Page 104 of His Wounded Heart

Perfect.

I lift her up and place her on top of the blue comforter with the mandala designs and stroke the back of my knuckles against her jaw.

“You look beautiful, Trenda. Your hair strewn across your pillow, your arms reaching for me. I want to savor this moment.”

She blinks rapidly, and I realize she’s holding back tears.

“Trenda?”

“I’m fine,” she assures me. “What you said, it made me happy. It’s because of you. You make me feel beautiful.”

I want to be the man who is in her life every single day, telling her that she is beautiful, making sure she feels it, knows it, believes it.

I’ve travelled the world enough, and lately I’ve been in my own head and heart enough to know that I’m in love with Trenda Avery. And I’m in love with her daughter.

Who wouldn’t be?

But until I know for damn sure what my plans are, where I’m going to land and what I’m going to do, I am not going to make any commitments to this woman, and telling her I love her is a commitment.

“Simon?”

“Hmm?”

“It seemed like I lost you for a minute.”

“Just trying to figure out how to get you out of this dress. I didn’t see a zipper on the back.”

She grins. It’s a temptress’s smile. “This is one you pull over your head and shimmy it on down until it’s kind of plastered on your body.”

“Does it come in other colors?” I ask.

“I’m pretty sure,” she answers. “Why?”

“I’m going to go to the store and get all the other colors and watch you shimmy into each one of them. Instead of a fashion show, it’ll be a shimmy show.”

She giggles.

I lie down beside her, propping myself up on my elbow so that we’re nose to nose. My other hand is resting at the hem of her dress. I watch as she bites her lower lip. I’d noticed at dinner that the nails on both of her thumbs were bitten down to the quick. She’s had a lot of shit piled on her lately. Is this really the right time for—

“Stop it,” she whispers loudly. “I can almost hear the gears grinding in your head right now.”

I frown at her. “Oh yeah? What are my gears grinding about?”

“You’re thinking, for some unknown reason only known to men who are uber overprotective, that you might be taking advantage of me.”

Am I blushing?

“Maybe,” I mutter.

“Well stop it. I’m the one who told you I wanted third base the other night. I’m the one who, less than twenty minutes ago told you I wanted a home run, and now you think you’re taking advantage of me? What is it about me that’s made you think I don’t know my own mind?”

I chuckle. “Point taken.” I gather her up so that she’s now lying on top of me. One of my hands is under her dress and cupping her ass, the other is tangled in her hair.

Trenda’s eyes are closed with a blissful smile on her face. She’s happy.

I pull her down and kiss her for long moments, then slowly roll us over and laugh as she starts the shimmy process and her skirt is now above her hips. I kneel up.

“You want this off?”