Next Door Daddy

by Jagger Cole

  I gasp and go tumbling forward across the floor of the foyer at the bottom of the stairs as she shoves me from behind. I roll over and try and kick away, but Helen lunges over me, screaming.

  “Go get your shit, Lacey! If you ever want to go back to college and get an education, you’ll get your sweet ass over to that man’s house and do whatever you have to do to get that humidifier!”

  Helen is either drunk or completely insane. But either way, I’m scared to death of her and I try and back away across the floor. The front door suddenly slams open, and the both of us gasp in shock as we turn to see Logan striding through it.

  “Get away from her!” His deep masculine voice thunders through the foyer. Helen’s reaction is almost like he’s physically struck her, and she gasps and jumps away from me.

  “Mr. Kane! What a surprise!” She immediately plasters a fake smile on her face, but it doesn’t match up with the fury in her eyes. Or the fact that she was just standing above me looking like she was going to hit me.

  “Stay the fuck back, Helen,” Logan growls. His look says he’s not fucking around at all, and Helen sees it clearly. He turns and drops to his knee next to me with concern across his face. “Are you okay, angel?” He says softly. Our eyes meet, and whatever anger I felt for him before is gone. I nod.

  “Yeah, I’m okay.”

  “We’re leaving,” Logan says. He gently helps me up, and before I know it, he’s scooped me into his arms against his chest. I lean into him, feeling the warmth of his body and the power in those arms. He looks past me at my aunt, and I can feel his muscles tensing. “She’s done living here.”

  Helen frowns. “I beg your pardon?! That’s my niece!”

  “Not anymore she’s not,” Logan grunts. “You’ve given that privilege up. And I doubt you ever deserved her in the first place.”

  “You can’t just steal her!”

  “She’s an adult. She can decide for herself.” Logan looks down at me. “Do you want to stay here?” I shake my head, and he nods and looks back at Helen. “Do not follow me. Do not try and contact her. I’ll have someone I trust come by for the rest of her belongings later, and if you attempt to hide, steal, or destroy any of it before then, I promise you that you’ll regret it. Do I make myself clear?”

  I turn in his arms just in time to see Helen’s face grow pale. She doesn’t say a word, but she nods quickly.

  “Excellent,” Logan growls. “Goodbye, Helen. Give my best to Roger.” With that as a final parting shot he walks out with me cradled in his arms. We walk down the driveway of Helen’s house, and keep going until we get to Logan’s front gate. He punches in the code and carries me through, all the way up his winding drive until we’re back inside of his house. It’s there that he sets me down an takes my hands in his.

  “Lacey,” he says gently. His eyes search mine. “Earlier… I don’t know what the fuck I was saying.”

  “I’m so sorry,” I mumble. “I think Helen… I mean, I think she was using me to get to you or something.”

  “It’s fine, angel,” he says quietly. He draws me close, and I feel my heart soar as he sweeps me into his arms. “You have absolutely nothing to be sorry about,” he groans into me. “Nothing at all. Lacey, I was blind and an idiot before. This thing with your uncle…”

  “It’s okay,” I whisper.

  “No, it’s not,” he sighs. “It’s not okay that I spoke to you like that, and it’s not okay that I thought for a single second that you were knowingly part of anything.” He looks down into my eyes and slowly smiles. He brings a hand up to cup my cheek, and his eyes burn into mine. “I’m crazy about you, Lacey. I’m crazy about you unlike anything I’ve ever known before. I don’t know what the hell you do to me, but I’m lost with you. I have no walls with you; no armor.”

  I stare back at him, my mouth opening in shock. My heart feels like it’s swelling so big it might burst out of me, and I slowly realize I’m smiling wider than I’ve ever smiled before. Logan groans as he leans into me. His lips find mine, and I moan as the kiss sizzles through me all the way to my toes. I don’t even know how long we kiss for, standing in the front entrance to his house. But when he slowly pulls back, my entire body is tingling, and my lips are swollen and eager for more.

  “Logan,” I frown. “Helen said I was a honeypot with you? And she kept going off about my freaking humidifier.”

