Pretend Daddy: A Fake Marriage Romance

by Amy Brent

  “For one, I don’t think this is a good idea,” I said while she set the candle on top of my dresser.

  “Why is that?”

  “There are a lot of reasons. I’m sure you could name a few.”

  “I could,” Amber agreed quietly. “I want to hear your reasons, Gage, because mine are weak at the moment.”

  I sucked in a deep breath through my clenched teeth. This was the moment I had fantasized about since the day Amber had stepped into my house. We were alone in the privacy of my bedroom. And both of us were free to cave in to one another, but I forced myself to hold back. I had to diffuse the situation before I was too far gone in my own desire to see straight.

  “I don’t want to hurt you, for starters.”

  “I don’t think that’s possible. I’ve been around for a few weeks now, Gage. I don’t think you’re capable of hurting a person intentionally. Trust me. I know from personal experience.”

  “That’s my point. I’m much older than you, and it’s been a very long time since I’ve done anything like this.”

  “It’s been a long time for me, too,” Amber confessed softly. “I’m honestly okay with this, Gage. You have no idea.”

  “I do have an idea, though,” I said, holding up a hand to stop her. “You don’t understand, Amber. Your father is one of my closest friends. Do you know what this would do to him if he found out that we…”

  I couldn’t say the last part because my cock was already rock hard. My skin felt uncomfortably tight and hot. Amber chewed on her bottom lip, which didn’t help the fire raging in me.

  “I don’t want to talk about my father,” she said eventually. “I know what you’re saying, but I’m an adult. There is nothing wrong with us giving into what we both want.” She took a daring step forward to minimize the gap between us. “I know that you want me, Gage. I’ve wanted you for such a long time, too.”

  I knew right then why Pandora’s box had been opened out of sheer curiosity. Any hot-blooded man would be interested in that.

  “How long is a long time?” I groaned out.

  Amber laughed softly as she walked around me with slow and calculated steps. I watched as her full hips moved seamlessly with her steady steps. I imagined them grinding up against my own. I felt a drop of pre-come soak into the fabric of my boxers in response.

  “Since I was fifteen,” she said, looking up at me through the curve of her eyelashes. The look rendered the rest of my brain useless. All I could do was focus on her standing in front of me now. “My dad had invited you to a barbecue to celebrate the success of your contract with your company. You were playing football before jumping into the swimming pool. I remember thinking how sexy you were, and how if I could have a man in the future, I would want a man exactly like you.”

  I didn’t know what to say. My brain refused to compute simple thoughts as my physical senses took over. My hands itched to reach forward to feel those delicious curves beneath my fingers.

  Pull back, Gage. Get away before this leads into something you both are going to regret the next day.

  I forced myself to take a step back. Amber blinked in confusion when I shook my head at her.

  “I can’t do this, Amber,” I whispered, hands trembling from the effort to keep control over myself. “Your father means everything to me as a friend. I don’t want to hurt you, either.”

  “You aren’t going to hurt me, Gage.”

  “Neither one of us are thinking about this rationally, either,” I continued and reached behind me blindly to unlock the door. “I’m sorry, Amber. I think it’d be a good idea if we sleep in separate rooms tonight.”

  I stepped out before Amber could say another word. I didn’t want to look back to see her reaction as I hurried down the hallway, trying desperately to get myself back under control. I entered the kitchen after checking to see if the kids were still asleep.

  Wiping away the sweat at the back of my neck, I rummaged through one of the kitchen cupboards for a strong drink to calm my nerves. I found a bottle of whiskey stored in the back of one of the cabinets. It would be a good idea if Amber and Ethan went back to Colorado Springs. I couldn’t deal with it any longer. It was pure torture. I was in physical agony from having a constant erection that only wanted Amber’s touch and body.

  “Gage.”

  The sound of my name rolling off of Amber’s lips paused my hand as it reached for a glass.

  “What?” I asked roughly.

  I felt Amber’s hand gently graze my lower back. Gritting my teeth, I clutched at the kitchen cupboard to keep control as her fingers smoothed over my back in a soothing gesture.

  “It’s okay,” she whispered into my ear. “I’ve thought about this long and hard over the years.”

  “You have no idea what this is doing to me,” I gritted out, closing the kitchen cupboard quietly. “I’m sorry if I lead you on to believe that something could happen between us, but it can’t. It can’t happen. You understand that?”

  “It can happen, Gage. I’m not going to tell you no. I want this.”

  I turned around to look at her. Snow trickled down steadily from the thick gray clouds above. Warm candle light spilled through the kitchen and dining room. Shadows danced along the walls. The heater kicked on to combat the chill clinging to the air, but not down here. Not with Amber standing in front of me, dressed in a pair of skintight, maroon-colored leggings and a tight, long-sleeved shirt that hugged her breasts perfectly. Her blonde and wavy hair was pulled up in a messy bun on top of her head, and strands of hair framed her pale face.

