The Playboy

by Alice Ward

  “Your turn,” he whispered roughly. I grinned and let him pull me up.

  On my knees, Sean lifted my blouse over my head. He let it fall and slid his hands around my back. He brushed my bare skin lightly as he unhooked my bra. I let it slide off my breasts and onto the bed. Sean’s eyes were hungry as he watched me.

  He grabbed me roughly and pushed me over backward. His lips found mine again, and he kissed me with such ferocity that I was soon breathless. When he finally broke away, I gasped for air. He licked his way down my neck, making me shiver with pleasure. When he reached my breasts, I was wiggling with desire. His tongue flicked over my nipple, and I bit my lip to keep from moaning. Everything he did lit my body on fire.

  I reached down to push my shorts off my legs. Sean helped me, but his mouth never left my breasts. While he teased me, his hand gripped my leg tightly. He slid his hand up my naked thigh, stopping when he met my panties. I silently begged him to keep going.

  Sean moved his face back to mine. He used one hand to brush my curls off my face before he kissed me. His other hand traced a line down my chest and my stomach. He slid his hand inside my panties, his fingers lightly tickling my clit. At his touch, I came alive. My hips rocked uncontrollably, and I grabbed his face with my hands.

  I kissed him hard while he worked furiously between my legs. It felt so good I wanted to scream. I pulled away from his lips and threw my head back, biting my lip hard.

  “God, you look so good when you do that,” Sean groaned, burying his face in my neck and moving his fingers even faster.

  “I’m trying not to scream,” I said weakly.

  “I would give anything to hear you scream,” he whispered in my ear. I moaned at his words and pushed him down onto his back. I straddled him and flipped my hair to the side. He grabbed my hips as I lowered myself down to kiss him. I kissed him again and again, finally working my way down his body. I reached his boxers and slid them off slowly. He trembled with desire when I looked back at him. I grinned and lowered my mouth to his erection.

  My tongue trailed along the length of him before I took him in my mouth. He moaned and wrapped his fingers in my hair.

  “Oh my god,” he groaned softly. I worked on him slowly, just wanting to tease him. His legs shook beneath me, and I held onto his thighs tightly.

  When he couldn’t take it anymore, he grabbed me roughly and threw me back down on the bed. I exhaled sharply while he tore my panties from my body.

  “I want you,” he growled, attacking my breasts with his mouth once again.

  I breathed heavily and wrapped one leg around his waist. I could feel how hard he was as he pressed himself between my legs.

  “You can have me,” I whispered.

  Sean growled again and positioned himself above me. His blue eyes locked with mine, and he slid inside me. My back arched as he moved deeper. He filled me up quickly, watching my face the entire time.

  When he started moving, it was slow and patient. He leaned forward so I could run my hands along his chest while he thrusted. Every cell in my body was alive with desire. I had never wanted anyone more than I wanted Sean.

  Our bodies moved together slowly, taking our time to really enjoy each other. The longer we went, the faster we moved until I couldn’t take it anymore.

  I lifted myself up and gently directed Sean onto his back. I positioned myself on top of him and rode him hard. I arched my back and threw my head back while I moved. Sean held onto my hips with a vicelike grip and moaned. He was so loud that I quickly put my finger in his mouth to quiet him.

  He sucked on my finger as I came down harder and harder on top of him. His body tensed up, and I knew he was close. I could feel my own orgasm coming. I moved even faster, riding him harder than ever. When I finished, an electric shock went through my entire body, and I bit my lip so hard I tasted blood. All I wanted was to scream out a cry of pleasure.

  Sean wasn’t far behind me. His legs shook roughly, and I fell against him. My hair covered his face, but he didn’t care. He wrapped his arms around me and held me tightly to his chest. We both breathed heavily, holding onto each other for dear life. I never wanted the moment to end.

  But it did.

  We sat up slowly, still catching our breath. I laid back against Sean’s pillows and put my arms over my face. My body felt sweaty and weak, but I knew I had to move. I couldn’t fall asleep. Not there.

