Noah rolled his eyes and sighed. “Well, it’s your fault for listening to him.”
She glared at Noah. “Not helping.”
He laughed. “Well, I coulda told you not to listen to him.”
“Hey,” Dare interjected. “Don’t knock the plan just yet. Give him time.”
Noah headed for the refrigerator. “He’s right, though. If it’s gonna work, you’ll have to give him some time. Let him fester for a bit. Once he realizes what he wants, he’ll be on your door step.”
“Do you think it’s what he wants?” Milly didn’t want to sound whiny or uncertain, but when it came to AJ, that was how she felt. She wanted answers and she wanted them now.
“I do,” Dare said matter-of-factly. “You can see it in the way he looks at you, Mill. He’s just stubborn.”
Noah chuckled. “Just like you, Mill.”
“Shut up.” She peered down at her phone again. “And if he’s not sitting there trying to come up with a plan to win me over?” She couldn’t imagine AJ would fall for this. He was likely really, really angry. Maybe even trying to figure out visitation for Miranda.
Oh, God.
“He is, I promise,” Dare reassured her. “Give the guy a little time to process. First comes the anger, then the disappointment, followed by reasoning. Once he realizes he has to do something to stop you from going out, he’ll confront you.”
“But I’m not going out,” she stated firmly. Good grief. She hadn’t been on a date in … not since before she met AJ. And she honestly hadn’t had any desire to, either. Which was a first for her.
Back before Miranda was born, before she’d gotten pregnant, Milly rarely spent a weekend at home alone. She was always out. One guy or another would ask and she would accept. More often than not, she hadn’t found anyone who struck her fancy, but she had at least tried.
Of course, the minute she’d met AJ, she knew he was going to be the one to bowl her over. She’d seen it in the way he looked at her, the way he touched her, kissed her.
God, she missed his kisses. Sometimes she wanted to go back in time so she could relive those few days on the cruise. Just a little more time with AJ, that was all she wanted.
“But he doesn’t know that,” Dare quipped. “He’s probably imagining some blow-hard coming into your life and stealing you away from him. Once he’s gotten past that, he’ll be coming up with a plan to ensure that doesn’t happen.”
God. What had she done? What if this blew up in her face? What if AJ decided he would go out on a date since he thought she was?
Holy shit.
The thought of AJ out on a date… It made Milly’s insides queasy. And it wasn’t simply because there might be another woman in Miranda’s life someday. No, this had everything to do with Milly’s possessive instinct when it came to AJ. She wanted him all to herself.
“Relax,” Noah said, squeezing her shoulder when he came back to the table. “Like Dare said. Give it time.” He smiled. “And if it backfires, you have my permission to beat him up.”
“Who?” She peered up at Noah. “AJ?”
Noah smirked, his brown eyes glittering with amusement. “No. Dare.”
“Hey. That’s not fair,” Dare said with a wicked grin. “But it doesn’t matter. It’s gonna work. Just wait and see.”
Unfortunately, that was all she could do.
Fourteen
Going caveman
Enough was enough.
AJ couldn’t take it anymore.
Ever since Milly had texted to let him know she was going on a date tomorrow night, he’d been revved up. His muscles were knotted and his head ached from clenching his teeth so damn hard.
No way could he sit back and wait to see what happened when she went out with God only knew who. Probably some jackass who wouldn’t know how to treat a lady if his life depended on it. Milly deserved someone who was going to take care of her. She deserved someone who would put her first.
After he got home from the gym, AJ had shaved and showered, then pulled on a pair of jeans. He had wandered around his sparse two-bedroom house wishing like hell he was with Milly and Miranda.
With a low grunt, he ran his hands through his hair.
“Fuck it.” AJ headed for his bedroom, pulled on a T-shirt and his boots before grabbing his wallet, keys, and phone.
Five minutes later, he was on his way to Milly’s house. He could use the excuse that he missed Miranda and wanted to spend some time with her. After all, that wasn’t a lie. He did miss his daughter. Every time he was away from her, AJ could think of little else besides watching the way her little eyes lit up, her tiny hands reaching for anything and everything. She was growing up too fast.
He considered texting Milly to let her know he was on his way but decided against it. Ten minutes later, he pulled up to her house and parked his truck in the second space in the driveway.
“It’s time to stop fucking around,” he admonished himself as he climbed out of the truck and headed for the front door. “Time to do what you’ve been wanting to do for a fucking year now.”
AJ rang the doorbell and waited, glancing around at the pristine neighborhood with the cute little houses with emerald-green lawns. It was a nice area and he knew Milly had moved here because Gannon had moved out this way. It was a trek for her when it came to going into the office, but she didn’t seem to mind.
When he heard the deadbolt unlatch, he turned back to face the door.
Milly’s face appeared, her eyes wide, as though she wasn’t expecting him.
“Hey.” He would play it cool. Pretend he was here for Miranda.
“Hey,” she said with a hesitant smile as she stepped back so he could come in.
It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the dim light inside. The fierce May sun was still shining brightly, already hotter than hell although summer hadn’t quite made it there yet.
“What brings you by?” Milly asked when she closed the door behind him.
I came to see Miranda.
