Billionaire Baby Daddy: A Second Chance Romance

by Lara Swann

Does she want him to be her father?

  “She said yes.”

  The wave of relief that sweeps through me takes me by surprise, and I cling onto the edge of the kitchen counter, blinking hard.

  “Oh, thank god.” I say, then look back at him, offering a weak smile. “At least, well…I guess that makes things easier, right?”

  But his expression doesn’t change, and it’s deep and unreadable enough that I start getting goosebumps down my arms. He’s not done.

  And when he speaks, his voice is so soft - so gentle - that I fear it might undo me completely.

  “She told me she was looking for her Daddy because…because sometimes she sees you upset, and she thinks it would make you happy.” His head tilts as I feel my heart start to break, and the compassion there is too much for me to bear. “She wants to find a Daddy to help you.”

  I sit down on the stool, blinking hard to try and clear my eyes.

  “Fuck.” I whisper. My hands come up to my head, and it’s all I can do not to break down sobbing. “She sees too much.”

  And then Alistair is there, his arms wrapping around me - and I bury my head against his chest. His strong, masculine scent surrounds me - warmth and comfort and things that I really don’t fucking deserve right now.

  But I can’t resist him - I can’t bring myself to pull away, even as I try to pull myself together and not picture the things my poor, beautiful little girl has had to see.

  “It’s been hard for you, raising her alone.” He murmurs.

  I bite my lip, then just shrug, not wanting to say anything. It’s hardly fair to tell him about that. He would’ve been there if I’d let him.

  “Tell me about it, Leah. Maddie is the most remarkable, beautiful little girl - and I’ve spent the last couple of weeks admiring what you’ve done for her, and how you’ve raised her. It’s impossible to believe…and all alone. I want to hear about it, I want to take some of it from you - all the things you’ve gone through along the way, all those difficult moments. I want to be here - for you both.”

  I shake my head roughly, trying to pull back from his grip. He doesn’t let me go.

  “It was my decision, Alistair. Sure, it was tough, but…I can hardly complain about it. Especially not to you. Y-you haven’t known her for years, because of me—”

  “Oh, damn that, Leah. You’ve always been so fucking strong willed. But that doesn’t matter, Leah. Just because you chose it doesn’t mean that it hasn’t been hard - doesn’t mean that you don’t need to talk about it. To tell someone all those struggles, the daily battles, the stress and worry.” He finally lets me pull back, and I look up to see nothing but care and admiration in his eyes. None of the accusation I keep imagining. None of the resentment and anger I’m afraid of. The things that have been holding me back ever since I realized how fucking perfect he really is. Too perfect for me. “You don’t have to deal with that alone anymore. I want to share it with you, baby. You didn’t let me for four years…let me now?”

  I shudder - I can’t help it - and he sits down next to me, pulling me onto his lap. His arms enclose me and I curl up in a ball against him as I can’t control it anymore - it all comes out, sobs wracking through my body and tears flooding down my face.

  All those years alone…all those years I didn’t have to be alone.

  The pain and heartache and grief. The regret for the things I didn’t or couldn’t do - and even worse, for the things I did.

  The times I got something wrong, made the wrong choice, and Maddie suffered because of it. All the doubts that I was doing it wrong. All the fear that things would never get any better. That I wouldn’t even get through the next day.

  The times I almost gave up - again and again.

  He murmurs to me, whispering my name, soothing and comforting - and I can’t believe how it feels, to let go in his arms. To have someone stronger protecting me - every part of him surrounding me and guiding me through the storm of my emotions. To have him hear all the times I messed up with his baby girl, without judging me.

  A solid rock that’s been missing from my life for so long.

  Simply the scent and feel of him around me would’ve been enough to soothe me, after a while - those strong arms encircling me, the hard, muscled chest I’m lying against, the soft press of his lips against my forehead. But he tells me it’s all going to be okay, too. That we’re going to deal with the rest of the challenges together - that we’re going to make the same stupid mistakes together. And that it will be okay.

