Chapter Seven
“Leigh, you are an angel from heaven, but instead of a halo, you have a spatula.” Biting into the still-warm cinnamon roll dripping with icing, Topher couldn’t stop her eyes from rolling back in her head as she groaned with pleasure. “I can’t believe you’re a pastry chef and a cook. Is there anything you can’t do?”
“I refuse to learn how to change a tire,” Leigh said flatly, although the corners of her mouth tucked in like she was holding back a pleased smile. “If no handy, helpful tire-changer drives by within ten minutes, I call a tow truck.”
Topher raised the remainder of her cinnamon roll in a salute. “Why would anyone ever want to change a tire? There are so many cute boys who will do it for us, and they’re so eager to help.” She took another bite and chewed slowly, pausing to savor the incredible taste before she swallowed. “I like it when the guy is really fit, so I can ogle him while he works. It’s like watching man-TV so I don’t get bored while I wait for him to finish.”
James’s hand found her thigh right above her knee, and he gave a warning squeeze. Shoving the last bite of roll into her mouth to hide her smile, Topher resisted wriggling in her chair. If he thought the leg-groping was supposed to keep her from acting up, he didn’t realize that it was more of a carrot than a stick. She’d talk about other cute men all morning if it kept his fingers on her thigh. It was even better than having his hand on her leg the night before. Then, it had been for show, but none of the Golfinis were around to watch now. His fingers were squeezing her thigh because he wanted to squeeze her thigh. The thought made her both wet and happy.
Jules hurried into the kitchen, looking harassed, although she tried to hide it with her best hostess smile. As soon as she entered, James got to his feet. The old-fashioned gesture was even hotter than his leg-touching. “Guess who decided to surprise us with a Christmas visit?”
In answer, a woman swept in behind Jules. “Surprise!”
She was straight-up gorgeous. There was no other word for her. With olive skin, dark hair and light brown eyes that slanted up at the corners, she looked like a classic film actress. Topher had a serious case of cheekbone envy.
Although James’s face was an impassive mask, showing nothing about how he felt regarding this woman’s unexpected arrival, his fingers clamped around Topher’s shoulder until she squirmed with a mixture of discomfort and arousal. Seriously, there was something wrong with her that James-inflicted pain turned her on.
“Peyton,” he said evenly, his grip easing to Topher’s relief and disappointment. “I didn’t know you were in the area.”
“I flew in early this morning to surprise you.” Despite the wintery weather, Peyton was wearing a dress beneath her long coat. Her only concession to the cold and snow was a pair of high-heeled boots. She had the figure of a model, tall and willowy. Rounding the table with annoying grace, Peyton curled her manicured fingers around James’s arms and reached up to kiss first one cheek and then the other.
Topher barely suppressed a snort. The woman’s accent was unmistakably American, making the double cheek kiss a pretentious, smack-able offense. That violent urge was doubled by the fact that, although she’d made contact on his right cheek, Peyton’s lips didn’t touch the scarred side of James’s face.
Feeling at a disadvantage in her current sitting position, Topher stood. Even though Peyton still towered over her by a solid eight inches, Topher felt slightly better—not as small and unsophisticated—on her feet.
The thump of a pan hitting the counter turned everyone’s attention to Leigh. “You’re staying?” The question had a threatening undertone that made Peyton’s eyes narrow.
“Of course.” Although she smiled, her words had definite sharp edges. “When my job in Paris was cancelled, I decided to spend the holidays with my favorite person.” Her hand stroked James’s arm, and Topher fought the urge to slap it off of him, like she would if a poisonous spider had been crawling on his arm.
“Paris?” Topher echoed, falling into her role to try to distract herself from her growing need for violence. “Are you a model? I’m an actress, so that’s kind of the same thing, except that models don’t talk or, you know, act. Oh, and you have to be tall to be a model. It’s okay to be short if you’re an actress, which is good, since I’m little.”
Peyton stared at Topher like she was a cockroach that had just scuttled across the kitchen floor. “No, I’m not a model. I’m an antiquities expert. I don’t believe we’ve met.”
Detaching himself from Peyton’s gripping hand, James stepped close enough to Topher to rest a hand on her lower back. “This is Coco Topher. She’s my guest for the next few weeks.”