  When I could move, I pushed myself to my feet and started collecting my clothes. Sean was still lying on the bed with his eyes closed. He heard me moving and sat up quickly.

  “Where are you going?” he asked, worry in his voice.

  “I should leave,” I said. “I can’t stay here.”

  “Why not?” Sean asked. “It’s okay. Just stay the night. It’s late.”

  “I know,” I said. I shook my head. “But Paisley shouldn’t find me here in the morning. How would you explain that to her?”

  Sean thought about the question for a second, clearly trying to work out a way for me to stay without it causing any problems. I knew he couldn’t and so did he. His face fell and he sighed.

  “You’re right,” he said. “I just wish you weren’t.”

  “I know,” I said again.

  “I wish you could stay,” he whispered. I looked at his face and saw that he was being genuine. He meant what he said. The look in his eyes made my stomach tie itself into a knot. I had to get out of there. Fast.

  “Me too,” I said back, but I wasn’t sure I meant it. In that moment, I was no longer sure of anything.

  I got dressed quickly, desperate to be alone.

  “Be careful,” Sean said. “Drive safe.”

  “I will,” I smiled. I glanced back at him as I let myself out of the bedroom. I pulled the door closed softly behind me. When I passed Paisley’s room, I paused to listen. I hoped we hadn’t woken her up. I couldn’t hear anything except her soft, steady breathing. I breathed a sigh of relief and hurried toward the living room. I didn’t stop until I reached the front door.

  On the porch, I let the cool night air shake me back to reality. It felt like I emerged from a dream, from a life that wasn’t my own. I could not believe what I had just done.

  I hurried toward my car and climbed inside. I turned the ignition and let the air conditioning blow against my face. My cheeks were still red, and I could feel sweat drying on my back. It wasn’t like me to run out after sex. I wasn’t the kind of person to sleep around, and I knew, even then, that Sean wasn’t either.

  What happened between us meant something. I didn’t know what, but I knew I’d made a huge mistake. My Saturdays were supposed to be simple. Wake up early. Have breakfast alone. Watch some T.V. Maybe hang out with Niki. Nothing crazy. Nothing exciting. Sean completely blew my plans apart with his invitation, but I still never imagined we would end up in bed together.

  I thought we would spend the day with Paisley, talking and getting to know each other. We would have fun. We would enjoy ourselves. But, we definitely would not have sex.

  I was wrong. I had never been more wrong.

  I didn’t want to regret my night with Sean. As I sat in my car in his driveway, a huge part of me was begging to go back inside. All I wanted was to curl up against Sean’s chest and drift off to sleep. I could still feel his arms around me, his lips on mine.

  My body shivered, and I banged my hands on my steering wheel in anger. What had I done? What had I let myself do? What on earth was I thinking?!

  I leaned my head back against my seat and tried not to think. It was no use. I could still feel the after effects of my orgasm. There was no denying Sean and I were amazing together. I’d never had a night like that before. With anyone.

  Still, I regretted it. I hated myself for feeling that way, but I did. My job was my entire life. I spent years working toward my career, and now, I wasn’t sure I would even have a career after this.

  Sean was the backbone of our rebranding scheme. He was the face of Yates’ Motorcycles. Wi
thout him, we had nothing. It was too late to change things. It was too late to hire someone new. Sean was it. He was the only option. And after what happened between us, I had no idea what to do.

  I imagined Ray and Zach finding out about us, and my heart stopped. I felt a fear unlike any other work its way into my mind. Even if they didn’t find out, I thought, Sean and I still couldn’t be together. Not really. What would happen if we were?

  Would we date behind everyone’s back? Would we keep it a secret? And if so, for how long? Plus, what would happen if we broke up? Surely, Sean wouldn’t stay on at the company and if he did, I would be the one who would have to leave.

  The thought made my stomach hurt. Tears threatened to pour from my eyes. I put my car in reverse and pulled out of the driveway as fast I could. I sped all the way to my house.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  Sean

  Breakfast on Monday morning was a happy occasion. When I woke up, I went to check the mail to find my first check from Yates’ Motorcycles waiting for me. I tore it open quickly and gaped at the high dollar amount. I had been expecting the money, but now that it was real, I felt like I was dreaming. I’d never had so much money in my entire life.

