Page 44 of Triple Threat
I shook my head. “Just a little longer. Please?”
“Okay.” Kinsley grabbed the remote, turning the volume down before flicking through the different apps. “Want to watch a movie?”
“Sure, but be warned—I’m going to judge you for your choice.”
Kinsley rolled her eyes but couldn’t hide her smile. “Do movie preferences earn more or less judgment than breakfast choices?”
“Oh, it doesn’t even come close. If you put on some war documentary, we’ll make it work. But if you decided you hated breakfast food?” I pointed to the door. “I’d already be gone.”
“Glad we cleared that up.” Kinsley frowned as she scanned the different options, turning every few ones to gauge my reaction. After I gave her nothing, she pulled up a rom-com from the early 2000s. She stared at me. “So are we still friends?”
My laugh was dark and full of warning. “Oh no, Kins. There’s no part of me that wants to be friends with you.”
Her head snapped to the side, meeting my eyes with an expression so full of confusion and hurt, I regretted my words. Shaking my head, I shift a little closer to her, enough that she could read every truth in my expression. “I want more than that, mama.”
Her breath hitched as her eyes dripped down to my lips. Anna in my arms was the only reason I stopped from claiming her mouth. She swallowed, her voice a whisper as she said. “How much more?”
Everything.The word rang out before I could stop it. It was too soon, wasn’t it? At least, it seemed too soon. But as Kinsley’s dark eyes met mine again, the truth became crystal clear. It should have scared me—this innate knowledge that Kinsley was it for me. But it had been there years ago, and it had only become clearer after the last month. Some people would question if it was because of Anna, but it had nothing to do with that. Instead, it had everything to do with the woman in front of me. Her strength, her courage, the way she loved so fiercely.
I cleared my throat, saving those confessions for another day. “'I’d like the kiss you were going to give me this morning.”
“Who said I was going to kiss you?” She smirked. “I told you to do it. Maybe I was just daring you to see if you would.”
Blood coursed through me, temptation and the lingering promise of Kinsley’s lips enough to zap all rational thoughts from my mind. But Anna stirred against me, anchoring me back into the moment. As much as I wanted to claim that kiss—claim her, it had to wait. “Gonna test that theory, mama.”
Her eyes widened, her pupils lust blown as they met mine. The breath hitched in her lungs, as if she wanted me to take that chance, wanted me to reach across the couch and pull her into my arms. And fuck, I wanted that too. The movie played on in the background, but, with every passing scene, the tensiongrew between us, the unspoken promise of more waiting for the credits to roll.
We’d barely hit the half-way mark when Kinsley turned toward me. “Let me put her to bed, Jace.”
There was no point in arguing, not when her voice held that husky tone, begging me to crawl to her. And fuck, I would. I’d do anything if it meant another taste of her, if I got to sink back inside of her, that sweet heat clenching my cock like it was made for me.
I leaned forward, supporting Anna’s head and back as I passed her into Kinsley’s waiting arms. She kissed the side of our daughter’s head before standing; the move was so practiced, she must have done it a million times before. Part of me admired her—admired how effortlessly she handled motherhood. And yet, there was another part of me that hated how she’d always done this alone. As much as I tried to let go of the guilt surrounding our circumstances, it didn’t make it any easier. Would I always wonder what would have happened if I stayed? If I’d never left the Hawks? Probably, but that was a worry for another night.
The soft click of the bedroom door made my spine stiffen, an awareness of what was about to happen flooding through my veins. Kinsley moved next to the couch, toying with her fingers. She looked all around the room but avoided my gaze.
“Hey…” I said, offering out my hand. She paused before taking it, and, when she rested her palm against mine, her finger shook. I tugged her closer, waiting until she stood between my knees and couldn’t avoid my stare. “Talk to me, Kins.”
She chewed on her lower lip, and her eyes lowered. She opened her mouth several times, but no sounds came out, so she snapped it closed with a huff. Understanding deflated me. “You’re nervous.”
She exhaled, her words a hushed whisper. “This feels big, Jace.”
Kinsley didn’t have to say anything else for me to understand. This felt big—life-changing, earth-shattering, all those emotions the guys on the team used to describe falling for their partners, but I’d been too young and dumb to listen. When we’d first come together, there were no promises, no plans for the future after our one night. And now? Anna tied us together, so if this failed—if we failed—the person who would suffer most would be our daughter.
But what if we worked?
If Kinsley asked, I’d give her everything.
As I stood, I released her hand, choosing instead to sweep some of her hair over her shoulder. A shudder worked its way through her body, and, for a moment, I almost said fuck it and claimed that sweet mouth like I’d been dying to all day. “There’s no rush with us, Kinsley. I know what I want, and I’m willing to wait for it.”
Her dark eyes flashed, some of that earlier lust and desire flooding back into her umber irises. “What do you want, Jace?”
Images flashed in my mind, all too easily picturing Kinsley at my mercy, holding her—kissing her until her lips were red and flushed. I wanted her on top of me, her full tits bouncing as I drove my cock in deep inside her wet and wanting heat. And while those words sat at the tip of my tongue, Kinsley's trembling grip on my hand held me back.
“I want it all with you, Kins, but if you’re not in this with me, we need to stop now. Because yeah, this is big, and if I get to have you again, I can promise, I’m not letting go this time. So, before anything else happens, you need to decide if that’s what you want too.”
TWENTY-SEVEN
“And then, he just left.”
