Ready For Him: A Single Dad Next Door Romance

by Alyson Hale

  “Not in a monetary way…not at first, that is. When I was fourteen I got my first job babysitting, and then when I was sixteen I started working at Planet Slushie in the mall. I only just recently got the job at The Blarney Stone.”

  Which has already helped us a ton. My tips have been huge ever since I started working there. I don’t think I’ll ever work in fast food again after this.

  “But I had to be the strong one for my mom at first. When Dad left, she fell apart. All she could do when she got home from work was fall into the sofa and cry. I learned to cook just so Elyza—my little sister—and I wouldn’t starve.”

  The muscles in Jace’s jaw work as he stares at my face. He grunts, shaking his head. “No eleven-year-old girl should have to go through that.”

  I shrug. “Well, that’s reality for you. It’s not always picture perfect.”

  The corner of his lips ticks upward. “Very true.”

  Jace

  Warmth burgeons inside of me as I watch the woman I’m falling for smile into my eyes. Reality may not be picture perfect, but I know of something real that is, and she’s sitting in the booth beside me, threading her fingers through mine.

  After we’re done with the meal, we leave the restaurant and walk side-by-side down a busy street filled with bright neon signs and charming light posts. The busyness of the city reminds me of London, though the character of Atlanta is quite different from home. It’s still strange to me to see everyone driving on the wrong side of the road. Disorienting, even. Furthermore, I’m still not used to the time change, so I’m getting quite exhausted already.

  I try to muffle a yawn behind my hand, but Kyri notices. Her face falls. “Are you bored? Do you want to go home now?”

  “No love, I’m not bored in the least.”

  I chuckle at her naiveté. A hot-blooded man like me, “bored” in the presence of an extremely fuckable woman? Not hardly.

  “Just adjusting to the time difference is all.”

  “Oh, right. I bet you’re tired. I can just take you back to where you’re staying if you want.”

  My stomach drops. Taking her back to the campsite with me right now could end in disaster. Meeting Rick there could blow everything I’ve been working toward over the past three days.

  “Actually, do you think you could walk me to the nearest hotel? It would be nice not to stay in a trailer for a night.”

  A bright smile livens up her gorgeous features. “I know just the place.”

  Kyri finds us a towering, rich hotel in downtown Atlanta for me to stay the night. Lights sparkle through the windows, beckoning us. I follow her in, finding the view in front of me more fascinating than any I’ve seen so far today.

  Once I’ve checked in at the front desk, I take her hand, hoping I’m not being too presumptuous by bringing her upstairs with me. Nothing has to happen tonight. I’m just not quite ready to say goodbye to her yet.

  “Will you come upstairs to say good night?”

  “Of course.” She forces a nervous smile. I squeeze her hand and let her follow behind me.

  Once we’ve reached the top floor, I lead her down to room 528 and stand outside the door with her, trying to gauge her reaction.

  “Thank you for tonight, Jace. I had an amazing time.” She beams her smile at me, and all my insides turn to mush.

  “It was wonderful for me too.” I take both her hands in mine, rubbing the backs of them with my thumbs. They’re so smooth and delicate. I take one up to my lips and press a reverent kiss to her skin. Trembling, she pulls her hands back down. “Good night, Kyri.”

  “Good night.” As I turn to open the door, I see equal parts relief and disappointment in her eyes. There’s also a touch of self-doubt. She doesn’t have to say a word, and I can read everything she’s thinking. Clearly, she was expecting me to invite her in, and the fact that I didn’t is making her feel inadequate.

  Fuck taking it slow. There’s no way I’m going to let my girl feel like I don’t want her, not even for a second.

  As she slowly turns away from me, I grab her by the wrist and whip her around to face me. Her eyes pop wide open with surprise. Taking her jaw in both my hands, I pummel her lips with mine. A high-pitched squeal leaves her throat. She relaxes into my touch and returns the kiss full force. I scoop her up by the legs and carry her into the room with her legs hooked around my waist.

  Once inside, I place a “Do Not Disturb” sign on the outer knob, shut the door, and lock the chain in place. This incarnation of female perfection isn’t going anywhere until I ravage her from the lips down.

  Slamming her ample arse against the closed door, I blast her with a kiss, relishing the low, carnal moans that rip from her throat. Our sexes grind together underneath our clothes. Her touch sets me on fire. I become an animal, clawing at her sides and devouring her lips with a passion I’ve never felt for any other woman.

  Her lips break free of my hold for only a moment.

  “Fuck, Jace…I want you so bad.”

  “Then you’ll have me,” I growl, swinging her body around in the direction of the bed.

  I toss her down on the crisp white comforter, saying a silent prayer that I’m able to contain myself until she has at least one climax. The way she has my cock throbbing is unnerving. I’ve never felt so close to coming just from dry-humping a woman underneath our clothes.

  Her breasts separate underneath her shirt and bra, making a tantalizing gap between them that’s just the right size for me. If we knew each other a little better, I’d let my cock spring free, shove that shirt up, and fuck her right between the tits underneath her bra. The thought makes a surge of saliva pool in my mouth.

  I lean down over the bed to grasp her lips with mine again. She holds my jaw, moaning into my mouth. Slowly, torturously, I kiss my way down her neck and over her clothed chest, making my way to the dessert I’ve been craving since we left the restaurant. Making quick work of unbuttoning and unzipping her shorts, I kiss over the exposed strip of her soft belly and down to her panty line.

  She moans my name as I slide my hand underneath her shorts and rub over the thin fabric separating me from her sex. I pull it to the side ever so gently and tease her with my fingertips, feeling a shiver roll up my spine at the sight of her other set of red lips.

  “You’re ready for me, aren’t you darling?”

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