Page 35 of York

“I’m not going to lie and say it’s as safe as if I were an accountant. But to be honest, most of the danger that the club faces these days comes from the women who blow into our lives.”

“I got all the colors!” Denali declared, saving me from a very awkward moment.

So then she and her father fed the tortoise before making their way to the pool. I sat back and watched him blow up the swimmies, then wet them so he could push them up her little arms.

Then… then he pulled off his damn shirt.

I was glad to be sitting on the chaise where I could cross my legs to ease the immediate ache I felt as my gaze drifted over the muscles I knew better than I knew him as a person. How they tensed when I ran my fingers over them, how he let out a little growl when I traced the lines that disappeared into the waistband of his pants. How he’d pulled me up by my hair when I’d slid my tongue between those same muscles.

Unfortunately, it was in the middle of that memory that York’s gaze flicked over, staring at me, no doubt reading the desire on my face.

For a moment, he froze, and all we could do was look, remember, and, yes, want.

“Daddy, come on,” Denny demanded, holding out her hand.

The spell broken, he moved down the pool steps with Denali. I got a few moments on the chaise to reason with my body before Denny called me and asked me to come in too.

There was no denying her. And it was a million degrees out once the sun came out from behind a cloud.

I stood up, pushing my shorts down my legs then whipping off my tee.

And that was when I caught York watching me, the heavy lids and molten eyes telling me he was picturing me the way I’d just been remembering him.

Each inch of skin he looked at warmed. My heartbeat fluttered. My belly went liquid.

York took a deep, steadying breath that expanded his chest in a frustratingly hot way.

But getting in the cold water helped chill out the heat of my desire. And pretty soon we were taking turns teaching Denali how to swim—with and without her swimmies. It was a skill I wanted her to learn, but our access to pools had been minimal.

At some point, Eddie returned, tossing my keys into my purse as he passed and declaring he was getting dinner started.

“I know you’ve been here all day, but Eddie’s cooking is worth hanging around for.”

“Can we stay?” Denali asked, eyes too cute to deny.

“Sure. But we should get out and start drying up.”

Twenty minutes later, I had her changed out of her suit and sitting in the kitchen, passing pieces of fruit and veggies to a giant parrot who was surprisingly gentle with her while talking to a very friendly Eddie about her zoo and arcade adventures.

“You wanna go get changed?” York, who still hadn’t put a damn shirt on, asked.

“Yeah, please.”

He nodded toward the back staircase, and I followed him up to the second floor, already trusting Eddie more than most babysitters I’d needed to use in a pinch for Denny.

I did not watch York’s back and ass as we climbed the steps to the second floor, then down the hallway toward his bedroom.

Inside, I found… green.

I guess it was his favorite color too.

It was on the walls, on the bedding, even in the window curtains. It immediately felt cozy, familiar, like the hundreds of days I sat outside in the woods until the dark demanded I return to my tent.

“Bathroom is through there,” he said.

As I turned to see where he was pointing, I realized I’d misjudged just how close he was.

My breath caught.