Page 63 of Rescued Love
He walks away whistling while Clint chuckles. “Yeah,” he looks at me and then Kimball, “what he said.”
Kimball giggles, the sound so fucking light and pure that I pull her closer to my chest and bury my face in her neck. She melts into me when I kiss her neck. I fucking love it when she does that.
“I need to make a call, Kitten,” I rasp against her neck. “Do you want to listen in or do you want to hang with Hailey.”
She jolts a little and turns to me with wide eyes when I stand up to my full height. “You’re calling your boss?” I nod and Iswear her eyes get even bigger as she gasps, “You’d let me listen in?”
“Of course,” I confirm and shrug one shoulder. “You’re the one Marcus, the fucking weasel, approached. I’m also going to be giving my notice to the firm.”
The way my woman’s mouth drops open has me thinking about her taking my cock down my throat even though this is not the time or place to be having such thoughts. But, come on, I’m only a man.
Kimball stands up and grips my hand, lacing our fingers together and giving a squeeze. “I want to be there for you.” Her eyes soften as she steals bits of my heart I didn’t even realize she hadn’t captured already as her words drip with sincerity, “You’ve devoted so much of your time and energy to your job, and I know this can’t be an easy decision.”
I shake my head and smile at my woman as I cup one of her cheeks. My thumb moves back and forth across it, and I revel in how soft her skin is.
“That’s where you’re wrong, Kimball,” I rasp. “It’s the easiest decision I’ve ever made. This is the right path for me.”
She nods and allows me to lead her out the front door, holding up a finger at Hailey to indicate that she’ll be back in a few minutes as we go. I can feel other people watching us, but I can’t find it in me to care. Not when Kimball’s presence grounds me and reminds me of everything I’ll be gaining by staying.
I can’t even fathom what I would be giving up if I went back. My chest aches with even the notion of it.
Kimball and a life here is exactly what I need.
When we get outside, Kimball leads me around the building until we get to an open area in the back that reminds me of a courtyard and includes a volleyball court made of sand. I’m sure I look confused as fuck…because I am.
Kimball giggles at the look on my face as she leads me to one of the picnic tables. “Every Fourth of July, since Maverick,” she emphasizes his name, “has opened they recreate the beach volleyball scene fromTop Gunwith Mav in the most obvious role.”
I blink a few times at my woman, processing her words, before laughter bursts from me. She’s smiling and nodding while joining me in my laughter. When I realize that she’s sitting next to me, instead of where I want her, I pick her up and put her on my lap.
“I bet that’s a sight.”
“Oh, it is. It’s always a good time.” She looks around and then leans closer to me, her voice taking on a conspiratorial quality that makes my heart race. I want all this woman’s secrets. “The first time Hailey and Wesley saw each other was that day, not this last one, but a year ago. They saw each other across the way,” she spreads her hands out wide, “and they both knew.”
“Is that so?”
She brings her hands together, her eyes sparkling in the soft glow of the sunset in the distance. Fuck. My woman is beautiful.
“They didn’t get together right away. There was another woman, Megan,” Kimball curls her lip a little at the name, “who was trying to get his attention. Hailey didn’t want to get in the middle of that mess.” Kimball huffs out a breath and rolls her eyes before confiding, “I wouldn’t have either if I were in her shoes. Megan is,” she pauses before grimacing, “pushy?”
“You don’t sound so sure,” I tease her.
“I was trying to find a nice way to put it. I think, maybe, I nailed it.”
“Then if she didn’t want to get in the middle of that mess, how did they end up together?”
“She set her kitchen on fire accidentally and he was one of the firemen who showed up,” she drops that bomb with a straight face. My jaw falls open because that sounds dramatic as hell. She nods when she sees my reaction. “Yeah, that was my face too when I found out.”
I make a humming sound and bury my face in her neck. “I guess how we met wasn’t so bad then,” I mumble against her skin.
“Well,” she points out, amusement in her voice, “you were a jerk.”
“I know,” I whisper.
“Hey,” she twists slightly and grips my chin to move me to where she can look into my eyes, “I don’t want you to feel badly about it anymore.” I frown slightly and she shakes her head, a command in her voice, “I mean it. I want to look back at it now, from where we are, and see the good in that meeting. It is what it is anyway and can’t be changed.” She leans forward and presses her lips against mine before murmuring, “I wouldn’t change it if I could.”
“You’re too good for me, Kitten,” I rasp.
“You’re perfect for me, Nathan,” she immediately tells me without a hint of hesitation.