“Thank you,” he said, pulling Kelly into a hug he hadn’t planned but didn’t stop.

She didn’t pull away, instead hugging him back, which felt amazing on a whole new level.

“Why are you thanking me? Did I buy your favorite laundry soap?” She smiled at him, nearly shy as she pulled away and went back to what she’d been doing.

“For letting me be part of this.” He motioned between them and then at the house. He wasn’t sure how to explain how it felt to be involved in their family. Being a dad whose kids visited wasn’t the same. And now he understood that in a new, more painful way.

Kelly turned from the dishwasher, drying her hands. Her smile went tender. He hadn’t seen that smile directed at him in a decade. He grabbed the counter as it hit him.

“Oh,” she whispered, stepping close enough to briefly cup his cheek. “Guilt does you no good. Not right at this moment.”

“You looked at me just now.” Vaughan cleared his throat. “It’s been a long, long time. I missed it. Like I missed eating dinner with you and making lunches and going to the doctor.” He shrugged, the weight of it stealing his words.

He’d grasped how much he’d missed, but the reality of it being his own fault, the real loss because he’d never get it back, really hit him. Those years as his daughters had grown up, it had been Kelly and the girls struggling and triumphing and he’d visited and thought it was enough.

But it wasn’t. It hadn’t been. And he hadn’t even known it.

She paused, clearly thinking and then swallowed hard. “I’m glad you’re here. I’m glad it makes the girls happy. I’m glad it’s making you happy. It makes me happy, too.”

Otis Redding came on and he grinned. “‘I’ve Been Loving You.’” He held out a hand. “This calls for a dance. It’s meant to be. You can’t fight fate, Kel.”

She took his hand, letting him pull her close, snug against his body, his arm around her waist as they began to sway.

* * *

KELLY TEETERED ON the edge and once he’d thanked her she’d let go. Let herself fall into that place that had always fit with Vaughan.

She’d ached for this. For years and years after she lost it. At times Kelly had wondered if that ability had died along with her marriage. And it was right here, all along.

Tipping her face up, she let herself be kissed.

She’d expected something slow and gentle. But what she got seared her. Stunned her as the raw, sexual heat of his mouth, his tongue and teeth destroyed every last bit of her remaining defenses against him.

This was how he’d kissed her that first date that had spanned two days. The need of it flowed through her, barreled straight to her nipples.

Kelly gave in and slid her fingers up and into his hair, tugging to keep him close.

He growled into her mouth, pressing himself closer.

He didn’t apologize for his hard-on and she didn’t apologize for how much she wanted him to take her right then and there, in her kitchen.

The song ended as he spun her, backing her into the pantry, closing them both inside.

And then his hands were inside her shirt, his bare skin against hers. Need raced along the wake of his fingertips. She hissed at the wave of sensation. He bit her lip, tugging. She tried to keep her groan as quiet as possible, in the back of her mind, listening for the water upstairs to turn off.

Not so much she wasn’t able to copy his movements, her palms sliding all over his back underneath his T-shirt.

“Jesus,” he gasped into her mouth.

“Yeah.” She moved closer, taking his mouth again briefly until she kissed down his neck. He grabbed two handfuls of her ass and held her close, grinding into her until she started to see little white stars against her closed eyelids.

Holy cow, was it even possible to come from a clumsy, furtive dry hump like she was back in high school?

The water turned off upstairs and she groaned. “Wait,” Kelly managed to say, her hand on his chest to hold him back when he went in for another round. “The girls.” The other shower turned off. “Both are out of the shower. I need to be out there where I can hear if someone slips. They’ll come down here anyway. You promised to sing to them.”

He leaned his forehead to hers, breathing hard. “Give me a minute or two.” He took her hand and put it against his cock, through his jeans.

Kelly squeezed a few times. “You’re going to need a lot more than a minute so don’t get cocky.”

“Are you trying to kill me?”

“No. I plan to ride you until you sweat,” she whispered before she nipped his earlobe.

He grabbed her close again. “You’ll pay for that.”

“Can’t wait.” Still laughing, they spilled from the pantry.

He headed off, the garbage bag and recycling in his arms. “I’ll be back, uh, as soon as this is less noticeable.”

As long as it came back when she needed it later, she was just fine with that.

CHAPTER TEN

HE SHOWERED AND waited for the girls to fall asleep. Stupid, as he’d been going to Kelly’s room for a nightly chat and glass of wine for a few days and he hadn’t hid it.

He planned a lot more than a chat and some booze and he had zero intention of walking back to his room and jerking off at one in the morning, either.

She opened to his knock, wearing sleep shorts and a tank top. Without a word, he went inside, smiling when he heard the click of her door being locked.