Offstage, having people fawn over her made her self-conscious. She’d dealt with it earlier tonight at the pizza place, when Sophie and Jason announced to everyone in the restaurant that it was their mom’s birthday, but for her kids, she’d suffer through the embarrassment of wearing a paper crown and having a bunch of strangers sing to her.
At the thought of the twins, her heart absolutely melted. She couldn’t believe what a thoughtful present they’d given her today. When she’d flipped through all those incredible professional photos in the calendar they’d created for her, she’d literally burst into tears. She definitely had the best kids on the planet. Like, superior to all other kids, and she didn’t care if thinking that was politically incorrect.
“Excuse me,” she said as she made her way to the back of the club. Several people refused to move, forcing her to elbow a path through the Saturday-night mob.
When she reached the door of the break room, she hesitated, fearful of what she’d find on the other side of it.
Saying a quick prayer, she turned the knob and stepped into the room.
Her jaw dropped. “Seth?”
Okay, well, she hadn’t been expecting this. The room was empty, save for the sexy SEAL sitting on the couch, his long legs stretched out, his gray eyes burning hot when she entered the room. As usual, he wore all black, his black tee a stark contrast to the pink cupcake in his hands.
Her lips twitched. “Is that for me?”
“Sure is.” He stood up, pulling out a Bic lighter as he walked toward her. He lit the pink-and-white-striped candle poking out of the pink icing and held out the cupcake. “Happy birthday, Miranda. Make a wish.”
Equal doses of joy and apprehension soared through her.
No, she couldn’t get all soft and gooey about this man again. She’d already tried that. She’d kept an open mind about potentially letting this arrangement become something more, but by freaking out at the restaurant last week, Seth had shown her what a bad idea that was.
He’d been mistaken for her children’s father—and he’d been horrified. Horrified. As if the mere idea was on the same level as being butchered by a serial killer who wanted to construct a skin suit out of your carcass.
She leaned close to the iridescent flame, determined to wish for a successful summer recital, or for the school to start making a profit, or maybe for world peace. But she couldn’t control the unrealistic wish that popped into her head at the last second.
I wish this could be something more.
Aw crap. Total waste of a birthday wish, that’s for sure.
She blew out the candle, then pulled it out of the cupcake and licked the icing off the bottom. Seth focused on her mouth, the heat in his gaze unmistakable.
“Thanks for the cupcake,” she said as they headed to the couch and sat down. She devoured the yummy treat, polishing it off in no more than three bites. “God, this is delicious. Which bakery did you get it from?”
He looked incredibly insulted. “Bakery? I baked this motherfucker myself, Miranda.”
An amazed laugh flew out. “No way.”
“Yes way.”
Okay. Wow. She knew Seth could cook, but now she suddenly had an image of him in a frilly pink apron mixing cake batter in a bowl, razor-sharp stubble coating his sexy jaw and a lit cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth. The fact that her pussy actually clenched confirmed that, no matter what this man did, he would always be the ultimate specimen of masculine hotness. To her, anyway.
“Then I’m officially demanding you bake me an entire batch of these,” she announced.
“Already did. They’re in my fridge. I’ll drop them off tomorrow at your place, if you want.” He slid closer and swept his thumb over her cheek, his gaze smoldering. “Want the rest of your present?”
“Are you about to say that it’s in your pants?”
Seth gave a rogue grin. “Yup.”
“Wait—my manager let you back here?” When he nodded, Miranda shook her head. “Wow, you must have really cranked up the charm. Wendy lectures us at least once every shift about how this room is off-limits to non-employees. Who did you say you were?”
He shrugged. “Your boyfriend.”
“And she accepted it, just like that?”
“She did look a tad upset that you’d never mentioned me to her before. She was under the impression that you two were friends. But I assured her that the relationship is still very new, and that you’re kinda embarrassed to talk about it, you know, since I’m so much better-looking than you and you’re afraid people won’t believe we’re a couple.”
Miranda gasped. “You ass.”
His husky laughter sent a shiver up her spine. “I’m kidding. I didn’t say any of that, except for the boyfriend part, that is. Anyway, she said you’ve got the room all to yourself for the next thirty minutes. I suggest we quit wasting time, don’t you agree?”
Even if she’d wanted to disagree, her body wouldn’t have let her. Her panties were already damp with arousal and her pulse had been off-kilter from the moment she’d laid eyes on Seth.
“What are your thoughts about birthday oral?” he asked in a conversational tone.
She pretended to think it over. “Better than any old regular-day oral, but not as good as holiday oral, I think.”
“Interesting.” His big body left the couch and he crouched on the floor in front of her, those calloused hands resting on her bare knees. Goose bumps promptly rose on her flesh. “What’s the next holiday we’ve got coming up?”
She scanned her brain. “Fourth of July?”
He shoved her black miniskirt all the way up to her waist and parted her thighs. She knew he’d noticed the damp spot on her bikini panties because he groaned softly, his gaze fixed on her crotch.
“Fourth of July,” he echoed, his voice hoarse. “Okay, so I’ll go down on you on the Fourth of July, and then we can compare which is better, birthday or holiday oral.”
“Sounds good.”
