She smiled. “I did. You learn to eat cold food, standing up, while vacuuming, or even showering if need be.”
I nodded. I didn’t like it. I could have been there. I could have shared the responsibility of feeding our child so she could eat, sleep, or even shower. It was hard not to be pissed. I was angry with her for taking my daughter away from me. She had stolen something that could never be replaced. A million sorrys would never make up for the time I had lost.
It wasn’t like she apologized in the first place. She was still convinced she was in the right to leave town while pregnant and never tell me. I heard Lizzy giggle and looked over at the two of them. Elly was teasing her with a fry. She would pretend she was going to give Lizzy a bite before snatching it away at the last second and taking the bite herself. Lizzy clearly thought it was the funniest thing ever.
My anger softened a little when I saw the interaction between them. Lizzy and her mother were very close. It was evident in the way they interacted. What she had done was wrong, but I was grateful she had taken such good care of Lizzy. The child was well cared for and showered with love.
“She’s going to be ready for a nap soon,” Elly said after our lunch was over.
I nodded. “Okay.”
“You’re welcome to come to the apartment if you’d like to help put her down,” she offered.
“I will,” I said, jumping at the chance to spend more time with her.
She smiled. “All right, Lizzy, it’s time to go home. You need a nap.”
“No nap,” Lizzy pouted.
Elly didn’t seem bothered by Lizzy’s protests. Once again, I carried Lizzy on the walk two blocks up to the apartment they were staying at. I loved holding my child. It was oddly comforting. Her little head rested on my shoulder as we walked, and my heart nearly burst with love.
“She doesn’t like to take naps, but she needs them,” Elly said as we stepped into the elevator. “I need her to need them,” she laughed.
“I get it,” I agreed.
Once in the apartment, Lizzy seemed revived and ran around the place, picking up the various stuffed toys she had. I sat on the couch as she brought me each one. Every time she brought me one, I said something about it.
“She’ll do that all day,” Elly said with a laugh.
“How many does she have?” I questioned when my lap was filled with stuffed animals.
“Here, maybe ten or so. She has a giant tub full back home. I brought a couple with us, but every time we go out, she falls in love with a new one. I can’t help but buy them for her. She’s so cute when she asks. I know I’m spoiling her, and I’ll probably regret it later, but not now.”
I smiled, happy to know my daughter was spoiled. I would be spoiling her as well. Lizzy picked up one of the animals in my lap and carried it to Elly. I watched as Elly picked it up and wiggled it. “Lizzy, I’m sleepy,” she said in a childish voice before nuzzling Lizzy’s face with the stuffed bear.
Lizzy giggled and came back to take another one from my lap and carry it to her mother. It was a large black bear. “Let’s take a nap,” Elly said in a deep growl befitting the bear.
Once again, Lizzy squealed with laughter when Elly attacked her with the bear. For the next ten minutes, it was one toy after another from my lap to Elly’s. Then, she reversed the game and brought each one to me. I realized I was expected to make the animals talk as well.
I played along until all of the stuffies were out of Elly’s lap and back in mine. “All right, munchkin, it’s time for you nap,” Elly said.
“No,” Lizzy protested.
“You can sleep with your new stuffy,” she promised.
Lizzy snatched the unicorn from my lap and hugged it close.
“Where does she sleep?”
“I’ll show you,” Elly answered, picking up Lizzy and carrying her down the hall. There was a small bed in a corner with a soft pink blanket on it.
Elly laid Lizzy in the bed and pulled the blanket over her. She dropped a kiss on her forehead before standing up. I wasn’t sure what I should do—or could do. I went with my instinct and copied Elly, dropping a kiss on Lizzy’s forehead. “Good night,” I murmured.
I watched her for several seconds. Her bright eyes stared up at me. I knew she didn’t know who I was, but I hoped one day she would call me Daddy. Her eyes started to close, and I knew it was time to go. I wished I could have stayed and watched her a little while longer, but not just then. I needed to work out an arrangement with Elly and soon. I didn’t want to miss out on any more time with my little girl.
I walked out of the bedroom with Elly behind me. She quietly closed the door before we moved into the living room. “You’ve done really well with her,” I said.
“Thank you. She’s a smart girl, and thankfully, she’s a good girl. She’s healthy and I feel very lucky to be her mom.”
She was smiling as she spoke. There was a glow about her when she talked about Lizzy that I found irresistible. I couldn’t explain why it turned me on to see her being such a good mother, but it did. I couldn’t deny myself the chance to steal a kiss before I went.
I stepped toward her, my hand resting on her cheek. I used the pad of my thumb to rub across her cheekbone as I looked into her eyes. It was hard to believe the two of us had made a baby together. I bent my face toward her, waiting to see if she would stop me.
She didn’t. Our lips barely touched. It never took much for that spark of electricity that always seemed to happen when I touched her to ignite a fire. My lips pressed against hers, demanding entry. She willingly opened her mouth, her arms going around me as I stepped closer to her.
My tongue plunged inside, sweeping over teeth and finding her own tongue to duel with. Her soft moan fueled the need burning low in my belly. My erection sprang to life. Anytime I was near her, my cock was always on high alert. My hands moved over her body, reaching around to grab her ass and pull her against me.
