Taboo Daddy

by Crowne, K. C.

  “It’s not a pile. It’s two dresses.”

  “I’m used to saving up if I want new clothes.”

  “You can still do that if you want,” I said, grinning. “I’m not going to stop you. But yes, once you move in you’ll be able to order clothes on my account if that’s what you want to do.”

  “This is crazy,” she murmured. “You’re crazy.” And she turned and rose up on her toes to kiss me.

  Half an hour later, when the dresses had arrived and Jenna had chosen one to wear to breakfast, when the coffee had been brewed and Jenna and I had had a cup, we made our way down the block to the crepe house around the corner.

  I waited until we were seated and had placed our orders to begin the conversation. Speaking and signing at the same time so both of them would understand me, I said, “Okay, Tess. We brought you here today because we wanted to talk about the future.”

  The future? she signed, looking puzzled. Do you mean my new school?

  “Not your new school,” I said. “I want to talk to you about our family. It’s been just you and me for a while now, and that’s been hard and sad, but it’s also given us a chance to get pretty close, right?”

  She nodded.

  “I wouldn’t make any big decisions for this family without talking to you first,” I said. “I hope you know that.”

  What big decision are you making? She cut her eyes to Jenna, a smile beginning on her cute face.

  I took a deep breath. “Jenna and I really like each other. Like as more than just friends.”

  I know that, Dad, Tess said.

  I raised my eyebrows. “You do?”

  Why else would those bad guys kidnap her? It was because they knew you liked her. Obviously. She rolled her eyes, clearly annoyed that I thought she was too dense to realize what was going on.

  I laughed. “Okay,” I said. “You got me. Is that all right with you?”

  Are you going to get married?

  “I don’t know,” I said, glancing at Jenna. “Right now I’m asking her to move in with us. If you’re comfortable with that.”

  Yes! she said, nodding enthusiastically.

  “That’s okay with you?”

  That’s perfect. We’ll have so much fun.

  The waitress brought our crepes to the table, and Tess immediately set about dumping powdered sugar all over hers. Beneath the table, I took Jenna’s hand and squeezed it, and she met my eyes and smiled. With Tess’s stamp of approval, there was nothing to hold us back.

  Everything would fall wonderfully into place.

  Epilogue

  Jenna

  “Design Studio.” I collapsed into my desk chair and closed my eyes, glad that whoever was on the other end of the phone couldn’t see me right now. I didn’t exactly look professional, I knew, with my sensible pumps kicked off under my desk, slouching in my chair. But it had been a long, tiring day.

  A long, tiring, supremely fulfilling day.

  Five new clients had come in—not having found my website, not coming to me based on Noah’s recommendation, but just in off the street when they’d seen the sign I hung out the window of what used to be Grandma Suzie’s living room. Tesslia Interior Design. Five new clients! I knew that having premises would make a difference in my business. Over the past couple of years, that had proven to be true. And today was a perfect example. After flipping through my portfolio, all five of them had hired me. I would certainly have a lot of work in the coming weeks!

  The renovations probably hadn’t hurt my ability to get clients at all, of course. They’d been Noah’s idea. You’ll have a hard time getting interior design work operating out of an apartment that looks like it hasn’t been upgraded since the seventies, he’d said, and grabbed the contact list from my desk to start calling contractors. The next thing I knew, a whole team had been assembled in front of me, and Noah had been reclining with his feet up on my grandmother’s ancient ottoman. “It’s your show,” he’d said, waving a hand as if to tell me he was tapping out of the process.

  And so the old shag carpeting had been taken up and replaced with quality wood floor. I’d installed a beautiful bay window that looked out over the city. The rusty old kitchen had been replaced with a gleaming, modern “reception area” where I could offer fresh cookies and cold drinks. And Grandma Suzie’s bedroom had been turned into my office, the wood paneled walls replaced with frosted glass, a teak desk and deep suede couch brought in.

  This office was where I sat now, flipping through the paperwork my last new client of the day had filled out. The woman wanted her bathroom redesigned, made more luxurious, and I already had a lot of good ideas for the project. Are you Tess or Lia? the woman had asked as she’d sat down, and I grinned at the memory.

  There was a knock at the door, and I looked up, surprised. Another client?

  Tess burst in the door and ran to me. I caught her in an embrace, and her father grinned as he entered the room and closed the door behind him. “How was work today?”

  “Long,” I replied. “Long but good. I’ve got a lot of new projects.” I turned the scheduling book around on my desk and flipped through the pages so he could see that I was booked up for the next three months.

  Wow! Tess signed. Can I help?

  You can help me look at paint samples, I said, and pulled out my ring of paint sample swatches. Tess took it happily and went over to the book of carpet cuttings. One of her favorite things to do at my office was to match a paint sample with a carpet sample. I’d even used her ideas once or twice—she had an eye for color. Maybe she could do an internship here when she was a little older.

  Noah handed me baby Lia. “Someone missed her mama.”