With an unfeigned happy smile, Topher leaned into his side. “By ‘guest,’ he means girlfriend,” she told Peyton in a loud, conspiratorial whisper. “Since I’m sharing his bedroom, I’m, like, an orgasm guest.”
Leigh’s guffaw almost completely muffled Julia’s gasp of laughter.
“Excuse me,” Julia mumbled from behind the hand covering her mouth as she rushed out of the door into the hall. Faint sounds of her giggles trickled into the kitchen.
“Honestly, James.” Even though Peyton wore a tight-lipped, condescending smile, her eyes were shooting lasers of fury. “Aren’t you a little young for a mid-life crisis? I mean, an actress? All of what? Twenty?”
“Not really your business anymore, Peyton,” he said crisply. “And if this is a mid-life crisis, I’m enjoying every minute of it.” His hand slid across her back to cup Topher’s hip.
“Aw, sugar-muffin, that’s so sweet,” Topher cooed, turning into him so she could pet his chest.
Peyton’s face had turned white and red in an unattractively blotchy pattern. Her mouth opened, but before she could say anything else, she was interrupted by Topher’s cell phone blasting “Barbie Girl.”
“Sorry!” Topher reluctantly stopped fondling James’s chest so she could pull her phone from her pocket. When she glanced at the display, she couldn’t hold back a tiny grimace. Although she was tempted to ignore the call, she knew her mom would just try over and over again until Topher finally picked up. Taking a deep breath, she tapped Accept. “Hi, Mom.”
“Coco, dear, where are you?”
Intending to follow Julia into the hall for some privacy, Topher tried to shift away from James. It was like pressing against an unyielding steel band. Apparently, James was not letting her leave the room—or even his side. With a mental shrug, she relaxed against him and resigned herself to thoroughly confusing her mother.
“I’m at Jamie-Bear’s house. In his kitchen, actually.”
There was an unsurprising silence before her mom said faintly, “Who bear?”
She gave a put-upon sigh. “Jamie-Bear. My boyfriend, remember? James Hawkins? I told you bunches of times that I was going to his house for Christmas and New Year’s.”
“Coco, are you feeling well? Ben, darling, our daughter might have gone a little crazy. Do you think it’s from hanging around all those odd actor people?”
There was a pause before a male voice spoke into the phone. “Coco? What’s going on?”
“Hi, Ben.” She wasn’t able to call him Papa Ben to his face—or his ear, actually. He’d have her committed. Because she could feel James’s, Peyton’s and even Leigh’s curious gazes locked on her, though, she tried to lighten her tone to a more Tophie-like level. “Nothing’s going on. Mom just forgot that I told her I’d be at Jamie’s house for Christmas.”
“Jamie?” His tone sharpened, making her flinch. James must have felt the tiny movement, since he squeezed her hip reassuringly. It felt surprisingly nice to be cuddled during a conversation with her stepfather.
“Yes, James Hawkins.”
After a second of silence, he spoke again, sounding much less irritated—almost pleased, in fact. “You’re dating the James Hawkins? Founder of Blue Hawk Group?”
“Um... I’m not sure.” Tipping her head to look at James, she asked, “Did you found the Blue Hawk Group?” He nodded, one corner of his mouth tipping up as Peyton made a scoffing sound. Ignoring it, Topher returned to her call. “Yes. He’s the James Hawkins.”
“How long?” Ben barked, although most of the harshness had left his tone.
Racking her brain to remember the story she’d babbled the night before, she fumbled her answer. “Ah...three weeks?” Topher winced. What was wrong with her? She was able to memorize a full script in just days, but she couldn’t remember one line from twelve hours earlier?
“Are you asking me?” Ben hated when she turned statements into questions.
“No.” Her voice was quiet as she rested her forehead on James’s chest, her cheeks flushed from the reprimand. “I just couldn’t remember right away.”
He must have accepted that explanation, since he shifted topics. “Your mother and I decided not to spend the holidays in Aspen.”
“Those awful Courtlands were going to be there,” her mother said loudly in the background. “You know how Sally latches on to me like a parasite. I’d never escape her. And once Gordon has a few scotches, he makes the most inappropriate comments.”
Ben cleared his throat. “We were considering spending some time in California with you, but it appears that you won’t be home. Are you at Hawkins’s place outside Chicago?”