  Because we have a beautiful little girl who adores us both.

  And all the stress…all the endless stress that I’ve carried with me for so long…somehow, the weight of it finally starts easing. Just a little.

  “Leah…” He murmurs, after my sobs finally start easing, saying my name again and again, almost like it’s some kind of reassuring litany in itself.

  And after a while, it feels like all my tears have run dry, and my emotional outburst subsides enough that I can look up at him again - through a tear-stained face, maybe, but with a lighter feeling in my chest. A little bit more hope, maybe.

  His hand caresses my cheek, and he leans in to kiss the last couple of tears from my eyes. I shudder again, but not from sobbing this time.

  “I’ll take care of you both any way you want, you know that. Whether you want me to or not. I’ll give you anything you need, no matter what you decide or how you want this to work. But what I want…fuck, Leah, I want so much more than that. I want to be Maddie’s Daddy - and I want you. I want to be a family. I want you living here with me, where I can see you every day, make you happy every day.” He shakes his head, and I hear his voice roughen with the emotion behind it. “I’ve been going out of my mind for the last week - wanting you so badly I can’t even describe it. Terrified every day you don’t make a move that this whole thing will slip away - that the best thing that ever happened to me will disappear. Again. I want you, Leah. So fucking badly.”

  I moan at the need I hear in his voice, a light, fragile sound coming from deep within me. I feel it too - that same need, that same desperation.

  The same fear.

  That the best thing I could’ve imagined…will disappear.

  I look up at him, our raw, emotional gazes meeting each other, and feel like I’m being pierced straight through my chest.

  And I finally say what I’ve been holding back. The thing that’s made it impossible for me to talk to him - to ask for more. Because I don’t know how to get over…what I did.

  “Alistair…I did it all alone - I raised Maddie by myself - because I didn’t want you in our lives. I made that decision. For both of us. I didn’t talk to you, didn’t give you a chance - I just decided. I saw the way you were with me, with your business, with everything…and I thought you’d be terrible for my little girl. But you’re not. You’re the most amazing Dad I’ve ever seen. And it kills me - because I was so wrong. And…and I’m so sorry. So sorry. For what I did. But I don’t…I don’t know how I can ever make it right. How we can be together, knowing that I took away four years of Maddie’s life from you. It’s why…why I haven’t said anything. Because - because I don’t want to hear how much you must hate me for that.”

  Alistair takes a deep breath above me, and I close my eyes, unable to bear seeing his expression as he tells me what I’ve been running away from for the last couple of weeks.

  But instead, he tilts my chin up - and he kisses me. Nothing like he did two weeks ago - no, this is soft and gentle…an exploration. And a reassurance. A light touch, a little bit of tenderness - and enough to have my heart rocketing out of my chest.

  When he breaks it, I finally risk it - I open my eyes.

  And, even after all that, I don’t quite believe the compassion I see in his face.

  “I don’t care about all that, Leah.” He says, so softly I have to strain to hear him. “You were right - about the way I acted with you. And, if I’d had a child then…I don’t know. It did someth
ing to me, when you left. When you gave up everything I offered you - I thought it was so much - and when that happened, I couldn’t believe it. Maybe that changed things. I don’t know - yes, it kills me to think of those years Maddie grew up without me. Time I’ll never get back. But what I care about? I care about the future, Leah. I want to be in her life. I want to watch her grow up and love her like she deserves.”

  “Really?” I breathe it, unable to believe how he could feel that way…after everything.

  “Really.” His face takes on a smirk, and the familiar mischief in his gaze makes my heart flip over again. “I’ve only tried to say that a few dozen times.”

  It coerces a slight smile out of me, and I lean back into him with a sigh. I almost feel like a child myself, curled up on top of him like this. Letting myself be taken care of, for once.

  “Leah…” He catches my attention again, and I raise my head. “Move in with me. Let me date you again. You and Maddie. I want to make you both the happiest girls in the world.”

  Date you again.

  Unbidden, the corner of my mouth turns up at that idea. The simplicity of it.