Thought I’d check in.
Missed my daughter, wanted to stop by.
All were valid reasons for coming over. However, AJ couldn’t seem to spit out any of the words. He was fucking tired of making excuses, tired of pretending every breath he took didn’t make him ache to be here with Milly.
Milly was still staring at him, waiting for a response.
AJ took a step closer, unable to help himself.
Milly’s eyes widened as she took a step back. It wasn’t fear he saw reflected in her brilliant blue gaze, though.
He took another step, then another, until Milly was crowded between his big body and the wall.
“AJ…?”
“Ah, fuck, Milly.” Before he could stop himself, he was cupping her face and kissing her lips.
She inhaled a sharp gasp, her hands fisting in his shirt. He briefly imagined her pushing him away, smacking him for taking more than she was offering.
However, Milly did neither of those things, because she was offering. The next thing AJ knew, Milly was kissing him back, her arms wreathing his neck as she pulled him closer.
“I’ve waited too damn long,” he whispered between frantic kisses. He’d hoped to be cool and calm, but the moment his lips touched hers, all thought fled, all sense of decency took a backseat to the hunger that churned in his blood.
AJ tilted her head at an angle, deepening the kiss, feasting on her mouth. Their tongues dueled, her hands sliding into his hair, cupping the back of his head as she went up on her toes to meet him.
He’d forgotten how incredible it felt to kiss Milly. They hadn’t kissed since the ship, and now that his mouth was on hers, he never wanted to stop.
“Where’s Miranda?” he asked when he had no choice but to pull back to breathe.
“Nap.” Milly was breathless, her voice barely above a whisper.
“We need to talk,” he told her, his forehead pressing against hers.
A smile tugged at her mouth. “You w
alk in here, kiss me like a starving man, and you want to talk?”
“No, not really,” he admitted with a chuckle. “But it’s that or I’m going to carry you to your bedroom and strip you naked. Your call.”
A shiver racked her small frame, but Milly didn’t move. “I’m liking what’s behind door number two.”
AJ pulled back enough to look into her eyes. “What about your date?”
She shrugged, but her eyes dropped from his face.
“Milly…? Talk to me.”
When she suddenly pulled away from him, AJ wanted to kick his own ass. He’d had her right where he’d wanted her for so long and he was going to ruin it by talking? Someone should relieve him of his man card, because clearly he hadn’t earned it. Not when it came to Milly.
He had to follow or be left in the entryway looking like a dumb ass.
“Talk to me, Mill.”
Her voice sounded lighter when she said, “You’re the one who came here to talk.”
Reaching for her arm, AJ stopped her retreat. He tugged until she was facing him. “No, I came here to tell you…” His voice dried up, the words on the tip of his tongue.
Although he wanted nothing more than to tell her he loved her, that he couldn’t stand the thought of her going out with another man, AJ found himself tongue-tied.
At a complete loss for words.
*
Although AJ was standing right in front of her, Milly couldn’t believe he was really there.
She knew he hadn’t come because of Miranda. Well, not completely. It looked as though Dare’s plan had worked. By telling him she had a date, Milly was forcing AJ’s hand.
The way he had kissed her as though he was starving made her believe that he wanted her every bit as much as she wanted him.
Except he wanted to talk.
The way he stared at her made her feel like an asshole. She’d deceived him and she felt like shit for doing it. This wasn’t the way she wanted things to work between them.
“Tell me,” she insisted. If he had something to say, she wanted to hear it.
AJ’s emerald-green eyes sparkled with the remnants of lust remaining from their kiss. She knew how he felt because her body was on fire, her molecules shifting into chaos, eager for more of what he had been offering just a few minutes ago.
“You can’t go on a date,” AJ stated.
Milly frowned. “What do you mean I can’t?”
His eyes implored her, as though he wanted her to read between the lines. She couldn’t do it. She needed him to spit it out, to admit that there was something between them, something real and powerful. Something that needed to be explored.
“I mean … do you think you’re ready?”
Milly fought her initial reaction but she knew he could see her disbelief. Was he really going to do this?
“Ready to date?” Milly took a step back. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
AJ’s gaze swung toward the hallway, where Miranda’s bedroom was.
“You think that, because I have a kid, I can’t date?” Irritation began to consume the remaining lust.
“That’s not what I’m saying.”
“Then what are you saying, AJ?”
His eyes were once again fixed on her face and she saw the residual heat. He was denying his feelings for her and it was starting to piss her off.
“I don’t fucking know,” he growled under his breath, his face contorting with what looked to be pain.
In a signature AJ move, he thrust his hand in his dark hair and sighed before pacing across the room.
“AJ, why are you here?”
He paced right back over, his eyes narrowed, his lips a thin line. Milly would go so far as to say he looked terrified. Whatever he had to say, he didn’t think she would take it well.
She had to admire the fact that he was there, though. He was confronting her, even if it wasn’t in a timely manner. The way he’d kissed her said he didn’t like the idea of her going out on a date with someone else. Right? Or was it merely a knee-jerk reaction? Perhaps this was all in her head. Maybe she was the one who thought there was more between them than there was.
If that was the case, she really was an idiot for pulling this stupid stunt in the first place.
