Daddy Plus One: A Single Dad Secret Baby Billionaire Romance

by Brooke Valentine

  “Okay, fine,” Cat agreed. She had grown used to his strange need for secrecy, it seemed. He liked to think maybe she even understood it in a way.

  “Great, then, let’s go find my ride,” he said, grinning.

  Cat didn’t seem even remotely surprised that he took her to visit dolphins. In fact, if anything she seemed quite delighted to go with him into the bay and discover where his watery friends were playing for the day. The pair spent a couple of hours with them, and then Aiden brought her back to his place.

  “Aren’t we going back to work?” she asked him curiously.

  “Sure we are,” he shrugged. “I just thought we could stop by here first.”

  Cat giggled as he turned off the motor and pocketed his key. He couldn’t make it more obvious that he was in no hurry if he tried.

  “Aiden, you do know that we’re meant to be working right now, don’t you?”

  “Yeah, but Kellen already gave me a green light to take my time,” he said, smirking. “I’m sure that if he needs us for anything, he’ll give us a call. Besides, it’s barely two in the afternoon. We’re both stressed out from all the nonsense, and I for one find being close to you physically tends to make all of this worthwhile.”

  Blushing as he came around and tugged her out of the vehicle, Cat did not hesitate to follow him through the door and straight down the hall to the place where both of them wanted to be.

  “I missed you last night,” she admitted as he pulled her into his arms.

  “Good, baby, I missed you too. But we can make up for it now.”

  TWENTY

  Cat’s shirt today had no sleeves, which made it easy for Aiden to quest his fingers from her shoulders down to her elbows as he walked her backwards toward the bed. The backs of her knees hit, and she sank down onto it, practically dragging her lover along with her. He dutifully arranged himself comfortably on top of her, raining passionate kisses on her cheeks and eyes before his lips found hers.

  “Aiden!” she breathed into his mouth, and he groaned softly in reply. She said, “I’m not willing to give you up, you know.”

  He snorted. “You won’t have to, baby. Don’t even worry about that.”

  Cat smiled, and held him to her fiercely. Aiden kissed her over and over until she had to come up for air, and then he kissed her some more. When his hands began to explore, she gave an encouraging groan. She reached down and grabbed hold of his ass, then let go long enough to give it a whack.

  “Come on, stud, let’s see what you’ve got for me,” she teased.

  Aiden laughed. “Really?”

  “Sure, why not?”

  “Well, all right then,” he agreed, sitting up and wrestling with the button on his fly. He got up and dropped his pants and his boxer briefs at the same time, then tugged off the rest of his clothes. Cat had her own clothes off so fast she was lying down again before he’d finished unbuttoning his shirt.

  “You seem awfully eager today,” he observed as he crawled across the mattress to reach her.

  “What can I say? Going to sleep with Legolas just isn’t the same as being here and in your arms,” Cat admitted playfully.

  “What? Legolas wasn’t doing the job?”

  “Not hardly,” she complained. “But that’s understandable since he’s made of paper and imagination. I much prefer my men to be a bit more warm-blooded, to say the least.”

  “Don’t you mean hot-blooded?” he teased. “Because right this minute, that’s a lot more accurate.”

  Cat giggled. “Yes, so I see,” she returned, reaching down between them to stroke his rock-hard cock with two of her fingers. “So why don’t you do something about it then?”

  Aiden didn’t need any more prompting or encouragement than that. However, he didn’t immediately hop right on either, instead choosing to stroke at her clitoris for a time. She opened her mouth, allowing his kisses to deepen, and savored every one of them like they were gold.

  Her own blood was feeling pretty heated too when Aiden finally positioned himself over top of her, still kissing her the whole time. He slid inside of her with one slow, deliberate stroke that sent a shudder all down her spine and made her moan. She could feel a sheen of sweat building on her brow as they clung together, their movements lavish and unhurried.

