by K. C. Crowne
My eyes fell on the little boy at her feet. He was playing with some cups, dropping little balls into them and laughing in glee when it pinged at the bottom, constantly looking up at Josie for validation. Josie would smile at the boy every time. It wasn’t even a conscious act, just natural for them to react to each other.
“Also, Elle told me about how the law works a bit, but it would be asking a lot of you. It’s also something I’d have to consider carefully.” She bit her lip and looked away.
“Go on.”
“Well, first of all, we could put you down as his father on the birth certificate, but that gives you rights as well as responsibilities. We’d have to trust each other 100% before going into something like that. If you act as his father, and we prove that you’re raising him and supporting him, it would be harder for Wade to sue for custody. He could still fight it, but it makes things tougher, and there’s a good chance the courts would still see you as Milo’s father, even if you aren’t biologically his dad. Especially considering Wade’s past, his criminal history, and the fact that he hasn’t been in Milo’s life up to this point.”
I let out a deep breath and relaxed back into the chair. I didn’t know the law fully, but Josie seemed fairly confident.
“Of course, we’d have to look into everything and decide if that’s what we wanted.”
Milo scooted around on the floor until he was on his hands and knees, then he pushed himself up with Josie’s help until he was standing on two legs. He looked so pleased with himself, and Josie cheered him on while I contemplated everything that had been presented to me so far.
“It’s a lot to ask, Cyrus, and honestly, I never would have if it were up to me.”
“I know you wouldn’t,” I said. “You’re too damn proud for all that. You’d choose to run, which is risky. I hope you know that.”
“I know, but what other choice do I have?”
She was right. What other choice did she have?
She had me.
I had more than enough money to take care of the kid, so child support wasn’t a concern. It wasn’t like I wanted my dad’s money anyway, so this would be a good way to use it. The issue was whether I could see myself stepping into the role of father for the boy. I wasn’t sure if I would be a good father, the reason I thought I might never have kids of my own.
A buzzer sounded from down the hall.
“Oh, dinner’s ready,” Josie said, lifting Milo into her arms. “We can move the conversation into the kitchen, if you don’t mind.”
Food was the last thing on my mind, but I followed Josie across the hallway into a small kitchen with a table, two chairs and a highchair sort of crammed into the corner. She put Milo in the highchair and hurried over to the oven.
“Dammit.” She pulled out a pan and dropped it onto the stove.
“Need some help?”
“No, I just burnt it. Again. I think our oven runs hot or something,” she muttered. She turned around, and with a sheepish grin on her face, added, “I hope you don’t mind your lasagna a little on the crispy side.”
I chuckled. “I’m sure it’s perfect.”
She stepped aside and I saw the charred casserole. I kept my face blank, however, not wanting to insult her for attempting to cook dinner.
“I swear, I can normally cook, it’s just this damned oven.”
“No worries. It’s not like you’re applying to be a housewife or anything.”
The silence in the room was almost painful.
“Perhaps that was the wrong thing to say—”
“No, no, it’s fine. It’s just, well, with what we’re talking about and all…”
She turned around and reached up into the cabinet closest to the stove. She pulled down a few plates and never finished her thought.
“You don’t have to impress me, Josie. If I decide to do this, it’s not because you cook a mean lasagna.”
She began divvying up the pasta onto the plates. Once it was plated, it looked better. She didn’t say anything else until she took the plates to the table. She put one just out of reach of Milo, who tried his hardest to grab it.
“It’s hot, baby. Give it a second.”
“Thanks for the warning.” I took a seat across from Milo.
Josie laughed. “I meant Milo.”
“I know, just trying to lighten the mood a bit,” I said with a wink.
She handed me some silverware and took the seat next to Milo. She took a spoonful of the food and blew on it, cooling it down as Milo fussed, trying to get it.
“You’re hungry tonight, aren’t you, sweetie? Just one more second, let Mama cool it down for you.”
I didn’t want to start eating until Josie did, so I waited while my dish cooled.
“Go on, eat. I probably won’t get a chance until the food’s cold.”
I still waited. It didn’t feel right to eat while she had to wait.
She finally fed the spoonful to Milo, who made satisfied gurgling sounds as he ate it. Bits of sauce and cheese ran down his chin, which Josie meticulously wiped away with a napkin.
“I’m telling you, eat now, Cyrus. Don’t wait on me.”
“Nah, it’s fine. I want to wait for you. It’s only polite.”
She shot me a look that reminded me of my own mother, causing me to chuckle.
“Fine,” she said, grabbing her fork and taking a bite. “Happy now?”
“Yes, now eat some more.”
“I have to feed him.”
“Here, let me help,” I said, reaching over and taking the spoon out of her hand.
“Are you sure?”
“Positive. Now eat. We can take turns feeding him.”
Josie looked surprised, but after I reached down for another spoonful of lasagna for Milo, she dug into her own food. I held it in the spoon a bit, then had her test it to make sure it was cool enough. She nodded and gave the okay.
I moved the spoon toward his mouth, and he stared at me with wide eyes. He looked to Josie, who encouraged him. “It’s okay, baby. Eat.”
