“Perhaps reconsider the face cream!” Banks calls after me.
I merely shake my head, having already turned back the way I came.
When I get back to the house, there is now yarn on the porch.
I step inside to find more in the hallway, and some hanging from a framed painting on the wall. I follow the trail upstairs, where the door to our room is cracked open, and I locate the source of the yarn. On the bed, Kayla is straddling Vero’s lap, looking flushed, and Vero has his hands on her hips. He glances over her shoulder at me and smiles. “Finally, come join the party.”
I lean against the doorframe and look at the state of the room, and then at the two of them. I pull my tank top over my head and drop it on the floor.
“How did crocheting turn into this?”
“There is a simple explanation,” Vero says, and Kayla laughs.
“You have no patience,” she chides, then turns to look at me. “He lasted about seven minutes after you left, then announced he was bored and started trying to make a noose.”
“In my defense,” Vero says, “it’s just a big knot, and that was all I seemed to be doing, so I figured, when in Rome...”
“You tried to put it around your neck.”
“Then there is no defense,” I say.
“Then he knocked the basket over, tripped on it, and kicked it, all while trying to remove the knot from hisneck. And, well, this seemed like the easiest way to get him to stop.”
“It worked,” Vero confirms with a grin.
Kayla’s eyes don’t leave mine as I cross the room and put my hand on the back of her neck, the same way I do to Vero. Her whole body relaxes, and she exhales.
“Seven minutes,” I say.
“Give or take.”
“Next time give him something he can’t tangle.”
“There won’t be a next time,” Vero insists. “Crocheting is not for me, though I could be bribed if this is how it ends.”
I move around the bed, removing my shorts. Vero watches me the entire way, his gaze drinking in my body, and I love the way that feels. He always makes me feel like I am the most important person in the room, just by the way he looks at me.
“Lift,” I tell him.
He grabs Kayla and lifts enough I can shift beneath him. I settle back against the headboard and pull Vero to my chest. Kayla fixes herself on his lap, and I reach out to push her hair back from her face, letting my fingers drag through the strands until I have a loose grip on her neck. She whimpers, and I realize this is something she really likes, just like Vero.
He tips his head back onto my shoulder and watches me gaze at her. “Tell me we can keep her. She is perfect for us.”
I chuckle. “I think that’s up to her.”
He leans forward and takes her face between his hands. “Please say we can have you. I promise to be good.”
Kayla smiles. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep. Just promise you will try.”
I slide my free hand around Vero’s ribs, and he removes his hands from Kayla’s face, covering my hand with his, lacing his fingers through mine. “I promise to try.”
Using my hold on Kayla’s neck, I pull her forward as she nods and places a hand on Vero’s chest.
She grinds down onto him and makes a little moan. Then with her free hand, she traces my jaw with her fingertips. Vero leans forward and captures her mouth with his; her hand still on my jaw trembles, and his hand squeezes mine. When she pulls away, her eyes find mine, as if she is seeking permission. I love how much she respects Vero’s and my relationship, and that it came first.
When I nod, she lifts from Vero and leans forward, pressing her lips to mine. They are so soft and feminine. Never have I let a woman we fuck kiss me before now. There is something intimate about the action, and I refuse to allow anyone but Vero to have that part of me. Yet somehow she makes me want to give it to her too.
I slide my hand from Vero’s ribs, reaching for her waist and feeling the warmth of her skin. She shifts forward, pressing hard against Vero, who laughs quietly against her neck, where he now has his face.