My heart hammers against my chest as I cup her face with my hands, pulling her towards me until I can feel her breath on me and then I kiss her.
The ingredients in her hands crash to the floor, spilling over my feet as her arms wrap around my waist, pulling our bodies closer as our tongues meet, hungrily exploring each other like two teenagers that have been left alone for the first time. Her hands roam up my torso and come to rest over mine.
“Daddy!” A sleepy voice interrupts the moment as I quickly take a step away from Mia and when I turn around, I spot Maddie in the doorway, rubbing her eyes. “I had a bad dream.”
“It’s okay baby, daddy’s here.” I walk towards her, scooping her up in my arms and turning to see Mia on her hands and knees clearing up the mess we just made. “I’ll go settle her and come back to give you a hand.”
“It’s okay, I’m just going to sort this out and then I’m heading to bed.” She looks up at me, confusion in her eyes. “Goodnight Ethan.”
I have never been kissed like this before. The kind of kiss that makes your knees weak. The kiss in the movies that causes the girl to pop her foot off the floor only, instead of lifting my foot, I raise myself onto my tip toes and press my chest against his, feeling his rapid heartbeat pounding.
I don't know if it's the sticky summer heat, the way his tongue wildly explores my mouth or the huge erection poking into my stomach but I'm burning up.
Completely intoxicated by his raw strength and masculinity, I never want this moment to end — even though I know that nothing good will come from it.
What exactly are we doing here?
It's been great getting to know him better and realising that there's more to him than just a violent man whore but this...
I never expected this.
I never expected a kiss that singlehandedly beats every sexual encounter that I've ever had — not that four years with Peter is an extensive comparison.
Every bone in my body tells me to push him away, but I can't help myself. My hands drift up his chest and come to rest on top of his as a tired little voice breaks my trance.
He steps away, dropping his arms to his sides, just in time to see Madison appear in the doorway, both of our chests heaving as we stare silently at each other with desire in our eyes. Then he turns away to take care of his daughter.
As I bend to pick the groceries up from the floor, I can’t help but think about that kiss. Peter never kissed me like that, and we were supposed to be in love.
For a second, I allow myself to get lost in my thoughts. What would have happened if Madison hadn’t interrupted us? Is he generous in bed? Why am I so drawn to him?
Butterflies flutter in my stomach and suddenly reality hits hard. Come on Mia, pull yourself together. You want a husband, that won't happen if you fall for someone who is emotionally unavailable.
A couple of minutes later, I sneak to my room, hoping not to meet Ethan on his way back down from settling Madison. The coast is clear as I slip into my room, turn off the light and collapse on to my bed, kicking the covers off my sweaty body.
I close my eyes and instantly, the kiss starts playing in my head on repeat. I can still taste the whiskey on his tongue and the sweet fruity smell of his body spray.
Thank heavens Madison interrupted us when she did. Clearly, I have no will power when it comes to him and as much as I want to experience all of him, he's off limits — and very bad for me.
Rolling on to my side, trying to push these visions from my brain, I grab my phone from the bedside table.
It's late but Lexi is pretty much nocturnal, so I text her, hoping for a little distraction.
Mia: You up?
I wait for the dots to appear but instead, I see her photo pop up on my screen and I answer her call.
“What are you doing up so late?” She asks curiously. “Is everything okay?”
“I... yeah... I think so.” I stutter, “What's up with you?”
“Yeah good. I'm shooting another crappy commercial on Monday.” She sighs.
“At least it pays the bills though.” I roll over onto my back, my voice a whisper as I try and be positive for her.
She tells me all about the cereal commercial she's shooting — the ultimate test of her acting skills as she pretends to be a little stepford wife and mother. There are a couple of sitcom auditions that she's waiting to hear back from, and she mumbles something about a reality dating show that have contacted her, so I have to remind her that if she wants to be taken serious as an actress, she needs to turn that down.
“How was your night in with his hotness?”
“Yeah, it was okay.” The conversation we had earlier showed me a completely different side of him. He was married for ten years so maybe there is a bit more to him than a conga line of big-boobed babes. Unless that’s why things were so complicated between him and Samantha before she died. “I'm pretty sure he was cheating on his wife before she died though.”
“Explains why he would retire for a couple of years, I guess. That guilt is going to eat you up inside.” She paused. “I thought you were watching a movie. It sounds like you both had a right chin wag?”
“That's not all we did.” The words fly out my mouth and I instantly regret it.
“What!” She screeches so deafening I have to pull the phone away from
