Bodie had no idea what time it was. Late, for sure. He was in the warehouse, covered in sawdust, working on the boat. Sort of. Mostly he was thinking about his girls. Ivy—and how he could embed himself into her life. And Harper—whose lips he could still feel on his. He wanted another taste, wanted to lose himself in her.
A dangerous prospect.
Earlier, he’d taken Ivy out to dinner, then shown her the warehouse and his dad’s boat. She’d been fascinated and had helped him sand for a while before she’d peeked at the texts she’d been getting. She said her friends Jessie and James wanted her to bring Ham to the lake for a dog playdate.
Hard to compete with that. But it was odd how . . . parental he suddenly felt. He wanted to say, “I’d like to meet them, especially this James dude,” but she’d looked at him like she was daring him to become all weird and possessive, so he’d just nodded.
Note to self: Ask Shay if she carries a parenting book, maybe something like What to Expect When You’ve Got a Teenager.
Ivy had gone to the doors, then turned back. “About James.”
He tensed. “Yeah?”
She bit her lower lip. “I think I might like girls.”
He looked into her vulnerable eyes and smiled. “Something we have in common.” And he’d known he’d done the right thing without a book when she’d laughed and looked relieved. His heart ached for her, and he was shocked at the murderous urges he felt at the thought of anyone ever hurting her.
Now it was hours later and his mind had moved on to easier subjects. Okay, one subject.
Harper.
His mind did that a lot. His body too. She was a really great distraction. He was in the middle of one of his favorite daydreams about her showing up wearing a trench coat and nothing else when the warehouse door creaked open behind him. He turned and found his greatest fantasy in the flesh. And she was eyeing him with the same look that he knew he wore—hunger. Desire.
“You’re all covered in sawdust,” she said softly, not looking bothered by that in the least. Wait . . . he took that back. She did seem bothered—as in hot and bothered.
“Thirsty?” she asked.
Hell, suddenly he didn’t know what he was. She turned him upside down and inside out in her flowery sundress, which showed a lot of smooth pretty skin. Her hair was loose and wild around her face and shoulders. In one hand was a clear box with what looked like four huge pink cupcakes, and from the fingers of her other hand dangled two bottles of beer.
And his stress and worry took a back seat to something else entirely.
She handed him a beer. He opened it and handed it back to her to drink, then took the other for himself. They clinked their bottles together and sipped. They continued to say nothing for a few minutes. The silence was comfortable and . . . cozy. Not a word he used often. Or ever. After a few minutes, she thrust out the box. “Congratulations, it’s a girl.”
He laughed, then looked into her eyes. They were warm, curious, smiling. “You got me saturated fats and processed sugar? I’m undone.”
“Seemed like that kind of day.” Her smile faded. “I know it can’t be easy, what you’re going through. You okay?”
He’d lost track of how many people had asked him that, and his answer had been the same to all of them. Yes, he was fine. Hell, he was great. He was safe for the first time in his adult life, feeding people for a living, which he loved, and best of all, he had a daughter.
And then there were his feelings for this woman in front of him. Feelings he hadn’t thought he could feel.
But the truth was, he wasn’t all the way fine. He was . . . hell. Scared. Scared to fuck this all up. “Ivy looks at me like she’s trying to figure out who I am and what that means for her.”
“And you’re worried about it?”
“What if she’s looking for something I’m not sure I have?”
“You mean love?” She looked surprised that he’d think he couldn’t give that to her.
He shook his head. “More than that.”
“Like what?”
He struggled to find the words. “The same thing I see in your eyes sometimes,” he finally said softly. “Reassurance . . . about what kind of man I am.”
She took that in, not denying it.
“Ivy’s struggling to define herself,” he said. “Her identity as my daughter is affected by my character. You’re redefining yourself, and understandably considering what it might mean to let me be a part of that. I want to be the best man I can be, for the both of you, but I’m not sure I know who that man is, except for a deeply flawed individual who’s done things I’m not proud of.”
“Hey.” She shifted closer, looking up into his eyes. “It’s called being human.”
