“Yes.” I nod and push a piece of broccoli toward Harold. “How about some greens, love?”
With a smile, he eats the little green vegetable and makes me happy. “I like twees!”
Going on, I add, “If you’re his father, then you’ll inherit many things. And I’ll show you what that all is once we get the results back. The truth is that you could go back to the States at this point, until we get the results. But Genevieve was so sure that I thought it’d be best to let you and Harold have this week to get to know one another. That way, when the results do come back, you can get to being the family you will be without much ado about the whole thing.”
Two lines form on Damon’s forehead as he frowns and looks at the food on his plate, pushing it about with his fork. “I see.”
Biting my lip, I have to wonder if I’m pushing him too much and too fast. “Damon, this child has been without a parent for three months, a time period I came up with. He’s secure with me and he knows that. I didn’t want to introduce a stranger into his life just as he’d lost his family. That said, I expect you to step up, the same as you’ve done for our country. Do your duty as a father to this child.”
Damon’s dark eyes narrow at me as he hisses, “We shouldn’t speak this way in front of the b-o-y.”
Harold smiles as he looks at Damon. “Dat spells boy. I know dat word. And I can spell cat, c-a-t, and dog, d-o-g!”
“What a smart young man you are,” Damon says with a smile, then looks at me. “But you get what I want, right?”
With a nod, I comply with his wishes. “Genevieve was an open book with him. I’m just used to speaking freely in front of him. I will do as you wish, though. We can talk in private whenever you want to.”
“Thank you,” he says then stabs a piece of duck with his fork. “Being a parent isn’t a thing I know two shits …” He looks at Harold who’s smiling at him. “Sorry about the language, kiddo. I’m not used to being around kids.”
“Dat’s okay. Mummy said bad words too.” Harold chuckles as he picks up his cup of milk.
“Being a parent doesn’t mean you have to be perfect, Damon,” I let him know. “And you can find your own parenting path as time moves along.”
Chewing on his lip, I find Damon looking at me. “Later, Liv. Okay?”
“Yes, sir,” I say and focus on eating my food.
The man seems to be having some kind of an inner struggle. I wish he’d let me speak freely. Then he’d know he’ll have enough money not to have to worry about a thing. I can see he’s wondering how he’ll take care of Harold and still do his military duties—a thing he won’t have to worry about once the DNA test comes back and I can set him up in his new life.
When Harold’s eyes start to droop as he finishes off his glass of milk, I know the kid’s sleepy. It’s his routine: eat dinner, take a bath, go to bed. “Aunt Wiv, I’m sweepy.”
Damon laughs a bit at how the boy speaks. “He has that Elmer Fudd thing going on, doesn’t he?”
“Who?” Harold asks.
“Nevermind,” I say as I get up and take the boy’s hand. “Let’s get you bathed and into your jammies, then off to bed you’ll go.”
Damon gets up too and walks toward the door. “You do that. I’m going to go down to that bar I saw on the first floor for a little while. How long does it usually take you to get him to sleep?”
Feeling kind of miffed that he thinks he can just go chill while I take care of everything else, I spurt out, “An hour. Be back in an hour.”
His chuckle infuriates me as he pulls his jacket on. “Okay, boss. One hour. Should I bring you up a drink?”
“If you want,” I say with a quipped tongue then leave the room.
I’d like nothing more than to tell the man that his time is limited. Going out for a drink or two while a woman cares for his child isn’t a thing that’ll be happening once that test comes back, proving he’s the father of Harold.
Running the bath water, Harold strips down and nearly dives into the bubbly water. “Yeah!”
Finding the bag of bath supplies for the youngster, I toss in a couple of yellow ducks and some his favorite toy soldiers. He takes one and sits it on one of the duck’s backs. “I taught dis is what my daddy would wook wike.” The toy soldier is dressed in green camouflage and a beret.
“Well, I suppose Damon wanted to dress more formally for your first meeting. Do you like him?” I ask as I rub a bar of soap with a washcloth.