Both of us groaned in unison when my dick rubbed against her. I needed her as much as I needed the very air I breathed. I was guessing I had at least an hour before Lizzy woke up. I was going to use every minute of it. I wanted to savor her body. The only times we’d been together, it had been fast and furious. I had moved so fast I had no time to really enjoy her beautiful body.
“How long do I have?” I whispered, moving my mouth over her neck.
“Hour, maybe two,” she breathed.
“She won’t come out here?”
“No,” she whispered. “But—”
I silenced whatever it was she was going to say with a kiss. I wasn’t in the mood to hear excuses. I knew she wanted me as much as I wanted her.
“Bedroom,” I said, asking and demanding at the same time.
“Can’t. I share with her.”
I silently cursed. Damn if I wanted to fuck on the carpet and risk rug burns. It didn’t matter. All that mattered was me getting another chance with her. I pushed aside my disappointment at not getting to take her in a bed and focused on what I did have—her.
My hands moved to the light sweater she was wearing and pulled it up and over her head. I dropped it on the floor, stepping back to admire her. I reached for the bra, unhooked it, and slowly pulled it forward. Her full breasts with the pert nipples begged to be touched. I did so with my mouth. I sucked one nipple between my teeth, holding her breast in my hand. Her hands ran through my hair as her back arched, pushing her breast against my face.
Her hands moved to the belt on my pants. “No,” I told her, pulling away from her and looking into her eyes.
“No?”
I gently pushed her hands away. “Not yet. I want to take my time.”
Her soft smile sent a shock of heat through my body. “I like the sound of that.”
I went back to her breasts, devoting a great deal of attention to each of them before I started to get a real kink in my back. I wasn’t interested in standing up and making love to her. I undid the button of the jeans she was wearing and p
ushed them over her hips, taking the skimpy thong she was wearing with them. She stepped out of the booties she was wearing and kicked them to the side.
She stood before me completely naked. The feeling that stirred up within me was indescribable. I had seen her naked before, but this felt different. I traced my finger between her breasts and over her navel. I saw tiny marks low on her belly and realized those were signs of her carrying my child. Seeing them, touching the faded stretch marks, made me feel oddly possessive. My child had ridden inside her, stretching her body. I hated that I had not been able to witness the miracle.
My hand splayed over her now flat stomach before reaching around and pulling her close to me once again. My mouth covered hers, slowly exploring. I was hard and desperate for her. Her hands went back to my belt. I didn’t stop her. I wanted to feel her silky-smooth skin against my own. The moment the belt was undone, her frantic fingers went after the button and then the zipper. I could feel her desperation in her jerky movements.
She pushed my pants open and without hesitation, slid her hand under the waistband of the briefs I wore. Her fingers caressed over my erection before wrapping her hand around me and tugging. “I need you,” she gasped, the hunger in her voice nearly my undoing.
My patience had run out. My self-control faded. I needed her. Fuck taking my time. I was too desperate to be buried inside her. I yanked my shirt over my head, not bothering with the buttons. She was tugging my pants down. I managed to kick off my shoes and pull my shirt off at the same time without tumbling to the floor.
With both of us naked, I pulled her to the couch. I gently pushed her down, tugging her head to one end before climbing over the top of her. It wasn’t ideal and the quarters were certainly cramped, but I didn’t care. I was desperate for her.
I propped one elbow on the couch cushion, doing my best to keep from squishing her. I looked into her eyes, tracing my fingers over her cheek before trailing them down her neck and back to the breasts I decided I really liked. They had been ignored our first two times together, a mistake I planned on never making again. I dropped my mouth to hers and kissed her, relishing in the feeling of our naked bodies pressed together. I would never get enough of the woman. I knew that deep inside my soul. She was mine.
Chapter 24
Elly
He was being so gentle and slow. It had never been like that between us. I liked the slowness, but it was doing nothing to squelch the fire burning between my legs. I could feel his hard shaft pressed against my thigh. The limited space made it impossible for me to move. I was pinned against the couch with his naked body covering mine.
His hand moved to my belly. He seemed to have a new fascination with the region. I wasn’t embarrassed by the stretch marks. They were marks I was proud to carry. His hand pressed against my stomach, warm heat from his palm infusing me. The hand slid to my hip before moving over my thigh. It was intimate, unlike anything we had shared before.
With my only free hand, I stroked down his back. I felt the rippling strength across his back, moving down his spine and sliding over his firm ass. The man was in excellent shape. I had never had the chance to ask him what he did to stay in such good shape. I certainly appreciated the effort he put into it.
I opened my legs as best I could, inviting him to touch me where I was so desperate for it. His hand slowly slid over the inside of my thigh before making its way up. I gasped, my eyes opening as I stared into his hazel eyes inches from mine.
“I love that you’re so wet for me,” he said in a raspy voice.
“You make me crazy hot,” I answered honestly. I didn’t care that he knew he had power over me.
