Total pages in book: 132
Estimated words: 128801 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 644(@200wpm)___ 515(@250wpm)___ 429(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128801 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 644(@200wpm)___ 515(@250wpm)___ 429(@300wpm)
I blinked.
Caught in the whirlwind.
No clue where it was going to spit me out.
“Are you sure I can’t help with the dishes?” I asked as I placed Kayden’s bowl and sippy cup into the sink.
“Nah, I have them. Get that one a bath and I’ll handle this.”
I’d have thought things might have been awkward between us when I’d gone up and changed and come back down, but no, Ryder had shifted into that same role he’d stood in for years.
My friend.
Easy and light.
Casual and teasing.
There was a flirtiness to it that hadn’t existed before, though, or maybe there had always been, and I’d just been too fearful to see it for what it was.
But we’d both sank into it.
Enjoying the meal which really was delicious.
Now, I hesitated, and he lifted his brows as he rinsed our plates under the faucet. “And don’t you start about me doing too much. Not unless you want me to take you over my knee for complaining.”
He tried to hide his smirk when a blast of red jumped to my cheeks.
“You’re awful bossy, Ryder Nash.” The taunt was my attempt at distracting him.
Only that redness flamed when he warned, “You don’t know bossy, Dakota. Now go before I make good on it.”
Shivers rolled.
Excitement at the prospect.
I bit down on my lip to tame it, and I snatched Kayden out of his highchair and hurried upstairs before I stuck around to tempt him into showing me what that might be like.
I was treading into dangerous territory. I knew it. The way he kept getting close then pushing me away promised that. But I was having a hard time convincing myself to care.
Self-preservation didn’t seem to exist under Ryder’s roof.
“I take a bath?” Kayden asked as I carried him into the bathroom. I went right to the bathtub and turned on the faucet to heat it.
“Yep, you have to take a bath to get you all cleaned up after you played all day then ate up your dinner.”
“Big boys eat lots,” he told me, his little hand clinging to my pajama shirt to keep steady as I leaned over the side of the tub with him still in my arms.
“And just how big do you think you’re going to be?” I asked him, tenderness in my voice.
“Dis tall.” He threw his free hand into the air, reaching for the ceiling.
I feigned shock. “That tall? I think that’s way too big. How am I supposed to carry you around if you get that big?”
Kayden giggled. “I carry Mommy.”
Love rushed, and I pecked a kiss to his chubby cheek before I plugged the tub when the water had reached the right temperature.
Kneeling on the bathmat, I quickly undressed him before I picked him up from under the arms and lifted him over the side. “In you go.”
He started splashing, drenching me in a flash.
“You’re getting Mommy all wet.”
“Aww wet wike me.”
“Stinker,” I told him, laughing under my breath as I leaned forward and grabbed the baby shampoo from where it sat on the ledge. He flailed and kicked as I washed his hair then his body. There was more water on the floor and soaking my pajamas than what was left in the bathtub.
“Tiny Tornado.” The words rumbled through the small room, heavy and light, and I barely could glance over my shoulder at Ryder who stood in the doorway, something sly lining the edge of his mouth as he took us in.
I was quick to return my attention to Kayden, rinsing the suds off as I whispered, “That he is.”
“I get Mommy aww wet,” he told Ryder, tossing his arms and splashing more water over the side.
Ryder chuckled. So low it skated over me like a rough caress. “Looks like she’s the one getting the bath rather than you.”
I felt him move. The stir of the air as he pressed into the cramped space.
His footsteps heavy.
His presence overpowering.
Ryder leaned down beside me. “Like this?” he asked Kayden.
He reached into the tub and dragged his hand across the surface, splashing me over the side.
I gasped, and my mouth dropped open. “Ryder.”
He laughed. Laughed a free, satisfied sound that was so sexy my knees went weak.
Stomach tipping at what was dancing across his face.
Greed.
Like he’d given into the restraint he’d been trying to show earlier tonight. I’d recognized it for what it’d been, and now, it was missing, and with it, I had no idea what was going to be left of me.
“What, you don’t want to get wet with me, Cookie?”
“Ryder,” I chastised like I hadn’t given it the first thought when I could feel the dampness soaking my panties.
I pressed my thighs together.
“That’s what I thought, sweet thing.” He leaned in and rumbled it near my ear before he moved to grab a towel from the cabinet and held it open.