by Mika West
Single Dad’s Kissmas
a Single Dad & Virgin Holiday Romance
Mika West
Contents
Single Dad’s Kissmas
Teaser
1. Lucy
2. Ryan
3. Lucy
4. Ryan
5. Lucy
6. Ryan
7. Lucy
8. Ryan
9. Lucy
10. Ryan
11. Lucy
12. Ryan
13. Lucy
His Naughty List
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
About the Author
Copyright © 2017 by Mika West. All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, email [email protected]
Single Dad’s Kissmas
Ryan
My best friend's sister is the Christmas miracle I need.
I long to unwrap her like a forbidden gift and make sweet love to her under the mistletoe.
But she's off limits.
Even more so now that I've become a single daddy to two precious little girls.
I have a responsibility to them. I have to give them stability after all that they've been through.
Yet I can't deny the way Lucy makes me feel.
I want only her.
To protect her. Claim her. And ravish her pure and innocent, sensual curves.
Surely one taste of her Christmas pudding won't kill me?
Lucy
All I want for Christmas is my brother's best friend.
I stare in awe at the man he's become; a muscled giant, tall and rugged, who dotes on his girls.
He's awakened my most intimate desires.
I dream of being in his arms, of him filling me completely.
Giving him my virginity and another bundle of joy.
I know it can never be.
He only sees me as his best friend's kid sister.
But maybe this season I'll give him a Kissmas he'll never forget!
Single Dad's Kissmas is a holiday romance with steamy scenes and a guaranteed happy ending.
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Teaser
“You want to know how I know your lying?” He leaned closer, his face mere centimeters from mine.
“How?” the word emerged as a breathy whisper. Ryan's proximity was causing a severe mental and physical malfunction in the best possible way. His natural male scent left me intoxicated, and I swayed toward him.
“Your cheeks turn a pretty shade of pink; you pull your bottom lip between your teeth and nibble. But most importantly you can’t look me in the eyes, just like now. So fess up, Liar,” he murmured.
His eyes twinkled with amusement when my mouth opened and closed. I’m sure he saw the guilt that flickered across my face because he chuckled. Suddenly, his amusement turned something else, but I wasn’t sure what at first.
His eyes darkened, swirled with flecks of silver. They were mesmerizing, pulled me in. Then he covered the slight distance, and I gasped just before his mouth covered mine.
I could have sworn I felt the earth shift, but that could have been my body quaking with surprise, elation, and lust all at the same time. He stilled for a second and my heart dropped, thinking he would stop, but he didn’t.
His lips moved slowly, coaxingly and my lips parted in invitation, allowing his tongue to slide in. He tasted heavenly, like coffee and... Ryan. My arms wound around his neck, crushing my breasts against his heart and chest. The pressure of his kiss gradually increased until it became ravenous. I kissed him back with fervor, our tongues clashed. He lifted me, took me by surprise. I sat on the counter, and he moved closer, stepped between my thighs, which I widened to accommodate him.
Lucy
I walked up the long stone path to the massive blue and white two-story house. It was more of a mansion than a house. I pulled the lapels of my coat closer, shivering, as I reached the top step. The chill I felt had nothing to do with the cold December breeze, but more to do with whom I was about to see. Just the thought of seeing them together left me chilled to the bone, with an awful sinking feeling in my gut.
I hated it, hated having to work for them, but I had no choice. The amount of money I was offered to do the job would get my business off the ground, from where its been for the last year and a half.
Releasing a sigh, I rang the doorbell with a heavy heart and steeled myself for the oncoming pain.
With their business, I should have been doing backflips across the snow-covered lawn, but I felt like I was on my way to my own execution. I had to watch the two of them together, happy and in love.
The door flew open within twenty seconds, revealing a disheveled but, oh so gorgeous man.
“Lucy.”
“Ryan, hi.” My words were breathier than intended, and I cleared my throat lightly. It was corny but the sight of Ryan always took my breath away and this time was no exception.
His brows creased. “Not that I’m not happy to see you but what are you doing here?”
I glanced over his shoulder, expecting to see her.
“Uh, I’m here to finalize everything with... Julie.” I had to force her name out, and it literally left a bad taste in my mouth. My heart sank deeper, as I processed my own words. Finalize everything. In just weeks, Ryan would be so far out of my reach, more than he’d ever been.
He blinked, his expression blank for a few seconds until realization dawned. “Oh.”
Then he looked crestfallen, leaving me perplexed.
“Gee, Ryan I don’t know much about marriage but shouldn’t people look more excited when they’re about to get hitched?” I let out a nervous giggle, and his frown deepened. Was it something I’d said? Awkward.
“Come in, Lucy. It’s freezing.” Ryan sighed and stepped aside.
I nodded and did as instructed, just realizing that Ryan didn’t only look disheveled, he looked tired and... sad. It had only been a few months since his sister and brother-in-law died in a tragic accident, but I thought his upcoming nuptials would at least put a smile on his face.
“Are you alright, Ryan? What’s wrong?”
