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My heart slams against my chest, and I can’t help but wonder what would have happened had we actually exchanged phone numbers. I don’t know if I would have even been brave enough to contact him. Even with the information about Thea, I don’t know if I could have done it.

I’m a coward.

He lifts his other hand from Thea’s head and now cups my cheeks with both. I feel his thumb glide beneath my eye, across my cheek, before he leans forward, his mouth touching mine. His tongue slips past my lips and tastes me, but only briefly before he breaks the kiss and rests his forehead against mine.

“I wish I could have been around to help you, but I can’t deny that I’m glad you’re back here in Boulder City,” he murmurs.

I shift my head back slightly, and my heart picks up its pace again, beating hard and fast, slamming against my chest. I can’t believe that this is real. That this has happened. The happenstance of me and this man makes me believe in fate.

“I came back here with my tail between my legs. I had to give up my career because I couldn’t afford day care and my apartment. I’m living at my parents’ house. I’m working a minimum-wage job, taking as many hours as I can get so that I can hopefully be able to save up enough to get my classes and licensing.”

“Fuck that,” he grinds out. “You’re not here with your tail between your legs. You’re here because this is where you fucking belong.”

Without another word, he leans forward, and I feel his lips on mine again. My entire body turns into a gooey, messy, mushy puddle in the middle of the sofa. I’m sure it’s lust, but damn does it feel exactly like love.

CHAPTER

TEN

HOUND

I need her.

I can’t take my hand off her cheek. I need to touch her, need to feel her. Leaning forward, I touch my mouth to hers. Jolts of electricity zip throughout my entire body. Up to my head and down to my toes.

My cock twitches, a silent demand to be inside her sweet body. It knows where it’s happy, and that is inside her sweet cunt. Where it belongs. I lean back slightly, my gaze searching hers, and I wonder if the baby can go down for a nap, because it’s been a year and I don’t think I can wait another day.

I don’t think I can wait another five minutes, and I’m sure that makes me an asshole, but I’ve never claimed to be a calm, patient, or good man. I’m a man. That’s about all I can guarantee.

The baby makes a noise, and I look down. She’s wriggling in Keely’s arms. “Does she need something?” I ask.

Keely laughs softly. I shift backward, not because I want to, but because she clearly needs to tend to the baby. The very small baby. I watch as Keely shifts around and then reaches into her bag. She takes out a diaper and a little box of something.

“I need to change her, then she’ll probably want a bottle before sleep.”

I stand up and clear my throat. Walking away, I head to the kitchen. “Do you want some water?” I ask.

“Sure,” she calls out.

I move around the kitchen while she does what she does. I don’t know why, but the idea of her caring for my child, my baby, it does something to me. It sends a warmth throughout my body that I didn’t know existed.

It goes beyond sex or the needs of my cock. It’s beautiful. That’s the only way I can describe it—beautiful. Tugging the refrigerator door open, I look at the contents and cringe. How in the fuck did I get here?

I literally have two bottles of water, five beers, and a block of cheese. I mean, I don’t stay here often, but still, this is fucking pathetic. Reaching for a water, I twist the top off and head back into the little living room. I never really gave a shit about the size of this house before this moment.

Thinking about the three of us living here makes me realize just how goddamn small it is. For one person, maybe two, it’s fine and doable, but adding in a third, even if it’s a baby, I could see where it would get cramped fast.

I make my way to them and start to hand her the bottle of water. I don’t know where the baby bottle has come from, but she’s shaking it up furiously. I start to walk past her, but she calls out for me to stop. Flicking my gaze to hers, I blink, unsure why she’s called out my name.

“Do you want to feed her?” she asks.

I shift my gaze from hers to the baby in her arms. “Feed her?”

While the concept is familiar, the actual act… is alien to me. I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing here. She’s so small, incredibly tiny. I don’t know how in the fuck I’m going to hold her, let alone feed her. What if I drop her?

“Come on and sit down.”

I sink down in the cushion next to her, my eyes widening at the sight of Thea. I’ve never even looked at a baby this young before, let alone held one. But as I try to say those words, not a single sound comes out. I don’t know what to say or how to say it. How do I tell this woman that I’m scared… no, terrified of this innocent creature?