“Wow,” he breathed, thinking of how tiny that was. She probably would have fit into the palm of his hand.
“The hard part was that I couldn’t hold her right away,” Katie went on. “She was taken directly to NICU, and the next time I saw her she was in an incubator and hooked up to a bunch of tubes. She looked so little and frail, and I was so scared that she wasn’t going to make it.”
He heard the helpless emotion in Katie’s voice, and he hugged her closer, and she let him. “Clearly, our little girl is a fighter.”
Katie nodded against his chest. “That she is. She was able to come home after almost a month in NICU.”
He couldn’t stop the regrets that eased through him. “I wish I could have been there for you and Val. It’s hard, realizing I missed out on three years of her life.” It was something he’d never be able to get back.
“I know,” she said in understanding, the empathy in her voice genuine. “I’m sorry you missed all that time with her, too.”
He didn’t like asking the next question, but if there were any lingering issues, he wanted to know. “With her being born early, have there been any . . . developmental concerns?”
She lifted her head and propped her chin on the hand she’d slid up to his chest. “For the first year, she was a little behind on her milestones, but nothing that overly concerned her pediatrician. By her second year, she was nearly caught up, and now, she’s a little ahead of where she should be, mentally and physically.”
“Ahhh, that’s my girl,” he said, unable to keep the pride from his voice.
Katie pursed her lips at him, though her eyes sparkled humorously. “I suppose next you’re going to tell me that with all that brains and beauty, she takes after the Prescott side.”
“No,” he said, though he was still smiling. “So far, I think she’s a great combination of both of us.”
“And that tantrum she had earlier?” She raised a brow. “Where does that stubbornness come from?”
He smirked, because clearly she believed it came from him. “You say that like stubbornness is a bad thing.”
“It is when it’s coming from a three-year-old in the form of a temperamental fit.”
He moved to his side so their heads were each on a pillow and they were now face-to-face. “Hey, I’d be cranky, too, if I was exhausted and coming down from a major sugar high and someone took away my favorite toy.”
She laughed and pinched him playfully on his stomach, which made his dick twitch at that bit of pleasurable pain. “Oh, my God. Already, you’re a soft touch.”
“With Val? Yeah, it’s hard not to be,” he admitted, because his daughter totally fascinated and charmed him. Grabbing Katie’s hand, he flattened her palm and guided it downward, watching as her eyes gradually darkened when she realized what he was doing. “Now her mother, on the other hand, makes me very, very hard.” He wrapped her fingers around his stiff cock, and with his hand over hers, he helped her stroke his shaft slowly, rhythmically.
Seductively holding his gaze, she squeezed his erection and skimmed her thumb over the head while licking her tongue along her bottom lip that had a very naughty, tempting curve to it.
He groaned as his imagination went wild, as she no doubt intended. He slid his free hand along the side of her neck and used his thumb to push past her lips, her teeth, and felt his cock throb when she sucked on his finger. “Jesus, that mouth of yours, Katie,” he said in a gravelly, aroused voice. “You already know that I want to do bad, dirty things to it. This isn’t helping matters any.”
“Maybe I want you to do bad, dirty things to my mouth,” she said, letting go of his erection so she could push him to his back and make good on her promise.
Starting at his chest, she kissed and licked her way down his body as she knelt between his legs, which he’d eagerly spread for her. The tips of her hair trailed along his stomach, his thighs, and dear fucking God, the hot, exquisite feel of her mouth enveloping him, inch by aching inch, had his goddamn toes curling and the muscles in his abs tightening.
He was long and thick, and it was sheer, blissful torture as she used her lips and tongue all along his shaft, making him leak pre-come and teasing him to the point that he fisted his hand in her hair so that he was now in control. Her mouth came over him again, her soft lips stroking down his shaft, and he thrust in counterpoint, meeting the back of her throat.