He ran his fingers through his too long dark brown hair, that always looked liked it was overdue for a trim. But that was how Ryan had worn his hair for as long as I could remember. It gave him a bad boy edge, and I couldn’t help staring at him. Despite his look of despair, he was the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen.
Of course, being in love with him since I was a kid, made me a tad biased. His masculine, angular face was fit for any magazine cover. And those crystal blue eyes, which looked like they were made from shards of ice, were so intense. Regardless of their color, they always radiated heat, so much so that I sometimes thought I would melt at his feet.
He was tall, a giant compared to me, at six feet four inches, and powerful. One could look at him and tell he’d an athletic background. Ryan Pearce. My brother’s best friend and totally off limits. Now more so than ever. Even if he weren’t engaged, he would never see me the way I wanted h
im to. Unrequited love was utterly depressing.
“I’m trying to be.”
“What’s wrong? Are the girls okay?”
His mouth twisted wryly. “As okay as they can be with me playing Mr. Mom.” He wiped a hand over his face and let out a mirthless laugh. “Luce, I have no idea what I’m doing.”
“I’m sure you’re doing fine, you’re too hard on yourself. I think you’re amazing for taking your sister’s kids after what happened.”
Pain flickered across his face, and I mentally kicked myself. I always did suffer from foot in mouth disease. “I’m sorry, Ryan. I didn’t mean to bring Beth-”
“It’s okay. Anyway, Maxine is in the living room watching cartoons, and Becky is asleep, thank God. I can only manage one child at a time.”
I smiled and peeked over his shoulder for any sign of her. She was the one I was there to see, after all; the bride to be. It was tough for me not to hate her. She was gorgeous, and relatively nice—for the most part—but she was marrying Ryan. My Ryan.
“I’m sure you have plenty of help.”
“Well, the babysitter is a godsend for when I need to run errands.”
“Why do you need a babysitter? Where’s Julie?” Once again pain moved across his features but disappeared quickly. Okay, I was clearly missing something.
“Didn’t your brother tell you?”
I snorted. “First of all, Eric never tells me anything. Second, I haven’t spoken to him in about two weeks.” Eric was still visiting our parents in Florida. “What was he supposed to tell me?”
“The wedding is off, Lucy. Julie left me.”
I gaped at Ryan, beyond stunned.
Instantly, a chorus of cheers and hallelujahs erupted in my brain. With a wash of shame, I halted the celebration and refrained from doing a happy-dance. He was obviously sad, and I wasn't going to add to his pain.
Though there was a person that definitely deserved a slap. Strike that, two people. I was going to strangle my brother as soon as I saw him. This, he could have called me for.
I felt a need to throttle the runaway bride too. I didn’t expect Ryan to call me and inform me. He was still grieving, and he had his hands full raising his two nieces. Julie however, could have given me a courtesy call since I was hired to cater for their damn wedding. Ultimately, there I stood, looking like a complete fool.
My mouth opened and closed several times, but no words emerged. Was I horrible for being relieved that Ryan wasn’t marrying that heartless woman? None of my encounters with her had been pleasant. A mixture of emotions surged through me. Joy, guilt for that joy, and heartbreak because Ryan seemed devastated.
“Oh, Ryan, I’m so sorry.”
I nearly asked what idiot would leave a man like him but held my tongue. But without thinking, I took several steps, covering the distance between us and flung my arms around him, needing to comfort him. Big mistake. His hard, toned body pressed against mine, sent me off kilter. My heart rate went into overdrive; my breathing escalated, and my skin tingled when his arms engulfed me. I pulled away, taking two steps back, sure that my entire face was crimson. Curse my fair skin.
“I... uh...” I stuttered.
Was it just my imagination or had Ryan’s molten gaze dropped to my mouth? He stepped towards me, about to say something when a little girl shouted, “Uncle Ryan, the pancakes smell funny!”
His eyes widened, and I sniffed, the smell of burning permeated the air.
“Damn! The pancakes.”
Ryan took off, leaving me to follow and wonder what just happened. I could have sworn some kind of strange, never before felt chemistry flowed between us, but surely it was all in my head. I was never that lucky.
Ryan
Muttering a curse, I snatched the frying pan off the burner and switched the stove off. I looked down at the burnt pancakes. Why I had promised Maxi pancakes was beyond me, I couldn’t even boil water without burning it.
How was I to raise two girls to adulthood if I couldn’t even feed them? And they had quite a few years left under my guardianship, the poor little humans.
Suddenly, I was swamped with emotions, thinking about my sister, Beth, her husband, James, and the life I was sure I couldn’t give my nieces. A life that they deserved.
Topping off my cake of misery, my fiancée, Julie, had packed her bags and left. I felt like my life was crumbling. My world had tilted so much off its axis that I was losing it, my emotions had me spinning out of control. What else could explain away my ludicrous desire to stick my tongue down Lucy’s throat? She was my best friend’s sister. I couldn’t go there. But, it had nearly happened. I needed to get my shit together, starting with breakfast.
Just then Maxi appeared, dragging Lucy behind her. “Uncle Ryan, you left Lucy in the hallway.”