We adjusted our positions with him sliding over me. My leg dropped off the couch, my foot hitting the floor as I opened my legs for him to take me. I reached up to my hand on his cheek like he was so fond of doing to me. His eyes were heavy-lidded and full of intensity as he gazed down at me. The man had a way of looking at me as if he could see right into my mind. It was intimidating and exciting to have him turn that full focus on me.
He probed at my opening with the tip of his swollen cock. I spread my legs a little wider until he found his target. He slowly pushed inside, stopping while my body stretched and adjusted to his girth. His eyes held mine with every inch he pushed inside. I couldn’t look away. It was as if he was demanding I look at him without ever saying a word. I didn’t want to look away.
He kept pushing inside me until he was seated up to his balls. The weight of his body inside me triggered a visceral response. I gasped, my eyes sliding closed as a wave of ecstasy rolled over me.
“Look at me,” he whispered.
My eyes popped open. The intense stare made me squirm, heat pooling between my legs, flooding around him buried inside me. “Oh God,” I whimpered. The sensations were unlike anything I had felt before. It was as if every nerve ending was being plucked and tweaked, sending juicy vibrations of sweet ecstasy throughout my body, inside and out.
I couldn’t stop my body’s response to his. The orgasm he triggered just by being inside me was more powerful than anything I had ever experienced. He watched me as I writhed under him, a low keening sound coming from low in my belly and escaping through my mouth that was partially open. My eyes were held captive by his. Him watching me while I climaxed was beyond intimate. It was the rawest and most vulnerable I had ever been with him.
When the climax finally released me, I reached up to him, putting my hands on either side of his face, and pulled him down to me. I kissed him passionately, infusing it with all the tenderness I felt for him in that moment.
His body began moving, sliding in and out of me, coaxing another orgasm from me before he finally gave in and took his own fulfillment. He fell on top of me. I wrapped my arms around his neck, holding him against me. I didn’t want to let him go.
In that moment, I knew I loved him. I didn’t know how or even why, but I did. I had loved him for years. Working alongside him had given me the chance to get to know him. I had fallen for him back then. That night in his office had been the best and worst night of my life.
“I’m squishing you,” he said after a while.
I smiled, running my hand over his back. “Not at all.”
He chuckled. “Liar.”
He moved off me, sliding down to the floor with his back against the couch. I slid off and sat beside him. He put his arm around me and held me close. It was the first time we had the chance to enjoy postcoital bliss. It was strange but good.
“A bed would really be a good thing,” I said on a sigh.
He looked at me and smiled before dropping a kiss on the tip of my nose. “I think we’re doing okay without it.”
“I suppose.”
We sat in silence for several minutes. I liked that he wasn’t racing out the door. There was something to be said for a little cuddling after sex. It made it all more meaningful and less about the act itself.
“I forgive you,” he said after some time.
I looked up at him and saw the sincerity in his eyes. It was a big step in the right direction. “I forgive you too.””
I expected a smile. His face was anything but happy. “For what? What did I do that needs forgiving.?”
“For trying to bankrupt our company and stealing the deal my dad worked hard on.”
He looked confused. “Excuse me?”
“I had to fake being an intern to go to work for you to steal back the deal you stole from us,” I answered.
His brows shot up. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
I pulled away from him, staring at him and trying to figure out why he was the one getting pissed. “You stole that deal my dad found. He had approached that company and convinced them to go public.”
He scoffed. “The fuck I did. I put that deal together myself. I met the CEO at a benefit auction. We got to talking, and I was the one who told him he had a real shot at going public. I put that deal together. I spent months on that thing. It was
Ron that swooped in at the eleventh hour and stole all my hard work.”
I shook my head. “No. My father only sent me to work for you to get back what was rightfully his. He told me you’d been doing it to him for years, and he was tired of losing. He told me he had lost millions of dollars because you kept stealing from him.”
He shook his head, getting to his feet. I stayed put, watching him jerk on his underwear and pants. “That’s not what happened and I think you know it.”
“I know what my father told me,” I said.
“And you believe him? After everything?”
“I was twenty-one Devin. I didn’t know anything else. I had no idea who my father was then.”
He laughed incredulously. “But you know now, don’t you? And you agreed to come back and help him again.”
“I told you that was about protecting my family legacy,” I argued, getting angry myself.
He pulled his shirt on, leaving it hanging untucked. “This is such bullshit. We have a chance of moving on. We could be happy together, but I can’t tolerate you still having sympathy for your father. Not after everything he’s done.”
Deep down I knew he was right, but it still didn’t sit well that he was trying to tell me who I could be in business with and who I couldn’t. And despite all my father’s faults, he was still my father. And he was the only parent I had left.”
“You won’t tolerate it? I’m not a fucking child Devin,” I spat.
He looked down at me and shook his head, disappointment and disgust written all over his handsome face. He walked out of the apartment without another word. I couldn’t bring myself to get off the floor. I felt like a tornado had just whipped through and turned my world upside down again. We had the strangest, most volatile relationship I had ever heard of. We were up and down more than a heartbeat.
I slowly pulled myself together and redressed. I hated that things had ended badly after they had gone so well. It had been awesome to watch him with Lizzy. And the way he’d made love to me felt completely different than it had before. It had been sweet and tender.
S is for Second Chance Page 14