“Would you think I’m a pig if I asked for one of each?”
“You’ll get fat, Aunt Mander.”
“There are worse things,” Amanda said, and Jacob flopped a couple more burgers and several brats onto the grill. With all the physical activity they’d been getting, he doubted a few extra calories would hurt either of them.
“Mommy says princesses can’t be fat, so I can’t eat junk food if I want to be a princess when I grow up.”
Jacob supposed such a claim would be a good deterrent from unhealthy eating. Of course, it might instead lead to a lifelong harmful relationship with food.
“Are you sure you want to be a princess?” Amanda asked. “Sounds like a lot of rules to me.”
“I’m not sure she’s being exposed to the right kind of role models,” Jacob commented as he closed the grill lid. “Why are all the female characters in Disney movies princesses? Gives a girl a skewed perception of romance and the real world, doesn’t it?”
Jacob started when a wet hand touched the small of his back. Lost in his musings, he hadn’t heard Amanda get out of the pool. “Gives a girl something to dream about.”
“Is that what you dreamed about?” he asked. “Having some girly prince rescue you?”
“And live out my life in a castle, wearing beautiful gowns, and attending balls every night?”
“And singing!” Julie said. “All princesses sing.”
Jacob turned to look at her. “Is that why you want to be a princess? So you can sing?”
She smiled, her eyes lighting up with excitement. “I love singing.” She stopped beside him to stare up at him worshipfully, her pruned fingers supporting her chin.
Another way she was just like him. Well, except for the wanting to be a princess thing. He cupped the back of her head and hugged her against his hip. “I think you need to be exposed to other ways girls can be singers.”
“Daddy, your singing place is too loud.” She titled her head back and cringed, as if she’d insulted him.
“My singing place is loud,” he said agreeably and glanced at Amanda for help.
“There’s opera,” Amanda said.
Jacob produced a breathless laugh. “Loudest singers on the planet. They don’t even use sound equipment.”
“What’s opera?” Julie asked.
“Singing in Italian.”
“I don’t know Italian,” Julie assured him. “Is there singing in Spanish? I like learning Spanish on Dora.”
“There’s singing in every language, baby.” He stroked her hair, trying to think up ways to expose Julie to more than singing princesses. He wished he had more time to spend with her than every other weekend.
“We could take her to the theater,” Amanda suggested. “A musical.”
The thing he liked most about that suggestion was the “we” part.
“Is there a thing with singing and swimming and hugging animals and wearing crowns?” Julie asked, touching her hair where she’d wear a gilded crown. Her imagination was obviously running wild.
Jacob tapped her nose. “Not that I know of, but you can do anything you set your mind to.”
“Tina will never forgive you if she joins a circus,” Amanda said with a laugh.
“The Little Mermaid,” Julie said, jumping up and down when the answer came to her. Yet her face fell almost right away. “But Ariel hugs fish. I don’t think I’d like to hug fish. They’re smelly.”
And they were back to Disney princesses. “This kid needs to get out,” he said to Amanda, who smiled in agreement.
Lunch started with the excited chatter of Julie’s ideas for her swimming and singing animal show—a crown would be involved, of course—but as her belly filled, her enthusiasm began to wane and soon she was nodding off in her plate. Within a few minutes, she slumped back in her chair midchew.
“Julie,” Jacob said quietly, “finish what’s in your mouth.” He didn’t want her to choke while she slept.
Eyes shooting open, she jerked upright in the chair, chewing vigorously. An instant later she was asleep again—her tiny elbow on the table supporting her tiny chin on her tiny hand. Jacob stood and scooped her into his arms. She lazily opened her eyes.
“Are you finished eating?” he asked.
She swallowed the bite in her mouth and nodded. He snuggled her against his chest, and she pressed her face into his shoulder. Her swimsuit had dried while they ate, so he didn’t bother changing her out of it. He entered the house and tucked her into her bed for a much deserved nap.
He returned to the outdoor dining table to find Amanda had deserted her lunch. He located her in the pool.
She was floating on her back in the water again, but this time she was topless.
Chapter Twelve
Amanda hid a self-satisfied grin when Jacob entered the pool with a loud splash. She figured removing her top would instantly put him in the mood, and for that, she was thankful. Watching that man wander around in nothing but swim trunks all morning had been hell on her self-control.
When he surfaced between her legs and latched on to her mound right through her bikini bottoms, Amanda’s head went under and she sucked in a mouthful of water. She flapped her arms to push her head above the surface and forced the water out of her mouth before she took a deep breath.
“You’re going to drown me,” she said, reaching out until she touched the top of his head with one hand.
“I’d rather make you come,” he said. He started towing her through the water toward the edge of the pool.
She’d rather he did that as well. Hard cement dug into her shoulders when she leaned back against the pool edge and Jacob grabbed her ass to lift her pussy to his mouth. She watched him with wide eyes as he blew hot breaths through her wet suit bottoms and then sucked water up through her seam before forcing it back down in a warm gush over her clit. She shuddered, surprised by how good a little water could make her feel.
