Baby's Daddy: An Enemies to Lovers Romance

by Aubrey Wright

  Jax sat on one of the old rusting chairs in my backyard, beer in hand, perfectly at home. A man in a blue jumpsuit hammered at my kitchen window.

  “Hey. What’s going on?”

  Jax tilted his head, and my heart skipped a beat. I clamped my jaws shut to keep from saying any more. Today was the day I would start to stutter.

  Jax wore a V-necked T-shirt that strained over the humongous bulk of his shoulders. The sleeves clung to his tanned skin, right above his bulging bicep. The fine hair on his forearms made my mouth go dry. I noticed every little detail, every pore beaded with sweat, every vein crisscrossing his arm.

  I turned into molten heat at the sight of him. Casual. Easygoing. Just an average guy, spending a day at home. A family man.

  That overboard description completely made the whole thing poof right out of my head.

  Jax—a family man.

  Some sadistic, evil thing in my head laughed mercilessly at that word choice.

  “You’re home early today.”

  I spotted the squares of glass placed on the ground. “You’re getting my window fixed?”

  “Mmm.”

  “That’s really sweet.” My eyes met his, and I looked away to avoid letting him see how much that little gesture meant to me.

  He chuckled. “It could’ve been sweeter. I had a big fat fail earlier.”

  “How so?”

  “I tried fixing it myself using Dad’s toolbox, but I was no good. Way out of my skillset.”

  “Of course.” I couldn’t help but grin as he humbled himself. “So, who’s your friend?”

  “My friend here is Jeremy.”

  Jeremy waved sheepishly.

  “I hired him to get this done for us.”

  A smile lingered on my lips. Our gazes held like they had last night. I couldn’t live through many more of these hot, connected moments without unraveling.

  Just hope he leaves before you two end up doing something you’ll regret.

  Jax would return to Seattle and integrate just fine back into his celebrity life.

  I’m the one who would be here—a sobbing, brokenhearted mess.

  Exactly like last time.

  I found my eyes traveling back to his gray T-shirt and quickly yanked my gaze away. I pretended to be entranced by Jeremy’s handiwork instead.

  I didn’t know this side of Jax. His caring enough to get the window fixed was way too much for my constantly lusty state.

  “Jax” and “careless” had been synonymous when we were younger. He was an unruly, spoiled brat. He was also affectionate and kind, until he simply wasn’t and dumped me.

  Unpredictable Jax Decker. Fickle. Unreliable. Abandoner.

  I shook my head to clear the barrage of negativity. I desperately counted on that negativity and resentment to bail me out of wanting the man. But it was backfiring now.

  Any day now, he’d walk up to me to announce he was leaving. The knowledge that he was only here for a short while was making me miserable.

  Last night, I’d spent hours trying to push out all thoughts of us being a family. Even though Jax seemed to think that the last eleven years had changed him for the worse, I was beginning to doubt that. Or was I delusional?

  When he spoke, authority and domination were stamped onto every word. I could only imagine how well that translated into Jax in bed.

  It’s been eleven years.

  My body ached to feel him inside me again.

  “Was Anna still worried about the intruder when you took her to school?”

  I crash-landed back to reality. “She’s easygoing. She asked to stay over at a friend’s house tonight, but I didn’t sense she was doing it out of fear. She’s over it.”

  He paused. “Now that is a trait worth something. Not pondering over the negativity of the past. You can learn something from her there.”

  My eyes snapped to his. His gaze was boring holes into mine.

  Did he mean that we should forget our negative past and move on, with each other?

  No, Liv. You’re on the wrong track again.

  That’s not what he wanted. And he certainly did not want me.

  The more I reminded myself of that, the better it would be for me in the long run. Jax made it clear that he didn’t want to stay in Ashland. The only reason he was playing husband here and getting my window fixed was because he had nothing better to do.

  Jax brows snapped together. “I think your doorbell just rang.”

  As if on cue, two police officers made their way around the side of the house.