  “Good morning!” I said as Paisley came into the kitchen. “You hungry?”

  “Sure.” Paisley shrugged. “What are you making?”

  “Anything you want,” I said with a smile. “Today is a celebration.”

  “It is?” Paisley asked.

  “It is,” I said with conviction.

  “Can we have waffles?” Paisley asked. Her voice was hesitant, and she looked at her feet while she spoke. I smiled at her embarrassment and walked over to her.

  I put my hand under her chin and lifted her head. She blinked up at me as if she were afraid she might be in trouble. I smiled kindly.

  “Waffles,” I said. “Sounds great. That is a fantastic idea! I can’t remember the last time I had waffles.”

  Paisley smiled weakly and bounced over to her seat at the kitchen table. I went to work making the waffles, humming to myself as I did. I poured the batter into the waffle iron, and my mind drifted once again to that check. I couldn’t wait to cash it. My mind spun with everything I wanted to spend it on.

  First thing, I wanted to take Paisley shopping. She would need new clothes for the next school year, and I was sure she would want a few new bathing suits. I might even be able to talk her into buying some decorations for her room.

  “So,” I said, running with the idea. “What do you think about making your room more your own?”

  “What do you mean?” Paisley asked.

  “Well,” I said. “We could buy you a new comforter and pillow cases. Maybe a bookshelf? And a lamp or some curtains? It could be whatever you want.”

  “Okay.” Paisley nodded. “Sure.”

  I grinned and continued making breakfast. I finished up the waffles and fried a few pieces of bacon. Rummaging in the fridge, I found some fruit that I cut up and put in a bowl. I was flying high when I finally put the food out on the table. I put a plate and a fork in front of Paisley. She grabbed two waffles and drenched them in syrup before I was able to sit down.

  I laughed and watched as she shoveled the waffles into her mouth. I was happy to see her appetite had returned in full force. She no longer turned her nose up at food. It was slow progress, but she seemed to be settling into her new life pretty well.

  “What am I going to do today?” Paisley asked after she finished her waffles.

  “Well,” I said. I cleared my throat. “I thought maybe you could come to work with me.”

  “With you?” she asked.

  “Yeah.” I shrugged. “It won’t be very fun, but it might be kind of cool to see the place. There’s a showroom with a ton of motorcycles and—”

  “Can I ride one?” Paisley asked quickly.

  “Not a chance,” I said with a chuckle. “But you can probably sit on a few.”

  “Cool,” Paisley said.

  “It could be fun,” I said. “Why don’t you go get dressed and we’ll go, okay?”

  “Okay,” Paisley said.

  She jumped up from the table and ran into her room. I heard her door slam shut. There were muffled noises as she got dressed quickly. I hadn’t expected her to be excited about going to work with me, but it was the best I could do. She didn’t have camp anymore and I didn’t exactly have anyone lined up to babysit. Short of leaving her alone, this was my only option.

  Plus, Tara suggested it.

  I wasn’t sure if her offer was serious, but the more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea. Paisley was the most important part of my life. She was the reason I agreed to work for my father in the first place. It only felt right for her to see the place. I also hated the idea of leaving her. She’d only been back in my life for a few weeks, but already, I felt a strong connection to her.

  While she was at camp, I missed her. When she spent the evenings locked away in her room, I missed her. Despite her sassy attitude and her lack of conversation skills, I still preferred to be around her. I thought it was the best way to convince her I was sticking around. She had to learn to trust me, to believe that I was really going to be her dad. Forever.

  I cleaned the kitchen quickly while Paisley got ready. She came out into the living room and pulled her shoes on her feet just as I loaded the last plate into the dishwasher.

  “You ready?” I asked as I walked over to her.

  “Yeah,” she said. She stood up and frowned.

  “What is it?” I asked.

  “Should I bring anything?” she asked. “A book or something?”

