31 Days of Autumn Read Free Page A

asked, his face
looking crestfallen. ‘What about s-e-x,’ he spelled out, mouthing it instead of
saying it out loud. Oliver was learning to talk so fast that we had to be so
careful what we said around him. He’d already picked up the word “damn” from
his Uncle Lucas, who I was still trying to get used to calling Lucas, now that he’d
reverted from his middle name of Logan to his Christian name. Oliver saying
“damn” hadn’t amused me as much as it had Dan and Luiza.
    ‘Trust me, Oliver Daniel Davenport, I’ve a whole
day planned out for us and I’m sure you’ll be more than satisfied with the
outcome.’
     

    Dan
    I grinned as I undid Ellie’s straps when we
landed in the clearing just below the forest. She was taking me up to the
waterfall. We hadn’t been back here since I’d brought her when I was trying to
woo her, before she got pregnant with Oliver. In fact, that could have been the
time she conceived.
    ‘We have no food or water,’ I reminded her,
offering my hand for her to step down while I breathed in the scent of all the
pine trees. God, I loved the air up here. So much fresher than London.
    ‘Like I’d let you go hungry,’ she replied with
a roll of her eyes and a laugh.
    ‘You did this morning,’ I reminded her, taking
the opportunity to run my eyes over her body again. She was in a tight t-shirt,
a pair of loose-fitting, cut-off jersey shorts, and her trainers. Even casual,
she took my breath away. She was everything I’d ever wanted in a woman. Loyal,
loving, sexy, passionate, feisty, funny, caring, and nurturing. Seeing the way
she mothered my two boys, not to mention me, reminded me that I was the
luckiest guy alive. We’d not had the easiest start to our relationship, but having
gone through all of that, we were so much stronger for it.
    ‘Here’s a bottle of water each, Mrs. Davenport.
You have the satellite phone to call me when you’re ready?’ Dean shouted over
the sound of the spinning helicopter blades above us.
    ‘I do,’ she confirmed, tapping the neoprene
band on her arm that I’d assumed was holding her iPod. ‘Thanks, Dean, see you
later.’
    ‘Enjoy your day,’ he nodded, flicking the
controls. I moved Ellie to a safe distance as we watched him take off, then
turned to face her.
    ‘I thought he was my pilot?’ I asked, amused to
see her in control for once.
    ‘You swore for richer or for poorer and
said all that you had was now mine. You know I only married you for your money,
I’ll be filing for that divorce anytime now,’ she winked, making me chuckle
with a shake of my head. ‘Come on, let’s warm up. If I remember right, it’s a
long, steep climb up to the waterfall.’
    ‘It is,’ I frowned, suddenly concerned for her.
‘Are you sure you’re up to it? I could call Mr. McAdams to bring over the Argo
ATV to take us up again.’
    ‘I had a baby, Dan. There’s nothing wrong with
my legs, I can still run, thank you. In fact, I reckon I could beat you up
there,’ she challenged.
    ‘Right,’ I nodded, flicking my head over to a
fallen pine tree that would be perfect for us to stretch against. ‘In your
dreams.’
    ‘O, game on, arrogant Davenport,’ she gasped.
    ‘Fine, I’ll give you a five minute head start,
seeing as you’re a woman and you have shorter legs than me, but that’s all I’m
giving you. You want to play in the big leagues, I’ll show you the big
leagues.’
    ‘What do I get if I win?’ she asked, giving me
a coy look as she put her foot up on the wide trunk and grabbed her toe. I was
distracted for a moment by her curvaceous backside, her sexy cheeks peeking out
from those shorts, tempting me as usual.
    ‘Me,’ I shrugged, matching her pose.
    ‘I can have you whenever I want, you need to
come up with something a little more enticing than that.’
    ‘I was thinking about you getting me in
Davenport’s board room, dressed in my three-piece suit, with a riding crop and
some bondage rope. You’d have to call me