“I’ve never snuck into a bedroom to keep my kids from hearing me sex up their mom before,” he murmured when she got close enough to touch.

“Sex? I thought we were going to play a rousing game of Uno.”

He barked a laugh. “I played Uno last night after I left your room. There’s only so much Uno a man wants to play.”

Her reply was a slow raise of her right eyebrow and a smile that sent his system into overdrive.

“Damn it, you’re so beautiful.” He fisted his hands a few times to conquer the shakes. “You give me butterflies.”

She took his hand, tipping it, bending to brush a kiss over his palm. “That makes two of us. But I think between the two of us we could work something out. We’ve done it a time or two. It’s like riding a bike.”

One-handed, he pulled his shirt up and over his head. Her eyes went wide and then settled half-mast as she took him in. “Damn, I like whatever it looks like you’re thinking.”

“I saw the nipple ring in a video a few years back.” She stepped close enough to run covetous hands all over his arms and chest. “New ink, too.”

He looked down at the chest piece she meant. A heart with wings. Maddie’s and Kensey’s names had been interwoven.

“I knew about it. The media loves to talk about you.” Kelly traced over their daughters’ names. “But obviously I had no real reason to get this close until now. This is gorgeous work.”

“Thanks. You should take your shirt off, too. That’s only fair.”

She whipped her tank top off, tossing it behind her somewhere.

“You have ink, too.”

“Mine is on television a lot less,” she said, not keeping the smile from her tone. “Crocus. A reminder that even in the dead of winter there’s beauty just around the corner.”

He licked over the purple and white blooms inked just to the left of a spectacular breast.

“It tastes as good as it looks.”

He sighted one more as he began to circle her. At her shoulder blade, near her spine, a small, curled up lizard. “I don’t remember anything about you loving reptiles.”

“It’s a chameleon.”

“Ah.” The name of her boutiques.

He came to face her again.

“A chameleon can hide in plain sight, all while still remaining essentially what it is. I guess I take some meaning from that.”

He wouldn’t have understood it as well if she’d told him when they were together before. Then again, she hadn’t had any ink when they’d been together.

“Some things have changed. I’m looking forward to seeing everything old and new.”

She looked down a moment. “Everything’s not, you know, where it was. Before having kids, I mean.”

Vaughan stepped back and took her in, shaking his head. He hadn’t seen her topless in eight years. It still rendered him speechless. At her striking five feet nine inches, she stood head and shoulders above most women. A tumble of honeyed gold framed her face and shoulders.

Long-as-sin legs led to strong thighs and the hips he’d held on to more than once as he thrust into her body. The flare at her hips was softer now than it had been when he’d met her, sure. She’d been twenty-two years old then! These days she was no less stunning. In fact, he found her even more beautiful. It could be the bare tits in front of him, but she dazzled him. Always had.

The problem was Kelly’s mom had done a number on her head. That stupid, horrible cow had beat it into Kelly that her entire life was how she looked. Rebecca had weighed her daily and if Kelly had gained even one pound her mother would put her on an even more restrictive diet than her normal one.

He was sorry she still had remnants of it. But he sure as hell wasn’t going to let that pass without a reply.

“Without a doubt, you are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.” He shrugged. “Right here, right now. There’s not a single woman on the planet who could hold a candle to you.”

He cupped her breasts, taking them into his hands with a happy sigh before brushing his lips over hers.

Her eyes, deep blue, so big, held less wariness and a lot more willingness.

“I want to see the rest,” Vaughan urged.

She shoved her shorts and panties down and sent him a look of challenge. Relieved all her wariness was gone, he got naked, too.

She took his cock, squeezing at the base, and he nearly choked as he sucked in air.

“Still works, I see.”

“Oh, is that how it is? You’re all saucy now?” He stalked her backward through the room until she landed on her bed.

“I’m always saucy. It’s one of my finest qualities.”

He paused, his knee on the bed between hers. “I’ve missed this. You all spread out below me just waiting for me to get close. Your attention all on me.”

* * *

KELLY LOOKED UP into that face. This was one of her favorite ways to look at him. Right before he put his hands and mouth on her. The green of his eyes deepened, his lips swollen from kisses, framed by the beard he’d grown a few years back. She liked it.

His hair was a little too long. He’d just come off tour so he was a little shaggy all around. But it only made him hot lumberjack instead of scary hobo.

He’d grown into his handsomeness. He’d be more like his oldest brother, Ezra, and their father. That sort of handsome that deepened as the man aged.

The heat of the beard burn he’d left on her neck seemed to flow into the flush of desire. She was so wet she should have been embarrassed. Instead she wanted to toss him on his back and climb on top.