by Taryn Quinn
“Okay.”
Seth frowned, his expression so like his daughter’s when she was trying to puzzle out something. “Seriously?”
I fought not to smile. “Seriously.”
“Babycakes, it’s bedtime.”
Laurie glanced up and pouted. “No.”
I had to laugh. He was about as transparent as glass. “How about a story first?”
“She needs a bath too,” I added under my breath.
“Another one?” Seth asked, sounding as petulant as his child. “Twice in one day? A little soil never hurt anybody.”
Laurie picked that moment to stand up from the ground, revealing the streak of dirt all the way down one leg, ending in a glob on her frilly white sock. I glanced pointedly at Seth.
“Not it,” he said under his breath.
“I’ll do it.” Chuckling, I pressed my bowl into his rock-hard belly and rose to go scoop up Laurie off the ground, balloon and all. “Bath first, then a story. Can even have bubbles tonight.”
“Yay.” Laurie wrapped her arm around my neck and pushed the balloon in my face. “Here.”
“Thanks.” I grinned over my shoulder at Seth, and he was doing that way too intent watching thing again. It made my knees tremble and my belly do somersaults and my skin to feel too tight all over. Especially since he was smiling, his eyes warm and brown like melted chocolate.
He liked seeing me with Laurie, almost as much as I enjoyed taking care of her.
Maybe my reserves for taking care of others weren’t nearly as low as I’d believed. Somehow taking care of her—and of Seth—filled me up in other ways.
“You coming in?”
He stretched out his legs, still holding both bowls of ice cream. Just the shift of his pose widened his legs enough for me to see exactly what was going on in his jeans—and the late day sun definitely wasn’t creating any shadows. That gloriousness was all Seth.
I wet my lips and looked up into his eyes. He did the same, except on him the gesture was lazy and lion-like. A king surveying his backyard kingdom, and I was one of his belongings. That should’ve set my hackles up, but instead, all it gave me was a flutter, way down low.
“I’ll be right in,” he said.
Nodding, I juggled his daughter in my arms and smiled. “You ready for bath time and a story? Maybe Mr. Peppermint and the Pushy Poodles?”
“Yes!” She gave me a loud smacking kiss right on the mouth. “Love you, Ally.”
It didn’t matter that “love you, Ally” sounded like lub eww, Awee. It was probably the sweetest moment of my life.
Sucking in a breath, I tipped my head down to hers. “Love you right back.”
The rustle of grass behind me gave me a second to regroup before Seth pulsed his hips against my ass. He truly didn’t care that he was harder than wood and just the feel of him against me was enough to soak my panties. In fact, he’d probably done that intentionally. Same reason he’d casually looped his arm around my waist and caught his fingers in the unused belt loops of my dress. “My two favorite girls,” he murmured, his breath warm on the nape of my neck.
More flutters, by the dozen this time. I adjusted Laurie in my arms and gave Seth a quick upturned smile before gently detangling myself and heading for the porch stairs. “In we go.”
“Not you, Daddy,” Laurie said, and Seth gave a big sigh.
“Yes, I know, banned from my own bathroom. Or am I now exiled from the house too?”
Laurie clutched her balloon and stuck out her lower lip while she thought. “Come in.”
“Thank you, Princess Laurie.” Seth ate up the steps with his long-legged strides and opened the back door just in time to let us pass. “After you, Princess Ally Cat.”
“Cat?” Laurie’s head came up and she grinned toothily. “I like cats.” She turned her head and stared hard at her father. “My little sissy wants a cat.”
I lifted my brows. I’d heard much talk about how Laurie wanted another sibling, and supposedly it had spurned Seth’s crazy babymaking idea. But I’d never heard Laurie actually talk about the sibling as if she was real—one who could make pet requests, no less.
“Your little sissy?” I asked through the cotton in my throat. “Did you fill out an order form?”
Laurie giggled and dangled from my neck, stretching her arm out as long as she could so she could encompass her father too. “Boys suck.”
“Nice, kiddo.” Seth sighed and tweaked her nose, meeting my gaze over her head. “My child has very specific requests. They seem to get more specific by the day.”