He smiled at her, and she smiled back, dissipating some of his tension.
“Don’t be stressed,” she said. “It’s all going to work out.”
“You’re here, so how could it not?” He rubbed his jaw to hers, turning his head to brush his lips to her cheek. Then, because he couldn’t help himself, the spot beneath her ear as well, which he knew damn well melted her bones. The air suddenly felt charged, and he wondered which of them was going to get burned. Most likely him.
Willingly walking right into the fire, he pulled her closer, finding himself letting out a pent-up breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding when she came willingly, cuddling herself into him like she belonged in his arms.
“Ivy?” he asked, face pressed in her hair. God, she smelled good.
“Fast asleep with Hambone.” She pulled back. “I think she’s really considering coming to stay with you. She asked me what I thought, and I said I was all for it. Are you ready for a teenager?”
“Yes.”
Her brows raised.
He smiled. “I mean, I feel like I skipped a few steps in this whole parenting thing, but I’ll figure it out as I go.” He paused. “I hope.”
“Teenage girls are aliens.” She grinned. “I know because I was one.”
“Teenage boys aren’t much better. I gave my parents hell, so probably I should just hope she breaks me in gently.”
“She’s a good kid, Bodie. A really good kid.”
“I know. She came over earlier.”
“She told me. You showed her how to do some sanding on the hull. It meant a lot to her. I don’t think she’s had a lot of parental interest.”
Yeah, and that pissed him off, big-time.
“You could show me how to sand too,” she said with a smile. “If you want . . .”
“You’ll get dirty.”
Her smile widened. “And?”
With a laugh, he took her hand and brought her inside the boat, showing her around. The galley was all raw beautiful woods he still had to stain.
“It’s amazing,” she said.
He ran a hand along the galley cabinets. “Would’ve been more amazing if my dad were still around to be a part of it. I seem to be a day late and a dollar short when it comes to taking care of the people I love.”
She leaned back against the counter and looked at him. “It’s never too late.”
“You think?”
“I think you can turn your life around at any point.” She shrugged. “Look at me. I packed and moved five hundred and fifty miles from everything and everyone I’ve ever known.”
She was right. He’d been given a second chance at life. Maybe he should live it. “Haven’t eaten down here yet,” he said casually.
“Should I go get a few more beers?”
Probably a bad idea. He needed to be in peak mental and physical condition to hold his own against Harper Shaw. “I’m good. You?”
She nodded at the box of cupcakes she’d set down. “Got all I need right here.”
He was really hoping that wasn’t true. “So did you come over here just to give me your cupcakes?”
“Well, maybe also to find a spark of joy.”
“And did you?” He ran a finger along her temple. “Find a spark of joy?”
Her eyes never left his. “I did.”
His breath caught. She was looking at him like maybe he was breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and damn, that hadn’t happened in a while. She slid her hands into his hair and pulled his face to hers. Then she slowly sank her teeth into his lower lip, and he was done thinking. He’d give this thought, a lot of thought. His plan had been to take his time, showing her the power he could wield over her body to drive her wild. But he was an idiot because only one of them had any such power, and it was her.
It’d been a long time since Harper ached for someone. She and Daniel hadn’t been intimate for a while before their breakup. In retrospect, she should have seen it coming for that reason alone. But she’d buried her needs, which bothered her. She enjoyed intimacy, touching someone, being touched, being wanted, if only for the moment.
With Bodie, she knew it would go far deeper than that, a risk because it meant she might accidentally open her heart to him. But she’d already opened her heart to his daughter, so it was probably too late to protect herself against him anyway. In which case, why not let this happen then, maybe even to make the first move and claim this part of her back? Liking that idea, she wrapped herself around him and deepened the kiss, letting her hands roam wherever they ached to roam. Over his shoulders, his chest, his arms.
South . . .
He caught her hands. “Harper.”
Instantly, she was alert and all too aware. “Is someone coming?”
“Me, if you don’t stop.”
She laughed. “And . . . ?”
