Seducing Their Wayfaring Souls [3xtasy Lake 7] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) by Corinne Davies

car’s doing then I can head out.”
    Cris wasn’t planning on telling her anything about her car. He knew he wasn’t doing the right thing by holding back information, but he had to believe the accident happened outside of his town for a reason.
    “Lars said he would call me as soon as he knew anything.” Cris watched her as she picked at the rough edge of her nail.
    “He made sure Zack and I were okay.”
    Cris felt an unexpected wave of bitterness hammer his thoughts. He should’ve been there for her, for his son, and instead his friend was the one to take care of her. But that’s what friends do… “Lars is a great person to have in your corner.”
    She flicked her gaze up at him again and Cris wondered if his friend had a greater impact on her than he first assumed. What he wanted to do was bundle her and her…their son up and take them home, but he knew he was going to have to earn that right. Tara had a past and he wanted to learn everything about her, including her reaction to his friend.
    “Tara, would you consider getting to know me before you leave?”
    “Because of Zack.” She nodded. “It’s only fair, I guess.”
    Cris reached out and placed a hand on her arm. She jumped at the contact, but he couldn’t back away. His inner animal had the contact it wanted and wasn’t finished feeling her skin. “Not only because of Zack. I want to get to know you, Tara. We have a hell of a connection for two people who don’t know anything about each other.” If you only understood the connection .
    “I don’t want to tell him about you being his father. Not right away. It’ll confuse him.”
    Cris almost howled his happiness. A chance, all he needed was a chance. “I promise I’ll abide by your decisions about Zack. I know I don’t have a right to force my opinions on you after all this time. All I’m asking for is the opportunity to get to know you both and tell you a bit about me as well.”
    “All right.” She nodded and met his gaze. She had the brightest green eyes and he remembered being enchanted by the colour. Those beautiful eyes had haunted his dreams for the last six years. “Maybe once we get settled in Manitoba, I’ll see about getting the Internet and we can Skype or Facebook or something.”
    “Why don’t we worry about it when the time comes?” And I’ll try my best to make sure it never does. “You’ve been rubbing your neck as we sit here. I can go get River to see if she can work on any knots you might have in your muscles.”
    The patio door slid open and Marcario stepped in. “Tara, your son’s going to play professional soccer by his next birthday he’s so good.”
    Zack giggled and ran past him carrying a soccer ball to his mom. “I kicked ath, Mom.”
    Cris covered his mouth with his hand and tried not to laugh. Tara’s eyes brightened and her expression softened as she looked at her son. “Zack Brewer, that’s not a polite word.”
    “Sorry, my bad,” Marcario confessed. “It slipped out when we were playing. Cris, I’m going to fire up the barbeque. Are you staying for dinner?”
    Cris wanted to with every fiber of his being, but he didn’t want to make Tara any more uncomfortable. “Thanks, man, but I have plans with Lars.”
    Marcario nodded. “Tara, is it okay if Zack helps me cook?”
    “Really?” Zack bounced on the balls of his feet. “Pleath, Mom.”
    “Are you sure?” she asked Marcario, who assured her he would love the help.
    “Jelani always burns the food and we don’t let Jessica touch the barbeque ever since she set it on fire.”
    “I heard that!” Jessica’s voice travelled from the backyard as Zack ran for the door.
    “Well, I better get going.” Cris walked over to the kitchen counter and grabbed a pen and a pad of paper sitting by the phone. He flipped past a couple pages of messages and what looked like love notes until he got to a fresh page. He felt a kick of envy toward the people who lived here. This was what he