Boss Daddy: A Secret Baby Romance

by Black, Natasha L.

  “Look, I know the situation with you and Hannah is… complicated,” Mason said.

  “That’s one way of saying it.”

  “I just want you to know we are going to be looking after her. If she wants to come stay with us, she is more than welcome,” he said. “I know Mom has a spot for her, too, but I can completely understand why staying with Mom would be a little much for her. If she stays with us, she would have a ride to work every shift, and we would make sure she was safe. I just wanted you to know that option was out there.”

  “I appreciate that,” I said. “Seriously, that’s very cool of you.”

  “So, where are you with this thing?” Mason asked. “How serious is it?”

  I tried waving him off, but Mason was probably the one brother who could see through me, and he had zero problems calling me on my shit. He always had. It’s one of the things I respected most about it.

  “Let’s just leave it at she’s been staying at my place with me, and I am not thrilled with leaving Astoria,” I said.

  “Fair enough,” Mason said. “She will be okay, Jordan. She’s a smart woman, and she has resources. We will look out for her. And Portland, for you, will be temporary.”

  “I know,” I said. “Come on, let’s get in there and finish up. I feel like having a beer after the shift.”

  When we finally got back to the house in the wee hours of the morning, I was physically exhausted, but my mind was still rolling. I told Hannah what Mason said before our shift was even over. I wanted her to have time to process it before car ride back. It turned out that during the ride back we were engaged in a conversation about one of her customers, and it never came up. But the second the door shut behind us and she started getting changed for the night, I knew it wasn’t going to stay that way.

  “Are you ready for bed?” she asked. “I’m weirdly awake.”

  “Want to put on some TV and hang out on the couch a little while?” I asked.

  “Grab the popcorn,” she said.

  As I was making the popcorn, Hannah made her way into the kitchen, grabbing a couple of glasses and filling them with sweet tea before pinching my butt and walking into the living room. I was going to miss that. The little couple things that we did that I didn’t even think about. We had fallen into such a comfortable routine that we didn’t even talk about where we were.

  But I knew. I was falling for her, hard. And I needed to address it sooner rather than later.

  I sat down next to her, and we put on a cooking game show. When the popcorn was mostly gone and sitting on the coffee table, I lay back on the couch, and she curled up next to me. We kept watching until a commercial, and then I leaned down to kiss her on the nose. She moved at the last second, and I kissed her lips and laughed.

  “Gotcha,” she said.

  “You sure did,” I said. “Speaking of. I kind of wanted to talk to you about that.”

  “I thought we weren’t going to talk about anything serious.”

  “Is that the way you want to keep it?”

  “I didn’t say that,” she responded.

  “Well, it’s not how I feel,” I said. “I know we wanted to take it slow, especially in light of… everything. But I needed you to know something, especially before I went back to Portland.”

  I took a deep breath. Staring into her eyes was like looking into the sun. She sparkled, even when she was sad or upset. I just wanted to hold her up and let her light the world with those eyes.

  “I just needed to tell you I have never felt the way I feel with you before. Never. I know I have been protective and everything with you, and I never want you to feel like I am controlling you. But I care about you so much. Like I said, I’ve never felt this way before. I don’t know how to handle it sometimes.”

  I expected her to say that it was too early, like she did when I suggested she live with me, or for her get upset. Instead, she smiled and rested her head against my chest.

  “Me too,” she said.

  28

  Hannah

  I couldn’t believe it was already the night before Jordan had to leave to go back to Portland. But instead of it being a romantic night for us to spend together and savor before we were going to be apart again, it was quickly and getting tense.

  The dinner he had delivered and then served in candlelight was sweet right up until he reached across the table to take my hand.

  “I want you to come with me to Portland,” he said.

  It was by far not the first time he’d said the same thing over the last few days. He had been trying hard to convince me to go with him. But it wasn’t because he didn’t want to be away from me again so he wouldn’t have to miss me. Instead, he insisted I had to go with him so he could keep me safe.

  “Jordan, we’ve talked about this,” I said.

  I really wanted that to be the end of it. This had the potential of being such a nice night, and I didn’t want him to leave on a negative note. But I also wasn’t going to just give in.

  “I know we have. But I wanted to ask again. Come with me. Get out of Astoria for a little while. Come see Portland. You even said yourself that you thought it was pretty impressive I got to watch the bar grow from the very beginning. So, why don’t you come watch it, too?” he asked.

  “It is impressive. But it’s not my bar. And I can’t just pick up and leave so that you can babysit me. I have responsibilities here,” I said. “I can’t just throw those away and leave everybody at The Hollow in a lurch because you’ve decided I should never be out of your sight.”

  “You don’t have to think about it like that. Just think of it as a vacation. You’ve been working really hard at the bar; anybody will tell you that. You deserve some time off, and I think you’ve earned a vacation where you can relax a bit.”

  “You really expect me to buy that? I’m supposed to think that going to Portland with my bosses while they oversee the building of a second location is a relaxing vacation?” I asked incredulously.

  “Is that how you think of me?” Jordan asked, seeming taken aback. “Your boss?”

  “You do own the bar where I work.”