“He’s okay,” he says then shoves the duck underwater and lets it go. It bobs to the surface, the soldier coming up next to him. “Are you gonna weave me?” His huge blue eyes look up at me and I nearly want to cry.
Rubbing the soapy cloth over his little shoulders, I say, “No. I’ll always be here for you, Harold. Forever. You remember that. I’m your Godmother. Remember when we went to the church and the priest said some prayers and then told you that?”
He nods as I run the washcloth under his arm and he laughs. “Dat tickles.”
“I know it does, but we have to clean under your tinky underarm anyway,” I say with a laugh and clean under his other arm as he tries to squirm away.
I’ve been living at the estate for nearly a year. But with Damon coming into the picture, I suppose I’ll have to move out. But I won’t be leaving London. Genevieve left me enough money to stay on in London until Harold reaches eighteen.
I’ll be around to make sure Harold is loved and cared for. Damon is a wild card. Genevieve was well aware of that. And I’m ready to take the child over if he won’t step up. The money should help Damon to take his role as the boy’s father seriously. I did add stipulations to it, just to make sure he does the right thing.
If Damon leaves the child for a period any longer than a month at a time, he will be locked out of the account that was set up for him. But I doubt a career Navy man like himself cares a lot about money. That was a thing I’d told Genevieve. Money may not be the right catalyst for the man to do what’s right.
I’ll just have to get to know him better to determine what I need to do to make him be the father Harold needs in his life. With Damon going out on his first night here, that leaves me troubled. How am I to get to know the real man if he’s liquored up anytime we’re alone?
Damon
My mind is a mess. The drink in my hand hasn’t been touched as I sit at the back of the bar, hiding from everyone, including Liv and Harry. I’m no father!
Mom died when I was five, leaving me alone with my older brother, Denny, and my father, a man who was a lush and who expected his five and ten-year-old sons to know how to take care of the house and his lazy ass.
Denny made it to the ripe old age of fifteen before he left the house. He was unapologetic about leaving me behind to fend for myself with the man who’d become quite the crotchety asshole in the five-year span.
I was ten then, and apparently, according to dear old Dad, I should’ve known so much more than I did. My grades were awful, a thing he blamed on me and I blamed on the lack of sleep I was getting.
Dad had received some money from Mom’s death. She was killed in a car wreck, and he sued the other driver, gaining himself an untold amount of money. Life for us didn’t get better in the least. Instead, it went down to lows neither my brother nor I knew were possible.
Dad drank, and drank, and drank. He started as soon as he woke up and it didn’t end until he passed out each night. Then the night would be filled with him getting up and puking at all hours. Finally, about five in the morning, he’d fall into a deep sleep. That left us to get up on our own and get to school.
Once Denny was gone—he went to live with his friend’s family in a nice house on the upper east side of Chicago—I had to get up on my own, a thing I wasn’t great at. I stayed in the small apartment Dad had moved us to after Mom died. Before that we had lived in a modest home, from what I could recall of that time.
I suppose Dad was looking to save as much of that money he got from Mom’s death as
he possibly could. He did have the price of alcohol to think about after all.
Looking at the drink in my hand, I put it down and get up. I may not have a fucking clue what to do with a kid, but I sure as hell am not my father. Plus, there’s a hot chick waiting up there for me too.
As I leave the bar, I notice a tall blonde giving me the eye. I give her a nod, then leave. Why bother with her when I have a woman ripe for the picking right in my own suite?
Using the key I took when I left the room, I open the door, finding the living room empty. “Liv?”
Taking off my jacket, I hang it up and find my bags have been delivered and are next to the door. Three other doors lead off the living area. One of the doors has to lead to my bedroom.
I saw the one Harry came out of. That one must be his. Liv most likely took the one right next to his. So mine must be the last one on the right. Picking up my bag, I make my way to the door.
Just as I get to it, it flies open, hitting me square in the face and making me fall back a few steps. “Shit!”