  “Liv Garner?”

  “Hello, Officer.” I shook hands with both officers, the same ones who had responded to my call last night.

  “I’m Officer Quinn. This is my partner, Officer Andrews.”

  Jax stood next to me as I wrung my hands in nervous tension. The officers had already met and recognized Jax last night, but they remained professional.

  “Is everything okay?”

  “We made progress on your report of the break-in. We received a tip about a suspicious man running down your street around the time of the break-in. Your neighbor, a Mrs. Clarence, called it in.”

  I felt Jax’s strong hand clutch my elbow. Unthinkingly, I leaned into the support he offered. “Did you find him?”

  “A man named Marcus DelCorde. Do you know him?”

  The officers were looking at Jax now. Not me.

  I shook my head, glancing at Jax. His jaw seemed like it was set in stone.

  “Marcus is a reporter from New York. We have confirmation that he arrived in Ashland by bus an hour before you called 911. We have his statement.”

  “What did he want?” My heart thudded in fear. “I don’t understand why he would pick our house to break into.”

  “Actually, Miss Garner, DelCorde was looking for him.” The officer pointed at Jax.

  “Excuse me?” Jax’s voice was low.

  “According to DelCorde, he received a tip that Mr. Decker was staying at this property. He mixed up the houses and ended up breaking the window at Ms. Garner’s house. He said he was only trying to peek in through the window and get a photo when he accidently cracked the glass with his elbow and almost fell inside. It was unintentional. We’re holding him for trespassing.”

  My blood rushed to my temples. All that panic and fear over a misunderstanding. I could barely speak as the officers left.

  I looked over at John’s house: the crumbling roof, the bare drainage pipes, the rotting fence. I had to focus on every detail to keep from thinking of what I’d learned. If I were smart, I’d stay the hell away from Jax Decker.

  Jax led a public life. The public interest in his every move ensured that he always had a camera lens pointed at him. Reporters flocked to get their hands on any tidbit they could monetize. They peeked through windows and invaded personal space without a care in the world.

  I didn’t want any part of that life.

  But you do want Jax?

  While he was in Ashland, I could have him. I could feel his lips on mine again, his strong arms around me. His cock plunging into me in the same demanding, dominating manner that he spoke in and walked and pretty much did everything else.

  It was my only chance to have a little more of Jax.

  I’d loved him. I’d loved him, but I couldn’t have him. His life and mine didn’t overlap at any corner, and it wasn’t meant to be. But did that mean I had to live the rest of my life without kissing him again? Fucking him again?

  I could savor what little I had. Indulge in my crazy-ass whims.

  And fuck him.

  Or get fucked by him.

  I lurched as Jax’s hand rested on my lower back. “You okay?”

  My eyes glued to his. Clara always said that she’d kill to have Jax’s eyelashes. I knew exactly what she meant. I let my gaze drop shamelessly to his square chin, his chiseled lips.

  That stubble on his jaw was going to be the death of me. How would it feel grating against my nipples? If I kissed
him now, he’d leave my chin raw from the friction of that stubble.

  My cheeks grew hot, and I shook my head. Something sensible inside me reared its head. Use this break-in as a learning experience. Your life and your child’s life would become public property if your name were ever linked with him.

  Instead, you’re using this incident as an opportunity to throw caution to the wind and fuck him.

  It was hard enough without Jax’s strong hand running up and down my back.

  “I owe you an apology.”

  I really wished he wouldn’t be nice to me. I wanted him to be mean. Remind me what an asshole he was. Something to help my wavering resolve.

  “It’s my fault that you and Anna had to go through this.” He motioned to the window. “Shit. You suffered because those rats don’t want to me leave me alone.”

  I felt drunk, but I wasn’t. All my senses were attuned to how close Jax stood. His scent. The sweat that glistened on his neck.

  Those beads of sweat reminded me of my eighteenth birthday. Jax had run all the way to my house.

  “I’m sweaty, Liv.” He’d pulled away after kissing me.