“Yes. Sorry I won’t see you and Mom for Christmas.” That was a lie. She was actually relieved.
“We’ll come to Chicago, then.”
“Chicago?” She winced. It looked like she wasn’t going to manage to wiggle out of seeing her parents over the holidays, after all. “That’ll be...great.”
“We’ll fly out this afternoon. Is Hawkins there?”
“Here? As in right now?” Topher cringed at all her statements-as-questions, but she couldn’t help it. She was so confused. “Yes, he’s here.”
“Let me talk to him.”
“Wait, what?” The conversation had taken a decidedly unexpected turn, throwing Topher even more off-center.
“Hand Hawkins the phone.” Ben hated having to repeat himself, and she could hear his sharp irritation.
Her brain raced, but she couldn’t think of a way to avoid a Jamie-and-Ben conversation. Reluctantly, she held her cell phone out to Jamie, whose eyebrow rose toward his hairline. “Ben wants to talk to you.”
He gave her a questioning look that she couldn’t answer before accepting the phone. “Hawkins.” There was a pause. “Yes.”
Topher stared at his profile, trying to psychically reach into his brain and turn up the volume so that she could hear Ben’s side of the call. Jamie’s side of monosyllables and poker face wasn’t giving her anything at all.
“Do you need me to send a car? Okay, see you then.”
Dread began to build in the pit of Topher’s stomach. Sending a car meant that they would be driven back to the house, which meant that her parents would be staying... “No,” she mouthed, but she already knew it was too late, even before Jamie ended the call. “They’re coming here?”
He handed her cell back to her, and she accepted it automatically, her gaze never leaving his expressionless face. “They’ll be here tonight.”
“My parents are coming here? Tonight?” She cringed, still conscious of the whole statement-as-a-question thing.
A ladle flew through the kitchen, smacking against the far wall.
“Fuck a duck!” Leigh snarled.
After taking one look at the enraged cook surrounded by sharp and heavy potential projectiles, Topher decided a quick exit would be prudent.
“I’d better let Jules know,” she tossed over her shoulder as she fled. Darting through the door, she almost slammed into Julia. The other woman opened her mouth to speak, but Topher shook her head and shoved her toward the dining room. Only when they were a safe distance from the kitchen did she stop pushing Julia and allow her to turn and face her.
“What?” Julia asked in a hushed voice.
Allowing her head to tip forward until her forehead rested on Julia’s shoulder, Topher let out an odd sound, kind of a groaning whimper. “Sorry, Jules. I didn’t mean for this to happen.”
Julia grasped Topher’s upper arms and moved her back far enough to meet her eyes. “You didn’t mean for what to happen? Did you kill Peyton?”
“No, I wouldn’t do that!” Topher said emphatically before making a face. “Okay, so maybe I considered it for just a second when her talons were digging into Jamie-Bear’s arm, but I’m much too squeamish to actually go through with it. I don’t even like to squash spiders. Speaking of spiders, she’s kind of Black Widow-y, isn’t she? Except that she’s probably not a widow?”
“She’s divorced, not widowed, but I can’t completely disagree with the comparison, and you still haven’t told me what the latest crisis is.”
Wincing, Topher decided to just spill the news quickly. “Ben and my mom are coming.”
Julia looked blank for a second before she absorbed the information. “Your parents are coming here?”
“Yes. Tonight.”
“Your parents are coming here tonight?”
“Yes.” When Julia was silent and expressionless too long, Topher couldn’t restrain the torrent of words any longer. “I’m so, so sorry! They were in LA and wondering where I was, so I told Papa Ben about—” she cleared her throat “—dating Jamie-Bear, and he asked to talk to Jamie, who asked if he should send a car, which means they’re not just coming to Chicago, they’re coming here. To this house. Who does that? Who invites themselves to a stranger’s house for Christmas and then takes a private plane across the country to stay with their daughter’s—” she lowered her voice to a whisper for the next word “—pretend boyfriend? No one normal, that’s for sure.”
“Topher,” Julia interrupted before she could finish her rant. “It’s okay. We have the room, and James is already acquainted with your stepfather.” She patted Topher’s shoulders and then dropped her hands to her sides. “It’ll be a little busier around here than we expected, but everything will be fine.”
