“Is it dinnertime already?” Harper glanced at the clock hanging on the wall by the door and blinked to see that the afternoon had indeed passed and it was well past their usual dinner time.
“Yes, and we’re hungry,” Miranda answered with a bit of whine entering her voice. “Are you coming down or not?”
Harper looked at the wedding dress objectively and realized she had gotten a lot more accomplished on it than she had planned. The muscles of her back and shoulders also began screaming that it was past time for a break. When her stomach gave a long, rumbly growl, the decision was made
“Yes, baby girl, I’m coming down. I’m hungry, too. What is Foster fixing for dinner?”
After confirming that she had reached a good stopping place, Harper rose, had a good stretch, and quickly turned off all the various equipment she had been using. Flipping off the overhead light, she stepped into the hall then pulled the door closed behind her.
“That dress is really, really pretty,” Miranda said. The little girl took her hand and pulled her toward the stairs.
“I’m glad you like it,” Harper said with a smile.
“Can I have one just like it when I grow up and get married?”
“We’ll see. You might not want something quite that fancy, but if you do, I would be most honored to make it for you,” Harper said, her heart clenching at the thought of her little girl growing up and getting married. With luck, that day would not come for many, many years.
“Cool,” Miranda said just before she released Harper’s hand and trotted down the stairs in a hurry.
“Cool indeed,” Harper agreed with a smile.
As Harper descended the stairs, the scent of warm spices and something else began to tease her. She wasn’t sure what Foster was making, but it smelled delicious. Her stomach gave another rumble as she entered the kitchen. She frowned when she saw the small table in the corner wasn’t set for dinner.
“Mommy, we’re eating in here tonight,” Miranda said, appearing in the doorway that connected the kitchen to the dining room.
“Really? How fancy,” Harper said as she followed her daughter to the dining room table. There were three places set around one end of the long table that doubled as a place for Harper to cut out the pieces for her designs. Food was already plated, and there were several bowls and a plate of sandwiches already on the table. A glance showed that they all held foods in various shades of orange.
She shifted her attention to the man who was standing in the corner of the room, looking smug. “And what are we having for dinner tonight?”
Foster grinned as he glanced at Miranda. “In keeping with the color of the day, we are having grilled cheese sandwiches, mashed sweet potatoes, and peaches. And, if you eat all your dinner, there’s pumpkin pie with whipped cream for dessert.”
Harper knew her eyes were wide as she glanced from the table to the tall man who looked quite pleased with himself. “Very ingenious,” she said as she moved toward the chair at the head of the table that Foster had pulled out.
She smiled with approval as he held her chair, then moved around and helped Miranda into hers before taking his own.
“Thank you,” he said with a grin that had her stomach squeezing with more than just hunger. “It was a bit of a challenge until Miranda and I did a search online to see how many orange foods there were to choose from for dinner. After we picked up my stuff, we went to the grocery store and did a little shopping.”
“Yes, and it’s a good thing Mr. Mafe moved in here, ’cause his place was a dump,” Miranda said as she tucked one corner of her napkin into the neck of her shirt. “And we talked about it and agreed that color food day will only be one day a week. I think next week will be blue.”
Harper had to cough the bite of sandwich into her napkin to keep from choking on it. “Miranda Lynn, that was very rude to call Fos … Mr. … his former home a dump.”
She then turned to look at Foster. “What would you like her to call you? Mr. Michaels makes you sound like a butler, but Foster seems too casual.”
Foster was fighting back his own laughter but took a moment to swallow what was in his mouth, then take a sip of the iced tea that he had served the two of them. “Miranda and I have already discussed this and agreed on Mr. Mafe. That is, if it’s okay with you. Maybe later we can change it, but for now, Mr. Mafe seems appropriate.”
Harper nodded and chuckled. “If you don’t mind, I don’t, Mr. Mafe.”
“Oh, and we also agreed that Mr. Mafe was a name only she could call me, so please tell Brenna,” Foster said.
“Yeah, Mommy, you tell Miss Brenna that she can’t use my name for him. That’s special and only for me,” Miranda said as she finished the half-sandwich on her plate and picked up her fork to start on her mashed potatoes.
“I will, sweetheart,” Harper said before turning her attention to her own orange dinner.
****
Once dinner was over, Foster chased the women out of the dining room, saying he would clean up. Harper helped Miranda with her bath, and then read three books to her before the child finally fell asleep. They also talked about how Miranda was to treat Mr. Mafe with respect and not be a naughty princess.
“I’ll be good, Mommy. I don’t want Mr. Mafe to leave. He’s really cool. And he’s going to help me take over the world.”
“All right, sweetheart. Go to sleep now so you’re not a grumpy princess tomorrow,” Harper kissed her daughter and received a hug and kiss in return. After turning out the big light and making sure the nightlight was glowing, Harper left the room and pulled the door almost all the way closed behind her.
Though she was tired, it was too early for Harper to think about bed, but her hands and back were telling her she had done enough work for the day. Since she had gotten more done than she planned, she decided to take the evening off and watch a movie. But first, she needed to talk to Foster about expectations and boundaries.