  “I don’t mind. I like you like this.”

  I had clung to Jax’s sweaty back as he plunged his tongue inside my mouth, wishing me a happy birthday.

  I loved the scent of him. I loved him.

  I jumped as Jeremy dropped a hammer into his toolbox.

  “This window’s all done. Do you still want the locks changed?”

  Jax shook his head. “I think we’re good with the locks. The break-in was misunderstanding.”

  “Okie dokie.”

  Jax paid Jeremy, and I used that time to examine the gleaming new glass in my kitchen window. A blazing reminder of why it would never work out with Jax—not even as a casual fling.

  I loved Jax too much to treat this as a dalliance and come out the other end uninjured.

  I wanted the man. The whole of him. I wanted a life with him and a family with him. Now that was a dangerous thought.

  I opened the back door and stepped inside. “Do you want a coffee, Jax?”

  “Iced?”

  “Sure.”

  I kept my face averted as I got the instant coffee out of the cupboard. My mind was in turmoil.

  My hands shook. I didn’t want Jax to ask questions. How could I possibly explain to him that I was terrified of being alone with him? Because I didn’t trust myself.

  Being a part of Jax’s life would come with a lot of intrusions. Add that to the risk of abandonment. I was inviting catastrophe in through the front door. An emotional catastrophe.

  Anna didn’t deserve a life of scrutiny. I’d seen how the press attacked and scrutinized children of celebrities. I didn’t want that invasion in my privacy—nor in Anna’s.

  With trembling hands, I poured the coffee into tall glasses filled with ice. The two matching ones. One said L, and the other A.

  Jax chuckled when I handed him the one with A printed on it. “I wanted the other one,” he joked.

  I forced a smile and hoped to God that it looked sincere. I needed some time to sort out this dilemma in my head. I was a mess. The more I stayed alone with him, the more I wanted him. I had to get Jax’s annoyingly sexy body away from me. To focus on finding a solution to my mental turmoil.

  “Shit, I forgot the straws.” I shot out of my seat, but Jax beat me to it.

  “I’ll get them. Just tell me where they are.”

  I stayed put because the only reason I’d panicked over the straws in the first place was because I needed some physical distance from him. The air between us was charged.

  “Not here.” He shuffled through the cupboard I pointed at.

  “To the left. Reach behind the cereal. Forget it, I’ll get them.”

  Disoriented, I hurried over and reached into the cupboard. His head snapped toward me and I belatedly realized that the side of my body was pressed to his rock-hard abs.

  My breath caught as his eyes dropped to my lips.

  It happened so fast. When I surfaced from my delirium, my lips were on his. I tasted them, groaning in his mouth. I held Jax’s stubbled jaw between both hands, and pinned him hungrily to my mouth.

  My tongue slid along his upper lip gently. His teeth caught my lower lip. Jax tasted of bitter coffee. He smelled of cologne and sweat. His shoulders were massive underneath my elbows.

  “Liv.” His hiss sizzled in my open mouth. His strong hands clutched my back. His fingers dug into my spine as he crushed my pliant body into his hard one. I felt every hard contour of his muscled chest. The pulsating strength of his arousal bore its shape into my navel. His hips thrust forward lightly, and that dirty reminder of what he wanted to do to me made me cry out.

  It was my moan that snapped me out of my crazy cocoon of euphoric pleasure.

  I pulled back and broke the kiss. But I was imprisoned in his strong embrace, and all I could free was my mouth. My elbows that rested on his mammoth shoulders slid lower and hooked into his chest as I tried to pry my way out.

  Our eyes held, and I halted. I was wildly, painfully aware of the lust scorching his face. He didn’t want to let go. He wanted me right here. He wanted my mouth on his, and my stomach against his cock. If the unrelenting hardness of his cock was anything to go by, that was obviously not all he wanted.

  I twisted again, panicking at the frenzy of my own need. He released me so abruptly that I stumbled backward.

