Daddy Plus One: A Single Dad Secret Baby Billionaire Romance

by Brooke Valentine

  “Clearly, someone must have left the lock to the pool undone, since there’s no way a crocodile would have been able to climb a six foot tall fence to get in on its own,” Aiden pointed out. “The real trouble is, I don’t know why one crocodile would have come down here among the humans, let alone two. They don’t usually come down from the preserve lands at all.”

  “Rumor has it that somebody put them in there,” Stanworth told him. “And further rumor suggests the man is a reporter as well. I’m told by some of the guests that the man is being interrogated right now. Do you know what any of this is about?”

  “Actually, I have a good idea,” Aiden told him. “The man in question is, I believe, in love with my wife. As you know, the two of us are divorcing, but she came down here and invited him along with other friends of hers. What is unclear is whether he is the only friend of hers causing trouble around here, or if they’ve all been taking turns. More importantly, I haven’t had the opportunity to find out how much of this nonsense was at her instigation. They’re only just questioning Art, but I will want to question them all. I just haven’t gotten the chance to tell them so. And Brynn? Well, I’m going to want to talk with her myself.”

  “Yes, that’s understandable.”

  “Can we cut to the chase, Stanworth?” Aiden asked then. “I believe Brynn has brought Art out here to discredit the resort and has been having her friends sabotage things around here so he can document it. I don’t have any proof at the moment, but I’ve brought you out here in hopes of getting a sterling review to counteract their meddling. And as soon as I can prove my theory they’ll all be banned from this property and never allowed to return. So, what do you say? Can you bear with me for just a while?”

  “Mr. Whitney, I think what this man is doing, whether at your wife’s bidding or not, is simply deplorable,” he replied. “Not only will I give you your review, I’m going to do everything I can to discredit his. If he’s admitted to tampering and vandalism already, you’re well within your rights to have him thrown in jail, which in itself may prevent him writing his story up at all.”

  “Until he gets out again, anyway,” Aiden pointed out. “Would you like to join me in the furthering of the interrogations? I know you are pretty handy with cameras and recording devices.”

  “With pleasure,” he replied.

  When they stepped into the office, they found Kellen, Cat, his two security guys, Detective Max, and also Brynn all gathered there. Art and Brynn appeared to be arguing, with her insisting that he should stop trying to cover for her because it would just get him into more trouble, and Art continuing to insist she was lying to protect him. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to discern Art must be the lover hidden among her friends.

  “I believe there’s a solution to this,” he said as he stepped in. “We can leave Brynn out of the legal matters entirely if she takes the generous divorce settlement my lawyers have been offering. As for Art, we do need to punish him, or he’ll think he can get away with doing something like this to anyone in the future. So I say, throw the book at him. I doubt he’ll get too long in there if this is his first offense.”

  “Aiden? When did you come in?” she gasped, turning beet red.

  “Just now,” he said, casting her a triumphant grin. “What do you say? Yes or no? Because I have no problems with also throwing you in jail.”

  “So it’s really over?” she sighed, and a single tear slid down her cheek.

  “It’s been over for years, woman,” he pointed out. “This is just the final nail in the coffin. What is your decision?”

  “I’ll take the deal—if you pay my lawyers’ fees as well.”

  “Done, and done,” he agreed, reaching out to shake her hand. “I can’t believe you went this far with this thing.”

  “I’m really sorry, I suppose I did get carried away,” she shrugged. “It’s just that every other time I’ve done something stupid, you have always forgiven me. I thought for sure you’d do it again. And Cat? I’m sorry for how I’ve been treating you as well. None of this was ever your doing. I’m going to just pack up my things and cut the two weeks short.”

  “Just like that, after all your whining?” Art scoffed. “And what happens if I tell them you put me up to this when I go into court?”

  “Is that really how you feel?” she asked softly. “I suppose it’s nothing more than I deserve. But it’s like Aiden says, you won’t be in very long. And by the time you get out, I won’t be married any longer. We can start over. Art. No more games, and no more lies. I’ve decided it’s time for me to turn over a whole new leaf.”