  “Wow. Good to know.”

  “Don’t get so defensive. Of course I don’t think of you as my boss all the time. But in this circumstance, yeah. That’s kind of what it looks like. Either that, or you are putting me in a fishbowl so you can watch every one of my movements and decide if they’re acceptable to you,” I said.

  “I’m not putting you in a fishbowl. I’m trying to protect you.”

  I was starting to get irritated. “You’re babying me. And I really hate being babied.”

  “I don’t understand why you’re being so difficult about this,” Jordan said. “You’re the one who has been so freaked-out by this guy. You’re the one who called me when you didn’t want to go in your house because you thought he was there.”

  “And now you’re going to hold that against me?” I asked, shocked by the way he was acting. “I called you because I was scared, and I thought I could trust you.”

  “You can trust me, Hannah. That’s the point of all this. I want to make sure you’re safe, and I can’t do that if I’m all the way in Portland and you’re here. Either that, or let’s get you packed and bring you to my mother’s house. She can keep an eye on you until I get back into town.”

  That was it. I was officially done with this. I got up from the table.

  “Stop. Seriously. That is enough. I can’t believe you’re acting like this. Did me telling you about how Ethan acted when we were together mean absolutely nothing about you?” I asked.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Jordan asked.

  “I’ve told you how controlling he was and that he tried to dictate every moment of my life. And what he didn’t dictate, my parents did.”

  “Are you seriously comparing me to him? Because I want you to be safe, I’m acting like a controlling prick?” he asked, scoffing in disbelief.

  “It’s not because you
want me to be safe. It’s because you want me to be safe on your terms. You don’t think that I am capable of living my life.” I forced myself to stop and close my eyes, taking a breath. “Look, I don’t want this to turn into anything. I’m going to go home.”

  “Hannah, you don’t have to—”

  “Yes, I do,” I said, avoiding him as he came toward me. “Have a good trip, Jordan.”

  I grabbed my keys and left, hopping in the car and driving off before he could say anything else. For the next half an hour, I just drove around town. The truth was, I didn’t want to go back to my house. I hadn’t been there in weeks.

  Finally, though, I decided all that time away from the house was probably all the more reason I should go back. It would need some serious cleaning, and now that I was thinking about it, I couldn’t get it off my mind.

  I got to the house and sat in the driveway for a few moments, gauging how I felt. I didn’t feel completely comfortable, but I also didn’t have the instinctive hesitation I had before. I went inside and made sure all the doors were firmly locked before going through each room and closet carefully. When I was done with that, I checked the doors and windows again.

  Satisfied the house was empty and I was secure, I went to work cleaning. Music blaring, I cleaned the entire house, chipping away at the hours of the evening and into the night. By the time I was finished, it was late, but I felt wired.

  After pacing around for a little while, I grabbed my phone and called Samantha.

  “Was there a fire?” she said when she picked up.

  At least, I was pretty sure that was what she said. It was more mumbling and sleep snuffles than words. That was when I remembered there was a three-hour time difference and it was already late there.

  “I’m so sorry,” I said. “I didn’t mean to wake you up. Go back to sleep.”

  “It’s okay. It’s fine,” she said, groaning.

  “No, no. It’s okay. Go to sleep.” I hummed a little bit of a lullaby. “Good night.”

  “Hannah, you are the worst lullaby singer ever. I’m awake. What’s going on?”

  I told her about the fight with Jordan and that I was back at my house.

  “I just don’t know what to do. Getting away from New York was about breaking out of that box they were trying to keep me in. Since leaving, I’ve realized I’m far too independent to deal with this nonsense. I can’t let him insist on babysitting me,” I said.

  “Okay, I’m going to go ahead and stop you right there. You need to let that go. Right now. You’re being stalked by your ex. Stalked. Do you understand that Hannah? This isn’t just some guy being annoying, and it’s not Jordan controlling you. This could be a really dangerous situation, and Jordan is just trying to protect you. I know you’re sensitive to it because of everything you went through, but you need to stop judging everybody based on what other people have done. See him for what he’s really doing for you.

  “Jordan cares about you. A lot. He might have gone off the deep end a little in the way he’s showing it, but wouldn’t you rather him take wanting to protect you a little too far rather than not caring if you were safe?”

  It was really good advice, and I knew I couldn’t just let things hang with Jordan. I needed to talk to him before he left town.

  “Thank you, Samantha.”

  I ended the call and called Jordan as I headed for the door so I could head back to his house. As I stepped toward it, I heard a phone ringing on the other side. I opened it and found Jordan standing on the porch. He answered the phone and held it up to his ear while he looked me in the eyes.

  “Can I call you back? I’m kind of busy right now. I’m trying to say I’m sorry for being an ass.” He held up a bottle. “I brought wine.”

  I reached out and grabbed Jordan by the front of the shirt, pulling him into the house. He tossed his phone onto the couch as I wrapped myself around him, catching his mouth with mine. Our tongues tangling and our hands starting to pull at each other’s clothes, we made our way to my room.

