to read a romance my mom recommended feels a bit spontaneous.

Crawling up the bed, I drop to my side, propping up my head on my hand.

To my surprise, Dart flips immediately to a passage, like he’s already been reading this book. However, it didn’t appear to be bookmarked. It’s like he knew exactly where to turn.

He begins to read.

“Dennis,” she cried out as her husband teased her entrance, dragging his seeping tip through her wet folds. Her nails dug into his firm ass, suggesting she wanted more from him.

Dart does a very bad impression of the woman.

“Not until you admit it,” he demanded, continuing to tease her with the bulge of his head, toying with her clit. “Give me the words, and I’ll give you my cock.”

Dart glances at me like the word is so scandalous.

“Dennis,” she ground out, teeth clacking while desire rushed up her midsection.

He moves his hand down his bare belly as if acting out that rush.

“Say it, and I’m all yours again.”