The way he was looking at me again… God, it was as if he could see inside my womb and plant a kid there—a girl, because hey, ask and ye shall receive—from the sheer force of his stare alone.
He could definitely get me in the mood to practice, that was for sure.
“Or a dog,” Laurie added. “My sissy likes dogs too.”
It was so weird to laugh about something that potentially had a big effect on my life too. If she got that sissy she wanted, it’d be via my girl parts. And I didn’t mind that thought.
One bit.
“Good to know.” I brushed a kiss over Laurie’s forehead and sneaked a glance at Seth. “We’ll see how that whole ordering thing works out.”
It was a dangerous thing to say. To pretend we were a little happy family. A happy, normal family, who wasn’t playing house for the sole purpose of procreation.
But right now, with Seth’s gaze hot on mine, and his hand on the small of my back, it certainly didn’t feel like we were playing.
Nor did it when we tucked a freshly clean Laurie in her bed—Seth had waited in his bedroom, as requested—and she asked me to read her story. I figured she’d want her dad to read it to her since he was right there, but nope, she pushed the book into my hand then patted both sides of her bed so we could sit on either side.
My voice was trembling as I started to read about Mr. Peppermint’s pushy poodles. The story was lighthearted and fun, and Laurie giggled as the pushiest puppy fell face-first in a puddle. But by the time the puppy was plopped in the kitchen sink to get cleaned up, Laurie had fallen asleep, her cheek smushed adorably into the pillow and her damp golden ringlets draping like spun gold across her face.
I touched them without being aware I intended to, cupping her soft skin in my hand. Watching her chest rise and fall with her even breaths.
“You love her too,” Seth said, and there was more than certainty in his voice. There was awe. Gratitude.
Even relief.
I nodded. “Yes. Didn’t you know that?”
His Adam’s apple bobbed as he adjusted her thin blanket. He wouldn’t look at me. “Different seeing it.”
He brushed his hand over her hair, nearly bumping my hand. The ink that swirled up his forearm caught my eye, and following the path higher to where it disappeared under the sleeve of his T-shirt was an imperative. I’d studied his tattoos so many times. The snow leopard one, and most of the others too. Hell, I’d been there as he added to the collection over the years. But it was so much different when I could touch them.
Touch him.
“Different seeing this too,” he added huskily. I didn’t need an explanation of what he meant.
He was reading my desire as plainly as I was sending out those signals. Because he could read me. He’d always been able to, and I’d finally dropped my shields when it came to wanting him. Now he was getting the whole story.
Or a lot closer to it.
In silent agreement, we eased back from Laurie and rose, trooping silently out of her pink bedroom. Seth stopped to turn out her Winnie the Pooh light, leaving her cheerful carousel nightlights to illuminate the room in case she had a nightmare. He never wanted her to wake in the dark.
He quietly shut the door behind us, then he reached for me. Hands grasping my face, he brought his mouth down hard on mine. Lips that were soft in contrast to his rough touch teased me into responding. Encouraging me to keep up. I went up o
n my tiptoes, clutching his shirt, my nails digging into skin. He made a hungry noise in his throat and nudged me into the wall, hiking up my leg to wrap around his hips. He shoved my panties aside and slipped his fingers inside, burying my moan under his insistent kisses. His daughter was feet away from us, safe behind the door, but God, his bedroom was just down the hall.
We couldn’t wait. Just could not.
We’d spent so many years stuck in the space between friends and more, and now that we’d moved forward, there was no slowing this train. It was ride it or…
There was no ors left. Sweet mercy, I wanted to ride.
I reached up to tangle my fingers in his hair as he pushed his fingers deeper into my pussy. I couldn’t keep from crying out and he kissed me harder, so hard that I couldn’t breathe. My head was spinning from lack of oxygen and I was wet, so wet. His thumb brushed my clit over and over while his fingers pumped, and God, I was shameless about rocking into his movements. I couldn’t get enough.
When he moved his head, I chased his mouth, my teeth scraping his lips, our noses bumping as I sought his tongue. I needed it almost as much as his touch, working its wicked way on my body. He was turning me inside out, owning the parts of me only he knew. They were his.