“Look, AJ,” she began. “About the date. I—ugh” She was cut off completely when AJ jerked her against him.
This time, when his mouth crushed hers, there wasn’t an ounce of tenderness in his body. He was rough, urgent. Needy. And her body responded in kind.
“I don’t want you to go on a date,” he growled between drugging kisses.
AJ’s arms banded around her, holding her close. It was difficult to breathe, but Milly didn’t care. Who needed air? She certainly didn’t. Not when she had AJ’s lips on hers, his persistent tongue sweeping through her mouth.
Milly moaned, desperate to get closer. Tears threatened. Stupid, unnecessary tears. This was everything she’d wanted and she was emotionally overwhelmed by the fact that AJ was standing here, kissing her, wanting her as much as she wanted him.
She’d been an idiot to push him away all those months ago when he had reached out to see her after the cruise. But she’d been scared. Terrified of what she felt for him and unwilling to fall all the way in love with him only to have it ripped out from under her. Because that was how it worked for her. Men didn’t stick around.
AJ pulled back, staring down at her face. He must’ve noticed that the dam was about to break, because his forehead creased.
“What’s wrong, beautiful? Did I hurt you?”
She shook her head, unable to speak. Milly feared a single word would break the tattered remains of her self-control. She didn’t want to cry. She didn’t want him to get the wrong idea. She was happy. Overjoyed, really.
“Talk to me, Mill. Tell me what’s wrong?”
Milly shook her head again and swallowed hard before pulling him back down to her so that their mouths touched. She gave in to his kiss, to the warmth of his body. He surrounded her, eased the torment she’d been battling for months.
What started out almost gentle turned into an inferno and Milly found herself trying to climb his body. AJ obviously wasn’t trying to get away, but when he gripped the backs of her thighs and lifted her up, she moaned again. He held her weight as she wrapped her legs around him, her lips bruised by the passion he was emitting.
“Bedroom,” she whispered, swallowing the lump in her throat. “Please, AJ.”
Only when he started walking did she release the breath she’d been holding, nuzzling his neck, inhaling his intoxicating scent.
She was finally right where she wanted to be.
Fifteen
One night is not enough
Overwhelmed by everything Milly, AJ put one foot in front of the other. She’d requested to go to the bedroom and he wasn’t about to disappoint her.
After all, he’d spent the past year dreaming about getting her beneath him one more time. Her laid out naked beneath him, nothing between them at all. Only this time, he wasn’t going to let her go. If she welcomed him inside her body, he would insist she welcome him in her heart, too.
A year was far too long to be pining away for a woman, yet he had done exactly that. A couple of ill-timed intimate encounters hadn’t done anything to ease the lust burning through him. And it damn sure hadn’t stopped him from wanting to spend every waking moment with her.
AJ braced one knee on her bed, then followed her down, loving the way her legs remained securely wrapped around his hips, as though she wasn’t willing to let their bodies separate.
Her hands instantly shifted to his T-shirt, jerking it upward in an effort to get it off. AJ had no choice but to release her lips. He pushed up and helped her along, tossing his shirt onto the floor. He cupped her face and resumed feasting on her mouth. He couldn’t get enough of her. Wasn’t sure he ever would.
When Milly shifted, he realized she was trying to get at his jeans. Chuckling, AJ broke the kiss a
nd stared down into her eyes. The brilliant blue depths glowed with desire and need and he wanted nothing more than to fulfill her every wish, give her all she could ever want.
“Not one night, Milly,” he warned. “I can’t accept that.”
Some of the sparkle left her gaze and a cold chill danced down his spine.
“What if you change your mind?” she asked, her voice crackling as though she truly believed he wasn’t going to stick around.
“I won’t,” he assured her. “But one night will never be enough.” He sighed. “Hell, one lifetime won’t be enough.”
She wiggled, attempting to push him off her.
Without using force, AJ remained where he was, refusing to move. He had her right where he wanted her. Now it was time to talk.
Milly’s eyes trailed down his neck, his shoulders, over his chest. He could see she wanted him. There was no denying the physical attraction. Not on her part or his.
“Tell me what you want, Milly,” he insisted.
“You.” She said it as though it was obvious.
“You’ve got me, baby. You’ve had me since the first day I met you.” But then she had washed her hands of him when they had come back to the States. She had ignored his calls, his texts. Every attempt he’d made went unanswered. And still, the day she told him she was pregnant, he had taken it as the opportunity he wanted it to be. Of course AJ loved his daughter. He would’ve been in Miranda’s life no matter what. However, he wanted Miranda’s mother just as much.
In fact, he had been falling in love with her more and more every day.
“Milly…” AJ leaned down and kissed her lips. The sweet smell of her went to his head. “I want all of you, beautiful.”
“How do you know?”
He smiled. “Because I know.”
She stared up at him, confusion making her frown. He could see her indecision. Milly wanted what he was offering, but he sensed she didn’t believe it was real. Listening to her stories, AJ knew she’d had bad luck with men in her past. She was so blasé when she spoke of her previous relationships. As though sticking around through thick and thin wasn’t something men did. Not where she was concerned, anyway.
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