  I didn’t have to stand around awkwardly, trying to explain why I had thrown myself at him again, only to shove him away.

  He didn’t stick around. His jaw taut, his expression unreadable, he left the screen door swinging on his way out.

  I hated myself, and I would be amazed if he didn’t hate me too.

  I kept dangling myself in front of him then pulled away as soon as he reached for me.

  I clutched the kitchen counter and watched him through the window. My ears were ringing. My thighs clenched to squeeze the raging need out of myself.

  Why couldn’t I keep my hands off him?

  14

  Jax

  I couldn’t believe my life choices had led me to this.

  Standing under a shower with a cock that that refused to go down.

  A shower that trickled cold water onto my shoulders. To help things along, I scraped the showerhead with my fingernail, adding a few more sprinkles of cold water to my body.

  My frustrated groan resounded in the bathroom. I glanced down at my cock and my hands fisted by my sides. I really, desperately wanted to rub the bratty, angry lust right out of me. It had been so damned long since I’d masturbated.

  My life in Seattle came with hordes of women. Always available for a fuck. I couldn’t walk through a hotel lobby without room keys pressed into my palm. I brought a woman home from every event I attended. Since my social appearances were frequent, so were the opportunities for sex.

  The downside to having so many available women to fuck at all times was that now I felt awkward even considering jerking off. Like it was wrong. Almost like I was embarrassed to do what I’d done countless times in my teens.

  “Maybe it’s time to start again,” I said to no one in particular but glaring at my cock as if it was a person I didn’t quite like.

  “Jax?”

  I jerked my head toward the sound. Silence. Was I hearing things? Was I losing my fucking mind?

  I turned off the shower. Lusting after Liv had screwed with my head.

  I couldn’t believe Liv would follow me. After what just happened in her kitchen, I’d expected her to follow a self-imposed restraining order. Just recalling how she’d suddenly regained her senses and shoved me off her was enough to make me want to punch a hole through the wall.

  Which I’d never done before. But I assumed I could manage. I’d always been curious about the kind of self-destructive violence that convinced people to risk breaking their own fist just to get rid of some billowing fury inside them.

 
My ears were attuned to every sound. I didn’t hear Liv calling out my name. But I heard birds outside. A car honking somewhere. I thought I could even hear the crackle of electricity flowing through the wires.

  No footsteps, though. I was probably mistaken.

  I stood naked, wet, my cock hard.

  Shit, I was losing it. I ran a wet hand across my forehead, pushing my hair back. I could still taste her lips on mine. Her scent was embedded in my skin. Ashland was giving me mental health issues.

  I peeked into the hallway through the open bathroom door.

  I turned back, shaking my head at the same time. A creak of the door hinges made me whirl around.

  I saw the expression of pure horror on Liv’s face before I heard her yelp.

  “Shit.” She spun around to face the other way, clutching the doorframe.

  “Liv, what the fuck are you doing here?” Since she had already turned her back to me, I clutched my hard cock in my palms to cover it. Not like she was interested in looking at it anyway.

  Or me. Or kissing me. Or fucking me.

  I was the one pining after her sweet body and wanting to bury myself inside her.

  She sounded out of breath. “Why are you standing here in the bathroom?”

  “Excuse me for wanting a shower. I do live here. Did you want something?”

  “I was looking for you.”

  I lifted my hands in frustrated annoyance. “Looks like you found more of me than you were expecting.”

  “I’m so sorry. I didn’t think—you left my place a second ago. Why are you even in the shower? Oh, wait. Don’t. Don’t answer that.”

  Clearly, she’d connected the dots. If I were capable of being embarrassed, I’d blush at being caught in the act of trying to cool down my angry cock.

  “What do you want?”

  “I think we should talk. Later, of course.”

  I waited for her to walk out. But no, she stayed put. “I think now’s fine. The worst that could happen has already happened.”

  Long silence. “There are worse things that could happen. It’s nothing I haven’t seen before.”

  “I guess that’s supposed to make me feel better?”