Best Friend's Daddy (A Single Dad Romance)

by Naomi Niles

  I gave her a huge smile, encouraged by her compliments, even though I wasn’t completely sure what they meant. She loved me and that was what mattered.

  “I finished,” I said, pushing the chopped carrots towards her.

  She smiled, her hazel eyes glowing. “Thank you, son,” she said, as though she were thanking me for something else.

  I blinked, and suddenly I was back in my apartment, staring at a picture of my mother.

  I set down the photograph and headed over to Kami’s house. She answered the door in a strappy blue mini dress that hugged her body perfectly. She looked slightly uncomfortable in it, but was hiding her discomfort behind a smile.

  “Come on in,” she said.

  I stepped inside and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

  “I’m sorry, I’m still not quite finished with dinner.”

  “Take your time,” I said. “I’m not hungry yet.”

  “You’re not?” she asked. “It’s past twelve.”

  I shrugged. “I’ve had a lot on my mind lately. It’s distracted me from meals.”

  She laughed and gestured to a seat at the table. “Why don’t you sit down?”

  “I can help,” I said willingly. “Feel free to put me to work.”

  “No, no,” she said firmly. “I want you to sit back and relax. I’m just finishing up anyway.”

  “Where’s Haley?” I asked, looking around. “Sleeping?”

  Kami shook her head. “She’s out with a friend,” she replied. “That’s what she calls her one-night stands.”

  “Ah,” I said. “Well, to each her own.”

  Kami smiled. “True.”

  “I can’t believe you’ve worked through two shifts and you still have the energy to cook some more,” I said. “It’s very impressive.”

  “I love cooking,” she said. “I don’t see it as work. I mean, it is work and most of the time I’m exhausted, but it makes me happy. It gives me purpose.”

  “My brother loves to cook, too,” I said.

  “Which one?”

  “Peter,” I replied. “He’s always loved it. I always said that if he hadn’t become a police officer, he would have been a cook. You two would have a lot in common.”

  “You have a colorful family.”

  “Oh, you have no idea,” I smiled. “We’re crazy…and dysfunctional.”

  “Most families are,” Kami said. “You saw that firsthand the other night. I’m sorry about that, by the way.”

  “You don’t have to keep apologizing, Kami,” I said fervently. “You have nothing to be ashamed about.”

  Kami sighed as she pushed a tray into the oven. “How much did I tell you?” she asked hesitantly.

  “You don’t remember?”

  “Not very much,” she admitted, biting her lower lip.

  I stood up and reached for her. She came into the circle of my arms hesitantly, waiting for my answer. “You told me about the meeting with your father, about the fact that he was verbally abusive with you and Haley and physically abusive with your mother.”

  “And…”

  “And, you told me what happened after he left. You told me about your mother.”

  “Oh,” Kami said, looking down. “So you know everything.”

  “It’s only fair,” I said. “You know everything about me now, too.”

  “That’s true,” she said, looking up at me as a smile dawned on her face.

  “Feel better?”

  “Much,” she nodded. “Thank you.”

  “Anytime.”

  She looked at me thoughtfully for a moment and shook her head.

  “What?” I asked.

  “I don’t what it is about you,” she said softly. “You just have this…calming presence. I feel safe when I’m around you. It’s the reason I wanted to see you that night when I was such a mess. I wanted to feel calm and safe.”

  “I’m glad I can be that person for you.”

  “Really?”

  “Of course,” I nodded.

  “You don’t think it’s a burden?” Kami asked, tentatively.

  “I do not,” I said forcefully. “It’s nice to be needed.”

  “It’s even better to be wanted, though,” she said.

  “True,” I nodded. “I’d like to be both.”

  “You are,” she said. “At least, for me.”

  “That’s all I need,” I said with a smile I couldn’t hide.

  I saw Kami’s face flush with color as she realized how forthright she had just been with her feelings. She turned her face away from me and tried to move out of my arms. I let her go so that she could catch her breath a little, but I wanted to put her at ease again.

  She checked the chicken roasting and then moved around the kitchen, trying to find little tasks to occupy her time so that she wouldn’t have to meet my gaze for a while. I found her self-consciousness both amusing and titillating. I liked that she was shy; I liked the fact that she blushed without warning. I liked the fact that I seemed to have a strong effect on her.

