Chapter 7—Ryan

I stood to the side of the construction site and waited for Noah. He was red-faced and barking orders at one of his employees, and neither one of them looked too happy. A moment later, Noah approached.

“Everything okay?” I asked.

He shook his head. “I swear to God, it’s like none of them have ever been on a construction site before.” Noah grabbed a rag from a nearby makeshift table and wiped his hands. “Hope you haven’t been waiting too long.”

“Nah, just got here a few minutes ago.”

Noah nodded. “I just need to let my site foreman know I’m leaving.”

“I’ll meet you at your truck.” I headed toward his truck while he walked the opposite direction. Noah was a hell of a businessman, and I’d learned a ton from him. It was a nice bonus that he’d hired my electrical company as his exclusive electrician. Landing the contract with Abrams Construction had been a goldmine for me. The fact I’d gained a good friend was icing on the cake.

“Ready?” Noah opened the driver’s side door and climbed in.

I climbed into the passenger’s seat and buckled up. “You still on schedule with this project?” I inclined my head toward the massive construction site.

“So far.” Noah pulled away and headed toward the local diner. “There isn’t an issue with your schedule, is there?” Panic laced his words.

“No.” I shook my head adamantly. I’d called him this morning and asked him to lunch so we could talk. He probably thought I wanted to talk about work. “We’ll meet all the deadlines we agreed on. Don’t worry.”

Noah visibly relaxed. “Good. So, what’s going, then?”

I sighed. How the hell did I broach this topic with him? “You and Corrine…is it weird?”

He sliced a look at me, brow raised. “Weird how?”

“Well, she’s so much younger than you. Isn’t it weird being with her?”

“It was a little weird in the beginning.” He swung into the diner’s parking lot and pulled into an empty spot near the front of the building. “But not anymore.” Killing the engine, he said, “I love her more than anything. And that means nothing else matters.”

I nodded, not that I fully understood. We got out of the truck and headed inside. Once seated and our orders were taken, I folded my arms on the table. “How did you know she was interested?”

He flung his head back and laughed. “Oh, she made it very clear that she was interested. In fact, she was the one who came on to me.”

My eyes widened. “No shit.”

Noah nodded. “What’s with all the questions, Ryan?”

Leaning back, I fidgeted with the napkin wrapped around my silverware. “Hannah. She’s driving me nuts, man.”

Noah grinned in a knowing way. “Have you caved yet?”

“Almost.” I nodded absently, remembering the way she’d responded to me last night. The way her nipples had hardened against my tongue. The way she’d wrapped her legs around me and the heat seeping from her pussy. They way her hand had felt on my hard cock. I shifted in my chair, willing my dick to stay soft. “I have no fucking idea how I walked away from her last night.”

Noah let out another loud laugh. “Been there done that.”

“I don’t know what to do.” I rubbed my hands over my face and leaned forward, resting my elbows on the table. “The age difference—”

“Doesn’t mean a damn thing,” Noah interjected.

If only I was as convinced of that as he was. But in the grand scheme of things, the age difference was the least of my worries. How would Kennedy react? I refused to do anything that would jeopardize my relationship with my daughter. “And Heather was okay with you and Corrine?”

“Not at first.”

The waitress arrived and placed our food in front of us. We assured her we didn’t need anything else, and she left us in peace.

“When she found out, she threw a fit. Said some pretty nasty things to Corrine, and then she took off. I had no idea where she was.” Noah frowned. “Turned out she was with Darian.”

“But she was eventually okay with it, right?” I squirted ketchup over my fries.

“Eventually. But she was hurt and pissed and felt betrayed.” Noah shoved a chip into his mouth. “She came around though.”

We ate in silence for several moments, and I mulled over what he’d said. I hated the thought of making Kennedy feel that way, and I absolutely could not fathom her taking off and not knowing where she was. Talk about a parent’s worst nightmare.

“You want my advice?” Noah wiped his mouth.

“That’s why I’m here footing the bill for lunch.” I laughed.

“Talk to Kennedy before anything else happens with Hannah. I wish I’d done that. It would have saved everyone so much grief.”

“I’m not sure anything else is going to happen with Hannah.” I took a drink of pop and chewed on another fry.

“Well, you do need to get laid, and she sounds willing…” He shrugged one shoulder.

I scowled. “I am not going to use her for sex.” That fact he even suggested that pissed me right off. “Not after everything she’s been through recently.” I took a deep breath and then told Noah everything about Brendan and his uncle and how Hannah had been kicked out of college.

“Damn.” Noah pushed his plate away. “Then it sounds like you only have two options. One, you find an endless supply of self-control and don’t cave to her advances. Or two, you get her the hell out of your house. Remove all the temptation.”

“She doesn’t have anywhere else to go.” And I wasn’t going to be another person to turn my back on her. “Thank God Kennedy is coming home tomorrow. It won’t be so bad when she’s back in the house.”

Noah laughed. “Yeah, I used to think the same thing, but it didn’t stop me and Corrinne. We found a way to be together.”