  Cat’s heart swelled in her chest at the tenderness between them. The intensity of feelings assailed all of her senses and penetrated her brain. The significance of the moment was not lost on her, because she let go of the last of her defenses right then, and admitted to herself that she was well and truly in love. Only in a way, that scared the hell out of her. The man she desired most in the world was still legally bound to a woman who could haunt her nightmares.

  Mentally, she dismissed the thought and concentrated on the feelings instead. With all her being, she poured all of the love she was feeling into her movements, and even into her whispers. When the word slipped out she almost winced, wondering if he heard. If he did, would he say it to her in return? And was it something she was ready to hear?

  Thankfully, if Aiden did hear her he didn’t repeat the word or react to it just then. The last thing she wanted in the middle of the best sex she’d ever had in her life was to distract the master while he was at work. Because if anything, everything became more intense than ever. Aiden moved faster and harder, and Cat moved with him, drinking in every ounce of pleasure as she tried to give him the same amount in return.

  Their bodies slid together, the heat making both of them slick with sweat. Every movement—every thought of a movement—was like magic between them. The crescendo of their voices filled the room, then intensified some more. It was so good, Cat began to wonder if people really could die of pleasure, and insanely enough she was willing to find out.

  When Aiden came inside of her, Cat’s brain tuned in to reality for one fraction of a second—long enough to realize they’d forgotten to use any protection—but she dismissed the issue almost immediately because it was already too late. If anything happened because of it, she obviously wasn’t going to cast any blame. Besides, she was too busy glowing in the aftermath, and the realization that her heart had been given to someone, to worry about it now.

  “It’s almost four o’clock already,” Aiden discovered as he glanced over at the clock. “I hope Kellen isn’t going to complain.”

  “We probably ought to get back over there,” Cat said reluctantly.

  “Yeah, you’re right about that,” Aiden agreed. “By the way, Cat, I love you too.”

  “So you did hear me?” she chuckled, blushing.

  “I didn’t need any words,” he whispered into her hair. “My heart already knew. Maybe we could discuss it a bit more tonight when I bring you home.”

  “Aiden, we talked about this,” she sighed. “Besides, if I hadn’t been there last night, who knows what might have happened?”

  “Then I’ll stay with you instead,” he grumbled.

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea either,” she told him as she got up and started putting on her clothes. “If Brynn is behind all of this, and she notices, she might pull something a whole lot worse.”

  “I’ve been thinking,” he said as he pulled on his pants. “Maybe we need to hire a security team. A couple of guys to police the area and make sure the buildings that have been closed for the night won’t be tampered with again.”

  “That’s not a bad idea,” Cat agreed as she slipped into her flats and looked in the vanity mirror to see what had happened to her hair. It was a mess, of course. She would need to tie it back until she could wash it later. “Plus that way, if anything requiring mediation is going on, they could step in and break it up. You know that when people are drinking, they don’t always want to play nice.”

  “That’s very true,” he nodded, taking her hand as they headed back for the SUV. “I mean, I got a couple of bouncers for the bar already, but they’re not going to want to work both day and night. What we need are a couple of locals who want to he
lp treat this place right.”

  “Did you see anybody at the job fair who would have fit the bill?” Cat asked helpfully.

  “Yeah, I think I might have two boys in mind,” he nodded. “I only sent them home because I’d reached the quota, but I really think I should give them a call. I’m going to get on it as soon as we get back to the resort.”

  “And I’m going to tell the staff to keep their eyes open,” Cat added as he began to drive. “We need more than just a couple pairs of eyes on this thing. If this resort is going to become viable, we need to get this problem sorted out.”

  “I know, right?” Aiden agreed, nodding.

  When they reached the resort, Cat radioed all of the members of her team who were currently at work and told them she wanted to see them in the conference room before they clocked out. In short order, she informed them all about the incidents involving the car, the keycards, and the kitchen, and told them she believed the power outage in the laundry room earlier probably should be lumped in with the carnage as well.