I was his.
“Goddammit, not like this. Not this time.” Abruptly, he yanked back his hand and I whimpered, dropping my head to his shoulder to breathe. I was so close. A heartbeat away. I was throbbing so hard, and I could hear him licking his fingers. Jesus. Then he fisted his other hand in my hair and tugged it back, offering me his fingers while his wild eyes settled on mine in the dim light of the hall. “In my bed. Not against another wall. Not again.”
Consumed with my taste on his skin, I nearly didn’t hear him. He watched me suck on him and growled, backing me into the wall again. Bending his knees, he drove up his hips and the rigid column in his jeans rubbing against my clit was almost enough to push me over. Almost. I gasped, dizzy, still holding onto his hand as I licked his fingers. I couldn’t stop. And he thrust up against me again with only the thin barriers of my panties and his jeans between us, hitting the angle just right. So good. I dropped my head back, closing my eyes as flashes of light went off at the edges of my vision.
It wasn’t an orgasm but it was the next best thing. I couldn’t stop shaking. If he’d shoved me down on my knees and told me to deep-throat his cock, I would’ve done it without blinking. Anything he wanted.
I wanted it too. Any way he could give it to me.
“Christ, you’re so fucking hot,” he mumbled, buzzing his scruff along my cleavage, on the verge of popping out of the top of my dress. “How did I miss it?”
“Asshole.” Indignation fought its way through the heavy lust pulsing in my lower belly. In my breasts. Hell, everywhere. I bit his palm, making him laugh.
Instead of arguing with me, as was our way, he dropped my leg and swooped me up in one smooth move. Epically smooth, since I started to screech and he caught my mouth with his before I could. If I hadn’t been more than a little off-center from my near-miss orgasm and being hauled into the air, I wouldn’t have kissed him back. Probably. But damn, he was good at it, and he kept me thoroughly distracted as he carried me down the hall and backed into his room.
He kicked out and shut the door, managing not to slam it. His next move was to flip on the lights. I expected to be tossed onto the bed like a sugar sack, but he placed me on his messy comforter carefully, as if I was made of porcelain. “Never know,” he whispered, reading my thoughts as he drew his fingertip down my belly.
I was still reeling from that when he stepped back and reached behind his head to drag his T-shirt off. Golden abs covered in swirling dark ink rippled, and I swallowed hard, suddenly riveted by the slash of his navel above his jeans. He undid the button teasingly, leaving it gaping while he stepped toward me again where I was spread out on the bed like his feast.
Quaking, wet, needy. All for him.
I still wasn’t through kicking his ass for his missing my hotness—though come on, my hotness was debatable anyway—but he was already peeling off my dress as if it served as wrapping for his very favorite present. He touched me reverently, pulling the fabric aside to bare my bra and tiny panties before dispatching those too. Lowering his head, he licked one tight nipple, his gaze locked with mine. Every minute movement made me clench inside, tighter and wetter than I’d ever been. I splayed my legs wider so he could move between them, already writhing against the soft spread under my back.
“Tell me what you want.”
I shook my head and shut my eyes. Dammit, he was supposed to know. Wasn’t that his job? Best friend and all, for fuck’s sake. He was supposed to know I was dying for him to keep doing that to my breasts while he fingered me and made me come. Then he was supposed to move down my body and—
“That’s it. Tell me. Every dirty word.”
I blinked. Had I spoken? Oh, that wasn’t good. Except maybe it was, because he was doing all of that. His big hand covered my pussy, rubbing gently before he parted my swollen lips and stroked my clit in circles. Over and over so that I had to grind myself wildly against his palm. He released my achy nipple with a pop and slid down my body, his intended target clear. Instead of closing my eyes again, I leaned up on my elbows and licked my lips, ready to watch every lewd moment—
“Daddy!”
14
Ally
The cry from down the hall had Seth scrambling back so fast that I nearly fell off the bed. I grabbed hold of the bedding and tried to haul myself up, but all the build-up without a finish for a second time was giving me one hell of a head rush.