  “She did not,” I laughed. “You were at the zoo. She was probably so busy staring at the elephants she wasn’t even thinking about me.”

  “Actually, she really liked the seals,” Noah said. “They did the feeding while we were there, and Lia went nuts.”

  I bounced my daughter on my knee. “Yeah? Did you like that? Did you like seeing the seals?”

  “We thought we’d come by and check in with you before we went home,” Noah said. “Do you want us to bring you anything? We could get some food from the Japanese place and bring it back here, if you need a snack.”

  “Actually,” I announced, “I’ve had such a successful morning here that I think I’ll close up shop early. I’ll just come home with you now.”

  “In that case, maybe we can all get Japanese food,” Noah said.

  “Maybe not all of us.” I booped Lia on the nose. “Some of us aren’t eating solids yet, Daddy.”

  “I’ve got one of her bottles in my bag,” Noah said. “She can have that, and the rest of us can have sushi. How does that sound?”

  “It sounds amazing, actually.” It had been forever since I’d had sushi. My doctors had discouraged me from eating it while pregnant. I remembered my first date with Noah—although neither of us had really thought of it as a date at the time. We’d been too caught up in our own neuroses, too worried about crossing lines to recognize the good thing growing between us.

  I was so glad we’d gotten past that hang up.

  I handed Tess the key to my desk so she could lock each of my drawers individually while I shut down my computer and packed it away in my bag to take home for the weekend. Noah lifted Lia out of my arms holding her close and tickling her little belly. She squealed and squirmed, and he laughed and kissed her loudly on the top of the head.

  “Are you ready?” he asked as I picked up my bag.

  I looked around the office to make sure I wasn’t forgetting anything. “I’m ready.”

  Noah wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me close. After all our time together, it still felt like a miracle every time he touched me. Tess turned off the lights and closed the door to my office. She took my hand, looking up at me happily, and I walked out of the building arm in arm with my family.

  The End

  Also By K.C. Crowne


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  * * *

  More Steamy Mountain Men Reads by K.C. Crowne

  Five sexy mountain men and the lucky ladies who capture their hearts.

  Transport yourself into the charming and magical town of Blue River, Colorado as we follow the rugged, rowdy and hot Hunter brothers in their quests to find lasting love on the mountains.

  Click HERE to download your copy from Amazon, and enjoy this bestseller box set today.

  Book One: Her Mountain Daddy

  I need to run my family resort alongside my rowdy brothers, Not fall hard for my kids' home school teacher. But when Angela's past follows her into my home, I'm forced to fight for my family's safety and the best thing that's happened to me in a long time.

  Book Two: Beauty and the Beard

  Someone dangerous is after her. She needs my protection. Like I need to feel the touch of her lips. They'll have to go through me to get anywhere near this beauty who has captured my heart.

  Book Three: Built and Bearded

  The wedding planner is gorgeous enough to outshine ANY bride. And uptight enough to challenge this playboy. It's clear I'm not the happily ever after type. But when Oakley's life is in danger, I realize how much I'm willing to do for the right girl.

  Book Four: The Gentleman

  Planning a lavish mountain top wedding with my best friend? Who could ask for a more challenging and exciting job? But when the groom's brother walks in... I know the hardest job will be resisting his deep blue eyes and devilishly sexy charm.

  Book Five: Bride and the Beard

  She thinks we made the biggest mistake of our lives... After an accidental marriage - I disagree. Fortune favors the bold and I'll prove to Emily I'm the man for her. She may live a thousand miles from my mountain town, but I'm Harley Hunter... And when I want something nothing stands in my way.

  Click HERE to download your copy from Amazon, and enjoy this bestseller box set today.

  Baby For The Mountain Man (Preview)

  Prologue

  Leah

  “Come on, follow me.”

  He followed me into my office. There was a bell at the front if anyone came in, but I wasn’t expecting anyone. As soon as we were in my office, I locked the door behind me.

  Immediately, his hands were on my lower back and started to move down to my ass.

  Neither one of us spoke; we let out hands and kisses do the talking.

  His mouth moved from mine, down to my neck as he pushed me backward toward my desk.

  Lifting me up, then he gently moved me down on top of the desk.

  This was the perfect height to wrap my legs around him.

  His erection pressed into me, causing me to gasp at the size.

  But we weren’t going straight to fucking.

  He had other plans.

  He dropped to his knees in front of me, placing my legs over his shoulders. I was wearing a skirt.

  He pushed the skirt up and slipped my panties down my thighs.

  Trembling, all I could think about was how badly I needed to feel him.

  His head dove between my legs as he muttered, “God, I need to taste you.”

  I grabbed his head, my eyes widening as his tongue found my most sensitive parts. He circled my clit, just as I’d imagined. His scruffy beard rubbed against my thighs, reminding me this wasn’t a fantasy - it was reality.

  Pleasure coursed through my body as he devoured my pussy, sucking and licking as if it was the most delicious dessert he’d ever had the luxury of eating.