  “Thank goodness,” said Aiden with a relieved sigh. “Cat? May I please speak with you privately? I believe we still have a few issues of our own to resolve.”

  “Sure,” she agreed, latching onto his arm as she followed him outside.

  Aiden didn’t waste a whole lot of time with unnecessary words as a general rule, and he wasn’t about to start now. They headed down the steps and across the grounds, passing by the pool which was now being enjoyed by the guests just as if nothing had happened earlier to prevent them. They continued onward to the employee housing units, and in through her front door.

  By now, the silence that stretched between them was beginning to grate on his nerves, and he couldn’t close the door that hid them from the outside world fast enough. But they still didn’t say a single word.

  Instead, Aiden slammed her against the wall and pressed his body to hers, wondering if he’d ever be able to get enough. She sobbed into his mouth, and the tears she’d been holding back began to flow freely down her cheeks. Aiden moved back and kissed every single droplet away.

  “I miss you so much, Cat,” he told her. “Please, please tell me you’ll come home with me tonight. No, come home with me right now.”

  “No, I’m sorry, but that’s not going to happen,” she replied, making him let go of her with a worried frown.

  :”But why not?” he asked with a disappointed frown. “It’s been five days, sweetheart. I don’t think I could stand to wait a moment more.”

  “That’s exactly why not,” she explained in a husky whisper. “Five whole days without the comfort of your arms. If we don’t soon make up and make out, I think I’m going to burst. I know I’ve been a total pain about all of this, Aiden. It’s just that when it comes to a relationship, I always feel like I deserve to come first.”

  “And you do, sweetheart,” he reassured her as he lifted her into his arms and carried her over to her bed. “Always and forever.”

  “Does that mean what I think it means?” she asked as her head fell into the pillows.

  “It does,” he said, smiling. “Just as soon as I’m a free man, I want to make it legal. And this time, I know in my heart that the union’s going to last. No need for lawyers, and no damned prenuptial.”

  “What, are you insane?” Cat gasped. “If my business professor heard you speaking such blasphemy she’d probably order up a psyche evaluation before you could even blink.”

  “What can I say?” he chuckled as he fitted his body over hers. “You really bring out my wild side, baby.”

  “Well, Aiden, those are very pretty words, but I don’t think it’s words I’m craving right now.”

  “I suppose you’d prefer actions, wouldn’t you?” he chuckled.

  “I would,” she said wholeheartedly.

  “Good,” he grinned. “Then allow me to show you.”

  TWENTY-FIVE

  Aiden’s kisses had never felt better than they did in that moment, when Cat realized that maybe sometimes fairy tales did come true. But she wasn’t sure if this was some crazy mixed up Cinderella story, or if the concept was something completely new. In any case she wasn’t going to complain. Not when she was the one who was getting the handsome prince in the end.

  “I love you so much, Aiden,” she told him between heady kisses. Her fingertips slid languidly up his arms, over his biceps the way she knew he like it, and final
ly her arms encircled his neck, and she dragged him closer than ever.

  “I love you too,” he whispered against her flesh. “You can’t even begin to know how much.”

  Cat chuckled as she thrust upward, her pelvis crashing into his. “I think I’m getting an inkling already.”

  Aiden smirked and bent up to nibble the tip of her nose, making her squeal. He said, “How about if we take this party to the bath tub? I don’t really think you’re going to appreciate me otherwise.”

  Cat giggled. “Why, do you smell crocky?”

  “That, and I have been swimming in various other liquids in my attempts to get those poor animals back where they belonged,” he said. “We’re much better off to get in the shower.”

  “I’m not going to tell you no, obviously,” she whispered against his shoulder, giving it a kiss before he moved off of her and tugged her to her feet. They each shed their clothes, and then Cat stepped into the bathroom and started the water. As she was fiddling with the temperature settings, a very naked and very hard Aiden stepped in behind her and rubbed his cock along her ass cheeks, making her groan. His hands slipped around to the front of her. One grabbed her nipple, while the other one quested along her moistened flesh until it found something lower.

