Extensive (A Single Dad Box Set)

by Claire Adams

  “Absolutely, you kids enjoy yourselves.”

  Jess looked at me, excitement lighting up her face.

  We stayed for a few hours after lunch. Chloe wanted some help with the landscaping so while they weeded around the bushes, I mowed the lawn. As much as the work wasn’t something I was excited to do, I hadn’t felt like I was a part of a family like this for a long time. Now I knew what my brother, Tim, had been on about for all those years. It wasn’t easy for me to travel when I was working since I owned the company and had a young child. But when Tim said he couldn’t visit, I never understood. This was what he was talking about. He always put his family first, while I’d always put my work first. It was better this way.

  By the time we got home and showered from the day working outside, it was time to go to dinner.

  “Where did you want to go?” Jess asked me as she was pinning her hair back.

  Jess was a gorgeous woman, but I particularly loved it when she dressed up. It made me proud to be on her arm. Unlike Kimberly, the date that felt like a distant memory, I liked when people looked at us. Jess was adorably oblivious to the way men looked at her. And I enjoyed making them feel jealous that she’d never been theirs. Not as long as I could help it.

  “How about somewhere local?” I suggested.

  “There’s a nice Asian place in the town center,” she said.

  “Perfect.”

  I drove to town that night. Since the date night was last minute, I didn’t have time to rent a car. Besides, I was a local now, and I wanted to appear like one. Coming to a well-known place frequented by locals, it would look strange if I showed up in a town car.

  And since I had time to work on my body with cycling and working out at home, I kept my drinking to a minimum. Now that I knew the truth about Chloe, I didn’t feel comfortable drinking in front of her; even though Jess had no problem with it, I felt odd. So, I didn’t. And after working on our house or Chloe’s house, I was exhausted by the end of the day, and I wanted to go to bed. Sometimes Jess and I would sit on the terrace having a glass of wine each, but we preferred to share the bed any day.

  When we arrived downtown, we parked in a nearby lot. People milled around the sidewalks, walking to their Saturday night destination.

  I held Jess’s hand tight in mine, keeping her close to me.

  She leaned heavily against me. “I probably shouldn’t have gone with heels for tonight.”

  “You look beautiful,” I said.

  “Thank you,” she said with a smile. “I hope they have tablecloths, though. These suckers are coming off right when I sit down.”

  I chuckled against her ear then kissed it.

  The restaurant looked like a hole in the wall. But after our last date in Australia, I knew not to judge the place by its exterior.

  Inside, the lighting was dim, but the surfaces still managed to reflect what little light there was. Through the dining area, there were four hibachi tables.

  The hostess smiled at us. “Dining room or hibachi?”

  “Dining room, please,” Jess said.

  “This way, please,” the hostess said, scurrying off toward our table.

  Jess struggled to keep up.

  Unfortunately, there weren’t any tablecloths, but we were set back enough that Jess could take her shoes off with anyone noticing.

  Our server came over right away and took our drink orders.

  “Have you eaten here before?” I asked.

  “Not in a long time. But the food here is fantastic. It beats several of the places in Minnesota, in my mind.”

  “How come you didn’t want hibachi?” I asked, recalling how quick Jess was to turn it down when the hostess asked.

  “There’s not a lot of privacy,” she said. “And I don’t want to have a loud meal.”

  “I agree,” I said.

  “We get enough screaming and cheering from Gina,” Jess said with a laugh. “I mean, I love her to death, but I also enjoy quiet time.”

  “Me too,” I said.

  Jess scooted closer to me in the booth, and she pointed out several items that she remembered loving. Too bad for me, there now were a lot of choices since she liked almost everything on the menu.

  After I had made the tough decision about what to eat, I sat back in the booth and lifted my glass of wine to toast Jess.

  “To a successful move and a successful date night.”

  “It’s barely started,” she said, clinking my glass.

  “I have high hopes,” I said, grinning.

  I leaned over and kissed her. She hummed against my lips.

  When we broke apart, she said, “I’m so happy. I never thought I’d feel like this. Ever. Especially after breaking the cardinal rule of not sleeping with your boss.”

  “Well, I was the one to initiate it,” I said.

  “I didn’t stop you,” she said.

  Brandon’s words from weeks ago filled my mind. If I wanted me and Jess to be something that lasted forever, I had to open myself up completely to her. And before I could stop myself I said, “I hadn’t felt like I did that night for anyone since Wendy.”

  Jess nodded.

  She never prodded me about Wendy, even when Gina mentioned her birth mother. There was so much Gina didn’t know about Wendy, but selfishly, I kept most of it to myself. I never wanted Gina to feel sorry for missing her mom, and at the same time, I wanted her to feel open to love someone like Jess. But opening up to Jess felt right.

  “I felt like I lost everything when Wendy died during childbirth. In one day, I lost one love and gained another. It took me a while to wrap my head around it. I had to plan a funeral while I had a young infant. Then balancing work with Gina was tough.”

  “I can imagine,” Jess said.

  I took her hand in mine. “But I’ve never been happier than I am with you. Wendy had my young years, and she gave me the most special person in the world. But you get to have me and Gina.”