She moaned eagerly around his cock, which he felt all the way up his spine. She swallowed him deep and sucked him hard as he guided her head back up, then down . . . again and again, until the rapidly increasing tension in his groin demanded release and holding back any longer wasn’t an option.
Out of courtesy, he tried to lift her greedy mouth away, but she wouldn’t let him. She went down on him again, all the fucking way, those soft lips tightening around him as he instinctively pumped his hips forward and came against the back of her throat with a harsh, guttural, shuddering groan that reverberated throughout his entire body. That fantasy he’d shared with her on the phone, she totally made it a reality, and it was far hotter than his filthy mind had even imagined.
When he finally gained his bearings, she was up by him again, a satisfied grin on her face, the little vixen. “Give me a second, and I’ll totally repay the favor.”
She shook her head as she placed a kiss on his jaw. “That’s not why I did it. I wanted to. Besides, I already had my two orgasms, so I’m all good.”
Smiling back at her, he pushed his fingers into her hair and gently brought her head down to lie on his chest. Beyond relaxed, he closed his eyes again and enjoyed the perfect intimacy of being with Katie like this.
“Connor . . . ” she said softly when minutes had passed, her head lifting from his chest. “You know you can’t stay, right?”
Hearing the uncertainty in her voice, he opened his eyes and stared into hers, realizing that while he’d been able to break down one wall with Katie tonight—the physical connection—there were still many more for him to hurdle to gain her complete trust.
“I wasn’t going to stay,” he told her, because he knew she wasn’t ready for sleepovers or having to explain to her daughter why Connor had stayed the night. And honestly, he respected that, and Katie, enough to abide by those rules for now.
Chapter Nine
Katie kept an eye on the digital clock on her computer as she worked on a full-page ad for a local business that was due to the client in two days while trying to block out the sound of her lawn guy mowing the grass in the front and back yards. Val would be home soon from her playdate with Leah for the afternoon, which had given Katie some much-needed quiet time to concentrate on the commissioned piece without interruptions, and Connor was due to arrive, too, with pizza for dinner.
Tonight was a big night for all of them, and Katie would be lying if she said she wasn’t nervous about finally telling Val that Connor was her daddy. Knowing that every moment he’d spent with the little girl had been leading up to this moment didn’t make it any easier for Katie to face, but she’d made peace with the fact that she’d be sharing Val with a man who clearly adored the ground the little girl walked on, and eventually, she’d meet his family, too.
Since Val’s birthday party a week and a half ago, Connor had made every effort to spend as much time with Val as he could to build his relationship with her and establish a routine Val looked forward to. Mostly, that was on the weekends or in the early evenings, after he got off work and before their daughter’s bedtime. He’d either take them out to dinner or Katie would cook for them, and afterward he’d sit on the floor and play with whatever toys Val brought out from her room. There were even a few nights that they’d all gone over to his place to eat, so his daughter was comfortable at his house, too.
They watched Disney movies together with Val usually curled up to his side, and Connor now knew all the lyrics to “Let it Go” and sang it out loud with Val when it came on, which always made Katie laugh because they were both so off-key. When Val
was finally tucked in bed for the night with Sparkles the unicorn, he’d read her a story from one of her favorite books, then kiss her good night.
And then, when Val was asleep, he’d kiss Katie hello, which usually ended up with them in a hot make-out session or in the bedroom with Connor deep inside of her, making her feel things—intimate, emotional things—that she was struggling to keep compartmentalized so she didn’t end up getting hurt down the line. She was trying to be smart and sensible when it came to their arrangement.
The situation felt so perfect, like that “honeymoon phase” of a relationship, when everything was wonderful and shiny and happy. But in her experience, that never lasted, and there was no denying the one common denominator in all those previously failed relationships was her. The one thing that kept her from letting her guard down completely with Connor was knowing that any issues between the two of them would directly affect Val, and Katie would do anything to protect her little girl from the kind of unstable and painful childhood she’d had. It was safer to keep things as simple and as casual as possible between them.