“And . . . first I want to do this . . .” He let go of her hands so that his were free, one curling around the nape of her neck, the other low on her back, holding her close. Then his mouth closed over hers again. When he touched his tongue to hers, she heard herself moan.
He lifted his head with a hot smile. “My favorite sound.” He kissed her jaw, then the base of her throat. “I’m going to make you do that again.” Another kiss, to her collarbone this time. “And again . . .”
She shivered in anticipation but managed to say saucily, “Promises, promises,” before giving him a nudge to the leather bench seat. Catching her hand, he tugged her down with him. She landed in his lap, where he rearranged her legs so that she was straddling him, her thighs hugged up to the outside of his.
And then smiled wickedly up at her.
So smug. Leaning over him, she kissed him until he made his own helplessly aroused sound. Then she pushed at his shirt until he broke free of the kiss and tore it off over his head, sending it sailing somewhere behind them. Letting herself get lost for a moment, her fingers trailed down his chest and abs, planning on following up with her tongue.
No slouch, he was busy too, encouraging the spaghetti straps of her sundress to slip, where they caught at her elbows. Another little nudge had the bodice falling away, exposing a skimpy bra. Yes, hi, her name was Harper Shaw and she was frugal in all things except lingerie. And given the glazed, heated, sensual look on Bodie’s face, he appreciated it. His work-roughened fingers skimmed over her see-through-lace-covered breasts. “Pretty,” he said in a husky voice, and then unhooked the bra and slowly pulled it off. “And I’ve found something I want more than your cupcakes.” His hands slid down her back to palm her ass, his mouth dropping to reverently tease everything he’d just revealed to the night air.
She looked down at his bowed head, his dark hair dusted in sawdust, the muscles in his bare shoulders and arms bunched as he pleasured her. They were in a warehouse, in a boat, the cavernous space lit only by a few hanging lightbulbs overhead. It should have felt seedy, but instead, the golden light danced over his skin, the air scented with cedar and gorgeous heated male, and she’d never experienced anything so erotic in all her life.
His mouth was driving her mad and she ached for more, so she toyed with the top button of his Levi’s, then slipped her fingers under the waistband in search of what she’d been rocking against—
Again, his hand caught hers as he lifted his head and met her gaze, his own rueful.
“Oh.” He’d changed his mind. “Okay.” Embarrassed, she started to climb off him, but he wrapped his arms around her and pressed his forehead to hers.
“You don’t understand. I want you, Harper. And I want you bad too, but I don’t have a condom with me.”
It’d been a really long time since she’d been with someone other than Daniel. She couldn’t remember the etiquette, not in her overheated state, and she was horrified he’d remembered when maybe she might’ve totally forgotten. “Right.” She closed her eyes. “I’m sorry, I—”
“Shh.” He cupped her face. “I know you’re not on the trust-me program yet, but maybe you could try, just for the next little bit . . . ?”
Her eyes flew open. He gave her the sweetest, hottest smile she’d ever seen, then shifted, laying her back on the bench to kneel between her legs. The light above gilded him, making him look like something out of a movie as he slid his hands up the fronts of her thighs, bringing the hem of her dress with him, slowly exposing her to his heated gaze. “Hold this,” he said, and she automatically obeyed, holding her dress up.
He smiled at her matching panties, running a finger over her until she squirmed. Then he hooked his thumbs in the tiny scrap of material and slowly slid them down. When they were gone, sailing through the air, he eased her thighs farther apart for greater access, then proceeded to make good on his promise.
After all, he was a man of his word.
Bodie came back to himself sometime later, when the tired beauty stirred in his arms. Lying beneath her on the galley bench, holding her close and warm against him, he opened his eyes. “Best damn cupcakes I’ve ever had.”
Laughing breathlessly into his chest, she brushed a kiss to his heated skin and got up.
He watched as she fumbled around for her clothes. “Where are my undies?”
He rose and snatched them from their perch on a low-hanging light. Coming up behind her, he reached around, her panties dangling from his finger.
