Ethan

I glanced over at Lilah as we waited for a car to pick us up at the Dallas airport. She’d been quiet since our talk the other night. Too quiet. I missed her chatter and the cute way she blurted out all of her thoughts.

I was grateful that she hadn’t pulled away from me, but I wanted her smile back, the spark of life inside that I fell for the first time I met her. There was a lot to process and she was nervous. I’d called Samuel the day before we left and finally given him the news that Bonnie had passed away and I was returning with the daughter he’d always wanted but never had the chance to know.

It took great restraint on my part not to let any of my feelings for Lilah bleed through my words. Keeping our relationship from him was not going to be easy, especially when I wanted to let the whole world know she was mine. I would have fought Lilah harder about it, but ultimately decided to go along for a little while. Samuel deserved some time with her, and I wasn’t anxious to test our friendship.

I was fucking his little girl, doing my best to put my baby in her, and would be taking her away from him when I put my ring on her finger. It was not a conversation I was looking forward to.

A black Escalade pulled up to the curb in front of us and parked. The driver alighted from the car and came around to greet us. He started loading our bags as I opened the door and helped Lilah climb into the back seat before following behind her. She scooted to the far side and stared out the window, her fingers twisting together in her lap.

The driver returned to his seat and pulled out onto the road. I slipped an arm around her waist and hauled her over to my side. Lifting her chin, I stared down at her intensely. “Do you trust me, baby girl?” I asked quietly.

Her quick nod of agreement filled me with satisfaction, and I rewarded her with a swift but hard kiss. “I would never put you in a harmful situation. I protect what’s mine, and you”—I placed my hand over her flat stomach—“and the little one I’m doing my damndest to put in here, are mine.” Lilah blushed prettily and laid her head on my shoulder.

I had wanted to take Lilah home first, but she’d insisted that she wouldn’t be able to relax until after the initial meeting with her father was done. I almost put my foot down but I was worried about her stress level, especially if she was already pregnant. She’d already been more tired than usual from all the worry and anxiousness. So, we were going straight to Samuel’s house. I was immensely relieved when she quickly fell asleep on the drive. She needed to rest.

A little over an hour later, we pulled into the driveway of a large, brick house with white pillars and shutters. Samuel had built the house for Bonnie after he’d proposed, but she’d never had the chance to see it. When he got serious with Lola, he considered selling it, not wanting to make his new fiancée live in the house he’d built for another woman.

Except, Lola was everything Samuel needed and she knew that it wasn’t actually Bonnie tying him to the house. The truth was, he was afraid to move just in case his daughter ever tried to find him.

The front door opened just as the vehicle came to a halt in front of it. Samuel stepped over the threshold and stood on the top step, hands in his pockets. To anyone other than me and Lola, it would be almost impossible to recognize how nervous he was.

I looked down at Lilah, wishing I didn’t have to wake her. The windows of the car were tinted, so I kissed the top of her head and drew a fingertip down her soft cheek. “We’re here, baby girl.”

She stirred, her eyelids lifting groggily, and she looked up at me with a sweet smile. “Here?” she asked. Before I could answer, her blue pools strayed to the view outside the window and she stiffened. Then she quickly slid back across the bench seat, her hands smoothing her hair and the wrinkles in her mint green blouse.

I frowned at her retreat, but refrained from commenting, simply holding out my hand. She looked at it silently for a moment, her eyes blinking owlishly. Then she met my gaze. “We decided to keep it a secret for now, remember?” she urged. “I can’t hold your hand, he’ll know!”

I sighed. “No, you decided and I gave in. But, that’s not the issue right now. I’m simply helping you from the car, baby girl.”

“You can’t call me that either,” she hissed, slapping a hand over my mouth. My tongue darted out and licked at her palm, causing her to snatch it back. Her eyes heated and I once again hauled her over to me, my mouth slamming down over hers. She went a little boneless, sinking into the kiss, and I ravaged her lips until I felt like she’d been thoroughly claimed.

Leaning back, I smiled smugly at the sight of her pinkened, kiss-swollen lips. It took another minute for me to move while I willed my erection back down. It would be hard to explain away my hard-on.

I opened the door and hopped out, then reached in and helped her down from the car. With her feet steady on the ground, she dropped my hand like it was on fire and a low growl escaped from my throat.

Lilah scowled at me, then faced the house and took a tentative step forward. Then another. Samuel’s face lit up at her approach and he met her at the bottom step. From the tenseness in his arm muscles, I knew he was fighting the urge to pull her into his embrace. Eighteen years he’d waited, hoped, dreamed of meeting his daughter.