  He frowns and squeezes my hand. “I think I have an idea of what happened and what she and Roger were up to. Come with me.”

  13

  Logan

  We both stare at Lacey’s humidifier sitting on my desk. I’ve unscrewed the back panel, and a device with wires and antennas is half pulled out of it. I glare at it, seething.

  “What is it?” Lacey asks quietly.

  “It’s called a feeder,” I growl angrily. “It’s a high-tech snooping device that’s meant to spy on Wi-Fi data and server traffic.” I shake my head, cursing myself for not seeing it sooner. “At the office, we’ve got sensors that look for these, but I never thought my house would be open to it.”

  Lacey shakes her head. Her face looks worried and she turns to take my hand. “Logan, I’m so sorry. I brought this crap into your house.”

  “Don’t be,” I grunt. “First, I have nothing to hide here, except for business strategies. Legitimate ones, that is. But Roger’s desperate for anything he can use against me. My own corporate spies tell me he thinks I’m the one who informed the F.B.I. about his shit. I’m not, I just noticed something was up with his investment strategy and pulled out. Soon after that is when he was arrested. So now he’s doing everything he can to try and make it look like I’m the mastermind behind his frauds.”

  Lacey squeezes my hand and leans into me. “I’m sorry my uncle is such an asshole. God, I’m sorry for my whole sucky family.”

  I hug her back, staring at the snooping device. “You have nothing to be sorry about, angel. I’m guessing Roger was trying to steal stuff from my home servers to blackmail me by threatening to release it publicly if I didn’t play ball.”

  “So are you screwed? I mean, did he get anything he can threaten you with?”

  “He may have, but he doesn’t have it.” I nod at the device. “These don’t broadcast, they just store the stolen information. I think that’s why your aunt was losing her mind about you coming back here and retrieving it. They physically need it to get the information off of it.”

  Lacey stiffens, and slowly, a thin smile spreads over her lips. “So, you’re saying you could use this thing to go after Roger? I mean it can be proven to be his, and it’s got your stolen propriety information on it. You could call the police or the F.B.I. right now!”

  I shake my head. “I won’t ask you to do that.”

  “You don’t have to!”

  “Let me rephrase that,” I smile gently. “You’re not doing that, Lacey.”

  “Why the hell not? My uncle deserves be held accountable.”

  “I agree, but if we involve the authorities, it’s your humidifier, which makes it your device, until proven otherwise.”

  “What!?”

  I scowl, shaking my head. It’s not fair, but it is what it is. “I know it wasn’t knowingly, but legally, that doesn’t matter. You’re the one who brought this into this house, which means until things are proven otherwise, you’ll be compelled to testify in this shit between Roger and me. And part of that testifying will include that device and whatever is on it. Again, since it belongs to you.”

  Lacey stares at me with horror on her face. “What the hell does that mean?”

  “It means if I go after Roger, then because you’ll be compelled to testify, this device gets entered as evidence and he still gets what he’s after. His lawyers would have access to it, since it would be evidence.”

  “That’s so fucked up!” Lacey mutters angrily.

  I nod. “It’s not about what they’d find on it, either. Like I said, I have nothing to hide. The most they’d get is investme
nt strategies that I don’t exactly want publicly shared. But the questioning and depositions would be public knowledge. The damage would be to my and my company’s reputation. Guilty or not, if I’ve got Roger Millhouse the fraudster accusing me of things and having the F.B.I. get involved, my own investors are going to run like rats from a sinking ship.” I shrug as Lacey looks at me with horror. “Rich guys are skittish like that.”

  “He could still accuse you publicly and screw you over, you know. Even if he doesn’t get the device.”

  “He could, but without any sort of hearing or deposition, it’d just be Roger yelling nonsense. That alone wouldn’t scare people. But if he can claim to have ‘evidence’ from this device, and if there are lawyers involved, that’s when the rumors will begin to worry people.”

  Lacey shakes her head. “So we do nothing?! We just let Roger get away with trying to fuck you over?”