He looked back at me, his mouth still closed. I thought maybe we were at an impasse, but eventually, he opened his mouth slowly and took the bite off the spoon. I went back for another spoonful, and the feeding went much smoother.
“My turn,” Josie said. “I didn’t make dinner so you could sit there and starve.”
I let her take the spoon from me and dug into my own plate. As expected, it wasn’t half bad.
“My turn again,” I said, taking the spoon from her.
We went back and forth like that, feeding Milo while taking bites of our food. Milo seemed to be warming up to me. We didn’t really get to talk much; we were mostly shoveling food into our faces and feeding the little guy, which, I had to admit, was kind of nice. If I were to do this, at least I had an insight into what life could be like. The idea still scared the shit out of me, Milo didn’t scream in terror when I got close to him, which helped a lot.
Once all our plates were cleaned, Josie reached for mine.
“I’ve got it,” I said, putting my hand down on my plate so she couldn’t take it.
“You’ve got what?”
“The dishes.”
“I’ve got a dishwasher,” she said, pointing at it.
“Well then, I’ll rinse the plates off and put them in there. It’s the least I can do after you cooked this delicious meal.”
“Stop it,” she said, rolling her eyes and laughing. “We both know that wasn’t that good.”
“It was good, though,” I said.
“You mean it was better than you thought it would be?”
“Well maybe. But 10/10, I’d eat it again.”
“I’ll try not to burn it next time.”
I picked up the plates and silverware and went over to the sink to wash everything off.
“I should probably put him to bed,” Josie announced. “Do you mind?”
“Not at all. I’ll finish up here and meet you back in the living
room.”
“Thank you, Cyrus. I owe you so much right now.”
“I haven’t agreed to anything,” I reminded her. “Not yet.”
“No, but you didn’t run away screaming at the mention of it. That’s what most men would do.”
I glanced over my shoulder. “Well, I’m not most men.”
“Clearly,” she said, picking Milo up out of the highchair. “Because not only did you not run away, you’re doing my dishes and eating my crappy food.”
“It’s not crappy. Now go, get him ready for bed.”
She left the kitchen with Milo, leaving me to my thoughts. The entire plan was crazy. It might not even work. Wade could still go after Milo and demand a DNA test. Then what? It would be out of my hands. But one thing I knew for certain: I couldn’t sit back and do nothing. If Wade was anything like my father – and it sounded like he might be – then there was no way that sweet little boy could grow up with a monster like him.
I couldn’t let that happen. Not if I could do something to prevent it. It was the only reason I hadn’t said no right off the bat.
I finished with the dishes, then went back into the living room and waited. The walls were covered with photographs. Most of them looked to be of Josie through the years, some with a woman that appeared to be her mother. Then there were photos of Milo too, of course. Including pictures of him when he was first born, wrapped in a blanket and cozy in Josie’s arms. She stared down at him with such love in her eyes. It was beautiful.
She was beautiful.
“He went down fast tonight,” she said as she walked back into the room. “Must have been tired.”
I turned to find Josie standing behind me. She had a sweet smile, but her eyes were tired. I knew that look well. The look of a mother fighting for her child, doing everything she could for him.
Josie sat down on the couch and patted the seat beside her. I joined her, sitting next to her instead of the chair.
“I really don’t know what else to talk about. It all just feels too crazy, and I don’t even know where to begin discussing it all.”
“I think we both just need a little time to think.”
“I don’t have much time,” she said, averting her gaze. “I need to figure things out soon, before Wade’s parole hearing. Or else I need to be out of Liberty. Those are my only options really.”
“A few days wouldn’t hurt. Besides, you’re putting a lot of trust in me, too, if we do this.”
“I know, and it scares me a little, but not as much as I thought it would.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, to be honest, I’ve known you for some time. I have an idea about what type of man you are.”
I raised my eyebrows. “But you think I'm an asshole, or so I thought.”
“I thought so too, until recently. But I realized I might have been seeing you as competition, not for who you really were. The whole thing with Ben, that surprised me.” She smiled sheepishly. “I’m still sorry I went off on you like that.”
“No problem. It didn’t look good, I’ll admit that. Just glad we figured it out.”
Josie crossed her legs, her dress riding up a bit on her thigh. She caught me staring but didn’t pull the skirt down. I forced myself to look her in the eye instead of imagining my hand moving up the length of her perfect thigh.
“Me too,” she said.
She bit her lower lip, then ran her tongue over it. I remembered how sweet she’d tasted days before, and I yearned for another sample. Without even realizing it, I licked my lips too.
“Can I ask you a question, Cyrus?” I nodded when she looked at me. “Why are you even here? Why are you considering this, for real?”
I could give her many reasons. I could tell her about my dad, and how growing up with him was literally hell. How I never forgave him for taking me away from my loving mother. How I feared he’d damaged me. So many reasons that were true, but not the reasons she wanted to hear.
“Because I care about you, Josie. I don’t want to see you hurt. And now that I’ve met Milo, I don’t want to see anything bad happen to him.”
