The Naughty List Bundle - Kylie Adams [65]
Sawyer came up behind her and kissed her nape. He felt desperate to hold her, to stave off time, and he looped his arms around her. “Mmm. You smell good.”
He could feel her smile, hear it in her response. “You always say that.”
“Because you always smell so damn good.” He nipped her ear. “It makes me crazy.”
She leaned against him, and her tone turned solemn. “You’ve done an excellent job with Casey. I don’t think I’ve ever known a more giving, understanding or mature kid. He’s serious, but still fun-loving, sort of a mix of all of you. He’s incredible.” She leaned her head back to smile up at Sawyer. “But then, he inherited some pretty incredible genes, being your son.”
Sawyer’s arms tightened for the briefest moment, making her gasp, then he released her. He shoved his hands into his back pockets and paced away. Maybe, considering he had insisted she call her fiancé tonight, he should at least explain a few things.
Honey touched his arm. “What is it?”
“Casey’s not really mine.” He no sooner said it than he shook his head. “That is, he’s mine in every way that counts. But I didn’t father him. I don’t know who his father is—and neither did his mother.”
10
“WHAT DID YOU SAY?”
Sawyer laughed at himself. He made no sense, so her confusion was expected. “My wife cheated. Alot. She didn’t like my long hours studying, or my distraction with school in general. By the time Casey was born, I’d already filed for a divorce. It wasn’t easy for her. She had no family, and she wasn’t happy about the divorce. In fact, she was crushed by it. She pleaded with me not to leave her, but she…well, once I knew she’d been with other men, I couldn’t forgive her. I understood it, but I couldn’t forgive.”
Honey wrapped her arms around him from behind, leaning her head on his back. She didn’t say anything, just held onto him.
“I’d been sort of taking care of her for a long time, since high school even. Her parents died when she was seventeen, and an aunt took her in, but then she died, too, when Ashley was nineteen. She never had a job, and the idea of getting one horrified her. I just…I dunno. It seemed logical to marry her, to take care of her. We’d been dating forever, and I felt sorry for her, and there was no one else I wanted.”
Honey kissed his back, showing her understanding. “Why did she cheat?”
Sawyer shrugged. “Hell, I don’t know. She seemed plenty satisfied with…” He stalled, casting her a quick look.
“She seemed satisfied with you sexually? Of course she did. You’re an incredible man, Sawyer.” Her small hands were flat on his abdomen, making him catch his breath as she idly stroked him, meaning to offer comfort, but arousing him instead. All she had to do was breathe to turn him on; her touch made him nearly incoherent with lust.
“You’re also an incredible lover,” she added huskily, making his muscles twitch. “No woman would have complaints.”
He looked away again. When she said things like that, it made him want to toss her on the couch and strip her clothes off. He reacted like an uncivilized barbarian, ready to conquer. Feeling a tad uncomfortable with that analogy, he rushed through the rest of his explanation. “She told me she felt neglected, so she cheated. And then she couldn’t understand why I wouldn’t forgive her, because in her mind, it was my fault. I filed for divorce, but then I found out she was several months pregnant. She was angry and taunted me with the fact it wasn’t mine. But by then, I hardly cared. It was an embarrassment, but little else.”
“Did everyone know?”
“Not at first. She got over being mad and just started pleading with me to take her back. She fought the damn divorce tooth and nail. I tried to be considerate with her, but I was also in the middle of med school and I had my hands full. When she went into labor,