“But Leigh...” Topher sent a hunted look in the direction of the kitchen.
“Oh, dear.” Following her gaze, Julia lost her determinedly cheery expression. “Is she very upset?”
Nodding, Topher said in a whisper, “She threw a ladle. And swore about ducks.”
After a second nervous glance toward the closed kitchen door, Julia shook herself. “Leigh will be fine, too. The roads are being cleared right now, and the rest of the employees will be able to get through before lunch. Once she has some help, she’ll calm down.”
“Okay.” Despite her response, Topher was doubtful. After all, there’d been ladle-throwing and duck-swearing.
“Don’t worry.” Julia’s positive smile was back. “It’ll all work out. We were going to do some shopping this morning. Did you want to join us?”
Spending the morning shopping with the Golfini women and Peyton sounded like hell, but Topher didn’t have the heart to send Julia out to swim with the sharks alone. “Shopping? Uh, duh! Of course I want to go shopping! It’s, like, one of my favorite things ever. Do I have time to take a shower first?”
“Definitely.” When Julia’s smile eased into something more natural, Topher was glad she’d agreed to go. “Something tells me that Barb’s and Donna’s morning beauty routines take hours.”
Topher giggled at that, laughing harder when Julia joined her.
“What’s funny?” Jamie’s arm caught Topher around her waist and pulled her back against him. She relaxed into him as usual, marveling at how natural it felt to be surrounded by him when they hadn’t even known each other for twenty-four hours.
“Jules.” Turning her head to smile up at him, she caught sight of Peyton’s scowling face. The woman was standing close to Jamie’s side—much too close. Swallowing the urge to give Peyton a solid shove or perhaps pull her perfect hair, Topher focused on Jamie’s face. “I don’t even remember what she said, but then she started giggling, and she’s the cutest giggler ever, so I couldn’t stop laughing. Are you coming shopping with us?”
The look of horror that crossed his face almost made her start laughing again. “No. I’m going to get some work done while you’re not here to distract me.”
She gave a fake pout. “I thought you loved it when I distract you.”
“I do.” He nuzzled the side of her neck, making her laugh and scrunch up her shoulders at the tickling sensation. “But I’m not very productive when you’re around.”
When Peyton cleared her throat, sounding irritated, Topher turned her happy smile in her direction. “Are you going shopping with us, Pey-Pey?”
“What did you call me?” Her tone was frigid. It might have been wrong, but Topher’s smile cranked up another notch at the other woman’s annoyance.
“Pey-Pey! I like to give everyone cute nicknames, don’t I, Jamie-Bear?” At Jamie’s amused nod, she continued, “Jules is Jules and Dan-Dan is Dan-Dan and Barbie Doll is Barbie Doll and—”
Peyton held up a hand. “Stop.”
Obligingly, Topher stopped babbling and beamed at Peyton, who gave Jamie a thoroughly disgusted look.
“Seriously, James, I don’t understand the attraction. She’s one hit to the head away from being...special.”
He shrugged, the movement shifting his encircling arm higher around her waist so his forearm brushed the underside of her breasts. “It’s a good thing that you’re not the one dating her, then.”
Distracted by the lust shivering through her, Topher barely managed to hold on to her role. Widening her eyes, she gave Peyton an apologetic look. “Sorry, Pey-Pey, but I don’t kiss girls anymore.”
Jamie coughed. “Anymore?”
“Topher!” Jules interjected loudly, and Topher had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep a laugh from escaping. “Didn’t you want to shower?”
“Oh, yes! Thanks for reminding me, Jules.” Topher lifted Jamie’s restraining hand and kissed his palm before heading for the stairs. “I don’t want to go shopping smelling like pony, even if he is the cutest pony in the world.”
“Where are you going?” Peyton’s sharp question confused Topher. Hadn’t they just discussed her need for a shower? When she turned, however, she saw that Jamie had followed her. “Can’t she manage to take a shower on her own?”
Before Jamie could respond rudely, which his scowl warned that he was about to do, Topher blinked innocently and said, “If he doesn’t help, how will I know that all my parts are really clean?”