  Cat had to turn her head to the side to avoid getting a spray of water in her face as Aiden pressed her forward against the wall. His lips moved down and found the side of her neck, and he gave her a playful bite that made her gasp.

  Everywhere the man touched her, heat tingled its way to the surface of her skin. It skittered through her body and pulsated up and down her spine. She sobbed softly as Aiden slipped two of his fingers inside of her and began to rub at her clit with his thumb. After five days of being deprived, her body awakened with all the urgency of a racecar trying to get into first position, a comparison which amused her greatly, though she held back her laugh so she wouldn’t have to explain it at that particular moment.

  “You’re so ready for me, baby,” he whispered into her ear, the heat of his breath making her suck in some more air.

  “Yes,” she managed to agree. Her whole body was throbbing with need.

  Aiden got behind her and bent his knees until he was able to position himself at an angle to enter, and then he pushed up inside of her. Cat flattened her feet and bent her knees slightly to keep from falling as he began to move. Her head banged on the wall, prompting her to lift her arms in front of her. With one hand she grabbed ahold of the soap shelf which was currently level with her eyes, while her other hand and forearm protected her face and eyes.

  The urgency of their movements brought them both to the brink quickly, and soon Cat felt herself falling over the edge as wave after wave of pleasure enveloped her body. But she knew very well that things were far from finished between them. Her body continued to thrum with anticipation as Aiden grabbed the soap. The two of them lathered each other up, then rinsed themselves. Aiden shut off the water, then lifted Cat into his arms, carrying her with him to the bed, uncaring of their dampness as he tossed her into its center.

  Cat moaned appreciatively when he wasted no time before entering her. This time, though, the pace he set was leisurely—the pace he liked to set when he knew they’d be in bed for several hours, She took this as a cue that this session was not meant to end anytime soon.

  Threading her fingers into his wet hair, Cat then grabbed a handful and gave a not so gentle tug, alerting Aiden to the fact that slow and easy wasn’t quite what she wanted just now. He growled, moving down to bite her lip, and his next thrust was hard enough to slam the headboard into the wall. He paused a moment before he did it again.

  “Yes!” she encouraged him, laughing joyfully. “You know what I want, baby. Harder! Faster! I want to—I want to come!”

  Dammit, she groaned inwardly. She’d let him go without a condom another time, giving in to the moment. She really ought to get back on the pill if she didn’t want to become really domesticated really fast! But he felt so good in her, she found she couldn’t bring up any apprehensions about the notion of having his child.

  His movements slowed, but this time she didn’t mind. She was much too close and knew that she would come even if he didn’t move at all. The waves of delight shuddered all through her, making her moan as she threw her head back, allowing it to loll over the edge since all their movements had pushed her there.

  Aiden roared in ecstatic release, and then he noticed just how far he’d taken her and tugged her back to the middle of the mattress. “We don’t need a man overboard,” he chuckled.

  “Nor a woman either, for that matter,” she said, grinning. “Only now that we’ve had our fun, I believe I’ve worked up quite an appetite. I think it’s probably about time for dinner.”

  “I think, all things considered, we should eat out tonight,” he replied, kissing her before he pulled out and rolled over onto his side. “And then we could go out shopping for rings. Since I’ve asked you to marry me, that naked left hand just doesn’t feel quite right.”

  Cat grinned. “You’re determined to defy the wisdom of convention, aren’t you?” she teased him. “But, if you’re going to insist, I suppose it would be all right.”

  Aiden selected the dress he wanted Cat to wear that night, and then said, “We’ll need to stop by the condo, I suppose. I’m certainly not taking you out to a place fancy enough for this dress while I myself am still wearing crocky clothes. Only—you’d best watch out about following me into the bedroom there, or we may not manage to each much before nine tonight.”

  “I’ll try to remember that,” Cat replied.