  “I’m not happy about it,” I seethe. “But sometimes, that’s life. Sometimes there are no right or good choices, just multiple bad ones. The world is full of shitty people, Lacey.”

  “This is so fucking unfair.”

  I smile at the scowl on her face and pull her close to me. “I disagree, actually.” I look down into her eyes and grin. “I got you out of all of this, after all.” I lean in, and the sound of her soft moan as my lips find hers is the only thing I ever need to hear for the rest of my life. I kiss her slowly and softly, letting the kiss grow deeper until she’s almost crawling up my chest. I grunt as I scoop her up, and her legs wrap tight around my waist as I turn to march to my bedroom.

  The thing is, there is actually one move here that ends in a win. But, I can’t. I can’t ask that of her. I know I’m ready, and I know I’d say it in a heartbeat. But she’s too young. I might be crazy about her. I might be goddam in love with her.

  But I can’t ask that.

  14

  Lacey

  Two hours later, I should be sleeping. I mean, a girl can only take so many orgasms at the hands of a man like Logan before she simply needs to sleep, right? Except, I can’t. Logan’s sleeping, and I’m curled up next to him. His naked, muscled body is pressed against me from behind with one arm wrapped around me. But my brain just won’t shut off, not with everything that’s going on around us.

  Instead of sleeping, I’m on my phone, scrolling through jargon-filled legal websites and forums. I’m looking for a miracle, even though I don’t know a thing about law or it’s process. But my mind is hardened, and I’m determined to find something. It’s so fucking unfair that Roger can use his own attempted theft to drag Logan’s name through the mud. I have to stop this.

  My eyes are heavy though, and with the warmth of the gorgeous naked man wrapped around me, I can feel sleep begin to pull me under. I click on one last website, skimming it quickly. But suddenly, there it is. Right in front of me, I see the answer to all of our problems.

  “Logan!”

  He’s up in a second, practically jumping from the bed with fists raised and his eyes darting around the room. When he realizes it’s just me, he relaxes and sinks back into the bed.

  “Oh my God, I’m so sorry,” I giggle.

  He grins. “SEAL training never really goes away, baby.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  He chuckles. “What’s wrong?”

  I smile broadly. “I know how to beat Roger. And I know how to do it while still stopping him from being able to get his hands on that device and use it to ruin your reputation.”

  He smiles. “Lacey, I know you want to help, but I don’t think—”

  “Marry me.” My own eyes widen in shock as I say it, and I can feel my cheeks blushing. Logan blinks in surprise, his lips curling in a small smile. “I… I know that’s weird to just blurt out like that, but if you marry me, as your wife, I can’t be compelled to testify against you. Which means…”

  “Which means I could go after Roger and the spy device would never be compelled to be evidence, since it belongs to you, and you don’t have to testify against your own spouse.” I nod and grin widely, and Logan smiles. He reaches out to brush hair away from my face. “I know, baby.”

  I blink. “Wait, you knew?!”

  “Yes,” he smiles. “But I’m not going to ask you to do that.”

  “What, marry you?” Logan nods, and I frown. “Oh.” I look down, feeling stupid. Obviously, Logan likes me, and he might even be crazy about me. But, love? Marriage is such a big thing, and I suddenly feel like a silly idiot for blurting it out. His hand cups my cheek, and he slides a finger under my chin to lift my eyes to his.

  “Lacey.”

  “It’s fine, it was just a dumb idea…”

  “I’m in love with you, Lacey,” Logan says quietly. “That’s why.”

  I blink as my heart begins to beat faster and faster. “You love me?”

  “Baby, I’m head over fucking heels for you,” he groans, wrapping me in his arms. “But asking you to marry me… that’s big. That’s the rest of your life, and you’re so young, angel. You should go live.”

  I frown and quickly shake my head. “No, I shouldn’t.”

  “You should date other people.”

  Anger flashes over my face. I quickly frown. “No fucking way,” I mutter as I wrap my arms tight around him. “I don’t want other guys, Logan. I just want you.”