Turning on a bedside light in her room, she then headed downstairs. There was a light in the living room, but the rest of the house was dark. Peeking in the kitchen, she saw it was spotless with the dishwasher quietly running.
A glance out the back door showed her a tall, broad-shouldered someone was standing in the middle of the neglected backyard, looking up at the last rays of a beautiful sunset. Slipping her feet into the green flip-flops by the back door, Harper decided to join him. They could talk outside just as well as indoors, and maybe she wouldn’t be tempted to kiss him, which would undoubtedly lead to places she wasn’t sure they should go now that Foster was living in the house.
As she stepped outside and eased the door closed behind her, Harper felt torn. The mother and businesswoman wanted to put up a wall to keep Foster as an employee only, while the woman who had been raising her daughter alone since the day after her birth was tempted to replicate what had happened the night before.
“It’s beautiful out here this evening,” Foster said as she slowly crossed to join him in the middle of the yard.
“Yes, it is,” Harper agreed as she took a deep breath of the warm evening air and watched the clouds change colors as the sun slipped farther and farther below the horizon. Soon the sky turned dark and night fell around them.
They stood side by side with a good two feet between them, watching the night fall and simply being. It was a new experience for Harper to be standing still and watching as day turned into night. Usually at this time, she would be in the house cleaning something that had been neglected, or trying to catch up on making a dress, or refining a design, or simply sitting in her office dreaming of the success she had wanted for most of her life.
Finally, when the last of the light was gone and the few lightning bugs that had flown around the yard had gone dark, she whispered, “We need to talk.”
She only wished she knew what she was going to say.
Chapter Nine
Foster knew what she was going to say and he didn’t want to hear it. After spending the aft
ernoon with Miranda, he knew he was already more than half in love with these Ellis females. But, after the events of the past twenty-four hours, he admitted to himself they needed to slow things down. He wanted Harper, and Miranda, and his position as man-wife, not just for a few months or a year, but hopefully for the rest of his life.
Which shocked the hell out of him since he’d never been one to plan for the long term before. Usually if he knew what he was doing in the next week he was happy.
“You want to keep things professional. Me mafe. You boss. You don’t want me on the second floor after lights out. You don’t want me pinching your butt, or walking around the house in a towel, or trying to be Miranda’s daddy.”
He tried to keep emotion out of his tone, but it was difficult. When he heard her pull in a long, slow breath, he knew she’d heard it. Then she didn’t say anything for a long, long time.
“Not exactly, but I’d like a one-month trial. If you’re still here in a month, we’ll reset the limits again,” Harper finally said, sounding a little disappointed herself.
“One month sounds okay, but don’t be surprised if I steal a kiss, or more, in the meantime,” Foster said with a smirk. “Because I gotta say, I’ve only known you a day and already all I can think about is kissing you again, seeing you sleeping wrapped in my arms, and…”
“That’s enough, unless you want me to fire you as the mafe so you can be my boyfriend,” Harper said even as she took a step toward him.
Foster backed off immediately. It was too soon for him to claim the Ellises as his own, and too soon to lose this job. He hadn’t even finished unpacking yet. “No, don’t fire me. I’ll behave. But, feel free to sexually harass me all you want, I won’t complain.”
When Harper giggled, he knew he had made his point and lightened the mood. “Would you like to go inside and talk about boundaries and chores? Or maybe just watch a movie?”
“I could go for a movie. Especially if we can have another piece of pie while we watch,” Harper said as they both turned to head into the house.
“Sounds like a plan to me,” Foster couldn’t help but agree. “Do you mind if I fix myself a sandwich to go with the pie?”
Though he had eaten twice what Miranda and her mother had eaten, he was still hungry. Being a big boy had its advantages, but being hungry after eating what most people considered normal-size portions wasn’t one of them. He had planned to fix himself another sandwich, but before he could, the magnificence of nature in the evening’s sunset had drawn him outside.
“Of course not. Feel free to help yourself to whatever food you’d like. And thank you for dealing with Miranda and her only eating one color food. I’m not sure where she got the idea from, but allowing her to dictate food one day a week was a nice compromise.”
“Thanks, it was inspired by sheer panic. I’m just not sure what we’re going to eat next week on blue food day,” Foster admitted with a chuckle. “Other than blueberries, and blue cheese, I’m at a loss for blue foods.”
His heart warmed when Harper joined him in a laugh. “We’ll figure something out, but by then she will probably have changed her mind a dozen times, so don’t get too worried about blue foods yet.”
Foster could only hope.
****
Though she had set the boundaries, by the time the credits played for the mystery thriller they had decided on, Harper found herself wishing she could lead Foster upstairs to her room and sexually harass the hell out of him. Miranda was asleep up there, but maybe they could fool around right here.
She wasn’t sure when she moved, but she now sat pressed against his side in the middle of the couch instead of in the corner she normally lounged in. From the arm draped around her shoulders holding her close, Foster didn’t seem bothered by her closeness. A glance at his lap showed her he wasn’t bothered at all.
A moment later, Foster turned off the television and then the DVD player, leaving them sitting in the dark with the only light being that which streamed in from the hallway.