  Candle light flickered in her blue eyes that were shimmering with desire. I swallowed thickly as she took a slow and deliberate step to me. Within a matter of seconds, things would change. I wouldn’t be straddling that line of wanting Amber, my best friend’s adult daughter, in my bed. It wouldn’t be a long-desired fantasy any longer. Everything would change.

  I couldn’t think straight, even if I wanted to. My skin tightened around muscles and bone, making it hard to shift without pain. Blood rushed down in a southerly direction. My cock hardened with anticipation when Amber’s full red lips parted to inhale sharply.

  “You’re beautiful,” I said, and the roughness in my voice wasn’t surprising. I was trying desperately to hold my breath to keep control over the rage of lust in me. “So beautiful, Amber. You have no fucking idea how beautiful you are.”

  “Thank you,” she whispered. “Gage, please. Come back upstairs.”

  Those two little words nearly unhinged me. The desire in Amber’s eyes was bright and flickering, no longer murky behind other emotions. She took another step to close the gap between us. The first brush of her soft hands against mine sent electric jolts up my arms. She gently coaxed my hands to rest on the fullness of her hips. A shiver went up my spine when her fingers traced the veins up my arms before resting on the curve of my shoulders.

  Her body was thrumming with energy. I could feel it radiating off her in waves, and my own body was soaking it up eagerly. It felt right—to fucking right with Amber’s delicate, but strong body pressing up against my own. There was nothing naïve about her touch as her fingers slid down to rest on my upper chest, bunching the fabric of my shirt there.

  “Are you sure about this?” I asked quietly.

  My own fingers started to trace the curve of her hips through the soft cotton fabric of her leggings. They rolled seamlessly underneath my touch.

  Rapid breaths escaped Amber’s lips as her chest heaved. My own heart was pounding furiously against my ribcage. I couldn’t breathe easily, either, against the tension bubbling between us.

  “Of course, I am,” she murmured, gripping the fabric of my shirt tightly. “I’ve wanted you for so long, Gage. You have no idea.”

  I groaned inwardly at that confession. “How long?”

  “Since I was a sophomore in high school.” Her lips curved up into a smile. “Do you remember the summer barbecues my dad used to do?”

  Summer barbec
ues in Colorado Springs at the Roselyn house were one of the few memories I had over the past ten years that were full of life and happiness, outside of my daughter. I nodded affirmatively.

  “I don’t know how to explain it,” Amber whispered. “But I just felt things for you then that never went away. You had taken off your shirt to jump into the swimming pool, and I kept thinking how sexy you were. How any woman would be lucky to experience that in their bed every single night.”

  My eyes slipped closed when Amber’s hands slid up to trace the muscles in my neck. Her fingers buried into the strands of my hair, massaging my scalp expertly. She was trying to ease the tension out of me, to get me to cave in.

  Which was working. I could feel my resolve starting to crumble, fast and hard. It took all my strength to not snag her up into my arms to kiss her senselessly. Ethan was sound asleep on the couch with a blanket tucked around him securely behind Amber, while Lily slept in the adjacent couch with her favorite blanket. I couldn’t risk waking one of the kids up to see us wrapped up in one another. They had been through enough.

  “Amber,” I warned.

  “Shh.” She placed a finger on my lips. “Come back upstairs, Gage. I’m telling you that I want you, that I have wanted you for a very long time. Don’t question it.”

  “I just want to make sure that you know what will happen.” I caught her eyes then. “What it will do if we go through with this.”

  A frown tugged at her lips. “You’re implying that what we feel for one another is a bad thing.”

  “Because that’s how others will see it. Your dad—”

  “Do me a favor, and don’t mention my dad. He doesn’t have control over who I want, or who I want to be with.” A fire filled Amber’s eyes then. “I’m twenty-five years old. I’m an adult who is capable of making decisions when it comes to life and sex. And I want you, Gage. Only you. You’re the only man I have ever wanted.”

  She grasped my hand, drawing it away from her hip, and tugged me in the direction of the stairs. My legs followed without hesitation, despite the war raging in my head. My heart and cock were already set on having Amber. There was no denying the stiff erection pressed uncomfortably against the band of my jeans, begging to be released.

  This was my best friend’s daughter. I had watched her grow up into a young and beautiful woman over the years. When had things shifted? I couldn’t recall the time when I no longer looked at Amber as the young teenage girl with braces and innocent smile. All I could focus on was the firm curve of Amber’s ass cheeks that were on fully display while I followed her up the stairs.

  All sane thoughts and logic were chased away when Amber pushed the door open to my bedroom. She closed it shut behind me, locking it just in case.

  I’m not sure who moved first, but the final resolve of my self-control crumpled. My arms were wrapped tightly around Amber’s trim waist while her head tilted back in anticipation of a kiss. The first brush of her lips against mine, feather light and tasting of vanilla, drained the rest of the blood from my head. Heat seared through the center of me. I teetered on the ledge of completely losing control when Amber’s teeth nipped at my lower lip, tugging at it seductively.

