Free Hit 'N' Run (Under Suspicion #1) by Lori Power Page B

harness to his member were the very titillating rips up the sides of the shorts to mid-thigh revealing sumptuous legs, a lovely golden color. He couldn’t help but imagine them wrapped around him as they once had. Taking a breath and forcing his eyes upward, he admired instead the toned shoulders covered in a loose tank top.
    My God, is that really Lorna? Mitch was slack-jawed. No way . He could never have imagined someone as straight laced as Lorna cutting back in such a relaxed fashion. Wearing a red bandana topped with a once black, well-battered ball cap, singing at the top of her voice some song vaguely familiar from his sister’s house when the kids were watching television. Sweat-curled tendrils of hair clung to her cheeks, giving her the appearance of a young girl. His hand ached to tuck the tendrils back behind her ear.
    Before he could reach over to unlatch the gate, a small body clad only in a speedo ran into view shouting, “you can’t get me, nanna-nanna-boo-boo,” while he shook his small hiney in her direction.
    “I can too.” She dropped her brush and ran after him. The young boy’s knees buckled in the face of his pursuer as high squeals peeled forth when she grabbed the boy, tipping him upside down to run her fingertips over his stomach. “I’m gonna get that belly button!” Cradling his head in one hand, she held his legs firm as she zooberted his stomach, unleashing fresh squeals. Her hat fell to the ground behind her. Head thrown back, laughing, she moved towards the small pool Mitch could just see at the edge of his vision when she seemed to sense his presence at the gate.
    Her step faltered. “Whoa. What? Mitchell?” All laughter left her face and she paled. She still held the child upside down.
    “What? Mama?”
    Mama? What? Is that it? She’s married. No, he had checked. She’s not married. Common-law? She doesn’t have to be married to have a kid. He lifted a hand in greeting. “Hey.” Why does she always call me Mitchell? I feel like my mom should be scolding me when I hear Mitchell.
    She righted the small boy, setting him on his feet. “Someone’s at the gate, Kris. You run and play a bit.”
    “Is it a stranger?” His eyes were big and curious. The sturdy legs held their ground by her side. He didn’t have the look of his mother. His coloring was dark to her fair. His eyes wide where hers were round. Granted, he could look like his father .
    She placed a calm hand on her son’s shoulder. “No honeybun. Not a stranger.” She bent to give him a kiss on his forehead. “But good thinking.” She patted him easily on the backside. “Just an old friend of Mama’s. You run along and play in your pool.”
    Mitch lifted the latch. “Sorry to bother you,” he began, stepping just inside the perimeter of the gate, sure to maintain his distance. “I really just wanted to apologize for the other day. I should never have spooked you. I should know better. It’s just…running into you after…”
    He wavered, rambling, unable to take his eyes off her lips—so full and ripe, waiting to be kissed. Why did she do that to him? Why’d he always want more when it came to Lorna? His nostrils flared and he could practically smell the sunshine off her skin. Sweat trickled down his back as he jammed his hands in his pockets, striving to control his predatory impulse of walking up to her and taking her in his arms. None of the women he’d known over the years—far too many—ever had him panting for more like Lorna.
    Averting his eyes to the well-groomed grass, he ground his teeth, imagining her with another man. A man she shared a life and a son with. His fists curled in his pockets. If the man were here now, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to maintain civility.
    “After all these years,” she supplied, causing him to flick his gaze back to her curious brown ones. “The other day was a shock. Yes.”
    He turned and closed the gate. “I have to know,” he said, pausing, gulping a