  “You know that night you showed up at my door… it was pretty hard for me,” I said.

  I saw her tense slightly. She turned around. “Why?”

  “Well, because you looked incredibly hot,” I said. “And it was difficult not to take advantage of the situation.”

  Immediately, Kami let out a burst of laughter. She had obviously been expecting a different answer. “Is that so?” she asked, after a moment.

  “It is,” I nodded.

  “Well, if I’m being honest… I headed over to your place with the intention of being taken advantage of.”

  I smiled. “You wanted to have sex with me?”

  “That was the plan,” she admitted. “But I think I needed to talk things out first, and by that time…”

  “You were too far gone,” I said. “Yes, I know.”

  “Did I make a move on you?” she asked, scrunching up her face a little.

  “You kissed me.”

  Kami groaned. “I did? I don’t even remember that.”

  I laughed. “You were emotional and drunk – but it was still a hell of a good kiss. It was hard to break away.”

  “But you did?”

  “Of course, I did,” I said. “I would never take advantage of a woman who wasn’t in complete control of her faculties.”

  “We had already slept together, though,” Kami pointed out. “It wouldn’t have been the worst thing in the world if we had again.”

  “I didn’t want you to think that I was only interested in sex,” I said.

  “You’re not?” she asked, her tone was slightly teasing.

  “Oh, don’t get me wrong, I most definitely am interested in it,” I said quickly. “But that’s not all I’m interested in. For example, I’m interested in your life, your interests, your past, and all the little things in between.”

  She smiled, but I noticed that her expression was turning slightly seductive. Or perhaps it was just my imagination. “That’s good to know,” she said. “But I’m curious, what else do you like about me…apart from my life and my interests and my past?”

  I smiled. “I like your body,” I said, feeling the heat rise off my skin.

  “What about my body?”

  She didn’t flinch from my gaze, as I looked her up and down. “Your breasts.”

  “My breasts?” she repeated.

  “They’re perfect,” I said. “Small, firm, perfectly round nipples – they’re beautiful.”

  “What else?”

  “Your ass,” I continued, feeling my erection fight against my trousers. “Full, tight…perfectly shaped.”

  Kami looked me in the eye, and this time I saw the veil of self-consciousness fall a little. “What else?”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Kami

  “Your lips,” JJ continued. “Those lips are like magic. They make me feel completely out of control. All I want to do is kiss those lips every time I see them.”

  I smiled, b
asking in the glory of those compliments. I had never been spoken to like that before. I had never had a man say those things to me with such insistence, as though he desperately wanted me to believe him.

  I felt myself moisten at his words, and I started to get hot in the face. I was aware that I had a dinner to finish preparing, but suddenly, I was no longer hungry. My appetite had changed in the last two minutes.

  His eyes were crawling all over my body, and I felt that familiar sense of heat that had first engulfed me in his office. I turned my back on him and tipped the roasted potatoes into a bowl. Then I bent to check on the meat in the oven. I was peering through the door of the oven when I felt JJ come up behind me. His hands fell on either side of my hips as I straightened slowly.

  He pulled back the hair on my neck and kissed it gently. After a moment, I felt his tongue trace a line along my neck. I shuddered against him as he continued kissing me. Slowly, he removed the apron from around my waist. Then he tried to turn me around.

  “No,” I said, staying where I was. “Take me from behind.”

  He didn’t pause for a second. He bent me over the counter and pushed up my skirt. His hands lingered on my ass, feeling the lacy fabric of my panties before he pulled them down. I heard him unzip his pants and a dull thud as he dropped them from around his waist. I bent against the countertop as the anticipation built.

  He pushed his naked pelvis against me, and I felt the length of erection poke me in the back. I smiled to myself, bracing for his entry. Then I felt his fingers at my cunt, rubbing and probing my lips until I was practically dripping. I moaned as my eyes closed and I gave myself over to the titillating sensations. Slowly, JJ pushed two fingers inside me. I gasped out, thrilled by the rushing whoosh that clamored through my body.

  His fingers were magic. They probed me gently and pushed deep inside me, making me feel as though there was territory still left undiscovered.