  Like when we were so much younger…but different now, of course.

  A chance to learn each other again - to explore. All the things we used to love about each other, all the new parts of our lives to understand and appreciate.

  It takes another weight off of me, and I breathe deeply as I realize just how difficult I’d been finding this. Being so close to him…and so distant.

  I nod, very slightly.

  “Okay. Yes. I’d like that.” I say, trying out the words one at a time. Tasting them on my tongue. And then I smile up at him. “We can…date.”

  He smiles - the kind of smile that goes straight to a girl’s heart. And other places. A beaming smile bright enough that it’s impossible not to see how happy you’ve made someone. I feel a similar energy jolting through me - as if it’s infectious. As if pure happiness is something you can catch from each other.

  Or maybe it’s just that I want him - I want this - as much as he does.

  Then his gaze turns stern, and I hold my breath.

  “Just so long as I get you living here while we’re doing the dating thing.” He points out. “No coy six-month timetable, or anything like that.”

  I grin, my emotional outpouring of only minutes ago seeming so far away now, the fear and pain and stress of it all dispersed on everything that Alistair has said and done. Now, I feel free in a way I can’t even remember - not just from all the difficulties life has thrown at me, but from the emotional baggage that was slowly weighing me down, too. It’s suddenly easy to laugh again - to be around Alistair. To enjoy him. To enjoy this.

  My grin shifts into a slow smile as I throw a deliberate glance around the apartment.

  “I don’t know. I still say this place is completely unsuitable for a little girl—”

  “We’ll change it, then. Any way you want. Or another place, then. I’ll buy a new one. I don’t care. I want you and Maddie and me living together. The rest of it? Whatever you want, baby.”

  I smirk.

  He really does know how to make a girl feel special. I shift closer to him, suddenly appreciating his firm body against mine in a completely different way as I finally take him in.

  Alistair.

  The Alistair Sinclair.

  My baby daddy.

  And maybe…mine.

  “I suppose I could allow that.” I say, my eyes dancing with his. “But I have a request of my own.”

  “Name it.”

  “Can we have our first date right now?”

  He laughs, looking back at me with a curious gaze.

  “Well…I was planning something a little more elaborate - a rooftop bar, maybe, or a night at the opera…something to impress you.”

  “Fuck that. You know what would really impress me?”

  “Oh yes?” He murmurs, but I’m already on him.

  I lean in to kiss him, drawing his head down to meet me and finally capturing those lips against my own. The thing I’ve been wanting since I broke off that kiss far too long ago.

  The thing I’ve been wanting for five long years.

  He responds immediately, his arms shifting around me and picking me up - until we’re both standing, and he’s pressing me back against the counter, nibbling at my lips and growling my name. My pussy spasms in response, and I let out a breathy sigh.

  Ohh, yes. This is exactly what I wanted.

  His hand holds my head to him, keeping my lips pressed against his while his other hand starts to explore - caressing my neck, then down my collar bone, and lower…until I’m shuddering and want him more than words can say.

  “Okay.” He says, when he finally breaks to take a breath. “This can be our first date.”

  I’m still laughing at him when he presses forward hard, and my back bumps hard against the counter. The heat that has always been at some kind of simmer around him starts building inside me, running through my veins until I’m breathy and moaning out his name.

  I nip at his lip and then push my tongue inside, tangling with his until he returns the favor, our mouths clashing while my hands run down the smooth silk of his shirt. I can feel every muscle perfectly sculpted under it, and I want nothing more than to trace them all with my mouth. My pussy starts throbbing, the ache that’s building in it feeling like it’s been there for years. Fuck, it probably has.

  His hands start moving over my breasts a moment later - the two of them in perfect tandem, instantly driving me crazy. My nipples feel solid as rocks, hard enough that I can feel every slight twitch of his fingers, even through my bra and top, and every touch sends lightning straight to my center.

  The lust in his eyes matches every feeling rippling through me - and his own stiff cock, pressing against my belly and making me remember what it was like to have it inside me. Filling me. How full and whole and perfect it was between us.

