AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Hearing the running footsteps and the shouts of the girls coming their way from around the bend, she and Morgan broke apart quickly and stood there looking toward the end of the row where the girls had gone—and not at each other.
Panting slightly, Blake tried to appear nonchalant as Ciara ran to her and grabbed her hand, saying, “You have to see this!”
7
The first week in November Morgan went back to his usual friendly but polite behavior with Blake, the primary focus of their interactions being the care of his child. He hoped his momentary loss of control did not screw that up in any way. If Blake was disturbed by the fiery kissing session they shared on Sunday, she did not show it.
She was not the type of person to press charges on him for it, especially since she had participated as fervently as he had. And he could see Blake already loved Ciara and would never want to hurt her with something like that.
But was she quietly planning to quit because of it?
The thought of that struck panic in his chest. His daughter adored Blake, and if she left it would be a real blow to her.
He had to admit it would be damn hard for him too. Because Blake had already somehow gotten under his skin and reached his heart.
He told himself to stop thinking that way. That it was really only his dick making him act this way and had nothing to do with lasting feelings or Blake’s feelings for him. But even if that were true, which he doubted, it still put him in pain. It seemed like all he could think about lately was having hot and steamy sex with Blake. His mind even conjured the two of them making an agreement for a no-strings fling. Not that Blake would ever agree to that. And even if she would, Morgan was not a fool. He knew how those things always ended.
Badly. And Ciara would be a casualty.
His daughter did not seem to notice that the exchanges between him and Blake had become awkward and stiff and overly polite. And he sure as hell hoped Ciara could not see the agony he was in every time he saw Blake bending over or pursing her lips or straddling a kitchen chair.
Well, he had a hand to take care of that in the shower, didn’t he? No, he was not going to find some babe elsewhere just to relieve himself. After the two years he’d spent with Fawn, Morgan did not get turned on by meaningless sex or bimbo bombshells anymore. That was a mistake he outgrew long ago.
And finding an intelligent woman he could date was not the answer either. He did not have time for that. He had a business to run and a child to raise. Besides, they were always looking for serious and long-term relationships, and after what he’d gone through with Fawn, his trust level with women was in the toilet. In the past nine years he had not met any woman who piqued his interest enough to take a risk, not so much as one he could imagine possibly becoming a permanent part of his life.
Until now.
Harper was right. Blake was a perfect fit for his daughter.
And for him.
But he knew she was looking for a teaching position in universities across the country. And that they had only known each other for a short time. And that the need she filled in his life was a practical one. Were his feelings for her distorted by that? By the fact that his daughter was crazy about her?
One thing he knew for sure—his body’s response to her had nothing to do with his daughter’s view of Blake.
Case in point—Morgan walked in the front door after returning from his meeting in New York City and called out, “Blake, it’s just me.” He did not want to surprise her, knowing she had issues around intruders.
“Thanks for the heads-up, but I heard the gate signal and saw your car on the monitor,” she said, walking toward him.
He had forgotten about her checking when his security system signaled. Instead, he was the one surprised—by the rush of both joy and arousal that always surfaced at the sight of her. He kept expecting that reaction to go away, but it did not.
Maybe that was why he’d pulled that blooper in the meeting with Fawn’s attorney today. And now he would have to deal with it.
“You are home earlier than I expected,” she said.
He nodded. It would be a couple of hours before Ciara needed to be picked up at school and where did his mind go? To the fantasy of peeling off Blake’s running pants and long-sleeved tee and having sex with her right here on the living room couch. Or maybe the kitchen table. Or…
“How did it go in Manhattan with the attorneys? Did Fawn show up?” she asked, interrupting his thoughts.
“No, just her lawyer,” he said, still not sure how to tell her about what he’d done and feeling concerned about how angry she would get over it. “Are you in the middle of anything important right now?”
“Nope. Just cutting up some fruit for Ciara’s after-school snack.”
“Will you meet me in my office in ten minutes?”
A worried look crossed her face, but she said, “Of course.”
Morgan climbed the stairs to his room and washed the city grit off his face, dumping his dress trousers and shirt for jeans and tee. When he got downstairs to his office, Blake was already standing at the door, her hands doing a nervous wringing motion. It kept surprising him how someone so beautiful and smart and capable could be so lacking in confidence. But life could do that to people. Little did she know he was the one who should be nervous right now. He needed her to agree to his plan.