In the appalled silence that followed, Topher hurried out of the room, needing to get away before she started laughing. She could feel Jamie right behind her, all hot and predator-like. Once they reached the safety of his bedroom, she burst into giggles, clapping a hand over her mouth when she snorted.
“You—” Jamie turned her to face him and scooped her off the ground “—are a little devil.”
The suddenness of the lift made her squeak and wrap her arms around his neck for security—and also because she wasn’t about to let a golden opportunity to cling to him pass. “I couldn’t help it.” He hoisted her higher, and she wrapped her legs around his waist. The ease with which he held her was intoxicating. “I don’t know if you noticed, but Peyton’s kind of a bitch.”
“Language,” he corrected sternly. Heat bloomed in her stomach, and her arms and legs tightened around him.
“Sorry.” Even to her own ears, she sounded more needy than sincere, so she wasn’t surprised when he hummed skeptically as he carried her to the bathroom. When he set her on the counter by the sink, she bit back an amused smile. That was apparently becoming her spot.
Gathering the bottom hem of her sweater, he lifted it high enough to expose her midriff.
“Up,” he ordered. She obeyed automatically, and it was only after he’d pulled her sweater over her head that she realized she was sitting in front of him in only her bra and jeans. Shifting on the granite surface, she fought the urge to cross her arms over her chest. All her A-cup insecurities from high school came back in a rush.
He didn’t give her time to stew in her self-doubt, though, before his fingers were unhooking her bra and slipping the straps off her shoulders. The undressing process was so matter-of-fact that, if it wasn’t for the heat burning in his stare, she would’ve thought that Jamie was indifferent to her partial nakedness. His smoldering gaze held her as he unbuttoned and unzipped her jeans.
As he inched the tight denim over her hips, he rasped, “Lift.”
Swallowing, she flattened her hands on the counter and pushed up her hips. As he worked the jeans down her thighs, she lowered herself back down, sucking in a startled breath as her bare butt met the cold countertop. Jamie had managed to drag her panties off along with her jeans, leaving her bare-assed naked in front of his fully dressed self once he tugged her jeans, panties and socks over her feet. His gaze slid from her toes to her knees and then to her thighs before pausing.
“Nice.” His voice was rough as he eyed her completely hairless pussy. Topher was torn between the need to cross her legs and hide from him and the desire to spread her thighs and display herself completely. In the end, she did neither, staying frozen instead as his gaze trailed up her midsection and finally to her face. “So pretty.”
It was only when he turned away to start the shower that she started breathing again. This was the strangest and most erotic situation she’d ever experienced. Allowing someone she’d only known for such a short time to undress her was not at all like her, but she couldn’t seem to bring herself to stop him from doing whatever he wanted with her. She didn’t even think she wanted to stop him. She liked it when he took care of her, no matter how perverted and inappropriate her rational brain told her it was. In fact, she didn’t just like it—she craved it.
This consuming need scared the life out of her. If she felt this intensely after such a short time with Jamie, what would happen in two weeks when it ended? She had a feeling that she’d be wrecked. There didn’t seem to be any way to control how much she wanted him, wanted his bossy commands and the way he took care of her. She was tempted to give in, to fall completely, to enjoy the next two weeks with Jamie and deal with the fallout when it arrived. Would the pleasure be worth the inevitable crash, though? Her brain was still spinning when he turned back around and lifted her off the counter and onto the toilet. A flush spread up her neck and over her cheeks when Jamie made no move to leave.
“Um...privacy?” Although she intended for the word to come out demanding, it sounded more like an uncertain request.
His indulgent look should have offended her, but instead it made her insides melt. “Sure, shy girl.”
He stepped into the bedroom, closing the door behind him. She finished up as quickly as possible before hopping into the ridiculously large shower. Unsure of whether he’d return and what he would do next, she soaped herself quickly, washing and conditioning her hair with paranoid haste.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want him coming into the shower with her and cleaning all of her bits. Just the thought had her needing to slip her hand between her thighs. Everything that she was feeling was so sudden and new and different, though, leaving her flustered and vaguely shamed. It wasn’t normal to desire being treated like a child, was it?
After a final quick rinse, she stepped out of the shower just as Jamie returned to the bathroom. He toweled her off with that same mix of efficient briskness and heat that he’d shown when he undressed her, and she stood still, enjoying every second.
