Her Twin Surprise (Forsaken Sons Book 2) by Elizabeth Lennox (web ebook reader txt) 📗

other than burying himself in Stevie.  Years ago, Janus remembered how she’d wrap her legs around his waist, lifting her hips to match his thrusts.  Or the way she’d gasp when he teased her nipples.  Or the laughter when he pulled her close afterwards.

“Damn it!” he snapped and stomped back to the bar.  He was just about to pour himself another drink when he stopped himself.  He couldn’t keep drowning himself in scotch.  He had to figure out a way to make this work.

Chapter 19

As soon as Janus stepped into the kitchen, Stevie knew that something was different.

“Daddy!” Halley shrieked joyously, jumping up from the table and throwing herself at him.  Harrison followed and, as usual, Janus caught them easily, hugging them and asking about their days.  Stevie smiled, wiping her hands on the dishtowel as she watched them.

“Is your homework finished?” he asked.

“I’m done!” Halley announced, wiggling excitedly.

Harrison glanced guiltily over his shoulder at the work sheet.  “Me too,” he said, and Stevie watched as Janus tilted his head slightly, clearly not believing the obvious lie.

“Are you sure you’re finished?” Janus asked.  “That worksheet doesn’t look finished.  There are a lot of blank spaces left.”

Harrison sighed.  “Fine!” he grumbled.  “But why does Halley always finish before me?”

Stevie walked over and kissed the top of his head, ruffling his hair gently.  “Because she’s working instead of trying to feed her apple slices to Herbie,” she said, taking one of the remaining slices and biting into it.  “She knows that Herbie doesn’t like apples.”

Harrison had no reply to that. He huffed a bit as he sat back down at the kitchen table.  “Not fair,” he grumbled.

Janus turned and lifted an eyebrow to Stevie. She simply smiled and nodded, indicating her appreciation for him upholding her house rules about finishing homework before dinner.

She watched from the corner of her eye as he loosened his tie, unbuttoning the top buttons on his dress shirt, and hanging his jacket on a spare hook in the mudroom.  He removed his tie, draping it over his jacket.

She stopped slicing bell peppers.  “You okay?” she asked softly, thinking he looked exhausted.

“Just tired,” he replied.  He grabbed a slice of the red pepper and munched on it.  “What are you making for dinner?  And why don’t you let me have dinner delivered every once in a while?”

Stevie shrugged and went back to her slicing.  “I actually enjoy cooking.  After working with the kids all day long, cutting, slicing, and dicing helps me relax.  I get to release all the tension from the day doing this.”

He made a sound and she glanced up into his silver eyes.  “I can offer a few other ways to unwind and release tension,” he purred suggestively.

Stevie put the knife down.  His silver eyes had turned molten.

She was so surprised, she actually leaned around him, making sure that the kids hadn’t overheard.  But they were gone, off into the small family room to play.

“We…” she trailed off, shaking her head. “We don’t have that kind of relationship.”

“We could,” he countered.  “We both know the attraction is still there.”

She reached for the knife, but her hands were trembling too badly.  “I don’t,” she declared.

“I do,” he replied. “Very much so.”

She lifted her lashes and looked into his eyes again, needing to see for herself.  Sure enough, he was looking at her as if she were the bell pepper he wanted to eat.  And oh boy, that sounded so weird and so good!

“I don’t,” she lied.

He moved closer.  “Seriously?  So, if I were to do this,” he said, wrapping his hand around her neck, his fingers hot against her skin.  “You aren’t affected in any way?”

She took a slow, deep breath, fighting not to react. But surely he could feel her response.  He had to know how his slightest touch affected her.

“It doesn’t really matter, does it?”

“I think it does.”

She shook her head.  “No, Janus,” and she pulled away.  His hand dropped and she wanted to reach out and press his hand back against her skin.

He leaned back against the sink, crossing his arms over his chest in a seemingly casual pose.  “Can you tell me why not?”

She huffed and took the chicken out of the fridge.  “Why would we?” she demanded.  “The last time we were together like that it was…!”

“Incredible,” he filled in when she remained silent.  “Mind-blowing.”

“Devastating,” she grumped and slapped the chicken onto the countertop.

“I don’t remember you using that word at the time, Stevie.”  He glanced through the kitchen doorway to make sure that the twins were still absorbed. “In fact, I seem to remember the word ‘beautiful’ being used right before you fell asleep in my arms.”

“You remember that?” she asked aghast, then realized how revealing that question was and shook her head.  “It doesn’t matter.  It’s irrelevant now.”

He moved closer, bracing his hands on the small island where she was cutting the chicken up into small, bite-sized pieces.  “It matters,” he countered.  “It matters because we can’t keep ignoring this thing between us.  Every night, I pull you into my arms and feel you trembling.  But you pull away.  You won’t let me close, Stevie.”

“Because it won’t work!  Not between us!” she hissed back.  Stevie dumped the onions and peppers into the pan where crushed garlic was sizzling in olive oil.

“Tell me why, Stevie.  Explain to me why we can’t try this again.”

She glared at him.  “Look at what happened the last time!”

“Do you mean when your mother passed?  And I was…” He trailed off, shaking his head.  “Stevie, we’re older now, and hopefully a bit wiser.  We have two great kids and I want to be a part of their lives.  Not a part time father either.  I want to be here all the time.”  He moved