I’m not sure which one of us leaned forward first, but the next thing I knew, our faces were moving closer and closer together. I cupped her face in my hands and closed the distance, giving in and tasting her lips again. She opened her mouth to me and kissed me back.
Dammit, Cyrus, what are you doing? I cursed myself, but I couldn’t stop.
My hand fell on her thigh, stroking it. Her skin was soft to the touch, and being closer to her, I could smell her natural scent underneath the perfume. I loved it.
“We could move this to my room, if you’d like,” she whispered against my lips.
Say no, Cyrus. It will only complicate things further.
“Yes, I’d like that a lot.”
Chapter 11
Josie
The walls around me were spinning; everything was simply moving too fast. One minute we were on the couch, making out. The next we were in my bedroom.
Cyrus kicked the door shut behind us, and his hands were all over my body. He was pulling at my dress, trying to get it off me as quickly as possible. I turned, lifting my hair as he slid the zipper down. I pulled my arms from the sleeves and let the dress fall to the ground, standing there in just my bra and panties.
Cyrus made quick work of those as well.
While I was still turned away from him, he unlatched my bra and it fell to the floor. His hands moved down my body to my panties as he pulled me close to him. My ass rubbed against him, and I felt his erection through his jeans.
God, I couldn’t wait to have that thick cock inside me again. The thought of it warmed my insides and caused me to soak through my underwear.
Cyrus rubbed the crotch of my panties while nibbling my ear lobe.
“Mmm, so fucking wet for me already,” he growled.
His voice, along with his touch, sent shivers throughout my body. I couldn’t wait much longer. I spun around to face him.
“Your turn to get naked.”
“I’m not finished with you yet,” he said.
He slipped my panties down, and they fell to my ankles. I stepped out of them, and Cyrus stepped forward, nudging me backward toward the bed. I pulled off his belt as I sat down on the edge of the bed, and it fell to the floor with a thud. I reached for his zipper and with his help removed his pants. He lifted his shirt over his head, and I got to see him in all his glory.
Staring up at him, I took in his body slowly, languishing over the ripples of muscles in his abs, the tight, firm chest covered with ink. I marveled at his erection, which looked bigger than I remembered.
So big, I wondered if it would fit in my mouth.
I decided to see for myself.
“Come closer,” I said, giving him a come-hither gesture with my finger.
He stepped closer, then leaned down to kiss me. I gripped his cock in my hand, giving it a nice squeeze. He moaned into my mouth.
“Not that close,” I teased before pushing him back just enough to drop down to my knees before him.
I flicked at the tip of him with my tongue while moving both hands up and down his shaft. He stared down at me with a look of awe in his eyes. I felt like a goddess with this big, powerful man in the palm of my hands.
I swirled my tongue over him, exploring every inch of him. His hands were entangled in my hair, but not pushing me down, just stroking the back of my head gently.
“Fuck, yes,” he growled as I took the tip of him between my lips. I sunk down as far as I could go and made up the difference with my hands. I moved up and down the length of him, his powerful body moving to the same rhythm, fucking my mouth.
God, I loved his cock. Everything about it was amazing. As I sucked him, I kept thinking about how good he had felt inside me and how much I needed that.
He grabbed my hair, yanking my head back. “Stop, before I lose control.”
“What if I want you to lose control?”<
br />
He gave me a devious grin. “I don’t think you want me to cum just yet.”
He was right. I didn’t want to rush it. I wanted him. All of him.
He helped me to my feet, then back onto the bed. We laid down together, side-by-side and facing one another, making out like two teenagers at prom. Our hands explored each other’s bodies. His fingers teased my opening, spreading my thighs with his forearm, then eventually my lips. He played with my clit, circling it and taunting it.
I’d never noticed before, but he had large hands. Which made sense considering how large he was, but none of it sunk in until he was sinking his fingers inside me. He pushed past my opening as I cried out, and he started fucking me with his fingers. Two of them stretched me open, three made me feel incredibly full. His thumb circled my clit while his other hand played with my nipple.
“Oh God,” I groaned. I’d never known pleasure like it before. No man had ever made me feel so good with just his hand before. Until that moment, I always discounted being fingered. But not anymore. Not with Cyrus’s magical digits.
The familiar rush of warmth built inside me. I knew I was close, and Cyrus must have sensed it too. He moved faster and deeper, adding fuel to the fire inside me until it exploded. I grabbed onto him, burying my face in the crook of his neck as I came around his fingers. I tried to suppress my screams, using his flesh to block the sounds as wave after wave of pleasure washed over me.
Cyrus grabbed my hips and rolled us both over, placing me directly on top of him. I rubbed against him, feeling him swell against my most sensitive parts. I lowered myself, kissing him deeply as I continued rocking back and forth on top of him.
It felt good just to feel him against me, his hard body beneath me. I felt safe there, like nothing could ever hurt me. Not with a big, strong man like him around.
I positioned myself a little higher and used my hand to guide his cock into me, then lowered my body. I groaned as he filled me and stretched me even wider than his hands had before. I stared down at him, his jaw tight and his eyes clenched almost shut. Yet, they remained partially opening, looking up at me.