Wrapping her in the towel, he lifted her and carried her to the bed. Since her arms were trapped in the towel, she couldn’t hold on around his neck. She started to lift her legs to wrap them around his waist like before but then realized that would mean pressing her bare pussy against him. When he dropped her on the bed, she was relieved. It’d been a little unnerving to rely on him completely to support her.
From the pile of clothes next to her, he’d picked out her outfit for the day. Jamie opened the towel, leaving her lying naked and vulnerable in front of him.
“Stay there,” he said, before heading for the bathroom. When he returned seconds later, he had her body lotion. At the thought of him spreading it over her, touching her everywhere, she squirmed restlessly. He stilled her with a hand on her calf.
Squeezing lotion into his palm, he rubbed his hands together to warm it, and Topher stopped breathing again. Starting on her left foot, Jamie massaged the lotion into her skin, working his way up her ankle and over her lower leg. When he reached her knee, she jerked a little as his fingers slid over a ticklish spot. His mouth twitched into a knowing smile as his hands made their slippery way up her thigh.
She closed her eyes as he drew close to the top of her leg. His fingers were so close to her needy pussy. If he would just slide his hand over just a tiny bit, it would feel so incredible. To her deep disappointment, he didn’t make contact with her center. Instead, he pulled away to get more lotion and start on her other foot.
The same thing happened with that leg. When he reached the top, he kept his fingers away from her pussy, making her force down a frustrated groan. Jamie spread lotion over each arm and shoulder before moving over her collarbones. For a wonderful moment, his calloused palms dragged across her nipples, but the caress ended much too soon as he moved down to her belly.
“Turn over.” From the gruffness of his voice, he was getting as turned on as she was. Not wanting the lotion massage to end, Topher quickly flipped over to her stomach and buried her face in her crossed arms. Jamie swept his slick hands over her back, lower and lower until he was palming her ass with both hands.
Topher wasn’t able to hold back a needy moan as he gripped her cheeks. He pressed them apart, allowing cool air to touch the sensitive spot between them. When she felt a lotion-slick finger tracing her crease, moving inexorably toward her puckered opening, she stiffened. No one had ever touched her there. Not even her own digit had penetrated that hole. She’d never wanted it—at least, not until now.
Before she could decide if she really wanted to experiment in that way, he found her clenched opening and stroked. His gentle petting sent unexpected flutters of pleasure through her, making her even wetter than she’d been from his full-body massage. She was glad her face was hidden in her arms, so that Jamie couldn’t see her expressions.
The blunt tip of his finger stilled, resting unmoving against her hole. She wiggled, protesting the cessation of that lovely petting, before she caught herself. With a breathless chuckle, Jamie pressed inside, breaching the tight ring of muscle with a quick jab.
Topher sucked in a breath at the sudden invasion. The intruder felt huge lodged inside her, even though she knew hardly any of his finger had been inserted in her. She went still, not wanting to move and accidentally shove it deeper, as she adjusted to the stretching ache.
“Good girl,” he crooned, his tone gentle on the surface, although something dark lurked beneath. The hand that had been still kneading one of her ass cheeks moved between her legs to lightly stoke. Her hips jerked, trying to shove her pussy into his teasing touch, but all she managed to do was jam more of his finger into her bottom.
“Ow, Jamie.” Despite her protest, she couldn’t stay still. He was brushing her clit so, so softly. If only he’d press just a little harder, she could come.
“Does it hurt, baby?” Even as he asked, he drove his finger another inch deeper. “Do you want me to stop?”
“No!” The word was out before she even considered it. “Just touch me harder. Please?”
“Of course,” he almost purred before burying his thick finger to the hilt.
“Not there!” Her hips thrust frantically. “The other hand!”
“Where do you want me to touch you harder?” His voice was silky, making her grit her teeth. He knew perfectly well what she needed, but he was torturing her for some reason.
“You know.” Ignoring her stretched and sore ass, she jerked toward that elusive touch.
“Say it.”
Her face burned with embarrassment and arousal, but she couldn’t take the teasing anymore. “Please touch my pussy.”
They were the magic words. His thumb pressed her clit as his finger slid inside her.
