Page 36 of All Yours

‘She looks cute, doesn’t she?’ she asked, turning Willow to face him.

‘Very,’ he agreed, smiling at the baby before being rewarded by a gummy grin. Robyn tucked the baby into the buggy and the group headed out the door, towards town.

After two hours of door knocking, treat swapping, socialising and general sugar overload, their little party headed home. Fox stretched out his hand as normal to catch George’s little one in his to cross the road, but this time he met air. Looking over his shoulder, he saw George beside Robyn, his hand tucked into hers as he trotted along beside the buggy.

She, meanwhile, pushed the buggy one-handed, and looked very comfortable with it. Maybe this was how they now walked to school. She seemed totally at ease with the affection, and George did too. Something that might have been surprising given that it had only been a few weeks, if he hadn’t known Robyn. He’d seen her that night, and she’d thrown herself into trick or treating so completely. She seemed to make the most of whatever opportunity was in front of her, to see the joy in every situation. She jumped out from behind trees to scare people, she shouted, ‘Trick or treat!’ just as loudly as the kids, she greeted school mums she now knew from the school gate with a hug and a kiss. She was fun to be around, free and easy with affection. He could see why the boys liked spending time with her.

She was also smoking hot in that costume. Maybe because he couldn’t see much of her body, all he could do was think about what was hidden from sight. Every now and then, when she bent, the cape cupped her buttocks in the tight black dress he’d glimpsed underneath, or she’d lean to knock on a door and the front would reveal a flash of creamy white skin at her throat in the street light. His wolf costume was a good hiding place; she couldn’t see his eyes if he was sneaking a peek. She couldn’t read his expression, which showed the things he would like to do to Little Red Riding Hood.

‘I’m so glad you were there, Daddy,’ Reggie said as they arrived home and opened the door. ‘Or you might not have believed how many treats we got.’ Reggie pointed at the basket which was full to the brim with sugary crap, all of which would now be put in a high cupboard and rationed.

‘You had the best costume of all the dads,’ George said, suddenly sleepy and plugging in his thumb. Fox pulled off his wolf head and ran his fingers through his quiff as George leaned against his legs and whispered fiercely, ‘It was the best night ever.’

Fox felt a swell of happiness and love for the boys, which tipped over into gratitude to Robyn too for making it such a success. After all, she organised the costumes and everything.

‘Right, boys, sleep well,’ she said now, tucking the baby inside her cape. ‘See you Monday.’

‘Thanks, Red,’ Fox said, winning a smile before she disappeared through the house and out the back door.

Chapter Nineteen

Robyn

The pool house was quiet and calm after the noise of trick or treating. Willow fed and went down without a murmur, still wearing the cat whiskers drawn on her cheeks. She was the most beautiful kitten that Robyn had ever seen. And hadn’t Fox agreed with her tonight on that? He thought Willow looked cute. It had stopped her in her tracks for a moment, and she almost wanted to tell him, of course she’s cute, she’s yours. But Robyn wouldn’t do that, she couldn’t. Not to Willow, not until she was sure. Although to be fair, everything she’d seen this evening was positive. Fox was a fun dad who also made sure his kids said thank you, and he told them to share their treats. He had good old-fashioned morals, which she found rather attractive, among other things. She’d watched him swing George onto his shoulders as though he weighed nothing and it made her think of being carried to bed. And although she’d loved the idea of making him wear a wolf head, she’d found she kind of missed his crinkly smile. She untied the cape and laid it over the back of the chair, smoothing her little black dress down over her hips. Not that there had been much point in wearing it tonight. It was only her that knew she had it on. But it had been a night out of the house, and she wanted to feel good.

She thought she might drop the girls a text, to see if anyone was meeting up over the weekend. She glanced around for her phone but it was nowhere to be seen. Then she remembered she’d given her phone to Fox to look after when they left the house. He must still have it. She smacked herself on the forehead, grabbed the baby monitor and slipped out the door. She’d only be a minute.

The wind had picked up, and the temperature had dropped in the hour or so since they’d been outside. Robyn ran to let herself into the main house and quickly shut the door against the cold. She called Fox’s name, not too loud, not wanting to wake the children. No answer. She opened the door to the rest of the house and called again, but half-heartedly. The downstairs lights were all off; he must be upstairs already.

Biting her lip, she considered her options. Leave now and come back in the morning, or try calling him from the upstairs landing.

Robyn hesitated – but she really needed her phone. Kicking her shoes off, she crept up the stairs. Of course, she’d been up there before, with the boys. She knew which their rooms were. Just like she knew which door led to Fox’s room. She glanced towards it along the landing and saw the door was ajar, with the light on inside. Good, he was still up. She padded along the thick carpet and tapped lightly on the door with her fingers.

‘Fox,’ she whispered, feeling more nervous and excited than she had all Halloween. She tapped again.

The door opened behind her and she swung around to see him in the bathroom doorway. His chest was bare, his jeans low slung, the belt unbuckled and hanging loose in its loopholes. She gasped, literally gasped, and pressed a hand to her mouth. He looked like a sexy cowboy and suddenly she felt like riding him all night.

‘Sorry . . .’ she said. ‘I was just coming for my phone . . .’

Fox didn’t seem to hear her, his eyes burning into hers before moving slowly downwards, scorching a trail over her skin, resting on her breasts and hips and down to her stockinged feet. He raised his gaze again, leisurely, and her stomach felt hollow with anticipation. He took a step towards her and she took a step back.

‘I’ve been wondering what you looked like under that cape all night, Red,’ he said quietly, eyes gleaming in the soft light. ‘But my imagination didn’t do you justice.’ He took another step and she backed up again, her back meeting the landing wall. He smiled and she saw the point of his canines touching on his lip. ‘You look amazing.’

She could hear her own heart hammering in her chest. This was the Fox she remembered from their night together. He took another stride towards her.

‘Now that you’re here, you get to choose . . .’ Fox said quietly, his eyes blazing. He was now close enough to touch.

‘Choose what?’ she whispered, inhaling the spicy scent of his cologne.

‘Trick or treat?’ Her whole world hung in the balance for a second, then two, when all she could hear was the blood in her veins.

‘Treat,’ she breathed, lifting her chin defiantly.

He leaned one hand above her and his body pressed hers flat against the wall, her heart hammering between them. Her hands were trapped by her sides. He held her captive with his eyes and body. It was the sexiest couple of seconds of her life.

‘Daddy,’ a small voice called out from along the hall.

They froze, turned their heads as one towards the bedroom.