  His prediction wasn’t too far off. It was well after seven before they stepped into the dining hall at Ocean Reef and ate a splendid meal there. When asked if he would require a room that evening, Aiden replied, “No, but I do believe we’ll need flight clearance. I’d like to fly up to Miami tonight.”

  “As you wish, Mr. Whitney,” their host replied, smiling. “Shall we say half an hour, to give them time to refuel your jet?”

  “That will be perfectly agreeable,” he said, nodding.

  When they were alone, Cat said, “I though you said we were going to go shop for rings.”

  “We are, sweetheart,” he nodded. “I’ll be calling ahead for a private viewing. I want to take you to a very particular jeweler. When it comes to declaring I’ve found the love of my life at last, I want only the best.”

  Cat blushed at all the attention she was getting, but the heady sensation was well worth it. Half an hour later, they were in his plane and strapping in. Not long after that, they were already stepping out onto his private landing strip. A limousine was already waiting.

  She had to say one thing about Aiden, he sure did have a knack for thinking of everything.

  “Champagne too?” she giggled delightedly. “I think I may have had enough of that already.”

  “Nonsense, my love, we’re celebrating, and we have a chauffeur,” Aiden pointed out. “We can drink as much champagne as we like, and when we wake in the morning with splitting headaches and the realization we’ve made the worst possible ring choice, we can simply come back and look them over when our minds are less clouded.”

  She giggled at his teasing, taking the flute he set into her hand and sipping gingerly. But then she decided he was right. They were both feeling a bit on the wild side tonight.

  TWENTY-SIX

  Since Miami was the city Aiden listed as that of his main residence, and because it was where he and Brynn had originally married, it was to that city he went to deal with divorce court shortly before Thanksgiving. He hadn’t expected quite so many reporters to show up, but he supposed part of it stemmed from the fact that they were following up on the tabloid tales that had been bandied about the other month.

  Cat had opted to stay home rather than attend divorce court with Aiden. Though he would have enjoyed having her for moral support, she’d felt it would be tacky in the extreme, and most likely would show up i
n some tabloid or other, if she decided to come along. Which wouldn’t make the Whitney name appear in any better light than it did right now.

  Aiden loved the way she was always trying to look out for him. She would have made a good public rep manager if she’d wanted to. In fact, though he hadn’t mentioned the idea as yet he was actually thinking about telling her so. But he figured those discussions could wait until they were finally married and having a discussion about their future.

  But they did have one plan in place already, and that one had Cat blushing constantly. Since they’d been neglecting to use condoms, and pretty much fucking like rabbits, it was not a great surprise that they’d just learned two weeks ago that they were expecting a baby. Aiden was determined that nothing that happened in the courtroom today would burst his happy bubble over that bit of news, not even being forced to see Brynn face to face again.

  Brynn showed up in the courtroom with Art, which Aiden found quite surprising. She was well aware that the prenuptial insisted on her fidelity during the marriage, so she would have been smarter to come there alone. One of his lawyers pulled him aside and asked if he wanted to rescind the agreement since she was clearly with another man, but he shook his head no.

  “It’s all been settled between us already,” he insisted. “As long as her people don’t attempt to change the terms, neither shall mine. It’s just too bad Cat didn’t know about this, or maybe she would have come along.”

  “Well, sir, we may as well get to our seats then,” he replied. “The judge is due to arrive any time now.”

  Aiden sat through the hearing, which only took about fifteen minutes and went just as smoothly as he’d expected it to. It felt almost strange for seven years of his life to be over without any sort of a fight, but relief washed over him along with an unexpected sensation of emptiness that lasted all of about thirty seconds before it gave way to excitement.

  This was the beginning of his new life, and he was going to make the most of it. As they all left the courtroom, Brynn stepped over to Aiden, smiling. “I suppose you’re off to your resort now that the worst is over? I have to admit, now that I’m not so angry about all of this, that it was really somewhat nice there. I’ve been thinking about making another booking.”