Jacob’s tongue pressed fabric into her aching center, driving her mad with need. She wanted his tongue inside her, licking her in deep, wide arcs. She reached for him, but felt herself slipping into the water, and had to cling to the pool edge instead, giving the man free rein over everything between her legs. His fingers slid beneath her suit, touching bare skin. He stroked her sensitive lips while drawing water through her bikini bottoms and into his mouth.
She gasped when the tip of his finger slipped inside her. “Take them off,” she pleaded. “I want your tongue inside me.”
He bit into the fabric and tugged. The action did little to relieve her of her bikini bottoms, but the excitement of it had her core clenching with need.
His lips and tongue and teeth worked against her swollen flesh through the thick fabric, and the sensation drove her insane. She grabbed the strings tied into neat bows at both hips and tugged them loose. This time when he grabbed the bikini bottoms with his teeth and yanked, the fabric tore free. The small scrap of orange material floated along the surface of the water beside her.
“In a hurry?” he asked with a soft chuckle.
He had no idea. Taking a deep breath, she pushed off the wall and sank to her knees before him, her head disappearing under the water. Chlorine stung her eyes as she searched for the object she was after. She’d never been good at collecting items from the bottom of the pool, but she had a sturdy guidepost to help her find her way this time. She tugged at the bright red trunks Jacob wore until they slipped down his slim hips. His cock sprang free, rigid and proud, but she’d already run out of air, so she had to surface.
Water sprayed from her lips as she took greedy gulps of air.
“Find what you were looking for?” he asked.
She smiled her naughtiest smile and nodded before taking another deep breath and going down for a second look. Afraid she’d accidentally draw water into her lungs if she tried to suck him off, she settled for stroking his length between both hands and licking the swollen tip. When she surfaced the second time, his eyes were glazed with
passion.
“I’d try to suck—”
Her words ended in a gasp of surprise when without warning he spun her around, grabbed her by the hips, and lowered her onto his cock. She reached between her legs to help him find her opening, then gasped as he struggled to enter her. The water kept washing away her natural lubrication, so he could only claim her an inch at a time. She grabbed the edge of the pool and straightened her arms to give him an anchor to push against. When he was finally buried inside her, he moved his hands from her hips to her breasts and pressed his face into the center of her back.
“I love you,” he whispered. “Amanda.”
Tears sprang to her eyes. She loved him too. She knew she did. But instead of saying the words, she rocked her hips impatiently, working his cock in and out of her body as best she could.
“You’re still not going to say it?” he asked, kissing her bare shoulder. “What are you afraid of?”
“Julie waking up from her nap and catching us like this.”
“We’ll just tell her you have something in your eye.” He chuckled.
“And you’re assisting me by standing behind me and grabbing my tits?”
“I’m talented that way,” he said.
Her attempt to distract him worked. His hips began to pump, driving his cock deep inside her before withdrawing. She bent her knees, hooked her feet together behind him, and let him carry the rhythm. His gentle kisses along her spine intensified her pleasure, and the rhythmic squeezing of her nipples made her pussy tighten around his driving cock. She soon forgot where they were entirely. Only the building excitement of being joined with him—two bodies as one—mattered. Within moments she was spiraling out of control, her hand diving beneath the water to grab her pussy and squeeze her mound as the intensity of the waves of pleasure ripping through her demanded to be contained.
“As much as I want to come inside you . . .” Jacob murmured against her shoulder before he pulled out. She felt the warm bursts of his cum against her ass as he groaned into her hair.
Amanda’s post-orgasm daze lifted quickly when she realized what had happened. “Shit, Jacob! You weren’t wearing a condom?”
“You had to know that,” he said. “You’re the one who forced me inside you that way.”
It wasn’t a lie. She had jerked his trunks down, taken his bare cock in her hand, and pressed it inside her. She obviously hadn’t been thinking clearly.
“I pulled out in time,” he said, rubbing his still hard cock against her ass. “And being inside you felt amazing. Don’t make me regret it.”
“You’ll regret it if I get pregnant,” she said.
“I won’t,” he whispered, pressing tender kisses along her shoulder. He brushed her hair aside and continued up her throat, his mouth igniting a trail of pleasure toward her ear. “I’d be the happiest man on earth.”
What? Her brain struggled mightily with his claim. First he said he loved her and now he was thinking that making babies with her was a good idea? Was he out of his fucking mind?
“Daddy!” Julie called from inside the house. “Where are you? I had an accident in my bed.”
“I’ll be right there, princess,” he said. He adjusted his trunks to leave the pool. “Accidents happen.”