Almost in slow-motion, the doorknob started to turn. Seth flung himself at it while I scrambled for my dress, for a corner of the comforter, hell, even for a damn shoe to cover my nakedness. I settled for Seth’s T-shirt where he’d tossed it on the footboard and yanked it over my head just as Seth blocked Laurie’s flight into the bedroom.
“What’s the matter, sweetheart? Come here.” He scooped her up in his arms and cupped her head, holding it to his shoulder while he pivoted and ascertained I wasn’t flashing any T and A at his young daughter.
I was already rueing not making a grab for my dress, because what was I supposed to do to cover my lower half? Lace panties were not adequate. But without any alternatives, I tugged the comforter halfway over me and tried to unobtrusively tug them on.
And Laurie was crying, and it just did not matter. Nothing did but making her feel better.
As soon as I’d yanked them up my ass, I flung off the comforter and scrambled to them. “What’s wrong, honey?”
She cried harder and clung to her father, and for the first time in a long time, I felt as if I didn’t belong. As if I didn’t have a right to intrude. This was a private moment between them and I wasn’t her mother.
I stepped back, pushing my messy hair away from my face, and would’ve aimed for the bathroom—possibly to have a good cry, though I was even sure why—if Seth’s voice hadn’t stopped me.
“Ally, c’mere.”
Frowning, I looked back to see Laurie knuckling her red eyes with one fist and reaching for me with the other.
I moved toward them and took her chubby hand. Seth shifted to slide his free arm around my waist. “Let’s go back to your room.” His voice was low and soothing. “We’ll read you the rest of the story from earlier.”
Laurie curled into his chest while I rubbed my thumb over her soft skin. “Spend the night?” she asked me, peering out from underneath her father’s chin. Her lashes were starred with tears.
Seth answered before I had a chance to think of an answer. “Yes, Ally’s spending the night. She’s going to be spending the night a lot more from now on. Okay?”
Laurie nodded and stretched out her other arm to me so I could take her. I glanced at Seth, and he held her out to me as if she was mine too.
Eyes scratchy all over again, I pulled her into my arms and buried my face in
her still damp hair.
“Story time,” Seth murmured, and I nodded.
Together, we walked down the hall to Laurie’s bedroom. Gently, I unwrapped her from her ferocious hold on me and set her back on her bed, taking my spot again on the side as if I belonged there. Seth sat on the opposite one. We took turns reading the story, with Seth playing the part of Mr. Peppermint while I played Mr. Peppermint’s nosy neighbor. By the end, Laurie was laughing at our exaggerated play-acting, but her eyes were heavy with fatigue.
“We’ll stay until you sleep,” I said, fussing with her sheet.
Seth nodded.
It didn’t take long, maybe ten minutes. We waited another fifteen beyond that, sneaking glances at each other to make sure she was out. Then we tiptoed back down the hall to his room and carefully closed the door behind us.
“I like this on you,” he said, fingering the hem of the shirt that brushed my thighs. I still hadn’t felt comfortable wearing it without pants in front of Laurie, but at least it had covered everything. Mostly.
I started to shrug off the compliment. My emotions were raw and jagged and all over the place. I was still horny yet I wanted to sniffle. So much was changing, and even trying to hold on to what I knew was impossible. Nothing was the same. Not Seth.
Not even me.
“I like wearing it,” I said instead, turning my cheek against the worn cotton and taking a nice big sniff of Seth’s sugar sex cologne.
“So don’t take it off.” He gripped my hips and pulled me close. “I can do what I need to do over, under and through it.”
“That sounds promising. And filthy.”
“Filthy promises are the best, baby.”
The affectionate term made me cock my head at him. I was still Ally, he was still Seth. We fucked, but baby was new.
He took that moment to grip my chin and haul my mouth to his. And like always, his lips were tender when everything else about him was hard.
Especially the stiff cock trapped in his jeans between us.
“I want you so much,” he said between kisses, and I nodded, because I got it. Every part of me was trembling to be with him again. Craving that instant when he’d slide inside of me and fill me up.