Free After Sundown by Anna J. McIntyre Page A

wanted more. When she felt Cole slip his hand seductively under the hem of her top , she did not pull away. She wasn’t wearing a bra, which gave Cole easy access to her full breasts.
    When his hand moved over one breast, seductively kneading the soft mound, Kit arched her back and fairly moaned. It was after Cole brushed his thumb repeatedly over one nipple, causing it to harden into a tight little nub, that the sens ual fog began clearing. Breathing heavily, Kit gently pulled away, separating their lips.
    Cole refused to relinquish the soft mound. Kit reached up and placed one hand over his, the fabric of her top separated their hands. Gently and persistently she attempted to push his hand away, as she regained her normal breathing.
    He wouldn’t budge. Instead, he took his free hand and used it to pull hers down to his crotch, forcing her palm against the evidence of his arousal.
    “God, you make me hard,” Cole whispered into her mouth, which was just a few inches away from his . Once again, his thumb moved over the tip of one nipple. “I make you hard too. ”
    Since her husband’s death, Kit had not touched a man so intimately. Instead of jerking her hand away, she gently squeezed, feeling the masculine hardness behind the denim. Cole groaned and asked, “ When, Kit, when are you going to put us out of this agony?”
    Kit never answered his question, because in the next moment, the girls tur ned off the television set and by the time they entered the room, Kit and Cole were no longer touching.
    Later that evening, while Cole was tucking his daughter into bed, Megan asked an unexpected question.
    "Daddy, are you going to marry Kit?" Her large brown eyes were wide in innocence .
    "What?" Taylor sat on the edge of the twin bed and gently brushed Megan's bangs from her forehead.
    "Kit's just your sitter, pumpkin. She's not my girlfriend , " he said softly.
    " Bu t, Daddy, I want Kit to be my mommy, I've never had a mommy."
    "Pumpkin, you had a mommy."
    "It's not the same. Sarah has a mommy."
    "I know. But Sarah doesn't have a daddy , " Cole reasoned.
    "But you could be her daddy. She likes you." Megan studied her father's face for a moment. "Don't you like Kit and Sarah?"
    "Sure I d o, but that doesn't mean I should marry Kit."
    "Kit's making me a Halloween costume , " Megan announced.
    "She is?" Cole had forgotten that Halloween was just around the corner.
    "I've never had a homemade costume before. Sarah and I are g o nna be pirates. Kit already made me a purple pirate shirt."
    "She did?" Cole began feeling a little guilty over his lack of involvement in the upcoming holiday. He suddenly realized that Kit probably couldn't afford the extra material to make his daughter's costume. Why was she doing it?
    "Sarah's shirt is yellow. We wanna go trick or treating together. Can we?"
    Cole leaned back on the bed next to his daughter and stared up at the ceiling. He never imagined that a baby sitter would become such an intricate part of his life.
    "I don't kno w, honey. I need to talk to Kit , " h e answered.
    "Kit is taking us to buy pumpkins. She said I get one too. She's g o nna help us make jack-o- l anterns . Sarah says her mom has special knives so we won ’ t cut ourselves. I've never made a jack-o- l antern before."
    "No, I guess you haven't , " Cole said softly.
    "Kit takes the pumpkin seeds and cooks them. Sarah says they taste better than popcorn. I never knew you could eat seeds."
    "You eat sunflower seeds , " Cole reminded, then gently chuc ked Megan under her chin.
    "Oh yea h, Daddy, Kit is fun. I wish she were my mommy. She never yells at me like Mrs. Murphy use d to." Cole frowned at the reminder of Mrs. Murphy, Megan's last nanny.
    "And she's lots nicer to me than any of the ladies you ever date."
    "Boy, you aren't gonna let up on me, are you?" Cole chuckled then got from the bed.
    "Daddy, I love Kit. Can't you love her too?"
    Cole looked down at his young daughter. The innocence and sincerity of her plea