I grinned. I couldn’t help grinning when Maxi was around. The six-year-old could disarm anyone with her charm. “So, I did. I’m sorry, Lucy. I had to rescue the pancakes, but I was too late.”
“Oh, no. Are we going to starve, uncle Ryan? Lucy said we might starve because you can’t cook. I think she might be right,” Maxi said with a loud, exasperated sigh.
Lucy snickered and coughed lightly. “Thanks for giving me away, kid,” Lucy said and squeezed Maxi’s hand.
“I think she might be right too. What do you say we go out for breakfast? Again?" I said as I looked at the burnt mess in the pan. We’d been eating out and ordering in for months. Julie wasn’t much of a cook, and my culinary skills were less than zero.
Maxi smiled. “As long as we can have pancakes with syrup! And no burnt bits,” she added quietly.
“Alright, we’ll wake your sister and go out for pancakes.”
“Or, I can make all of you pancakes right here?”
Both Maxi and I looked at Lucy, wide-eyed as if she were our savior. Maxi gasped. “Lucy, you know how to make pancakes? My mommy knew how to make pancakes too. I love you even more now.”
I watched Lucy melt before my eyes. Both of my nieces had taken a liking to her. Who wouldn’t love Lucy with her gentle nature and the warmth she exuded? That was how she had been growing up, and she hadn’t changed one bit. I frowned, thinking about Julie. She was the opposite. The girls detested her no matter how hard I tried to make them get along. Shaking my head, I decided it wasn’t the time to think about Julie. First, I had to ensure my nieces were fed before sinking into despair.
“Do you have the time? I wouldn’t want to keep you.”
Lucy shrugged. “Nothing much happens on a Tuesday morning. I’ve got time. There’s a little girl here that desperately need her pancakes, stat! Right Maxi?”
Maxi beamed and nodded.
“Alright, Maxi get back to your cartoon until breakfast is ready.” She took off, skipping excitedly and I gave Lucy a grateful smile. “Hey, thanks, you just saved the day. Well, the morning at least.”
A blush seeped into Lucy’s cheeks, which I found adorable. I didn’t remember the last time I was with a woman who still had the ability to blush.
Sweet Lucy Wells. I met her when she was ten, and I was thirteen. Her family had just moved to Manchester, Vermont from California and her brother Eric was the new kid in my class. Eric and I hit it off instantly. He invited me over one day, and that was when I saw a tiny girl with jet black hair and porcelain skin twirling around the living room in a pink tutu. I thought she looked like the Disney character; Snow White.
I still called her Snow White from time to time, mostly to tease her now. Hell, that day, I even expected to see birds and squirrels singing and dancing with the little girl. She had smiled at me, and I was lost. I’d always had a soft spot for Lucy, but had always treated her like what she was; my best friend’s kid sister… I was a surrogate big-brother that was all.
To think I nearly kissed her. I couldn’t deny that Lucy was a stunner. With all that luxurious raven hair that hung to her back like a silky curtain, her sweet heart-shaped face with wide blue eyes and thick lashes that gave her
an innocent appeal, and then there were her lips that curved so sensually with the prominent cupid’s bow, just begging to be kissed.
Lucy’s movements pulled me from my lustful haze. She removed her coat, throwing it over the back of a chair and I had to stifle a groan. She wore fitted jeans that hugged her hips and a sweater that molded her shape to perfection. At that moment, I wondered why I usually went for the taller, thinner type. Lucy was gorgeous!
She’s my best friend’s sister, she’s my best friend’s sister. I figured if I chanted enough, my inappropriate thoughts about Lucy would disappear.
“Alright, just show me where everything is.” She was in front of me, and her floral scent filled my nostrils. “Are you okay, Ryan?”
I realized that I had been rooted to the spot, staring at her. “Um, yes. I’ll get you everything and let you work your magic.”
Minutes later, I sat on a stool at the massive island in the center of the kitchen, watching Lucy work. Every time she moved, my gaze followed, admiring her grace and culinary skill. The way her jeans stretched across her ass each time she bent over was very admirable too. I hadn’t realized that I let out an expletive until she glanced over her shoulder.
“What was that?”
I coughed.
“Just saying how glad I am that you showed up and save the morning.” I shifted in my seat, glad that she couldn’t see my growing boner. What was the matter with me, lusting after Lucy?
“If I had known you needed help I would have been here, Ry. Although, I thought...”
“What?”
She nibbled her lower lip, drawing my attention to her mouth. God, I wished she wouldn’t do that. Growing up, I never allowed myself to see Lucy as anything more than a friend that I cared about, deeply. It wasn’t until I came back to Manchester for the summer holiday that things changed.
Eric and I were both in college then and decided to spend summer vacation at home. And when I saw an eighteen-year-old Lucy, I knew I would get myself into trouble if I didn’t stay away. Out of nowhere, the attraction had hit me like a ton of bricks. It was then I realized that perhaps my feelings for Lucy weren’t purely brotherly as I had thought. So, I stayed away after that—far away—buried my strange feelings and even got engaged.