“First time a date has waxed poetic about the area above my nipples,” she said huskily.
“Sweetheart, you’ve been datin’ the wrong man.” She didn’t know how true that was.
“I get that now.”
Kade scooped on another forkful and teased it across the seam of her mouth. “Lick it a little.”
Her tongue darted out.
“You want the whole thing, not just a dainty taste.”
“It’s too big.”
“You can take it. Open wide. You know you want to take it all.”
Those luscious red lips divided and her moist chocolate-scented breath drifted out.
He set the fork on her tongue. “Suck it off. Oh yeah, just like that.” His gaze zoomed to her throat. “I wanna sink my teeth into that hot spot where I see your pulse poundin’. I wanna lick it from bottom to top.”
“Stop.”
“What?” He dragged his eyes back to hers.
“I think the crotch on my nylons melted you’ve gotten me so hot. And suddenly I could care less about cake.”
Kade swept his thumb across the pouty swell of her bottom lip. He showed her the dab of chocolate he swiped before he brought it to his mouth and sucked it away. “Mmm.”
“You are the devil.”
“Devil’s food, baby, the best kind.” Kade allowed a smirk. “That mean I’ve redeemed myself?”
“Uh.” She cleared her throat. “Yeah.”
“Will you go out with me again, Skylar? For coffee. To a movie.” He smiled slyly. “Or just for dessert? Whatever you want.”
She appeared to consider him carefully. “How about if you meet me out front of the feed store at seven the night after next?”
“I’d like to pick you up at your place if it’s a date.”
“Not a good idea.”
Damn. Kade thought he’d been making progress with her. “Don’t you trust me?”
Skylar nudged him so he scooted out of the booth and she stood next to him. “After the way your sweet-talkin’ activated more than my sweet tooth? I don’t trust myself.” She swept her fingers over brim of his hat. “Stay out of the drugstore aisle, McKay, and don’t be late.” A swish of her hips and she was gone.
Kade shook the memory away. He parked and studied the revitalized Sandstone Building. On the far end was Dewey’s Delish Dish, a family restaurant his cousin Carter’s wife Macie managed. On the other end was Healing Touch Massage, owned by AJ McKay, his cousin Cord’s wife.
Smack dab in the middle was Sky Blue and India’s Ink. And inside that space was his child.
Sweet Jesus. He’d never been so damn nervous in his life. He climbed out of his truck and sauntered up the wooden plank stairs. At the ornate metal door, he took a second to breathe, realizing the woozy sensation was from lack of oxygen to his addled brain.
A set of chimes tinkled when he entered the store.
Scents bombarded him. Not heavy and cloying like expensive perfume, but simple and sweet. Natural. Reminiscent of the wildflowers on the wide-open Wyoming prairie. Reminiscent of Skylar.
Speak of the devil… Right then Skylar came around the corner and froze.
They stared at each other in complete shocked silence.
Lord, she was easy on the eyes. An earth goddess in a floaty turquoise dress, which exposed her swan-like neck to perfection. A scarlet sash tied around her waist brought his attention to the sexy curve of her hips. Be-ringed bare toes peeped out from beneath the jagged skirt hem. Her auburn hair was longer, curling near the bottom of her full breasts, but it suited her gypsy image.
Kade cleared his throat and met her wary gaze head-on. “Is it true, Skylar? Do we have a baby?”
Her response was a long time coming. Finally, she nodded.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I tried to, Kade. I called your parents’ house. You weren’t there. I was told you’d moved. I didn’t know where. I didn’t know if you’d care.”
Rather than snap bullshit at her, he expelled a frustrated sigh. “That means you didn’t get my letter?”
Her green eyes narrowed suspiciously. “What letter?”
Shit. “I sent you a letter about a month ago. Tellin’ you I was comin’ back. Askin’ if we could let bygones be bygones and start over.”
“Start over as in… Start dating?”
“Uh. Yeah.”
“I didn’t receive any such letter.” She squeezed her eyes shut for a second. “What else did it say?”
Her expression clearly said she thought he was lying. He had sent the damn thing. It’d taken him nearly a week to pen a few lousy paragraphs. “We can talk about all that later. Right now, I’d like to see my daughter.”