She took them with a wry smile. “And my wits? Did you find those too?”
Her hair was wild. He’d done that when she’d returned his trust-me favor, first kissing her way down his body, taking extra time at each of his many scars. He’d fisted his hands in her hair, lost in the feelings she generated in him. “You okay?” he asked softly.
“I think you know that I am, in fact, very okay. But . . .” She bit her lip. “We’re still going at my pace, right?”
“Always.” He paused. “Does your pace have anything against me asking you and Ivy to go on the Campbell weekly bike ride tomorrow afternoon, and then dinner at my mom’s afterward?”
She looked like maybe she was trying hard to think of a reason why she couldn’t. “I don’t think so?”
He smiled at the way she worded that as a question. “Problem?”
“It’s just that I’m a really bad bike rider,” she said. “And also, I don’t have a bike.”
“We’ll borrow one for you, and we won’t do anything difficult. Dinner will be easy too.”
“Are you sure? Meeting your mom . . .” She bit her lower lip.
She was nervous about it, he realized. “Trust me, she’s going to adore you. Much more than her own heathens.”
She smiled. “She must be pretty tough, raising all boys.”
“Tough, but also a big softie.”
“I could bring dessert,” she said.
He smiled. “I’ll never turn down your cupcakes.”
The next morning, Harper was pulling her grandma’s cinnamon rolls from the oven when the knock came at her door. It was early, 7:00 a.m., and she hadn’t opened for business yet. But never one to turn a customer away, she headed to the front. Probably it was Bodie, looking for a cinnamon roll. She was so certain, she opened the door without lifting the shade first to check. “Hey— Oh,” she said in surprise to the woman standing there. “I’m so sorry. I’m not quite open yet, but depending on what you want, I can still possibly help you.”
“You’re so sweet.” The woman, sixtyish, clapped a hand to her chest. She looked vaguely familiar, even more so when she smiled. “I can wait. But it sure is chilly out here this morning.”
“Come in.” Harper shifted aside for her to enter. “I’m still on takeout orders only, but you’re welcome.”
“Something smells delicious.” The woman moved to the counter.
Harper walked behind it. “It’s my grandma’s cinnamon rolls. What are you looking for today?”
“Actually, you.”
Harper looked up in surprise. “Me?”
“I’m Suzie Campbell.”
Oh dear God. Had she even brushed her hair earlier before tugging it up on top of her head? “You’re Bodie’s mom.”
“The one and only,” she said on a laugh. “I hear he’s sweet on you.”
Harper choked out a laugh. “I don’t know about that.” But actually, she sort of did . . . “I’m pretty sweet on him though.”
Suzie Campbell clapped a hand to her heart. “You don’t know how wonderful it is to hear that. He’s been through so much. I just wanted to get my eyes on the woman who’s lightened his heart. He’s back to looking happy again. Thank you for that.”
The woman’s smile was guileless, but Harper suddenly had the realization she was anything but. “I’m not sure I can take credit for all that.”
“Sure you can. And I can see why. You’re kind enough to let a perfect stranger into your shop simply because it’s too chilly to leave her waiting outside. You’re also protecting Bodie’s privacy. That makes you sweet, smart, and loyal to boot. My favorite qualities in the women who love my boys.”
Harper set down her spatula. “Mrs. Campbell—”
“Suzie,” she corrected gently.
“Suzie,” Harper said. “I think maybe you’ve misunderstood. Bodie and I, we’re not . . . like that. We’re not in love.” She meant it. Or, more accurately, she wanted to mean it.
“Yet,” Suzie said confidently.
Harper laughed a little roughly. “I just moved to town. We work next door to each other.” And we did it in the boat he’s renovating for your dead husband . . . “I’m sorry to disappoint you.”
“Oh, honey, you’re not a disappointment at all. And I’ll take that entire batch of cinnamon rolls.” She dropped a hundred-dollar bill on the counter.
Harper bagged everything up. “Hold on, I have to run upstairs. I don’t have change down here yet.”
Suzie just smiled. “No change needed.” And then she was gone.