Free Beautiful Innocence by Kelly Mooney Page B

her bra and the soft curves that lead down to her waistline. Without thinking I step out of my jeans, and unbutton my shirt and drop it to the ground along side my boots.
    I slip in while she’s floating a few feet away. My instincts are telling me tonight is the night to make my move and that she wants me to. Otherwise, why the fuck would she ask me out here? She senses me coming toward her, so she stands. Her sweet little laugh bubbles out of her when I reach her. “Give me that thing?” She grabs my ball cap and places it on backwards on herself before I can stop her. No one has ever worn that but my daddy, and me, but it looks too damn good on her for me to take it back.
    “You look good wearing my hat, baby.”
    “Why did you call me that?”
    I chuckle at her brazen question and shake my head. “I don’t know. It just felt right.”
    She gazes into my eyes for a beat too long and I know she’s waiting on me to make the first move. I tug on her hand. “Come here.”
    She comes willingly as I gently pull her to me, but she drops her head like she’s embarrassed. “Ava, if you don’t want me to kiss you, tell me now before I do.”
    “I want you to, but you…you scare me.”
    I tilt her head up so I can look in her eyes again. “Why do I scare you?”
    “I don’t have a ton of experience and well, apparently you do.”
    I grin at her accusation, but I can’t deny any of it. “It’s just one kiss and then I’ll take you back home.”
    She barely nods in agreement but I catch it. With my hand still holding her chin, I move until my lips softly brush against hers. She makes this gasping sound that halts me, not to mention that I can literally hear the fast beat of her heart. Talk about rendering someone speechless. I want to take it further, but something holds me back from diving into her mouth and sucking all the air out of her like I want to. I don’t want to push her or move too fast. I need to take this one slow. So instead of grabbing her and doing what I’ve been dying to, I give her a sweet kiss goodnight, hoping it’ll lead to the little bit more that I’m looking for another time.

Chapter 9
    AVA
    Dane and Ashton (who I adore by the way) have only been gone one hour and I’m up to my eyeballs in cupcake batter and have read three different Disney stories already. Each one makes me wonder if I’ll ever have my own fairytale ending. I envy what Ashton has with Dane, a beautiful family, a beautiful farm with horses and a house that screams come sit, kick your feet up and stay a while. Everything I’ve always wanted.
    Precious little AJ is cruising around the kitchen is some sort of saucer contraption I found and the girls are coloring in their coloring books at the kitchen table when I hear the sound of his truck. It’s quite hard to miss the way he has it all souped up. My stomach jumps at the thought that he’s here. Why would he show up now?
    He walked me back home after barely kissing me two nights ago and, to be honest, I was surprised how he didn’t push me for more. Not even a lame attempt at the door, just a sweet kiss on the cheek good-bye. When he left I had to take matters into my own hands to relieve all my pent up sexual tension, and I still couldn’t find satisfaction. Watching him walk away was sheer agony because that kiss, that mouth of his, lit me on fire. He said it was just a kiss goodnight, but it felt like so much more. Thank god we were in that pond, because if we’d been in a room with a bed I think I would have jumped him.
    Shoot! I rip the apron off and toss it over the island and smooth out my hair just in time before he barrels in with a pizza in his hands.
    “Who’s hungry for pepperoni?”
    Both girls turn and run smack into his thighs and wrap their little bodies around him screaming, “Me, me, me.”
    He gives me a curt nod but says nothing. He places the pizza on the table and scoops the girls both up easily, one in each arm and blows raspberries on