Harper shifted to look up through the dark at him. Afraid to tell him what she wanted, but too needy to get up and walk away without trying something. His gaze met hers and all she could think about was getting them both naked.
“Can we discuss sexual harassment?” she whispered with a smile.
****
Foster met her flirty gaze with a grin before he asked, “Do you want to harass me or do I get to harass you?”
She dropped her gaze and blinked before lifting it again. “How about we harass each other? But I’d really like to ride you, right here and now?”
Foster’s cock, which had been hard since the movie had begun, twitched and begged for attention. When her need came out as a question, he knew it was time for the mafe to take over. After all, wouldn’t a man-wife see to all his woman’s needs, even if she wasn’t sure herself what they were?
“I’d like that,” he said. After pulling a condom out of the pocket of his sweats, he lifted his ass off the couch just enough to shove the cloth to his knees. He sucked a breath when his cock silently flopped up to slap the t-shirt that covered his chest and lower belly.
Having a quickie wasn’t the least bit romantic, but he could see the sexual need burning in Harper’s eyes and felt a deep need to quench it.
“Take off your pants and climb aboard your stallion, cowgirl,” he teased as he bucked his hips off the couch.
Her giggle sent more blood surging south, leaving him acting by instinct to please the woman. It had been a long time since he’d been involved with a woman, and last night’s encounter had barely slaked the hunger for her that seemed to roar to life every time this woman came into the room.
She rose and quickly stripped her pants and panties off. He quickly sheathed his cock as she crawled onto the couch and straddled his body. “Turn on the television,” she said softly as she shifted close enough that her pussy nudged the base of his cock.
“What do you want to watch?” he asked as he reached for the remote.
“Don’t care. Just thought we needed some background noise,” she said with a sultry smile as she slowly slid his t-shirt up his chest.
After turning on the television to the first music station he could find, which luckily was a jazzy-bluesy station, Foster lifted his arms to allow her the freedom to pull his shirt over his head. A moment later, her shirt followed his to the floor and their naked bodies pressed together.
He couldn’t contain the sigh at the feel of her full breasts and erect nipples. He slid his arms around her back and held her as he lifted his face and pursed his lips.
Another soft giggle preceded her lips meeting his. Two seconds later, the kiss flashed to inferno status and all he could think about was getting her situated on his cock.
Wrapping his hands around her hips, he lifted her high enough that the head of his cock stroked down between her spread lips. “Okay, cowgirl, mount up and ride your stallion.”
****
After planting one hand on Foster’s shoulder, she reached between them and took his shaft in her free hand. Smiling down at the man who had come to mean so much to her in such a short time, she fit the head into her wide-open pussy. Sinking down the long, thick length, she tried to hold back a moan but was unsuccessful.
“So damn beautiful,” Foster said through teeth gritted tight together as his hands slid between them and covered her breasts.
Harper didn’t reply, not wanting to argue with the man. Instead, she began to ride up and down his cock, squeezing her pussy on every upstroke, and relaxing as she dropped down again.
Gripping his shoulders, she moved up and down, reveling in the fullness his cock provided. A hot tongue on her left nipple jolted her. When his mouth began to suckle, she threw her head back and arched her spine as she continued to ride him, moving faster and faster.
Her fingers pressed hard into his shoulders as she began to wiggle her hips around, reaching for the glowing star of an orgasm that remained just out
of reach. When a rough fingertip slid between her labia and pressed on her knotted-up clit, Harper found herself catapulted high into orgasmic space. Biting her lip, she tried to keep her screams inside even as her sounds drowned out the television.
The sounds of sex Foster made were muffled by the tit he still sucked on.
In the next moment, his hands wrapped around her hips and held her up as his hips popped up from the couch, driving his cock deep over and over again until he threw his head back and roared as he came, filling the thin latex that separated them with a heat that sent her flying even higher.
With that, every muscle in her body went limp and she melted over the big man who was coming to mean so much to her in such a short period of time. When her strength returned, she slowly dismounted. After numerous kisses and cuddles, she redressed and stumbled upstairs to her room, alone.
Chapter Ten
As had been his habit since basic training, Foster woke at five the next morning. Dressing in sweats, he slipped out the back door and spent the next hour working out. After stretching and warming up his muscles, he began the tai chi routine his guidance counselor had taught him in high school when he’d been sent to her office for the third time for fighting.
He found that practicing it every morning helped him keep a positive outlook on life, instead of allowing the PTSD he suffered from to drag him down. By the time he finished, he was ready for coffee to wake up his brain as the exercise had awoken his body.
By the time Harper and Miranda joined him, he had drunk two cups of coffee and was reading articles on his tablet about the most effective housecleaning techniques and schedules.
“Good morning,” he said as he poured coffee into a mug and handed it to Harper. He then helped Miranda into her chair at the table and set a glass of juice and a bowl of her favorite cereal in front of her. “I’m thinking we need to do yardwork first thing in the morning. It will be too hot later in the day, but right now, it’s beautiful.”
Help Wanted- Mafe Page 5