Dropping my bags, I stumble a bit as I try to shake my head to rid it of the stars the knock in the head gave me. “You’re drunk!” Liv throws at me. “Your first night here and you come back drunk! Is this how you normally act?”
She tries to push past me and I grab her by the wrist. “Look, I’m not drunk. I held a drink for the last hour without taking a single sip of it. You hit me with the door.”
Her green eyes glare into mine. “Do you expect me to believe you?”
With my head still a bit fuzzy, I see no other way to prove to her what I say is true. So I kiss her, thrusting my tongue past her easily-parted lips.
Wrapping my arms around her to hold her up, as she’s melting into me, I find her kissing me back and her arms running around my neck. Picking her up, I walk into the bedroom she came out of and kick the door closed behind us.
Might as well get the sexual tension we have out of the way!
With easy moves, I get her shirt unbuttoned, and she does the same to mine as we continue our kiss. Her body is hot. I can feel it as our bare chests press together. Only hers has a damn bra covering her juicy tits. I take care of that quickly, removing it, then running one hand between us to cup one plump tit in my hand.
Her moan is exquisite as I give it a squeeze. Moving her back until the bed stops her, I know I can’t let her mouth go, or she’ll start to think and that’s never good. So I deepen the kiss as I move my hand to push her skirt down and am thrilled when she unbuttons my pants. Thinking quickly, I grab the condom out of my pocket. I always keep one on me, just in case. The clothes fall to the floor at our feet, then her hands move to push my underwear off. Only her panties separate us and I quickly push them down too.
With one quick movement, I lay her back on the bed, covering her with my body. With her under me, I take my mouth off hers and kiss her long neck, running my hands up to take the rubber band out of her hair and let it fall.
She’s got her hands running all over my back, feeling each muscle. She arches up to me as she moans. She’s so ready for me, but I can’t let her have it all at one time.
Whispering in her ear, I ask, “Do you still think I’m drunk?”
“No,” comes her cooed word. Her lips press against my shoulder as I move my body over hers, stroking her warm pussy with my hard cock.
She’s shaking with desire as I grind her with my cock. Her nails rake my skin as she moves her hands to my biceps, then she kisses one of them, leaving it with a long lick as she makes her way to my neck. Slow, taunting bites have me groaning. “I knew you wanted me to fuck you.”
With the smallest of whimpers, I know her brain is trying to think, so I stop it with another intoxicating kiss. She grabs me with renewed passion, then one of her hands moves between us, finding my cock and stroking it, making it move over her pussy. Then she pushes it to the edge of her vagina.
My cock is not yet covered, and I have to open the condom that’s in the palm of my hand and somehow get it on quickly enough that she won’t have time to think. Moving to one side of her while still kissing her, I manage to get it on, then slam my cock into her, making her squirm with the penetration.
She pulls her knees up, and I slide in deeper. Our combined moans are music to my ears. I thrust as she arches and we fuck like we’ve known one another forever. Her body is taut and toned. Her legs are long and her narrow feet move up the back of my legs then rest on my ass.
I pump into her and she loves it. In and out I go as she makes the best sounds imaginable. Then I feel her quivering. Her legs begin to shake, and she gouges my back with her long nails. She’s falling apart all around my cock that’s steadily stroking her walls.
The wetness grows as she pulses around me. I can’t help it. My dick jerks and off it goes. I can’t stop pounding into her as my cock shoots off and my head goes black as I cum in a heated rush.
I pull my mouth away as I slow my rhythm and look at her. Her eyes are closed so I nudge her cheek to get her to open them. She does and their green color has gone dark. “Hi.”
Instantly, she smiles shyly. “Hi.”
Not stopping altogether with pumping my cock into her, I say, “No need to be shy now, Liv. You were fantastic.”
She closes her eyes and buries her face in my shoulder. “My God. I don’t do this sort of thing, Damon.”
“It’s okay. I have a certain effect on women. Don’t blame yourself.” I move my shoulder and kiss her again.