  “At this point, although I have my suspicions about who is causing the trouble, there’s just no way to know,” she told them all. “So, I want each and every employee at this resort to remain on high alert whenever you are here. If anything looks suspicious, no matter how trivial, I want a full report. Aiden has decided to add a security team to the employee roster, and hopefully they’ll help get things under control, but you never know. Remember, if this place goes down, your nice new jobs are going to go down right along with it. I don’t want to see that happen to you, and I hope you don’t want to see it happen either.”

  Her audience was nervous about their employment, and outraged that it might be under threat, just as she’d intended when she’d used her words in that manner. With concerns about losing their jobs firmly implanted in each of their brains, her team dispersed with assurances that if they saw anything at all, she would be the first to know.

  As they filed out, Ellen remained by her side long enough to ask, “I gotta know, Cat. Do you think Mrs. Whitney could be involved?”

  “At this point, there’s no proof, but she has not been ruled out.” Cat shrugged. “Aiden has his doubts, since in all the years he’s known her this is something she’s never tried, but what with the attitude she’s been giving all of you, and the fact that when she asked him to take her back Aiden flat out refused, I can’t help but think it’s a real possibility myself.”

  TWENTY-ONE

  Cat hadn’t liked watching Aiden go home without her that night, but with everything that had already happened and her sincere concern that something else might happen again, there was no way she could allow herself the indulgence of going with him, and she told him in no uncertain terms that he couldn’t spend the night with her or Legolas might get jealous. They two of them were still chuckling over this when they parted.

  Now it was about nine at night. The dining hall was closed, so the only remaining entertainment was the bar, which was frequented by mostly males and couples. The kids, as to be expected, were all safely tucked away in their various rooms, so Cat didn’t expect to be bothered by any calls, and she was just about to take a long, hot bath and relax before heading to bed.

  She turned on the television so see if there was a movie she’d want to watch in about an hour, but she didn’t get the menu she was expecting. Try as she might, the only stations that seemed to be tuning in were the porno channels. And if her television was doing that, it was likely that they all were. Frowning, she picked up the house phone, with its direct line to the front desk.

  “Maggie, has the front desk received any complaints about the selection of shows on the televisions this evening?”

  “Yes, ma’am, we’ve gotten four,” she confirmed. Cat gripped the phone receiver a bit harder. “Something about nothing but porno. I was about to give you a call.”

  “Why do I think this is another attempt from somebody to cause trouble?” Cat groaned. “There’s nothing we can do about it right now, we’ll have to deal with it tomorrow I suppose.”

  “Should we maybe create apology notes and post them around so the guests know we’re having a bit of trouble?”

  “That’s too much work in the middle of the night,” Cat sighed. “How about whenever someone calls the desk, you just let them know, and we can have the maids post notes during their rounds in the morning? That should be good enough, I’d say.”

  “It’s your call, Miss Addison,” she agreed.

  After she hung up the phone, Cat forgot about taking the bath in favor of calling Aiden. He would probably want to know about the current situation. Using her cell this time, she wasted no time in tapping the button she’d set up to his direct line.

  “Hey sweetheart, what’s up?” he asked warily. “Trouble in paradise?”

  Cat scoffed. “You could say so. Someone has been tampering with the satellite feed. The only shows the televisions can receive appear to be porno. Which means there are currently eleven children who have nothing to do on Friday night vacation—well, unless you count sex education anyway.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Aiden snorted. “Well, that rules Brynn out for sure. The last thing she wants anything to do with is sex. Well, at least from my personal experience.”

  “God, I don’t want to hear the details,” Cat grumbled. “So, I told Maggie to just field calls until morning, when we might be able to do something about it.”

  “No, I don’t think they’ll come fix it on a Saturday—at least I was told no one is there over the weekend while they were setting the whole system up over the summer. We can’t do anything about it before Monday.”