  “And I’m the luckiest girl alive.”

  The words on the tip of my tongue were muted by the arrival of our appetizers. Then, I decided to wait. I wanted it to be special and just us when I told her the three most important words in the world.

  After dinner, Jess and I walked around town for a little while opening up to each other about everything in the nooks and crannies of our lives. I knew so much about Jess, but I enjoyed hearing more stories about her life before living in the States, how she met Sierra, and more about her previous nanny jobs.

  Our relationship had its rocky moments, and I wasn’t sure we went about everything in the correct order, but I also wasn’t certain that we would have ended up together in Australia if they didn’t work out in the way they did. If we didn’t fight and I didn’t lose her, then I wouldn’t have had the motivation to leave the job that had a stranglehold on my life.

  With the way I was working, I would have been a tired-looking sixty-year-old who missed out on his only child’s life. Gina would be off and married with her own kids, and I’d be left with nothing. Now I had Jess. And I had the opportunity to be there for Gina when she needed me most.

  “Let’s get out of here,” I said to Jess, unable to hold in what I really wanted to say.

  Once we were inside our house, I took Jess out on the terrace. We gazed out at the ocean for a few minutes before she started to shiver.

  I was running out of time for this perfect moment. “Jess, I want to tell you something.”

  “What is it?” she asked, expectantly.

  “I love you.”

  She blinked several times.

  “I’ve wanted to tell you that for some time. Then Gina goes and does it first, so I had to wait a little while.”

  After Wendy died, I never thought I’d say it again to anyone but Gina. I never wanted to either. Until I met Jess. And I didn’t want to hold back anything from her.

  Jess laughed and wrapped her arms around my neck. “I love you too, Noah. So much.”

  I dropped my lips
to hers and lifted her off the ground. My body screamed for her, and I started to walk inside.

  Jess wrapped her legs around my waist as I closed the glass door behind us.

  Her breathing intensified as we kissed. When I reached the stairs, I lowered her to the ground. She remained on her toes as she broke the kiss.

  “Now, let’s make this official,” I said, leading her up to our bedroom.

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Jess

  My body buzzed from Noah’s words. He loved me! I knew he did, but hearing it was different. And for some reason, his admitting that to me made me want him more than I ever did before.

  Once we reached the bedroom, I started to kick off my heels.

  “No,” he said. “Leave them on.”

  I stood in front of him. With the extra height, I didn’t have to reach up as high to get to him. Our mouths crushed against each other and we kissed passionately. Noah’s tongue was soft and slow against mine. The shift from our usual lovemaking was distinct. Usually, we couldn’t wait to get our clothes off of each other, but I wanted to take this slow. Gina was safe with Mom for the night, so we didn’t have to rush or try and keep our voices down.

  Noah pulled me against his body. My nipples were already hard and sensitive against him.

  His cock grew hard against my leg, and I reached down to gently move my hand over it.

  Noah groaned into my mouth. “You don’t know what you do to me, Jess.”

  I tightened my grip on him, just a little more. “I think I do.”

  My mouth watered for him and I pulled him in for another kiss.

  His hands moved against my back, slowly tugging at the zipper, traveling down from between my shoulders, all the way down to my butt.

  His cool hand slipped inside of my dress. I shivered at his touch. He moved his hands to either side of the zipper and pulled. The sleeves fell off my shoulders, and the dress crumpled at my feet. I kicked the dress away and stood in front of him in only my underwear and a pair of high heels.

  Noah took a step back and looked at me appreciatively.

  “This isn’t fair,” I said. “You’re still dressed.”

  “I know,” he said. “But I’m not finished with you yet. The second I put that condom on, I’m going to want to come.”

  He led me over to one of the chairs on the far side of the room.

  “Sit,” he ordered.

  I did as he asked and I spread my legs for him.

  A wicked grin crossed his lips. “You’re naughty.”

  “Or horny,” I said. “And you’re excellent at it.”

  “Well then, I don’t want to disappoint,” he said and dropped to his knees. His hands smoothed over the seat of the chair until they were under my ass. He pulled my panties down, and I lifted my feet when they reached the floor. With one swift motion, he tossed them to the side and lifted my butt off the chair before positioning me in front of his mouth.

  “What did you say I was good at?” he asked, lowering his mouth to my inner thigh.

  I sighed as his stubbly cheek brushed against my swollen lips. He pressed his mouth an inch away from where I wanted him to be.

  “Was it this?” he asked.

  “No, a little to the left,” I said.

  “Here?” he asked, moving further away.

  I wanted to buck my hips and find his mouth, but I knew he was teasing me. As much as he was good at oral sex, this was erotic too.

  He smirked and finally licked the entire length of my lips.

  I shivered uncontrollably at the tender touch. Then his hot breath pressed against me before he spread my lips with his tongue. Up and down he went, each time at the top briefly touching my clit with the tip of his tongue.

  I fisted my hands in his hair and drew him closer, lifting my legs up to rest on his shoulders.

  He dug his hands under my butt and pulled me closer. I sagged in the chair, allowing him the leverage to fuck me with his tongue.

  There was barely any time to stop him before I came. Hard. My legs squeezed as the waves of pleasure crashed over me.

