Page 16

Silence engulfed us. Candlelight flickered in the jars and the blue flames pulsed beneath the skillet. Pressed against me, the soft curves of her body fit perfectly with the hard angles of mine.

Her face canted, and her gaze locked on mine. Another fork of lightning brightened the room. Warm breath ghosted past her slightly parted lips. I shouldn’t kiss her. But fuck, I wanted to. One kiss to chase the temptation she had to be feeling, too. Pressure pooled in my groin, and my cock did a slow stretch in the loose sweats.

Then she hesitantly stepped back. “I’ll get the plates.”

Well, fuck, I’d misread those signals. My gut clenched a bit. “I think the transformer blew.” I peered out the window. The surrounding area had gone black. “The neighborhood is out.”

“I guess that means your clothes aren’t going to dry.” She removed the lid from the skillet and snapped off the gas.

I grabbed my glass of whiskey and downed the liquor with two swallows. I used my thumb to catch a drop from the corner of my lip and sucked it into my mouth.

Jaymi blinked hard, turned away from me, and topped the dish with shaved parmesan.

My good intentions were swinging on a pendulum. That we were alone and having a candlelight dinner in a darkened house was a perfect storm to rival the one raging outside. But I couldn’t see staying as a bad decision.

Once she set the plates on the island, she tipped her whiskey glass to her mouth and swallowed the last of her drink. Then she refilled both glasses then slid onto the stool next to me.

“How long do you think it’ll take for the power to be restored?” she asked as she set the drinks next to our plates.

“Your guess would be as good as mine.” The wind seemed to calm but the storm was still dangerous with the lightning and rain.

Shadows danced on the wall, and the candlelight sparkled in her green eyes. Her mouth opened, giving me a glimpse of her tongue before her lips closed over the broccoli on her fork.

Not that I needed any more stimulation. The pendulum swung again. Fuck good intentions. I focused on the food because I couldn’t look at her mouth and not want a taste.

Spices exploded on my tongue, and the gnocchi melted in my mouth. “This is delicious.”

She smiled. “Thank you.” She took a sip of her whiskey. “You were telling me about your divorce.”

“Not much to tell.” I spoke between bites of food. “We’ve both moved on. Our only point of contention is Lili.”

She continued to eat, one brow cocked and an expectant look in her eyes, obviously waiting for me to elaborate. She’d been open about her life, and I didn’t have anything to hide.

“She wants standard visitation.”

Jaymi’s eyes widened. “Really. That surprises me.”

“Not for her. I’d love to have Lili full time. Nah, Natalie wants me to be content with every other weekend while she has full custody.” I could say more, but I didn’t because conversations had a way of being repeated. As nice as it was to have dinner with Jaymi, she was going to have continued interactions with Natalie.

“Children need stability.”

“I agree, but I’m not walking away from my kid. I’m not okay with seeing her four days a month. But right now, I’m renting a room at the Heller Raiders clubhouse.”

She grazed her teeth against her bottom lip. Then she stuffed another bite of food in her mouth.

I chuckled. She didn’t have to say shit to hear the judgment coming off her. “I know the MC isn’t ideal. It’s temporary. I’m looking for a place closer to Natalie, close enough to be in the same school district. I’m willing to do whatever it takes to make joint custody easier on both of us.” I took a hearty swallow of whiskey.

Almost as if to keep from speaking, she forked another bite of food into her mouth.

“I’m not fighting her on the divorce.” I rolled my shoulders. “I’m fighting for Lili. Maybe for the first time, I’m trying to do the right thing. I don’t want to be the bad guy.”

“You’re not the bad guy.”

“You don’t know me.”

“I know that Lili thinks you’re awesome. I know that you stopped on the side of the road, not knowing who was in the car, to help a stranded motorist.”

“I had a good night.” I twirled the whiskey in my glass. “I’ve had a lot of bad nights, too.”