Chapter Seven

 

 

Chloe

“Who is this man exactly?”

I rolled my eyes at the suspicion in my mother’s voice. “His name is Jake Mason. He lives next door to me with his son, who I watch at night while he goes to his job as a detective or agent or something. I’m not sure—”

“Chloe.”

“What?” I asked, blinking at the sharpness in my mother’s voice.

“I don’t think this is a good idea at all. You just got out of a highly abusive relationship that you’re still involved in to a degree. Do you think it’s a good idea to be babysitting this man’s child? You don’t even know him.”

“Everyone knows him,” I said, exasperated. “The neighbor across the street suggested that I watch his kid for him. He’s not a bad person.”

“Honey, you said the same damn thing about Luke,” she said, equally exasperated. “I know how you tend to be sometimes, Chloe. You get caught up with men who aren’t healthy for you.”

“I’m not caught up in him, though!”

“It sounds like you are to me.”

“I’m not,” I said, rubbing at my eyes in frustration. “This is just a job for me to get by until he finds a new babysitter, or until I find a different income. That’s all.”

“Right,” she said sarcastically. “Just keep your guard up, sweetheart. This guy doesn’t sound too good to me. Where’s the mother of that child?”

It occurred to me then that I had no idea where Darren’s mother was. There weren’t any pictures of her in Jake’s house either.

“No idea,” I said. “He hasn’t brought it up.”

“That doesn’t sound good to me. He’s a complete stranger to you.”

“To be fair, I’m a stranger to him too.”

My mothered sighed into the phone. “Where is this going to lead, Chloe? I hear something in your voice that suggests you are hopeful about something.”

I gritted my teeth. I was starting to see the mistake in telling my mother about Jake. She wanted to jump to conclusions. I do want something though. The temptation was there. I could feel it curling in my lower stomach, and if I read Jake’s lingering gazes right, he felt the same temptation. It’d never happen though. There was something dark and painful behind his gaze that kept him back.

The sound of Darren’s laughter reached my ears. I sat up from where I was curled up on the couch below the windows I had opened earlier in the morning. Darren happily waved a Nerf gun as he darted across the front lawn with Jake pumping his own Nerf gun behind him. That carefree smile on Jake’s face warmed me from the inside.

“I’m not hoping for anything,” I said thickly. “I have to go, Mom. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“All right. Call me tomorrow.”

She hung up without question. I dropped my phone onto the couch cushions before sliding my feet into a pair of flip flops. Darren grinned cheerfully at me when I stepped out on the front porch.

“Hi, Chloe! Come join us.”

I started across the damp grass in their direction. I caught Jake’s eye as a guarded expression fell over his face. Gone was that carefree smile.

“If you don’t mind,” I said, hopping over the fence between our yards. “Do you have a spare Nerf gun?”

“Inside,” Darren said, and he thrust out his. “I’ll go get the other one. You can have mine.”

He darted past Jake before either one of us could say anything. Jake shot a wary glance in my direction.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“I’m about to take your ass out,” I said, pumping Darren’s Nerf gun. “That is what I’m doing.”

His eyes widened a bit at that, but that carefully guarded expression remained in place. I pointed the Nerf gun at him. His arms automatically rose in defense.

“I doubt it,” he said, and I caught a trace of a teasing tone. “I’d like to see you try to take me out.”

“Years of Navy SEAL training, right?” I mocked, but I kept a playful smile on my face.

I knew without a doubt that Jake could easily take me out without even batting an eyelash.

“You know it,” he said seriously.

Darren came out of the house with another Nerf gun in hand. He ran past Jake with a delighted cheer before reaching my side.

“Chloe and I are on a team,” he declared, taking a stance next to me. “Just like paintball, Dad. Come find us.”

“You better hide then,” Jake said.

He turned to start counting. Darren’s sweaty little hand grabbed a hold of mine to tug me in the direction of the backyard. I relished the carefree feeling of running alongside him.