“You’re so wet.” Both invading fingers burrowed deeper, making her moan. It shocked her how much she liked having both holes filled. Despite the unaccustomed feeling of fullness and stretching, the pressure of his finger inside her ass was intensifying her arousal, driving her toward orgasm with a speed that made her clutch the duvet with both fists.
As he withdrew from her rear opening, she made a protesting sound. Jamie chuckled, and she closed her teeth around her own forearm to prevent any more shameful, needy noises to escape.
“You like it when I play with your ass?” When she didn’t answer, he shoved his finger back into the abandoned hole, while flicking her clit with his other hand. There was no way Topher could hold back her groan of pleasure, even if it did draw another husky laugh from Jamie.
He started a rhythm, pulling out his fingers and then plunging into her wanting body. With every thrust, she shoved her hips to meet him, driving him even deeper and bumping her clit against his thumb. Any residual pain had disappeared, melted by the fire of her oncoming climax. The intensity of the storm building in her was almost frightening. If her previous orgasms had been summer storms, this one was going to be a tsunami.
Leaning over her back, he closed his teeth on her shoulder. That nip of pain drove her over the edge. Her mind went blank and all of her muscles tightened as pleasure raged through her, making her scream. It was unlike anything she’d ever felt before, taking over until it seemed like she didn’t even control her own body.
As she slowly came back into herself, she realized that she was alone in the bedroom. Water running in the bathroom gave her a clue of where Jamie had gone. Once enough strength had returned to her muscles that they didn’t feel like cooked noodles anymore, she raised her head. The first thing she noticed was the two half-circle imprints on her arm, and she rubbed the self-inflicted bite mark with her other hand. In the moment, she hadn’t even felt the pain.
Jamie emerged from the bathroom, a wet washcloth in his hand. She ducked her head, creating a shield of hair between him and her hot cheeks. Peeking at him through the strands, she noticed he looked rather smug—very smug, in fact.
“Feeling shy, baby?” When he reached the bed, he tucked her concealing curtain of hair behind her ear.
“Yes.” She smiled at him, turning her head to the side and resting her still-flushed cheek on her hands. “That was really nice. Can we do that again?”
With a surprised bark of laughter, he ran the warm wetness of the cloth over her inner thighs and pussy. Topher shivered at the slight abrasion against her still-sensitized flesh.
“Soon,” he said, getting that rasp in his voice that meant he was aroused. The washcloth dipped between her ass cheeks and left a damp trail all the way up to her tailbone. “You need to shop first.”
This time, her groan held more petulance than arousal. “But Jamie-Bear...”
His free hand connected with her bottom. The sharp sound of skin against skin startled her even before the stinging pain registered.
“No whining.” He returned to the bathroom. Stunned into silence, she watched his back. She’d never been spanked before. As one hand crept down to feel the still-burning spot where his palm had met her butt, she tried to sort through the rush of feelings that single smack had evoked. Before she could even begin to process the mix of emotions, Jamie was back.
After rolling her over, he slid the panties he’d chosen for her to wear up her legs. In her post-orgasmic, post-single-spank fog, she stayed limp and allowed Jamie to dress her like a doll. Her outfit was cute—leggings and a top that was part short dress and part long shirt. When he finished putting her clothes on her, he hooked his hands under her arms and hoisted her to her feet.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, tipping her face up so she was looking at him. “You’ve been unusually quiet for almost five minutes.”
That startled her out of her contemplative state. Laughing, she smacked him on the chest, leaving her hand on his hard-as-rock pecs. “I don’t talk all the time.”
His only response to that was a skeptical lift of his eyebrow.
“I don’t!” Another laugh spoiled the indignant tone she was going for. “And everything’s fine. Good, actually. Really good. I don’t think I’ve come that hard, like, ever.”
After studying her face for a long moment, he nodded and gave her a hard, short kiss. “You’re okay with all of...this?” He offered a vague wave that encompassed her and the bed and the bathroom, but she was pretty sure she knew to what he was referring. After all, it was the same thing that had been weirding her out since the previous evening. It was strange to hear him hesitate, though. Normally, everything he said was crisp and definite.
Topher gave him a reassuring smile. “The little-girl stuff, you mean?” His nod was so slight that she barely caught it. “Yes. I’ve never done anything like this before, but I’m discovering that it turns me on like crazy.” Her face was starting to heat again. “Does it make me a freak that I like it when you brush my teeth and dress me and call me ‘baby’?”
