Free Break On Through by Christie Ridgway

chowder.” Vegetable chowder. But the boys didn’t seem to get that the colorful bits in their bowls were the very same things so many of their peers complained about.
    “Chowder’s good,” Eli said, looking up. “You should eat with us.”
    “You heard the young man,” Reed said, lifting his gaze to hers. “I should eat with you.”
    Cleo told herself to settle down. Vegetable chowder took a lot of chopping and she couldn’t afford to be all quivery with a sharp knife in hand. But it clattered to the countertop when he was suddenly standing behind her. “Can I do something to help?”
    It was good manners! A simple question! But neither reminder quelled the jittery reaction of her nerves to his close presence. The bare skin at her nape prickled and her nipples went hard again, pressing against the cups of her bra. “No, no,” she said, not daring to look at him. “Sit down. It won’t be terribly long.”
    And if he didn’t move she’d get a fingertip or a fingernail into the food. Her breathing didn’t move easy until he was back in his chair. Time flew after that as she continued making the meal. Obie reappeared and peppered him with questions about home repair. Once her younger son considered someone an expert, he wanted to sponge of all the knowledge that person had to offer.
    He’d learned a lot about lawn care from the landscapers.
    With the buffer of her boys, the meal proceeded without another hitch. She focused on making sure they kept their napkins in their lap and their rolls off the floor. Reed chatted with the boys but she continued to be so unsettled by his presence that she hardly registered a thing about their conversation.
    He helped her with the dishes. A couple of bowls nearly slipped through her fingers but he caught them deftly and didn’t remark on her clumsiness. Then it was time for her to get the boys into bed. It was a school night.
    “I’ll be just a few minutes,” she said, ushering them toward their bedroom. “Um…I can make some coffee then.”
    “Sure,” he said. “Good night, Eli. Obie.”
    Once inside the boys’ room, she wanted to kick herself. Why hadn’t she used bedtime as the excuse to get Reed out of her house? Now she was going to have to make nice instead of nervous once she got the boys to sleep.
    They didn’t cooperate by developing an aversion to their pillows. As usual, Eli and Obie went straight to Slumberland after only a couple of pages of the story she was reading them. She hung around in their room for a few more minutes, fiddling with their covers, straightening their shoes in the closet, adjusting a stuffed animal until she couldn’t stand her cowardly self for another second.
    When she returned to the kitchen, it was to find it empty.
    Her stomach quaked with either relief or disappointment. Had he gone home after all?
    But then something took her feet into the living area.
    Her loveseat couldn’t contain him. Illuminated by a floor lamp, he was sprawled in one corner, one leg over the far arm, the other planted on the floor. His hands were folded, fingers entwined, and were propped on the flat surface of his belly. Breathing deeply, he was asleep, the dark fan of his lashes creating spikey shadows on his well-defined cheekbones.
    Cleo took her own deep breath, enjoying this quiet moment to take in every inch of his long frame and handsome face.
    God, he was great-looking.
    Beyond that, he was the embodiment of sex. The slumbering power of his rangy body drew her closer. She tiptoed nearer, resisting the urge to run her fingers through his disordered hair. Instead, her gaze ran over the bare skin she could see, his tanned neck and the muscled strength of his arms.
    What was hidden from her was even more tantalizing. Was there body art beneath his shirt? Maybe…piercings?
    She flushed hot at the thought, a dozen carnal images blooming to life in her brain.
    “I can hear you thinking from here,” he suddenly said, eyes still closed.
    She