  “That’s it, baby,” he said when I was finished.

  I sat up, and Noah wasn’t stopping yet. He reached around and popped open the clasp of my bra. I tossed myself to the ground and came down onto the floor next to him. I unbuttoned his shirt and slipped it off his body.

  He drew my mouth to him as I worked his buckle and shoved his pants to the floor. It wasn’t fair that I was the only naked one.

  I let out a little squeal as he lifted me up and gently placed me on the floor in front of him. Moonlight spilled into the room from the windows, creating a beautiful glow over his skin. He towered over me and then lifted one of my legs high above me, kissing all the way down to my heel. He slowly unbuckled the shoe and slid it off. I wasn’t sure if it was the slow, deliberate movement of his hands against my flesh or the spark in his eyes, but I’d never been so turned on by someone taking off my shoes before.

  When he finished with the second one, he dropped down to my level, propping his arms on either side of my body. The tip of his cock was so close to me that the dampness between my thighs intensified.

  “You’re so beautiful, Jess,” Noah said before leaning down and kissing me.

  I placed my hands on his back pressing my fingertips against his taut muscles.

  His cock brushed against me, and he groaned into my mouth.

  “I want you inside of me,” I said against his lips.

  My nails dug into his back as he continued to kiss me. It was as if he was teasing the both of us, unwilling to push to that next level just yet. The wait was torture. Even though I’d already orgasmed, I wanted another one. But this time, I wanted to come together.

  Noah moved from my mouth to my breasts, gently sucking them. A few times, he nipped them lightly between his teeth which sent me over the edge. I gasped, feeling the swell between my thighs.

  After several minutes of him kissing and licking my body, he stood up and went over to the side table to retrieve a condom.

  I rolled onto my side and watched him run the latex over his length. I hooked a finger at him, beckoning him back to the floor.

  “You don’t want the bed?” he asked.

  I shook my head. “We haven’t done it on the floor yet. I’m determined to do this on as many surfaces as we can around this place.”

  “It’s a pretty big house,” he said, coming to me. Once he knelt on the ground, I came up in front of him and pressed my hands against his chest, pushing him to the ground.

  “I think we have a pretty good head start,” I said, crawling on top of him.

  I lifted my butt and grabbed his cock, stroking it a few times before lowering myself on top of him. His eyes rolled back, and I slowly rocked against his hips. He slid right inside of me, but there was no shortage of lube. Noah turned me on with one look, and after him making me come once already, I was primed and ready to go for him.

  I moved up and down his shaft, slowly squeezing against the hard muscle between my thighs.

  He lifted his hands, and I threaded our fingers together. I used his arms to stabilize me and started to rock against him once more. This time I didn’t want to stop until he came.

  As I built Noah up to his own threshold, his hands dropped to my ass, and he squeezed my cheeks, leading them to his sweet spot.

  My breathing came quick, matching his.

  I leaned back, pressing my hands into the floor, moving my hips, grinding against his body.

  “Oh! Oh! Oh!” I breathed as my orgasm quickly rose to the precipice.

  “Fuuck!” Noah cried out just as my orgasm broke through.

  I continued to work his cock until both of us were completely spent.

  He gently slipped out of me, and I collapsed on the floor next to him.

  I laid my head on his chest, trying to catch my breath. My head still spun, and my entire body felt as if it floated above him instead of being planted on the ground ne
xt to him.

  “I think I’m going to have to say I love you more often,” he said, laughing.

  “You better,” I said. “But be careful where you say it. I wouldn’t want to have to jump you in the grocery store.”

  He scratched his chin. “There’s a thought.”

  I swatted at him, and he caught my hand in his, holding it against his chest. “I feel like this is the life I’ve always wanted but was unsure how to get there.”

  “You’re here now,” I said. “But I do think you’re going to have to work on your accent a bit.”

  “What? Like ‘G’day, mate? Let’s get another shrimp on the barbie!’” he said in a terrible Australian accent.

  I giggled. “Please don’t tell that to anyone down here. I can’t be held responsible for what happens to you.”

  “I’ll have to work on it then. I’ll start with the slang though. I’m not great at accents.”

  “That will have to do for now,” I said.

  Noah kissed my forehead. “I love you, Jess.”

  “I love you too, Noah.”

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Noah

  The cool breeze whipped through our bedroom, waking me from my deep slumber. I pulled the sheets up over my shoulders and then opened one eye to see Jess was still sleeping. She was the little spoon, and I didn’t want to move and wake her up. Though I desperately wanted to close the window. Jess loved sleeping when it was cool, but with the change from summer to autumn, the morning breeze from the ocean was a little too brisk for my taste.

  I snuggled closer to her, wanting to be near her and also to steal some of her body heat. I slept near the windows, something that might have to change or else we’d have to compromise and keep the windows closed at night.

  Not for the first time did I think how lucky I was to have fought for Jess and I before it was too late. Every time I had a really good day with Jess, that tiny seed of what could have been made my stomach quiver.

  I tightened my hold on her, and she moved under me.

  “You’re going to squeeze all the air out of me,” she said.

  I kissed her shoulder. “Sorry.”