  We kissed the entire way to the bedroom, and he lifted me off my feet to carry me when we got to the hall. I giggled as we made it into the room, and he shut the door behind him. Grabbing his shirt, I pulled him over to the bed, and he sat down on the edge of it. I dipped my head again to kiss him and grabbed the hem of my shirt to pull it up. It was a tight tank top that I wore often when I cleaned, and there was no need for a bra. So, when it came up and off my head, my breasts spilled out, and Jordan dove his face between them.

  His tongue swirled over my nipples, bringing them taut while I untied the sweatpants cord and dropped them to the ground. His fingers wrapped around the fabric of my white cotton panties and yanked them down, too, and I kicked my clothes away. Before my leg could make it all the way back down, Jordan grabbed it and sat it beside him on the bed. I leaned my head back as he began to move his lips down my stomach and to my core.

  A sharp breath escaped my lips as his strong, talented tongue made its way through my folds and to my clit. I let my head rock back and my eyes close as he teased it and slid one thick finger inside my pussy. His other hand rose up to grasp my breast, and I grabbed one finger to stick in my mouth. I sucked on his finger as he licked me, and I could feel the climax building. Suddenly, like a wave, it crashed over me, and I bucked into his mouth as my body convulsed.

  When my legs stopped shaking, I let the one on the bed drop back to the floor and knelt in front of him. He stood up to get his pants off, and I pulled his boxers away greedily. Immediately, I wrapped my lips around his cock and sucked him. One hand went to his balls and massaged them while the other stroked him into my mouth. He groaned deeply, and I felt one of his hands reach behind my head to guide me in slow, deep motions.

  I felt his head brush the back of my throat and tried to relax. His cock was massive and filling, and I relished in pleasing him. But I needed more. I needed him inside me. I stood and pulled off his shirt so that he was as naked as I was. Pressing onto his chest, I gently pushed him and he dropped back onto the bed, his cock standing straight and long. I crawled up him, sinking my mouth over him one last time before continuing to make my way up and letting his staff slide between my breasts as well.

  Finally, I was straddling him, and he pulled me with him until his back was against the wall, sitting up. I settled over his cock and gasped as he filled me. He stretched my walls until I accommodated him, and I began a slow, rocking motion. Jordan grasped my ass and squeezed each time I rocked forward, and he took my nipples into his mouth one at a time to tease them with his tongue.

  I placed my hands on the wall for leverage and rode him hard, bouncing on him until I screamed in pleasure. Without a word, he tossed me onto my back and then flipped me back over. Positioning me so that my hands were in the same place on the wall as they had been, he got behind me. His cock penetrated deep inside me, and I groaned heavily. Each thrust only seemed to make me want him more.

  “Harder,” I cried as he pounded into me. He needed little encouragement. One hand tangled in my hair and tugged hard enough to create the sensation of pain but not enough to actually hurt. It sent a thrill down my spine, and I leaned into the overwhelming pleasure of the moment. His other hand wrapped hard around my hip and pulled me back into him with each thrust.

  I could hear my voice spilling out of my lips, one long continuous stream of sound, punctuated by each thrust. His grip got tighter, and I knew he was about to come. Just knowing that made me slicker, and the tension built in me as well. The wave crashed over me in a moment of intense, passionate, and explosive climax, and I screamed out his name. He roared in response and exploded into me, pulling me as fully over him as possible so he penetrated me so deep he pressed against my back wall. He filled me until he was empty, and then we collapsed into the bed together, kissing the sweat from each other’s chest and trying to catch our breath.

  29

  Jordan

  I was back in Portland, and Matt was exactly how he was l
ast time. Bitching and moaning and kicking boxes, he was in rare form. I didn’t particularly care, though. Nothing was going to get my mind off Hannah. She permeated every single thought I had. Every time I closed my eyes, I could see her face. Every time I took a deep breath, I could smell her perfume. Sometimes I could feel the tingling sensation of her lips having just been pressed to mine. It was distracting, but in the best of ways.

  Matt cursed as he dropped a box with a blender in it and began to complain loudly that it was a sign of his situation. He tried making some sort of complicated analogy, but I only paid attention to part of it before giving up and focusing on retubing the taps. It was one of the last bits we needed to do behind the bar, and the guys were coming later in the day to pressurize them.

  I wished Hannah had come with me, but I understood why she didn’t. Still, we were opening that weekend, and on top of the joy of just having her in my arms every night, we could have used an extra experienced hand on the floor and someone to train the new staff. As it was, that job was going to fall on me, since Matt was next to useless with other people at the moment.

  There was still a lot of work to do before opening, including training the new hires that Matt had approved of. I could only imagine the interview process. He had come up a day before me to take care of them, and I shuddered to think what they must have thought being introduced to surly, bitchy Matt. At least I would train them, and they would get to see not everyone here was a man-child.

  Still, with so much to do, I needed to get Hannah off my mind long enough to get things done. But every time I would get into any rhythm like wiping circles on a table or using a screwdriver on one of the chairs to tighten up the legs, my mind would wander in the monotony and end up back with Hannah. Hannah in bed. Hannah painting the mural. Hannah waiting tables. Just Hannah, everywhere, at every time, with no break.