  There’s a pained look on his face as he looks into my eyes. “You’re saying that because you’re young, Lacey.”

  “Fuck that. I’m saying it because I love you,” I hiss. Logan grins, but he’s silent. “So, ask me!”

  “I… I won’t do that,” he groans. His face is hardened, like he’s wrestling with something. “I can’t do that to you, Lacey. It’s not fair. Not with my being so much older than you. I know you’re trying to do the right thing here, and damn do I love you. But I can’t ask you to marry me with the purpose of saving my butt.”

  My mouth tightens, and suddenly, my mind is made up. “Fine,” I mutter. I slide out from under the sheets and sit on my knees in front of him on the bed.

  He frowns. “Lacey, what are you doing?”

  “Logan Kane?” I say quietly. “Will you marry me?”

  A grin spreads across his gorgeous face as he shakes his head. “Lacey…”

  “Don’t you laugh at me!” I snap.

  “Believe me, I’m not.”

  “So answer the damn question.”

  His eyes hold mine, and his smile grows. “Where the fuck did you come from, Lacey?” He chuckles quietly.

  “Next door.”

  Logan roars with laughter, and I giggle as he suddenly pulls me into his lap in the bed. “So, is that a yes or no, mister? Do you want to marry me or not?” I suddenly gasp as he kisses me ferociously. The kiss takes my breath away and makes my heart skip a beat or five. And then, Logan pulls away, and his eyes hold mine.

  “Fuck yes,” he growls. “Of course I’ll marry you, love.”

  I squeal in happiness and throw my arms around his neck as our lips come together again. I manage to whisper an “I love you” before we slide down into the bed in a tangle of arms, legs, and so many other things.

  Epilogue

  Logan

  In the end, I married her. I mean how much of a fucking moron would I have to be to not marry the girl of my dreams? It was a small wedding, just a few of her friends and one or two of mine. But it was everything both of us wanted. We could have been married by a zombie dressed as Elvis in a garbage dump, and it wouldn’t have mattered to me as long as it ended with Lacey being my wife.

  Roger went away for life, and my company pulled through just fine. My team of lawyers took a look at everything and did what they did best. They strategized, and they agreed that Lacey being my wife pretty much shored up any possible crack in the plan. So in the end, Roger was truly fucked. The fraud and insider trading stuff was bad enough, but I was also able to nail him for corporate espionage and attempt to blackmail.

  They even go
t Lacey’s Aunt Helen on witness intimidation and conspiring with a felon to commit crimes. She’s not going to jail or anything since she pled down the charges and testified against Roger. But she lost that big fancy house bought with dirty money. Last we heard, she moved back to her native Florida to try and ingratiate herself with her family. She can stay down there and rot for all Lacey and I care.

  After everything, Lacey and I decided to move away from Hawksport. It’s way too sleepy and too old a town. Plus there were way too many snubbed noses at the age difference between me and my new wife. So, fuck them. We moved back to New York, where my heart always was anyways. I bought a great penthouse by Central Park, and Lacey transferred from her party school to New York University. She’s almost finished with her finance degree, which I’m pretty pleased about.

  It’s summer again now, two years after Lacey ran over my mailbox and fell into my life. Two years ago, she was being punished for crappy grades and partying. Now, she’s doing such an incredible job at absolutely slaying it at college that I’m rewarding her. The helicopter from the private Spanish airfield we touched down on an hour ago lands. An attendant slides the door open as the rotors die down, and the sight of the pristine white private beach and elegant cabana on the Spanish Riviera greets us both.

  Lacey is beaming at me in shock. I’ve kept this whole trip a surprise and seeing her now that we’ve arrived is so worth it. Our fingers lace, and I sling our two small bags over my shoulder as we step out of the helicopter. We step back as the chopper rumbles to life again and then lifts away, leaving us alone. And now, it’s two weeks of a private beach, a stocked cabana, and the girl of my dreams wearing nothing but bikinis.

  Oh, who am I kidding. She’s going to be wearing nothing at all.

  The End.

  Afterword

  Dear reader,