“I’d like that.”
“You like having him around.”
“He’s a great kid. You must have had a hard time taking care of him all by yourself when he was a baby.”
“I had help.” He smiled sheepishly. “I love the fact that you forget completely I’m wealthy. You know I could hire an entire army brigade to take care of Will, but you know me well enough to know I’m a hands-on dad.”
Jessie didn’t care about his money. She had her own, enough to keep her businesses running, a roof over her head, and food in her cupboards. She wasn’t interested in Dylan because he could support her for the rest of her life. That had never been his appeal. No, it was the way he made her feel about herself, all the good he saw in her.
“I hired a nanny right away.” He went on, “She took care of him while I worked and taught me what I needed to know about raising my son. The rest was a lot of luck and practice.”
Jessie tried to get up, but he pulled her back down.
“Where are you going?”
“I have something to show you.” She moved to get up, and instead he took her mouth and kissed her silly. The crackle of the fire faded and all she heard was his breath on her lips when his tongue slid past and glided over hers. He kissed her long and deep. His hand slid up her arm and over her collarbone before slipping down her chest to cup her breast. He weighed her in his palm. She sighed when his thumb swept over her taut nipple. Her arms found their way around his neck, and she held him tightly to her as his other arm banded around her back and pulled her even closer.
“What do you want to show me, honey?”
That soft, silky voice vibrated in her ear and his roaming hands sent warm tremors through her system. She couldn’t think, didn’t want to. She wanted to feel, and then she remembered what she wanted to show him. “Hope’s chest,” she stammered. “I have Hope’s chest to show you.”
He couldn’t get enough of her. Warm and supple, her breast fit his hand to perfection, and the soft firmness of it made his fingers tingle to slide her shirt off and peel away her bra and find the smooth skin beneath. He squeezed her breast and took her taut nipple between his thumb and index finger and plucked at it until she sighed.
He took her bottom lip, sucked it into his mouth, and soothed her by licking the edge. He trailed small, soft kisses at the corner of her mouth and along her jaw.
Her head fell back and she rested her face against his cheek. He smiled into her neck.
“Go get it, honey. I want to see it.” Then I want to see you. He didn’t say the last part aloud, but it’s what he intended. He didn’t want to rush her. They had all night. They had forever.
She stood to walk away, but he kept touching her until she was out of his reach. His fingers trailed down her arm and over her hip and down her leg. She turned back to him and smiled, her eyes roaming over his entire body, making him want her so bad he had a hard time sitting still and not lunging for her. God, this woman made him crazy.
She walked to the seating area on the other side of the room. Next to a round side table on the floor sat a wood chest. She bent and picked it up by the metal handles on the side and brought it back. When she came toward him, he grabbed her hips and guided her down so she sat with her back to him again. The chest sat next to them.
He studied the simple design and knew Jessie made it. The name carved on the top humbled him: HOPE DANIELLE MCBRIDE. He couldn’t get used to the idea that even though she thought he’d abandoned her, she’d still named their daughter after him.
“Why did you name her after me?”
“She’s your daughter.”
That was Jessie. She broke things down to the simplest truth. Hope had been his daughter no matter if he’d been there or not. It didn’t change the facts or the love Jessie had for him. He should have realized that these last weeks and kept things simple with her. She loved him. He loved her. They should be together, so why hadn’t he just been with her? Because he needed to know she wanted to be with him as much as he wanted to be with her. He went back to the simple truth. Jessie loved him and wanted to be with him. Done. End of story. Tonight, he’d stop all this complicated business, trying to give her time and drawing her to him. He’d go back to the easy way things used to be when they were kids. They’d be together. Tonight. Always.
“She was our daughter,” he corrected. “I love her and miss her all in the same heartbeat.” He traced his finger over the smooth wood.
“There’s that little bit of poetry. Only now it’s coupled with a tough cop.”