  Whatever else went wrong - sex was never a problem.

  I cut that thought out of my mind. Problems don’t belong there anymore.

  This is a new start. A new chance. For both of us.

  And for my little girl.

  I force that out of my mind too. She’s far too innocent to be lurking there with all my other thoughts, right now.

  I jump up, and he helps as I wrap my legs around his waist - those strong arms supporting me while his hands explore my ass. I grin at him, then wriggle forward, and almost giggle when he groans against me, his rock-hard cock pressing right where I want it to.

  “Leah…fuck, you’re going to drive me crazy.”

  I smile, leaning forward to nibble his ear and run kisses down the side of his neck, murmuring. “Just like before, huh?”

  He grinds against me, his mouth seizing mine for a passionate kiss before pulling back, eyes wild and a matching grin on his face.

  “Not quite like before.” His voice rumbles, and I can feel it in his chest, that’s how close together we’re pressed now. “This time, you’re the mother of my child, too. My sexy baby momma.”

  “Ugh.” I think about the stretch marks, the baby fat I still have four years later, and the aging Maddie has put me through, and groan.

  “Yeah, I was kinda hoping you wouldn’t notice that. Can’t we just pretend I’m still a hot young college student?” I ask, eyes wide and sparkling up at him.

  He frowns, his hands moving over my body as he shakes his head. “Why would we want to do that? You’re ten times hotter than you used to be, Leah.”

  I can’t help it. I burst out laughing at that. It’s a nice thought, but, y’know…would’ve been a little more believable if he’d just stuck to you’re as sexy as you always were. Ten times…yeah, sure.

  “You like baby fat and wrinkles now?” I ask, irreverent. I don’t really care about what Maddie’s done to my body - she’s been worth it millions of times over. But I’d rather not pretend. “Your tastes really have changed.”

&nb
sp; The teasing frown narrows into a real one at that, and he pushes me back up against the island counter, until I’m caught between the weight of his body and the hard, stone weight of the dramatic centerpiece. I know which one of those I prefer - but having the strength of both is a thrill of it’s own.

  “I think…you don’t quite see what I do, Leah.” Alistair’s gaze roves over me - and as it does, his hands follow. “So I’m going to have to show you.”

  And without warning - he rips open my top. It’s a damn good thing his hand presses over my mouth a moment later, because that yell definitely would’ve woken Maddie.

  What the hell…?!

  “That was my top!” I sputter, redundantly.

  He chuckles. “It needed replacing anyway.”

  I try to scowl - I’m still very much in the mindset where new clothes are a scarce luxury, but I guess for a billionaire, maybe they’re a little more disposable - but I’m too distracted by the way he’s touching me.

  Hot hands roaming over my bare flesh, every inch of skin responding to his touch, my nerves dancing as those strong caresses light me up from the inside.

  “Beautiful, soft skin…” He starts murmuring. “Just a hint of a sweet, round belly…full, sexy curves that were just made for touching…and…”

  His hands glide around to my back, and with one skilled touch, my bra slips free. I stare at him, still not quite believing I’m sitting here half naked in his kitchen, but completely caught up in his spell. In the way he’s looking at me. In the things he’s making me see - and feel.

  Satisfied, he smirks as he looks down at my breasts - admittedly, the one nice part about pregnancy. Even if they are a little less pert than they used to be. His hands run over where the band of my bra was only moments before, until he’s cupping them between both palms. I can’t help it - I arch into him immediately, needing more.

  “…and the most beautiful breasts I’ve ever seen.”

  I moan again, at his words this time. At the idea that maybe pregnancy hasn’t ruined my body. Maybe, as he seems to think, it’s only made it better.

  He tilts my chin up, then takes my mouth in a long, sensuous kiss. The kind that leaves my pussy throbbing and my ass squirming where he’s keeping me perched on this stone counter. When he finally let’s me take a breath, the pure desire in his eyes sets my body on fire all over again.