With no hesitation, she kisses me back, and before I know it, my cock is hard again and I’m in need of another condom.
Liv
Sneaking out of Damon’s bedroom for the fourth night in a row, I find myself smiling at how well this is all turning out. In the morning we’ll have the results, and then I can take him to the estate and show him what he’ll be living in. I’m giddy about showing him everything, including the bank account.
I just hope he doesn’t get pissed when I make him sign the paper that has the stipulations on it. So far, he’s enjoyed Harold. I don’t think he’ll even contemplate leaving the child to go back to the military.
And I’m equally as hopeful that he won’t want to end things with me.
The man is a monster in the bedroom. He makes me do shit I’ve never thought about before. Used positions I thought were impossible. And made me have orgasms that went on and on, with incredible intensity.
Yeah, I’ll be pretty upset if he ends things with me.
Just as I pull on a nightgown and slip under my blankets, a knock comes to the bedroom door. “Liv, can I come in?”
I can’t believe he’s come to my bedroom!
He’s taken me to his each night, but never came to mine when I left him. So I hurry to allow him in, “Of course, Damon.”
Wearing his tight black briefs, he comes in, his body a hulking, dark shadow. Not climbing into my bed as I thought he would, he stands at the side of it. “Can we talk?”
“Sure, climb in.”
He shakes his head and sits on the side of the bed. When I reach over to turn on the lamp, he stops me. “I can say this better in the dark.”
“Damon, you’re kind of freaking me out.”
He pulls my hand up and kisses the top of it, then places it on the bed and lets it go. “Liv, I’m not this guy. I’m not a father and what we’re doing is getting confusing as hell. It’s like we’re a little family and I don’t want that. I don’t want it at all.”
Sitting up, I feel as if I’ve been punched in the stomach. “Listen, Damon, I know you haven’t ever been committed to anyone. But you can do this. I won’t hold you to me, but to Harry, I will.”
“I can’t do it, Liv.”
Taking his hand, I hold it tightly in mine. “You can. You’ve done great with Harry. He loves you, Damon. Don’t let fear get in your way.”
“Fear?” he asks as he shakes his head. “It’s not how you think. I’m not afraid for me. I’m afraid for Harry and you. I
can’t be this man you want me to be and that Harry needs me to be.”
“So far you’ve been fine. Why now? Because the results are about to be in? Because I can tell you something that might help you. I was holding back until the results were in, but I can let you in on what you’ll be getting. Your life is about to really change, Damon.”
Leaning close to me, he whispers, “What have you been keeping from me?”
Taking both of his hands, I tell him what I’ve been holding back. “Damon, you’ll be a billionaire, with an estate, twenty-six automobiles, a private jet, and a stable full of horses. Add that to the profits you’ll be receiving quarterly from the candy business, and you don’t ever have to go back to the Navy again. You can spend your life with your son. And me, if you want.”
Shaking his head, I’m sure in what has to be disbelief, he says, “No, Liv. No. I can’t. I can’t leave my work. I can’t be a father. I don’t know how to. All I know is my work. And I’ll hurt you. I know I will. I’m a womanizer, Liv. You know I am. But I have to know this. If I leave, even if I am Harry’s father, will you take care of him?”
“I told you before, I’m his Godmother. I’m going to be in his life no matter what. But I want you to know that I’m not some bimbo that’ll let you do whatever the fuck you want to. I’ve already written up papers that stipulate certain things to make sure you take care of your son.”
“Things like what?” he asks as he pulls his hands out of mine.
“Things like you can’t be away from him for any longer than one month at a time.”
“And if I am?” he asks as I watch the shadows of his face move into a frown.
“Then you’ll lose the money. You’ll lose access to all of it. You were given this to help Harold. It’s not about you. It’s all about him. If you make the wrong decision, you won’t just hurt him, you’ll hurt the chance for you to live like a king.”
“So it’s a bribe.” He gets up and I get out of bed to go to him.
“It’s not a bribe,” I tell him as I reach out and take his arm, making him stay.
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