Mentally, she knew it was the most practical thing to do, but her heart was definitely having a hard time trying to stick to that particular game plan.
The doorbell rang, pulling her from her wandering thoughts, and she cringed when she realized she’d wasted twenty minutes in her own head, rather than on the ad she needed to finish. Knowing she’d have to get more work done tonight after Val was asleep and Connor was gone, she shut down her computer and made her way to the front door. She smoothed a hand down the front of the pretty dress she’d worn, all too aware of that giddy sensation in the pit of her stomach at the thought of seeing Connor.
She opened her door with a huge smile on her face, which quickly faded when she found Garrett, her lawn guy, standing there instead, his mower and leaf blower on the sidewalk leading up to the house. The yard looked immaculate, like always when he was done, and she’d already paid him for the month, so maybe there was a problem of some sort he had to tell her about?
“Hey, Garrett,” she said, coming out onto the porch. “Is everything okay?”
“With your lawn? Yeah, everything is fine,” he assured her with a smile that was friendly but more direct than usual, as was the way he moved a bit closer. “Actually, I was hoping we could talk for a few minutes, non-business-related?”
Oh, crap. She’d forgotten all about Avery telling Garrett that she was single and available. The last few times he’d come to do the yard, she hadn’t been home, so he clearly was taking the opportunity to approach her now. A sense of dread trickled through her, because the last thing she wanted was to have this conversation with him, which would undoubtedly lead to having to reject any overture he made. Yet she couldn’t very well say, No, I don’t want to talk, either.
“Sure,” she said instead, keeping her voice casual even as she saw Connor pull up to the curb and get out of his truck with two boxes of pizza balanced in one of his hands. “What’s up?”
“I was talking to your neighbor a few weeks ago, and she mentioned you were single and not seeing anyone,” he said, his eyes filled with undeniable interest. “And I thought maybe you and I could go out on a date sometime?”
Behind him, Connor was making his way up the walkway, his stride definitely more purposeful than usual, though the man in front of Katie wasn’t paying attention to anything but her. “Garrett, that’s really nice of you to ask, but I’m going to have to say no.”
“Ahh, come on, Katie.” His voice was persuasive as he unexpectedly reached out and grabbed her hand, holding it tight in his as he rubbed his thumb across her knuckles. “Give a guy a chance. I guarantee you’ll have a good time.” He winked at her.
Ugh. She was already giving one guy a chance, but even if she wasn’t, Garrett just didn’t do anything for her. God, no other man would ever do it for her like Connor did, and she’d known that since that night in Denver.
She was trying to find a nice way to turn him down, but the fact that Connor now had a ferocious frown on his face as he approached was distracting the heck out of her. She tried to retrieve her hand as gracefully as possible, but Garrett clearly wasn’t ready to let go.
“Is there a problem here?” Connor asked gruffly as he made his way up the porch stairs, his chest puffed out in a way she’d never seen before, which made his shoulders look broader and his body language more intimidating.
Garrett was initially startled by Connor’s sudden appearance and demanding question since he hadn’t seen him coming, but he quickly recovered and gave Connor an equally aggressive glare. “No, there’s no problem here.”
Connor, usually so easygoing, looked pointedly at where Garrett still had a hold on her, his gaze laser hot. “If there isn’t a problem, then I suggest you let go of her hand before I do it for you.”
Jesus, the testosterone in the air was so thick she could have cut it with a knife. The two men were sizing each other up, never having met each other, and Katie opened her mouth to tell Connor that she was fine so he’d cool his jets, but Garrett spoke first.
“You’re the fucking pizza delivery guy,” he mocked incredulously, clearly misconstruing the boxes in Connor’s hand. “What the hell business is it of yours what I do with this woman?”
Connor went from merely uptight to livid. “Because I’m not the fucking pizza delivery guy, you asshole,” he said, stepping closer to Garrett. “I’m Val’s father, and if you touch Katie again, I’ll break your fucking arm.”
