Page 40 of Fierce-Baker

What an idiot she’d been to not see that.

But she was no idiot with Baker.

She put it all out there and got the reward for her risk.

The moment he pulled her closer, something in the air charged.

She’d barely had time to breathe before his hand slid to the back of her neck, and his thumb brushed the soft spot just beneath her ear. It wasn’t rough, but it wasn’t gentle either. It wascertain. Like he’d been holding himself back for far too long.

She started the kiss in a light, teasing way. The kind that invites more rather than demands it.

But the second her lips touched his, he inhaled sharply, like she’d knocked the wind from him. Like for that moment she just had to gain a tiny bit of control for her own peace of mind.

Then he took over.

His mouth claimed hers in a slow, deep pull that made her knees weaken. Heat uncurled low in her belly as he drew her closer, eliminating every inch of space until she could feel the steady thrum of his heartbeat against her chest.

His hand slid from her neck to her waist, his fingers flexed with the kind of restraint that felt more dangerous than if he’d simply given in.

He kissed like a man walking a razor’s edge. Controlled enough to let her choose to step back, but intense enough to make her forget why she ever would.

“Oh, he took control,” she murmured. “Then he handed it to me, then snatched it back before I could grip it tight.”

“Your face is so red right now it’s as if you can feel it happening all over again.”

Her hands went to her chest. This was so dangerous it was almost painful and she wasn’t sure she could survive it again.

But she was willing to give it a try. With boundaries.

“It feels it. Feels like something I’ve waited for forever. One of those fairytale kisses you only ever dream about. Tell me I’m nuts. I don’t want to be an idiot again. I don’t think I can handle it a second time.”

“You’re getting me worked up enough that I might jump Liam when he walks in the door. No, you’re not being an idiot. Baker is a great guy. He has to be if Jolene has him on her list.”

She thought of that too. “Go for it. Jump your husband when he gets home.”

“Mama.” She turned when Micah came running in. “Drink.”

“Do you want water or milk?” Margo asked, automatically reaching for one of Dylan’s sippy cups.

“Milk,” Micah said.

“Dylan,” Margo called out to her son. “Do you want milk?”

“Yes, please.”

They filled the cups and handed them off, then went back to the living room to finish this conversation, just quietly now and with less excitement.

She got everything out for now.

The tingles and the giddiness of feeling free for just a few hours in her life again.

“Now tell me the rest,” Margo said. “You said you talked?”

“We did. It was my suggestion and I need you to tell me I’m losing my mind.”

“I doubt I’m going to do that. Especially with how happy you look right now.”

“I feel it,” she said. “And that brings on guilt. Should I be happy over this? It’s not right.”