  I jumped off that fucking ledge.

  Chapter 14

  Amber

  It was a swift and surprising kick to my stomach that woke me. I gasped in surprise before realizing that it was Ethan’s little foot buried in my stomach as he stretched out in his sleep. Morning light filtered in through the living room windows. A fire still crackled in the fireplace, and the entire house was motionless.

  Images from the night before flashed through my mind while my heart raced again. It hadn’t been a pleasant dream after all. I had slept with Gage Devlin after all these years and past few weeks lusting after him. My skin felt hot as I managed to squirm my way from underneath the tangle of Ethan’s arms and legs. I looked over to opposite couch, expecting Gage to be there, but it was just Lily curled up on the couch cushions under a blanket.

  A giddy feeling went through me, despite the lingering soreness between my legs, a sure sign of what happened last night. Every single one of my senses felt alive with sated pleasure. Gage’s skills in bed were beyond what I had imagined. His quiet confidence and steady hands. A shiver went up my spine at the memory of it all as I stretched my limbs out.

  The kitchen was cold and empty when I stepped inside. A couple feet of snow pushed up against the sliding glass door, undisturbed. The basement door was cracked open, though. I could hear the faint sound of footsteps down in the basement.

  I opened the door, feeling a rush of cold air come up the stairs. I took one step down before a wave of nerves crashed over me. Everything had changed last night. There was no doubt about it, but I didn’t know what to expect with this change between us. A relationship wouldn’t be exactly conventional, or accepted very easily if we pursued one. The topic never crossed our minds last night.

  Gage appeared at the bottom of the stairs. All those nerves went away the second that our eyes met while he climbed up the stairs with a smile.

  “Morning,” he greeted, pressing a warm kiss to my lips. He tasted of fresh winter air. “I thought I heard you get up. I didn’t know if it was one the kids that was up for the day.”

  “Just me,” I replied, gladly sinking into the strong circle of his arms. “What were you doing down there?”

  The hum of electricity kicked on a second later. Gage closed the basement door to keep the roar of the generator at a muffled level. He grinned down at me as he let go of me.

  “I give you electricity,” he announced proudly. “I needed coffee. God only knows how long it will take for the electric company to get the power back up and restored. There was a lot more snow than anyone anticipated with this storm.”

  “No kidding,” I said, laughing. “Have you seen the back porch yet?”

  He grimaced. “Yes. I think the snow shovel is off my list of tools today. The snow blower might be more appropriate.”

  “I’ll make sure to get a nice warm breakfast for you,” I said. “I’m sure the kids are going to love it out there. I don’t even know if Ethan will be able to stand in it without the snow going over his head.”

  “I’ll make a spot for them to play at.”

  Gage leaned down to kiss me again. I let out a pent-up breath, grasping the sides of his neck to kiss him back deeply. The sound of footsteps tore the two of us apart in time to see Lily coming around the corner, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

  “I can hear the generator,” she complained, looking up at Gage with a frown. “Why did you turn it on?”

  I took a step back to put more distance between us. The last thing I wanted to do was to confuse Lily about my relationship with her dad. That only added more complications to our situation.

  “I’ll get some coffee and breakfast going,” I told her, heading in the direction of the coffee pot. “Maybe we could go outside to enjoy the snow, since we can’t go anywhere today?”

  “Better than being stuck inside like we usually are,” Lily replied as she followed behind me eagerly. “Can we have chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast?”

  “Have something healthy with that, too,” Gage said.

  He passed by me as I leaned across the sink to fill the coffee pot with water. His fingers brushed against my right ass cheek, a teasing touch that lit my body on fire again. I glanced over at him as he bundled up in a heavy jacket and slipped on a pair of heavy boots over his pants. He winked at me slyly when Lily stepped inside the pantry to grab some pancake mix and chocolate chips.

  “I’ll be back to enjoy those pancakes,” he said. “I just have to get the snow blower out of the garage and fueled up.”

  I listened to Lily and Ethan’s chatter in the living room after turning on the television. I let them select a movie to watch since the cable was still down, and I went to work on getting breakfast ready.

  I could get used to this. The thought crossed my mind suddenl
y. The peace of the mountains and forest surrounding me at all times. The sound of Ethan and Lily talking in the living room as they watched a movie while Gage worked outside to clear the driveway of snow. I could get used to it. Everything about it felt right and perfect.

  I dreaded the day that I would return back to Colorado Springs. I had no idea what was going to happen then. I pushed that unpleasant thought away for the meantime to enjoy the day out in the snow with Gage and the kids.

  After spending a few hours making a couple of snowmen, we piled the kids back inside for a warm bath before finding another movie for them to watch. I started on dinner while Gage settled down at the kitchen island to keep me company.

  “I’m sorry you have to miss church again,” he said.