Garrett’s hold on her finally loosened, and she pulled her hand back and immediately pressed it to Connor’s chest, trying to keep him from moving forward any more and to hopefully calm him. “Connor, everything is fine. He’s the guy who does my lawn.”
“Not anymore,” Connor said without missing a beat. “Thank you for your services, but I’ll be mowing her grass and taking care of her yard from now on.”
Then he promptly grabbed Katie’s elbow and steered her back into the house, kicking the door shut after them. He released her arm and Katie stared at him in disbelief as he walked into the kitchen and set the pizza boxes on the counter. She crossed her arms over her chest, and when he turned back around and saw her giving him a what the hell kind of look, his posture turned defensive.
“What?” he asked in a gravelly voice, like he’d done nothing out of the ordinary, or wrong.
She shook her head as she moved into the kitchen, letting her annoyance surface. “Don’t you think you went a little overboard out there? He is, was, my landscaper!”
He braced his hands on his hips, and she was both in awe and annoyed with this alpha side to Connor. “I’m more than capable of taking care of your yard for you.”
“What if I don’t want you to?” she said, her own temper rising, because the last thing she wanted was to rely on him to take care of her. Val depending on him was one thing because he was her father, but it was a luxury Katie refused to get used to. “It’s not up to you to decide who I hire to do anything around here. It’s my house.”
“He was coming on to you,” Connor argued, obviously not liking what he’d seen out on the porch. “What kind of professional does that?”
She tried to explain Garrett’s reasons for approaching her. “Avery told him I was single and available, and he was just asking me out based on that information.”
A muscle in Connor’s jaw clenched as he stalked toward her. “Avery did what?”
She took a step back as he neared, and found herself backed up against the counter. “She told him that before I found you,” she clarified so he didn’t think Avery was currently soliciting dates for her with Connor in the picture. “Before you and I . . . ” God, what did she call this thing between them?
He braced those sturdy, muscled arms on the counter on either side of her, their bodies so close she could feel the heat radiating off his chest, could see the possessive spark in his gaze that made her go weak in the knees, and dear God, made her shamelessly
wet.
His gorgeous dark blue eyes bored into hers. “Before you and I what, Katie?” he demanded, forcing her to define their relationship.
And still, she couldn’t come up with one single word to describe what they were doing, because they weren’t dating, they weren’t a couple . . . hell, they weren’t even technically exclusive. So, she stated the obvious. “Before you and I started sleeping together.”
He didn’t seem all that happy with her answer. In fact, he appeared even more frustrated. “Yeah, well, while we’re sleeping together, you’re mine. I don’t fucking share.”
He cupped the back of her head in one of his big hands as his mouth crashed down on hers, capturing the startled gasp that escaped from her throat as his firm lips parted hers without any sweet preliminaries and his tongue pushed deep. No, this kiss was hot and hard and possessive from the get-go, the fingers gripping her scalp giving him all the control and giving her no choice but to surrender to his mouth. To him.
She did. Eagerly and willingly, her body inevitably craving his. He yanked up the hem of her dress with his free hand, and she moaned when he slid his hand between her legs. His strong fingers rubbed along her drenched panties and his thumb pressed hard and firm against her clit through the silk fabric, sending jolts of need pulsing through her sex as his mouth ravaged hers and his touch made her think of only one thing: feeling him inside of her, filling her full and easing the ache building between her thighs.
Her hands dropped to the waistband of his jeans, working the top button open, then unzipping the fly. She reached inside his briefs. He was like a thick, steel rod in her hand, and she wrapped him in her fist and stroked him the same way he was sliding his fingers against her pussy. A generous bead of fluid leaked from the tip of his cock, and she slicked it over the head, earning her a deep, ragged groan from him as he thrust his shaft in the tight clasp of her hand.
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