I was so fucking happy to give this to him and it made the wait to tell him about us worth it, though it didn’t make it any easier.

“Lilah,” he breathed, his voice filled with awe. “You’re so beautiful, sweetheart. You look just like your mother.”

Lilah flinched at his words and before I could stop myself, I was standing at her back. I didn’t touch her, but let the heat from my body give her comfort, reminding her I was there for her.

“Thank you,” she murmured awkwardly. Some of the elation on Samuel’s face dissipated and he looked between Lilah and I for a moment, his expression telling me nothing. Finally, he smiled at me with gratitude and nodded. I lifted my chin in reply but otherwise, stayed still.

“Let’s go inside and talk,” he suggested. He turned, and I put my hand softly on Lilah’s lower back as we followed him into the house. At my touch, her rigid spine relaxed a little.

We entered a room decorated with neutral tones and comfortable furniture meant to exude a laid-back atmosphere. Samuel took a seat on one of the couches and hesitantly gestured for Lilah to join him.

“Where is your ladies’ room?” she inquired, and Samuel gave her directions. After she left the room, he stood and walked over to where I was casually lounging against a wall by the door.

He stuck out one hand and I shook it as his other clasped my shoulder. “I don’t know how to thank you, Ethan. You know how long I’ve waited.” He glanced at where Lilah had disappeared and sighed. “It’s obvious that you’ve protected her like your own daughter”—my gut clenched in rejection of his summation. I didn’t see Lilah as anything but my soul mate, my soon-to-be wife and mother of my children. But, respecting her wishes, I kept quiet—“and while I’m a little jealous of the relationship you have, I’m grateful. I just hope I can build one with her too.”

Voices outside the door alerted us to her return and Samuel went back to his spot on the sofa. Lilah walked in accompanied by a plump brunette in her early forties, with a wide smile and a rock the size of Texas on her left ring finger. Lola was a bright ray of sunshine in Samuel’s life, and I was certain she would be a bridge between father and daughter.

“Well now,” she said excitedly, her brown eyes sparkling. “We’ve certainly gotten lucky, Sam. She’s a keeper.”

Lilah blushed, but as I expected, Lola’s bright attitude and charismatic draw had put Lilah more at ease. “And, I’ve even convinced her to forget this rubbish plan of staying somewhere else. She’ll have the whole guest suite downstairs!”

My body went rigid at her announcement. What the fuck? Lilah wouldn’t be staying anywhere but in my fucking bed, and I’d been completely clear about it from the beginning. I’d agreed to keep our relationship a secret for a while with the condition that she tell them she was “staying with a friend.”

Lilah peeked at me through her lashes and when she clocked my no doubt thunderous expression, her eyes darted away guiltily. She rushed over and took a seat on the opposite side of the couch from her dad, keeping her back to me.

Lola launched into a conversation, drawing both Lilah and Samuel out of their shells, keeping the topics light and helping them get to know each other. All the while I stayed where I was, silently fuming.

Sometime later, Samuel looked up at me and I quickly wiped all expression from my face. “I hope you’ll stay for dinner, Ethan.”

“Absolutely,” I answered evenly, trying to hide my clenched jaw and the anger radiating from my body.

Lola smiled happily and stood. “Great! I’ll go check on it.” As she neared me, she placed a hand on my arm to gain my attention. “Would you mind grabbing Lilah’s bags from the car and take them to her room, Ethan?”

It was on the tip of my tongue to refuse, but I decided to do as I was asked for now. I needed to talk to Lilah alone before I caused a scene. After retrieving her small amount of luggage, since most everything had been shipped to our home, I dropped it in the bedroom of the guest suite on the first floor.

Stalking out into the hall, I glimpsed a flash of mint green, and platinum-blonde hair, vanishing into Samuel’s office. I purposefully strode after her and walked in to find her bent over, her round little ass in the air, rummaging through an open drawer of the desk. I shut the door behind me, flipping the lock. At the sound of the click, Lilah whirled around, clutching a small book to her chest.

She breathed out in a huff and frowned. “You scared me,” she accused. “Lola sent me in here to grab this photo album.” Her defensive explanation was unnecessary. I didn’t give a flying fuck why she was in there. My long legs quickly ate up the distance between us and I snatched the book from her, tossing it onto the desk. Then I put her wrists behind her back, locking them in one of my hands. I backed her up until she was caged between me and the desk.