  “Well, that’s just great,” Cat complained. “Do you suppose that’s why she decided to wait?”

  “You’re just determined that she did this, aren’t you?” Aiden snickered. “But Brynn has no concept of how to program a VCR. There’s no way she’d have a clue how to mess up the satellite feed. It had to be someone else.”

  “Yeah? But that doesn’t mean she didn’t tell whoever it was what she wanted done.”

  “Okay, I get it,” he sighed. “You don’t like her, you’re mad at her for abusing your team, and you’re pissed off because she came down here hoping to get me back. That’s a pretty good reason to dislike her. But without any proof that she’s done any of these things, we can’t point fingers. As much as I’d love for her to be the cause so we could cure it by making her leave, it’s just not that easy.”

  “So what, we’re going to have to keep on housing her and catering to her every whim until she decides to go home on her own?” Cat grumbled. “That hardly seems fair, does it?”

  “I wouldn’t be too worried, sweetie, if she’s still there in fifty-six days, I’ll have her removed just as soon as the divorce judge’s signature is on the page saying she’s no longer my wife. Trust me, I won’t even wait for the ink to be dry.”

  “Fifty-six days?” Cat groaned. “You really know how to torture a person, don’t you?”

  Aiden chuckled. “Just think, baby, if you’d been over here tonight, you wouldn’t have been troubled by this situation before tomorrow. I hardly think bad reception is a matter that should have had you so worried. Tomorrow, though, my two security boys will start work, and then you won’t need to worry at all. We could enjoy the weekend without needing to be apart.”

  “I’m afraid of ever stepping foot off the grounds at all,” Cat admitted, laughing at herself. “How can you do it yourself? And you with six other properties to worry about as well.”

  “I can do it because I’m used to it, I suppose,” Aiden admitted. “I received the first four all at the same time, and they are in different cities throughout the states, so naturally I couldn’t be there to oversee them all. When you’ve hired the best possible staff and put the best people in charge of them, it becomes easy enough to let your businesses run themselves, I find. But this place is entirely another matter. First, it was born of my lifelong dream.
And second—this may sound corny, I suppose—but it’s where I met you.”

  Cat chuckled. “Corny as hell,” she agreed. “I think I’m going to take my bath and watch a movie now.”

  “But I though you told me the only stations working were the porno,” he pointed out.

  “I did indeed,” she told him, grinning. “Pleasant dreams.”

  *****

  As she headed in to work the next morning, Cat ran across the Wilson family, packed and ready to depart, all sitting dejectedly in the chairs near the check-in area. Confused, she approached Mrs. Wilson to ask what was wrong.

  “Jason is upset about the television situation,” she sighed. “Just as soon as he found out all we can watch for the weekend is porn or rental tapes, he started having a cow. He’s upset because he’ll have to miss a big football game he wanted to watch tomorrow, and he’s already started looking for better accommodations. There’s no talking him out of it, I’m afraid.”

  “Surely he understands it’s a technical difficulty, and not any fault of the resort’s?”

  “Yes, so the letter we received this morning says, but that doesn’t seem to have deterred him. He’s over there right now demanding our money back.”

  “I see,” said Cat, frowning. “Let me see if Mr. Whitney has arrived this morning. Perhaps we could work something out.”

  “I sure hope so,” said the daughter, Sally. “We were supposed to go on a dolphin encounter today, and now he says it’s cancelled. He’s talking about killing the whole vacation and making us go back to Pittsburg.”

  “Which would royally suck,” added her brother.

  “Oh, I’d hate to see you do that,” Cat said sympathetically. “Maybe we can find a way for your dad to watch his game, and maybe set you kids up with some entertainment for the evening on the house. I’ll see what I can figure out.”

  “Would you? That would be awesome,” said Mrs. Wilson. “You’ve got no idea how much we needed this trip, Miss Addison. You might not just be saving the day—you could be saving the whole marriage.”