Amanda turned and slumped against the pool wall, her bare breasts concealed beneath the sparkling blue water and watched him—dripping wet and more gorgeous with every breath—enter the house. When he loved someone, this man was all in. No reservations. No fear. But was Amanda ready to plan a future with Jacob when she couldn’t imagine telling her sister that she even talked to him?
“Oh, Jacob,” she whispered. “How will this ever work?”
Chapter Thirteen
Jacob handed Julie her stuffed monkey and set her bag on the floorboard of the SUV. He squatted down in front of her next to her mother’s car and stroked her silky hair, her smooth cheek. “I’ll call you this week when I can.”
“Okay, Daddy. I know you’ll be singing a lot.” Their schedules never seemed to mesh. When he was bored on the bus or in his hotel room, Julie was busy with school and activities. When she had free time in the evenings and before bed, Jacob was preparing for shows, dealing with bullshit, and entertaining the fans.
Julie kissed him with sticky smacking lips and gave him a huge hug before climbing into the back seat of her mother’s SUV.
“Did you have fun with Daddy?” Tina asked as she fastened Julie into her booster seat.
“Oh yes. We went to Aunt Mander’s zoo and then the other zoo that has just one lephalant and we had a tea party and Daddy singed me a song and then I went swimming and—”
“That’s nice,” Tina said as she shut the car door.
“Did you want me to swing by your house to pick her up weekend after next?” Jacob asked. He missed the kid already, and she was only a few feet away.
“I’ll just drop her off,” Tina said with an annoyed huff. “Can’t seem to rely on anyone but myself.”
Jacob bit his tongue so he didn’t remind her that he had offered to pick up Julie, but she had refused because she hadn’t wanted to “deal with him.”
“What time?” Jacob asked.
Tina shrugged. “Whenever I get around to it. You’ll wait.”
He would wait, but it grated on his last nerve that Tina would consciously use that fact just to annoy him. Why couldn’t she be more reasonable, like her sister? How could two people with such similar genetic makeup, who’d been raised in the same household, be so very different?
Tina touched his arm and leaned closer. So close, he caught the familiar scent of her perfume. He fought the urge to step back. A year ago, he might have considered this an opening to get close to her, to win her back. But now? Now he didn’t want to win her back. If not for Julie, he’d have gone out of his way to avoid his ex entirely.
“I guess I’ll see you in a couple weeks,” she said. “Maybe . . .” She blinked up at him with a set of beguiling blue eyes. “Maybe we can take Julie somewhere together or something.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” He wondered how pissed Tina would be if he told her that Amanda was the only woman he wanted to go on outings with. He kept silent, though. Julie was sure to drop enough hints that Tina would figure their situation out very soon, and he was pretty sure Amanda would forgive a four-year-old for being unable to keep their secrets. He wasn’t so sure she’d forgive him, however. He didn’t have the excuse of being a child. He should know better than to intentionally stir up shit.
“Well, think about it,” Tina said. Before he could say anything else, she reached up to touch his cheek with her fingertips. She stared into his eyes for a long moment before slowly backing away as if she didn’t want to lose contact with his skin.
He was too stunned to do anything but gawk at her as she hurried around the SUV and climbed inside. Julie’s enthusiastic wave caught his attention, and he bent his head so he could see her better and waved back. He kept waving even after the vehicle pulled away and turned out of his driveway onto the street.
What the hell had that been about? Tina had seemed almost rational. But she also acted like she wanted to forge some sort of relationship with him again. His life would be a lot more tolerable if they got along better, but he prayed she didn’t think he was interested in her as something besides his baby’s mommy. He didn’t love her anymore, and he knew without a doubt that he’d never be able to love her again. Not after Amanda had showed him that his passion could burn just as brightly with someone who made him feel good about himself. Tina had been a beautiful trophy, and for a while it had been enough to be referred to as the guy with a hot wife, but she’d always made him feel bad about himself, as if he’d never be good enough to make her happy no matter how much he tried. Amanda was so different. She seemed to think he was just fine the way he was and that her happiness was her own responsibility and not someone else’s. Even though she hadn’t said she loved him yet, he believed that she did. He
knew he loved her.
Jacob grinned when the woman he loved pulled into the driveway and stopped directly in front of him—missing his toes by less than a foot. Amanda climbed from the car and peeked at him over its beige top.
“Is it safe?” she whispered.
His grin turned wicked. “Depends on what you mean by safe.”
Now that Julie was back with her mother, possibilities for sexual adventures with Amanda were limited only by their imaginations, vitality, and bendiness. She circled the car, and he lost all power to resist her.
He pulled her against him, whirled them both around, and pressed her against the side of the car, holding her there with his rapidly hardening cock against the beckoning warmth between her thighs. His fingers clutched at her hair as his mouth crushed hers in a devastating kiss. Her hands slid up the back of his T-shirt, nails digging into his flesh. He had a mind to fuck her right there against the car. He might even have gone that far if the sounds of
Treat Me Page 17