Her laugh died midbreath as Seth shoved his hands under her butt and brought her body forward so her sex was practically hanging off the couch cushion. Anticipation coiled in her belly. When he slowly peeled her underwear down her legs, her breath hitched, pussy tingling as she awaited his next move.
And boy was it worth the wait. The kiss he planted on her clit was so gentle, so warm and sweet, that it sent a full-body shiver rolling through her. Miranda’s head lolled to the side. Seth continued to kiss her most intimate place, using only his lips, depriving her of a tongue she knew to be oh so talented.
“You’re teasing,” she whispered. “And we don’t have a lot of time.”
“We’ve got twenty more minutes at least.” His hot breath tickled her sex.
“Yeah, but…” A moan slipped out when he rubbed his lips over her clit in another delicate kiss.
It wasn’t long before she realized he intended to use their allotted half hour to focus entirely on her pleasure. He worshipped her pussy like it was the single greatest treasure on earth. He kissed, licked, swirled, spreading her lips so he could tend to her clit and drive her closer and closer to the edge.
His stubble teased her inner thighs, deliciously scraping her sensitive skin, each raspy scratch heightening her rising excitement. She was so wet she could feel herself dripping, but Seth lapped her up with his tongue, groaning with approval.
The tension grew. Miranda looked down, mesmerized by the sight of his dark head between her legs. She threaded her fingers through his hair, bumping her groin into his face, losing herself in the pleasure he offered so sweetly.
“I want you to come.” His voice was low, strangled, vibrating in her core. “Come on my tongue, baby. Let me taste you.”
“Oh God.” Dirty talk was always guaranteed to send her teetering over the edge, and Seth was so damn good at it.
“Come on, baby,” he urged, then flicked his tongue over her clit. Quickly, precisely, knowing exactly what it would take to make her explode.
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But the orgasm remained elusive, rippling beneath the surface, skipping across her skin in teasing little flames, refusing to catch fire. She was gasping for air, clutching Seth’s hair so tightly she was surprised he didn’t protest.
So close. She was so close. All she needed was—that. Seth pushing two fingers inside her and wrapping his lips solidly around her clit. He sucked, and she climaxed, soaring into a spectacular plane where nothing but sheer ecstasy existed.
“Well?”
She emerged from her blissful daze to find Seth eyeing her expectantly. “Well what?” she wheezed, still catching her breath.
“You think the Fourth of July has any chance of topping that?”
“Not at all,” she confessed.
He gave her one last lick, and her sex was so sensitized she squirmed out of reach. Chuckling, Seth put her panties back on, tugged her skirt down and wiped his face with the back of his hand.
Miranda moaned when she noticed that his facial hair glistened with her juices. God, that was hot.
“You okay?” he asked gruffly.
“Not really. I can’t move my legs and I totally don’t want to go back to work.”
“I don’t blame you. Hey, if you want, I can stick around until closing time.” Something that resembled vulnerability crossed his face. “There was something I wanted to talk to you about, actually.”
“I won’t have time to talk tonight. I have to wake up early tomorrow. Morning classes, remember?”
“Ah. Right.”
“Talk to me now. We’ve still got some time.”
That odd expression fluttered in his eyes again. “Um. Okay, sure.”
Miranda flopped on the couch and waited. And waited. And waited some more. But Seth was just standing there, fidgeting, running a hand over his stubble, through his hair, behind his neck.
She started to get up. “Well, this has been thought-provoking, but—”
“I want to date you.”
Miranda’s ass plopped right back down. “What?”
“I want to date you.” His chest rose as he inhaled a deep breath.
“Seth…”
She had no clue what to say to that. No clue what to make of the little burst of joy that tickled her heart. Why was she happy, for Pete’s sake? Last time she’d considered letting the fling evolve into more, Seth had burst that bubble with four little words—they’re not my kids.
“No, just hear me out.” Misery clung to his voice, and it took her a second to fathom that the weird flicker in his eyes? It really was vulnerability. Wow. Who would have thought?
Seth sat beside her, resting his elbows on his knees and looking completely ill at ease. “I’m sorry for the way I reacted at the pizza place. Your children are great, Miranda. They’re smart, thoughtful, cute as hell. I’m just not fully comfortable with them.”
He was echoing the same words Ginny and Andre had said in the studio, and Miranda didn’t hear a trace of insincerity.
“I also have this thing…about disappointing people, I guess.” His voice was so thick and gravelly he sounded like he’d just smoked thirty cigarettes in a row. “I don’t like letting people down. I’ve disappointed a lot of people, especially my mom, and a part of me shuts down whenever I get too close to someone because I know that in the end, I’ll end up disappointing them.”
Her heart squeezed painfully. The ravaged look in his gray eyes stole her breath, made her reach for his hand and grip it tightly.
“Hey, I’m sure that’s not true,” she murmured. “And whatever you think you did, you could never let Missy down. That woman adores you.”
His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed hard. “I guess.” He didn’t sound too convinced of that. “So yeah, those are just my bullshit insecurities. But see, with you, I don’t shut down. With you, I always feel like I’m stripped bare. I hate it, but at the same time, I’m okay with it. I want you to know me. I want you to be with me.”