“I ought to put you over my knee and spank the shit out of you, baby girl,” I growled. Her eyes widened and she glanced over my shoulder to the office door. “Eyes on me!” I snapped. “You want to explain why the fuck Lola thinks you’ll be spending your nights here?”

She dropped her blues to my chest, and I used my other hand to grip her chin and lift her face. “I said eyes on me!”

“It just seemed simpler than trying to hide where I was actually staying and make it easier to get to know them.” Her lips pursed. “Isn’t that what you convinced me I should do?” she asked stubbornly.

This whole situation had me on edge and I leaned my face down so I was only a breath away, snarling, “Is that what you want, baby girl? To sleep alone? To go to bed every night and dream about my mouth making you come? My cock filling your soaked pussy?” Her face heated at my words, but I wasn’t done yet.

The position I had her in was pushing her tits into my chest and my rock hard cock against her belly. I pressed a little more, emphasizing my point. “Is that what you want, Lilah? Dreams of me, instead of the real thing?”

“Um—well, I—” she stuttered. I cut her off, sealing my mouth over hers. My tongue pushed into her mouth, dancing with hers and she moaned.

I couldn’t fucking take it any longer. Between my anger and raging desire, I lost my mind. With one hand at her waist, I lifted her onto the desk, perfectly aligning our centers. Pulling on her arms and arching her back even more, I palmed one of her tits, squeezing it in rhythm with the plunges of my tongue.

I eventually tore my mouth away from hers and waited, panting, for her to open her eyes. They were glazed and filled with fire. “You need to keep quiet, Lilah. You don’t want your daddy to hear me fucking his little girl, do you?”

My words shattered her haze and she glanced at the door once more. Setting her on her feet for a moment, I slapped her ass with a swift crack. “I won’t tell you again, Lilah,” I barked, and her eyes shot back to mine. I nodded, satisfied with her obedience and placed her back onto the top of the desk. “Can you be silent?” I pushed as I tweaked a rigid nipple. Her lips pressed into a straight line and she nodded. “Good girl.”

I let go of her wrists and put her palms down on the wooden surface so they supported her position, back arched, tits thrust out. “These don’t move,” I instructed harshly. “And, I want you watching everything I do to you.” I was out of fucking patience, and I didn’t wait for her agreement before shoving her blouse up and pulling down the cups of her bra. My lips wrapped around one peak and I sucked it deep.

I glanced up through my lashes and drank in the sight of her hooded eyes watching me. I bit down lightly and she bit her bottom lip, turning it white in her effort to stifle her moans. I needed a taste of her. In record time, I unbuttoned her jeans and pulled them, along with her underwear, all the way off.

I pushed her legs open as wide as they would go and bent her knees, setting her feet on the edge of the desk. My mouth immediately latched on to her pussy, devouring her sweet nectar. I licked and sucked, periodically driving my stiff tongue inside her, until she was vibrating with tension.

My girl was loud and normally, I fucking loved it. But, I didn’t want anyone hearing her come but me, and I wasn’t convinced she would be able to hold it in. So, I reached up and clamped a hand over her mouth before plunging a finger inside her and drawing her swollen clit between my teeth. A few thrusts and I was proved right as my hand muffled her scream while her body shuddered with the force of her orgasm.

I surged to my feet, unzipping my slacks and freeing my cock on the way. Grabbing her naked ass, I lined up my dick and pulled her forward roughly, impaling her until I was balls deep.

“Fuck!” I shouted before I realized what I’d done. Shit! Lilah giggled and I glared at her, quieting us both by taking her mouth in a deep, wet kiss. Her legs flew around me and my hips set a punishing pace, thrusting in and out, fast and hard. “We have to hurry, baby girl,” I whispered against her lips. “Squeeze that tight little pussy. I need you to come again.”

She clenched her walls, milking my cock and it grew impossibly bigger, aching with the need to let go. I was practically delirious with the delicious pain, but coherent enough to suck on Lilah’s sweet, rosy nipples and pinch her hard little clit.

The feel of her pussy rippling around me as she came had my orgasm barreling through me like a freight train, and I buried my face in Lilah’s neck to muffle my roar. Driving all the way in one last time, I planted myself deep and my cock splashed my seed all over her womb. The feeling seemed to set her off again and she bit down on my shoulder to keep from screaming. My dick began to spurt even harder, filling her until there was nothing left.

“Fuck, baby girl,” I panted quietly. “I can’t get enough of you. You’re coming home with me, and I don’t want to hear another argument about it.”

A knock on the door had Lilah’s head suddenly flying up, hitting me in the chin. “Son of bitch!” I yelped.

The door handle rattled. “Lilah?”