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That Tad loved Evan was a solid gold certainty, but it was easy to be the uncle who handed the toddler back when he got stroppy. The man had already done so much for her, from supporting her through her pregnancy to holding her hand through every push in that delivery room.
He had shown her how to breathe.
But now she had to breathe on her own. Make her way and as much as she’d like Tad to be involved in her life as more than a friend, he was just not into her. The sexual charge she felt in the air between them was all generated on her side, she was sure of it.
Still, the idea of testing the limits here sent a wild pulse through her.
“I just know I’d like to have some fun while I’m still young. Something short-term and meaningless would be good, I suppose.”
It was a universal truth that a Nutella binge could not be enjoyed without leaving evidence. A smudge of chocolate scored Tad’s cheek near the corner of his mouth, and she itched to rub her thumb against it.
So she did.
Then she sucked the smear that dotted the side of her thumb. Slowly.
Tad’s burning gaze latched onto her thumb-filled mouth, sending her sex into a heated clench. Warm liquid surged between her thighs and her nipples pebbled against the sensually thin silk of her robe. One look from Tad was like the equivalent of a good forty minutes of foreplay. One look and her body was ready for him.
Crazy, just crazy.
She blinked away her lascivious thoughts and stopped sucking on her thumb. This was completely absurd. Subtle seduction had never been part of her repertoire; old, slutty Jules was direct and to the point. Besides, Tad wasn’t interested in her in that way. He’d made that abundantly clear.
Except…something shifted incrementally. That imagined energy between them turned tangible the longer they stood there, staring.
“What about me?” he asked, low and soft.
“What about you what?”
He remained silent, just held her gaze with those unwavering blue eyes the color of a Chicago summer sky over the lake. Just stood there exuding…vibes. Sexual, dangerous, reach-inside-her vibes. While her heart danced a samba against her rib cage, she tried to comprehend what he was saying. Or not saying.
“Tad, this isn’t the time to do that dreamy stare you use on your victims.”
He took her hand in his, rubbing heated circles with his thumb along the inside of her wrist. “Something short-term and meaningless. That’s what you want, right?”
Not really. She wanted someone to hold her and soothe her, but that wasn’t what she was hearing here. She was having a hard time computing what exactly she was hearing.
“Are you—are you offering to be my fling?”
“Is that such a bad idea?”
He pulled her thumb to his mouth. For a moment she thought he was going to kiss it but then he surprised her by wrapping his lips around the tip. His tongue lapped at the delicate pad, taking her fingerprint.
Taking her breath.
Words would not form, but who needed words when every cell was roaring with pleasure? And how was she supposed to respond to her friend offering to…what exactly?
How was she supposed to respond with his tongue swirling around her thumb in the sexiest contract-negotiating tactic she had ever encountered?
Thoughts were impossible, so she forced herself to dig deep and rely on actions. She yanked out her thumb and stepped away. His eyes fell to her breasts, which played their part in the proceedings by getting their perk on.
“Bloody hell, Tad, are you mental?”
“If all you want is some guy to…” He paused, searching for appropriate words for the most inappropriate conversation. “To get you off, some sort of release, then isn’t it better you do it with someone safe, someone you know who you can set the rules with beforehand?”
He was serious. Completely serious. Hotter-than-Hades Taddeo DeLuca was offering his much-vaunted services. Images of those big, blunt hands all over her body, molding, teasing, pushing her to the limits, flooded her sex-addled brain.
How exactly would that be “safe”?
A nervous laugh spilled out. “Tad, you do know how wacked this sounds. We’re friends and if we crossed that line, how would we go back?” A flash of what had happened between them a year ago scorched her soul. She had almost destroyed what they had with her desperate fumble and it had taken months for them to get back on track.