“I fully expected you to tell me what a horrible idea this was.” I finished the last bite of my burger and pushed my plate away.

“I tried that with Darian and Heather. They were quick to tell me how much of a hypocrite I was, and well, they were right.” He laughed. “I’m in no position to tell you being with Hannah is a bad idea.”

Well, that didn’t go as I’d hoped. But Noah was right about one thing—I needed to talk to Kennedy first. I owed it to her to be honest.

###

“Kennedy just called. She’ll be here around ten tomorrow morning,” Hannah said.

I glanced up from the TV and nodded. Relief coursed through me. Despite what Noah said, I knew when Kennedy was home, things with Hannah would settle down.

“Whatcha watching?” Hannah flopped down on the couch.

“Sports recaps.”

She was silent for a beat. “Sorry I drank your whiskey.”

“Yeah, don’t do that again, okay?” I glanced at her and smiled.

“Don’t worry. I won’t.” She scooted into the corner and tucked her knees to her chest.

My gaze was immediately drawn to her legs, and then lower, to her ass, which was barely contained by the shorts she wore. And with her sitting like she was, the view was magnificent. My heart started to beat a little faster, and I could feel a hard-on building.

“Are we ever going to talk about what happened last night?” She blinked at me innocently.

I swallowed hard. “There’s not really anything to talk about.”

She snorted with disbelief. “Really, Ryan? Nothing to talk about?” She shook her head.

There was a lot to talk about, but I was too much of a coward to do so. It was easier to just ignore it for the time being. At least until I figured out what the hell I was doing.

“Whatever.” She huffed and stood.

When she stormed upstairs, I didn’t follow. Hell, my gaze didn’t so much as flinch away from the TV. I knew if I did—if I so much as looked at her right now, I’d cave. I’d pull her down on my lap and wouldn’t let her up until we were both sated and sweaty. And just like that, thinking about her riding me, my cock was rock hard again. I clicked off the TV and tossed the remote on the coffee table. I needed a cold damn shower. But first, I needed answers. I stopped outside Hannah’s bedroom door, inhaled deeply, then knocked.

“Yeah?” she called.

Opening the door, I peeked into her room. She was lying on her stomach on her bed. She’d ditched the shorts and now wore a pair of lacy, see-through panties and a tank top. I gripped the doorknob so tight my knuckles ached.

“There was never a rule about being half naked in my own room, so get that look off your face. You came in here, remember?” She gave a sweet smile then glanced down at her cell phone. Her smile widened as she tapped on the screen.

She had me there—I couldn’t complain about what she wore in the privacy of her own room, but I sure could appreciate the hell out of it. Her ass, barely covered by those panties, was round and firm and begging for my touch. I flexed my fingers, the feel of those cheeks forever branded on my palms.

“Did you need something?” She set her phone on the bed and gave me her full attention.

This was probably the worst idea I’d ever had, but it was too late now. “Why?” I leaned against the doorframe and crossed my arms.

“What?”

“Why? Why me? Why now?” I shrugged. “Is this some sort of rebound thing for you or something?”

She narrowed her eyes. “No, Ryan.” She sneered my name. “This isn’t some rebound thing for me.”

“Then what is it, Hannah? Because you’ve never acted this way toward me before. You’ve never shown the slightest bit of attraction or interest. So, why now? And why me?”

Laughing, she shook her head. “You are so clueless.” She rolled off the bed and stood, the movement gracefully erotic.

My gaze roamed over her. She wasn’t wearing a bra, but the tank top was black this time, so it wasn’t so easy to see her nipples. That was disappointing. But the top was short and didn’t reach the waistband of her panties, which meant I had a glorious view of her stomach. I shifted to accommodate the growing ache in my balls.

“Right after my mom kicked me out and I came to live here, I was a mess. I didn’t care about anything. You know that.”

I gave a curt nod. Her first year here had been difficult to say the least.

“But once I adjusted to being here, I started paying attention to things. To you.” She sauntered toward me. “I saw the way you always put Kennedy first. How you’d never bring women home. Hell, I don’t think you went on a single date the entire time I lived here.” She laughed.

She was right about that. I hadn’t dated or had sex in years. I didn’t know she’d realized that, though.

“There had been so many times I wanted to say something to you, or make a move, but I was terrified if I did, you’d ask me to leave.” She stopped directly in front of me, and now I could see that her nipples were hard. Fuck me. “So I didn’t, but I promised myself that when I was a little older, I would. Because I had to know.”

“Know what?” The words came out strangled.

“Before I came home this week, have you ever thought about me like that?” She pinched my shirt between her fingers and tugged on it. I didn’t move. Hannah glanced up at me, her eyes dark and pleading. “Did you ever wonder what it would be like to fuck me?”

“Yes,” I bit out. “I’ve wondered, Hannah. I’ve wondered a lot.”

The most gorgeous smile graced her luscious lips. And it was in that moment I knew—I was completely, totally, and hopelessly screwed.

I wanted Hannah Chase, and I was quickly running out of reasons not to have her.