Her breath caught. “Seth…” She trailed off. Didn’t know how to finish, how to formulate a response.
“I don’t like seeing you walk out the door right after we sleep together. I miss everything we were doing last month. Eating breakfast, washing dishes, cuddling in bed. I miss it and I want it back. So I’m making you a promise, right here and now—give me a chance, and I swear I’ll make an effort. I’ll be nicer to the rugr—to Jason and Sophie. I’ll be patient, I’ll be attentive and I’ll be accepting of the fact that if I’m going to be a part of your life, then I need to be a part of theirs.”
He finished with the most endearing little shrug she’d ever seen.
Miranda was at a total loss for words. If someone had told her Seth would be reciting a speech like that, vowing to accept her children, she would’ve laughed them right out of San Diego. But here he was, nothing but honesty shining in those sexy gray eyes. He meant it. He actually meant every word he said.
But meaning something, and following through on it, were two very different things.
“So what do you say?” he asked roughly.
“I…don’t know what to say.”
“Let me prove that I’m serious, Miranda.” Determination streaked across his face. “I can come over tomorrow when you’re done at the studio. We’ll have dinner with the kids, hang out at your place, maybe play a board game or something?”
“That sounds…” Nice, she almost said, until she remembered that it wasn’t possible. “Wait, I can’t tomorrow. Kim’s coming over to babysit while I have dinner with the father of Elsa’s student.”
“Since when do you have dinner with a student’s parents?”
“I don’t usually, but he insisted.”
Seth narrowed his eyes. “This dude…he’s the one who suggested dinner?”
“Yeah.” She shot him a questioning look. “Is there something wrong with that?”
“Nope.” His lips tightened. “But you are aware that this is a date, right?”
Surprise jolted through her. “No, it’s not. We’re simply meeting to discuss his daughter’s progress.”
Seth looked unconvinced. “Didn’t you say she’s Elsa’s student?”
“Yes, but—”
“Then shouldn’t he be meeting with Elsa?”
“Yes, but—”
Seth smirked. “But what? Let me guess, he refuses to discuss this with anyone but you. You, the smoking-hot, highly desirable former showgirl who runs the school.”
She couldn’t help but gape at him. “Are you suggesting he wants in my pants?”
“It isn’t a suggestion, babe. It’s a stone-cold fact.”
“Oh come on, Seth. That’s just silly. I’m not going on a date with this man.”
“Does he know that?”
There was no mistaking the hard note in his voice, or the cloud of jealousy that turned his eyes from gray to turbulent silver. Was that it? Was he jealous? The notion was pretty damn gratifying—it was so rare to see Seth get rattled about anything. But it was also annoying as hell, because tomorrow’s dinner with Eric Porter was not a date.
“Yes, he knows it,” she replied firmly. “We’re seeing each other in a professional capacity.”
Seth’s jaw was tense and inflexible. “It’s a date, Miranda.”
“Jeez! Stop saying that.” Yet even in her annoyance, she found herself laughing.
“Fine, I’ll stop—if you say yes to that other thing we were talking about.”
Her laughter faded. “Say yes to dating you, you mean.”
“Yup.”
“Seth…I don’t know.” When she glimpsed the disappointment in his eyes, she released a sigh. “This isn’t the kind of decision I can make without giving it some serious thought. I have to consider how dating you will affect my children, how it will affect the life I’m trying to build for them. I know you say you’ll make an effort, but what if you do and you discover that you actually just hate children? I don’t want Sophie and Jason getting attached to you, only for you to disappear
from their lives.”
“I understand. I really do.” He hesitated. “What if we start with something small? A way for me to dip my toes in the water, for lack of a better way to phrase it.”
“Meaning what?”
“Instead of Kim babysitting tomorrow, why don’t I do it?”
Miranda’s brows lifted in surprise. “Are you serious?”
“Yes. How long do you think the date will last? An hour, two?”
“Probably, and it’s not a date.”
“So let me watch the kids. And I promise, I won’t hold back this time. I won’t keep my distance or try to pretend they’re not there.”
“And if you do all that and decide you really don’t want to be around them?”
“I don’t think that will happen.”
“But if it does?”
“If it does, then we end this.” Unhappiness underlined each word. “I can’t do a fling anymore, Miranda. For some inexplicable reason, I actually want more than sex from you. Trust me, that’s never fucking happened before.”
She offered a faint smile. “I imagine.”
“But you can’t have a relationship with a man who doesn’t love your kids as much as he loves you.” A resigned light entered his eyes. “I know myself. If by the time you get home I’m not convinced I can be what you want me to be for those kids, then we say good-bye. And you don’t have to worry about the twins getting hurt. I’ll just be babysitting them for a couple of hours, and they’re not overly attached to me at the moment, anyway. Besides, if we do end this, Sophie will probably organize a parade. She hates me.”
Miranda’s lips twitched. “She doesn’t hate you.”
“Liar. You know she does.” He searched her face. “Well?”
Indecision skipped through her, but the genuine hope softening Seth’s rugged features made the decision for her. “All right. You can watch the twins tomorrow.”
“Are you sure?”