  And he was so fucking good at it.

  My legs tightened around him, and I pressed him down into me without even thinking about it. It just felt so damn good. He slipped a finger inside me. Then another.

  I was trying to be quiet, afraid that someone might overhear us, but that all went out the window as the first wave of my orgasm washed over me.

  I cried out, taken by surprise at how fast it came on. He never stopped, keeping the perfect rhythm with his tongue on my clit.

  “Oh God,” I whimpered, my body tensing. “Yes, yes!”

  He seemed to savor it.

  He devoured my pussy, sucking and licking my juices as he brought me closer and closer to the edge.

  “I’m going to cum,” I whimpered, writhing underneath him.

  He held my hips down on the bed, stilling me as he continued working me over with his magical tongue. I gripped the back of his head, and without meaning to, pressed him into me as I cried out in pleasure.

  God, I needed him so badly.

  My hands fumbled with his pant and I felt his erection in my hand.

  I could only get a sense of how big he was, but my eyes widened at what I felt. He was so thick.

  “Please. I need you inside me.”

  Chapter 1

  Kellen

  Ring. Ring.

  I rubbed my eyes and looked at the clock on my night stand.

  Six in the morning.

  “Just like clockwork. How’d you sleep Alice?”

  “Like shit. You?”

  “I’d rather be in your position.”

  “Doubt that. If it isn’t the nightmares, it’s the baby kicking me,” she said softly. “Everything hurts these days.”

  “Just a couple weeks until the big day. Then the little devil can serenade you with cries all night.”

  “Thanks for words of encouragement, friend,” Alice chuckled.

  I was pulling her leg, when in truth, I felt for her.

  Being a single mother to a newborn on the way couldn’t be easy.

  I’d insisted she move closer, but she couldn’t leave the first house she and Henry bought together.

  And me… I couldn’t step foot in it.

  People handled grief in in different ways.

  Though, it was much more than grief for me.

  “I got the check in the mail,” Alice said. “We talked about this. You shouldn’t have.”

  “It’s not much,” I said. “Buy Matilda something nice.”

  Money was the least I could do.

  If I could live that horrible day again I’d put myself in his shoes, a thousand times over. I was the only one responsible for Henry’s death.

  Alice knew I was there for her, and I’d jump on a flight in a heartbeat whenever she needed. I owed it to Henry and Alice to make sure she was taken care of.

  Henry was my best friend.

  And after what I let happen to him, Alice became a widow at a young age.

  While my name was cleared, I was the one to blame. I never once gave a damn what others thought about me. I blamed myself enough. Every single fucking day.

  My nightmares were there to never let me forget.

  Alice didn’t blame me.

  She didn’t need to. I could see it in her eyes every time she looked at me - why Henry instead of me. I didn’t blame her for those thoughts. After all, my best friend had a wife and a kid on the way. I had no one.

  And when it came to me helping her financially, we went through the same song and dance every month. I always found some way to send her money. She hadn’t been able to work for a few months; her doctors had ordered her on bed rest.

  Besides, it’s what Henry would have done had the situation been reversed. Not that I’d ever have a kid, but that was beside the point. If I’d died and left a family behind, Henry would have taken care of them. That’s just who he is.

  Was.

  That’s who he was.

  Fuck.

  “You still shouldn’t have,” Alice repeated. “I mean it, Kellen. Henry died in the line of duty. He worked in a dangerous profession, and the fire department is taking care of us.”

  It wasn’t enough.

  It would never be enough.

  Henry had been a good man, one of the best I knew. His wife w
as one hell of a woman too. She didn’t deserve this.

  “You know I’m doing okay,” I said. “I’ve stashed away a lot of money over the years, and God knows, I have more than I’ll ever need in a lifetime.”

  Alice groaned on the other end of the line.

  “Alice?”

  “Yeah, sorry, I—”

  My heart raced.

  “I think Matilda might be ready to make an appearance,” Alice said, breathing heavily.

  The baby was coming.

  Jesus fucking Christ, the baby was coming.

  Not being there made my skin crawl.

  I needed no further convincing to get my ass to the airport.

  Finally, I stated the obvious.

  “Get off the phone and call an ambulance.”

  “Yeah, probably a good idea,” she said. “I think this is the real deal.”

  She cried out in pain as we said our goodbyes.

  “I’ll book the first flight out to see you,” I promised before hanging up the phone.

  She was alone.

  Her parents were dead. No siblings.

  And her husband dead too.

  I couldn’t let Alice deliver her baby alone.

  Her pregnancy hadn’t been easy. She’d struggled with high blood pressure, probably from the stress of becoming a widow while she was pregnant. I wasn’t a doctor, but I’d bet my life on that being the cause. She had other issues, things I didn’t understand, and been confined to bed rest for the last few weeks.

  But now, it was time.

  ***

  After the phone call, I’d looked up flights to Washington and booked one for that afternoon. Being in the middle of nowhere meant it would take me awhile to get to the nearest major airport.