“Hide in there,” Darren said, pointing to a garden shed. “I’ll ambush him from behind, because he’ll go looking for you first.”

“The element of surprise,” I said, but my heart pounded at the thought of hiding in a shed with Jake. There was no doubt in my mind that he would find us both without any trouble.

I hid in the shadows like Darren instructed before he closed the door. I watched his tiny shadow dart around the side to hide behind a tree. The smell of fertilizer and soil filled my lungs, and I heard Jake approach with confident steps. My fingers gripped the Nerf gun. My heart pounded hard.

The door opened. The morning sunlight fell in behind Jake as he stepped forward with his Nerf gun pointed directly at me. Maybe it was the way he stood so tall and confident that caused my stomach to twist into a million knots, or maybe it was the way he looked at me heatedly as he let the garden shed door close.

“Hands up,” Jake said, a husky timbre in his voice. “You surrender?”

“No,” I said breathlessly, and held up my own Nerf gun. “Never. I’ll never surrender.”

A ghost of a grin tugged at Jake’s lips. “We’ll see about that.”

He surged forward with such speed and precision that it took me by surprise. The Nerf gun fell from my fingers to the ground between us. I half expected him to shoot me, to end the game there, but his strong fingers circled my wrists instead. I stumbled back into the shed wall. The air in my lungs hitched when he pressed against my body, every strong muscle of his pressing against mine intimately.

The heat in the shed increased. The smell of mint toothpaste fell over me. Heavy pants escaped my lips when I looked up at Jake, who was smiling down at me in triumph. He had planned this. He knew I would be alone, and the blood in my veins raced at the thought. A week’s worth of temptation bubbled inside me. A part of me expected him to release my wrists, but he never did. His hands remained firmly circled around my wrists as he held them above our heads.

Nothing could prepare me for the feeling of him pressing his lips against mine in a bruising kiss that effectively stole the breath right from my lungs. He kissed me hard and deep, pouring every inch of his frustration into me. I kissed him back just as hard. Sweat gathered at the back of my neck, and I arched up into his hard body with a moan. I needed this. I needed him.

“D-d-d-daddy!!!!”

We broke apart breathlessly. Darren’s shadow crept by the shed walls. I caught Jake’s heated gaze before he took a step back. I quickly gathered my Nerf gun with trembling hands while I tried to cool myself down.

The door opened again, and an array of Nerf bullets hit Jake squarely in the back. Darren shot us both a happy grin. “We won, Chloe! Did you see that? My plan worked. We caught you by surprise, Dad.”

“You did,” Jake said, and he ruffled Darren’s hair with a strained grin. “You both caught me by surprise. Let’s get out of this shed.”

Jake held the shed door open for me. I stepped out after collecting the nerf bullets from the ground. My legs quivered when I looked over at Jake as he slung his Nerf gun over his shoulder. He didn’t meet my eyes again.

“How about some lunch in the city?” Jake asked.

“Can Chloe come with us?” Darren asked immediately.

I caught the hesitant look on Jake’s face. I shook my head at Darren. “Next time,” I said, ruffling his hair playfully. “I have some things that I need to get done.”

Darren pouted at that, but he thankfully let it rest. He darted back into the house to clean up when Jake asked him to leave us alone for a minute.

“I’m sorry,” Jake said abruptly. He looked troubled when he caught my eyes. “I-I don’t know what came over me.”

I shrugged my shoulders, because I had no idea either. The fact that I’d gotten so turned on by just a simple kiss alarmed me. I couldn’t afford to get close to him.

“Don’t worry about it,” I said, though I knew we both would. “Let’s just forget about it. It won’t happen again.”

“Right,” Jake said shortly, back to his cool demeanor. “I’ll see you Monday evening then.”

I handed him the Nerf gun. “Monday evening it is.”

I felt Jake’s eyes burning holes in my back as I walked quickly to the front. I hopped over the fence. I had no idea what exactly had just happened, but I knew Jake had kissed me because he’d wanted too. And I had kissed him back because I’d wanted too.