  “If you want to.” I nodded. “It might be pretty boring up there. You’ll want something to do.”

  “Okay,” she said. She hurried back to her room and returned with a sketchbook in her hand. She tucked a pencil in her pocket and walked toward the front door. She didn’t notice me watching her until she was already on the front porch.

  “I’m coming,” I said, shaking myself. She looked at me slightly confused, but she just shrugged and made her way over to the car.

  I followed her, smiling to myself. I didn’t know a lot about Paisley yet, but I was learning more and more. She hadn’t taken her sketch book out of her room since she moved in with me. It meant something that she was finally comfortable enough to bring it out.

  ***

  When we pulled into the parking lot at Yates’ Motorcycles, Paisley gasped loudly. I looked over to see her staring wide-eyed at the building in front of us. I followed her gaze and smiled. If you weren’t used it, the building did look spectacular. The bottom floor was almost entirely made up of windows. You could see all the bikes lined up inside.

  Paisley’s eyes trailed up the side of the building. She tilted her head against the window, looking all the way to the top floor.

  “You really work here?” Paisley asked breathlessly. “It’s so big. And pretty.”

  “I really work here,” I said. “Unfortunately.”

  “You don’t like it?” Paisley asked.

  “It’s fine.” I shrugged. “It just wouldn’t be my first choice.”

  “What would be your first choice?” Paisley asked in her kid voice.

  “Well, before I worked here, I worked at a repair shop,” I said. “I used to fix motorcycles. I really enjoyed that.”

  “Why’d you stop then?” she asked as we climbed out of the car.

  “It was just time to move on,” I said with another shrug.

  “You got fired,” Paisley accused. I laughed and looked over at her. She just stared back at me as we walked through the front doors.

  “No,” I said. “I didn’t get fired.”

  “Sure,” Paisley said. She rolled her eyes.

  “I really didn’t,” I argued.

  “I believe you,” Paisley said. It was obvious that she didn’t. I wanted to argue more, but I told myself to let it go. She was eight, and she enjoyed pushing my buttons. It w
asn’t worth the fight.

  We walked through the showroom slowly. Paisley’s eyes roamed wildly around, taking in everything around her. She looked at all the bikes one at a time. I stayed silent while she looked, waiting for her to ask questions.

  She didn’t. She just followed me over to the elevators with wide, curious eyes. When we stepped on the elevator, her excitement faded slightly. I knew offices wouldn’t be as exciting to her as motorcycles.

  We reached the conference room quickly. Tara was already there waiting for us. She stood up when we walked in and smiled down at Paisley.

  “You brought Paisley,” she said to me. “I’m glad.”

  “Tara!” Paisley squealed. She ran over and hugged Tara quickly. Tara hugged her back, her smile growing wider by the second.

  “It’s okay, right?” I asked. “You said I could bring her with me.”

  “Of course!” Tara said. Her eyes met mine, and I couldn’t look away. We hadn’t spoken since Saturday night. I didn’t know how to act. I thought about saying something, but I didn’t know how to with Paisley standing right beside us.

  Tara’s face was impassive. I had no idea what she was thinking. We looked at each other for a long time before she finally looked away. I still wanted to talk about what happened between us, but Tara was clearly determined not to make a big deal about it. I decided to follow her lead.

  “Come on,” I said to Paisley. “Let’s sit down.”

  “Okay,” Paisley said. She bounced over to a chair. She sat down and placed her sketchbook on the table in front of her.

  “What’s that?” Tara asked

  “My sketch book,” Paisley explained. “I like to draw sometimes.”

  “Really?” Tara asked. “Me too. What do you like to draw?”

  Paisley shrugged and said, “I don’t know. All kinds of things.”

  “Like what?” Tara asked. She had eyes only for Paisley in that moment. Paisley looked up at her with a frown. Her expression was thoughtful as she considered whether to show Tara her drawings.

  Finally, Paisley seemed to decide. She cleared her throat and pushed the book toward Tara. Tara took it gently in her hands and glanced at Paisley to make sure it was okay.