“No.” His hand stroked her hair, pressing the still damp strands against her head and the nape of her neck.
“Good.” Her breath left her in a shaky exhale, and she realized how much she’d been worrying about having this discussion with him. Even though he was playing along, it was nerve-racking to actually talk about it out loud. “I like it. I like when you take care of me and cuddle me. It makes me feel safe. Oh, and horny.”
His hand slid to her back, pressing her against him in a tight hug. Resting her cheek on his chest, she wrapped her arms around his middle and squeezed.
“Safe and horny,” he repeated, sounding amused. “A good combination.”
She laughed, holding him even tighter. After a few seconds, he ended the hug with a pat on her bottom.
“Come on,” he said, turning her toward the bathroom with a hand on each of her shoulders. “Let’s get your hair brushed.”
He guided her into the bathroom and lifted her onto the usual spot on the sink. As he pulled the brush through her hair, Topher closed her eyes. She decided that having her hair brushed was better than having her teeth cleaned and even tied with his lotion application.
“Are you sure you don’t want to come shopping with us?” she asked without opening her eyes, turning her head obediently at his nudge.
“Very sure.” After putting the brush down, he separated her hair on the left side of her head into three strands and started weaving them together.
Her lip protruded in the tiniest pout, the memory of the spank still fresh enough in her mind to keep her sulking fairly controlled. “But you could tell me what clothes you like and what you don’t like.”
“We’ll go shopping another time, just the two of us.” He switched to the other side.
Pretending that the idea of modeling clothes for Jamie—things he’d chosen for her—didn’t make her skin tingle with excitement, she heaved a put-upon sigh. “Fine.”
When he finished her hair, she opened her eyes to look in the mirror. She looked young but cute, and one of the funky knit hats that her friend Marnie had knitted for her would look perfect with the braids.
“I like it!” Leaning forward, she caught him around the neck for a hug. “Thank you, Daddy!” As soon as the word escaped her lips, Jamie went still. She pressed her forehead to his chest, awash in humiliation. “Sorry. It just slipped out. Is that taking this too far? If it pushes things into creepy territory, I understand. I’ll just go back to calling you my Jamie-Bear, which I would do when other people are around, anyway, because they would definitely freak—”
“Tophie, hush.” Although his words were stern, he softened them by dropping a kiss on her head. “Before I answer your question, I have one for you.”
Curiosity overrode her embarrassment, so she lifted her head to look at him.
“Do you call Mason Brown ‘Daddy’?”
“Oh!” Understanding flickered on like a lightbulb above her head. No wonder he’d been uncomfortable. Her little Tophie act was biting her in the bum. “No! Never. Not even before Ben married my mom.” She had to think about what term she did use for her biological father. “I don’t call him anything really. Mason, I guess? I think I said ‘Daddy’ yesterday because I don’t want to go into what a sucky father Mason was—is—with people I don’t know.”
His face relaxed a little. “When we’re alone, then, you can call me Daddy.”
“Okay,” she said uncertainly. After having a whole discussion about it, it now seemed awkward and strange. “Just so you know, I’ve never done that before. I mean, I didn’t call any other boyfriends that. Not that you’re my boyfriend, I mean, since it’s only been a short time that we’ve known each other and an even shorter time that we’ve been pretending to be dating, so I don’t mean to come off as a stage-ten clinger or anything.” She sucked in a breath, ready to continue to babble, but was stopped by Jamie’s amused huff.
“Breathe, baby girl,” he said, tugging on the end of one braid. “Now go shop. They’re probably all waiting for you.”
Topher made a face at the reminder as he lifted her off the counter and placed her on her feet. “Poor Jules probably thinks I’ve bailed, and she has to take the Bitch Squad on her own.”
“Probably.” A swat on the rear propelled her toward the door. “So go.”
She turned and hurried back to him, standing on her tiptoes so she could give him a kiss. Thanks to her height deprivation, her lips only made it to his chin.
“Bye!” She chirped, heading for the door again. “Thanks for the awesome big O. I’ll see you later—” she lowered her voice to an ominous, scary-movie tone “—if I survive.”
His laugh followed her into the bedroom.