  “Oh,” I moaned. “I can’t wait any longer.”

  “You want me to fuck you?” JJ whispered in my ear.

  The words sent a rush of want through me. “Yes,” I begged. “I want you to fuck me hard.”

  His fingers slipped out of me, but there was no moment of absence because he had pushed his penis inside me in the next breath. I let out an unexpected scream as he pushed into me, hard to begin with, and then harder still. He pumped away at me diligently, as though he were in some sort of erotic marathon. I felt as though I were on fire. As though at any moment, I might burst into flames.

  His cock was larger than I was used to, and longer, too. And my bent over position meant that I could feel him so deep inside me that it made me aware of how much I had missed over the years. Here was a man who finally knew what he was doing. Here was a man who had been made to give a woman pleasure. I braced myself against the kitchen counter, clawing at whatever I could reach.

  I could hear the sound of his naked flesh smashing into mine. It seemed to get heavier and more violent as the seconds ticked by, and I could only brace myself against him.

  I gasped when he pushed into me with force. My hand spasmed out and struck the bowl of potatoes I had just prepared. JJ didn’t even seem to notice, and I honestly couldn’t have cared less. I came with my fists clenched and my knuckles white, but still, JJ didn’t show any signs of slowing down.

  I was breathless, I was tired, and I was satisfied, but still I didn’t want him to stop fucking me. I was greedy and craving for more.

  Abruptly, JJ pulled out of me. He grabbed me by the waist and flung me around to face him. His lips came down over mine, and his tongue lashed against my own as I met his fierce passion.

  He pushed up my dress and slid inside me again, continuing to kiss me. At one point, I couldn’t keep up with him. I could barely breathe, so I pulled my face away from his and allowed him to kiss my neck, suck on my ears, and fondle my breasts. Suddenly, his hands were pulling at my dress as though he were furious with it.

  “I want you naked,” he said, whispering in my ear.

  “Just tear it off,” I told him willingly.

  I didn’t care about the dress, or anything else in that moment. I just wanted this to go on for as long as it could. I heard a strangling rip and knew he had taken me at my word. My dress fell to the floor, and I was naked and pressed up against him. I reached for his shirt and pulled it off him until he was as naked as I was. The feel of our bodies pressed against each other gave me another burst of energy, and I moved my hips harder against JJ’s.

  I screamed out as he increased his tempo. Almost as though my scream had egged him on, he grabbed me around the waist and threw me against the flat surface of the table just behind us. He moved me as though I was a doll and weighed nothing all. I heard the clattering of plates and glasses as they hit the floor, disturbed by the chaotic writhing of our bodies. I stretched my hands out on either side of the table and gripped the edges as he continued to fuck me.

  I could see beads of sweat forming on his forehead and realized that I already had sweat spread across my chest and breasts. JJ seemed to notice, too, because he bent his head down to lick them off. Then his hands came down on both my nipples, and he twisted them gently, causing me to cry out in rising ecstasy.

  I felt my second orgasm rear its head, just as his tempo increased in response to his own orgasm. I braced myself against the next wave and screamed when I finally came.

  All I was aware of after that was the weight of JJ’s head against my breasts and the sound of our heavy breathing mixed in together. My own heartbeat echoed in my ears and it was only once it had died down that I became aware of other things – like the vaguely smoky smell that wafted in the air.

  “What is that?” I wondered.

  “Hmm?” JJ lifted his head off me. His eyebrows wrinkled as he became aware of the smell and then he looked towards the oven. “I think something’s burning.”

  He jumped off me and headed towards the oven. I watched as he turned it off and turned back to me. I could only lie there on the table, my chest rising and falling rapidly. Then I burst into laughter.

  “We made quite the mess, didn’t we?” I said, looking around at my kitchen.

  JJ stared for a moment before into laughter, too. He took a step towards me to guide me off the table. I sat on the edge with JJ between my legs. For the first time in a long time, I was completely naked and completely okay with that.

  “It’s funny,” JJ said.

  “What is?”

  “I’m hungry now.”

  I smiled. “You should be, after that workout,” I said. “But I think I burned the meal.”

  “I’m sure we can salvage something.”

  We got together scraps of chicken and potato, and then we headed to the hall, where we sat down together. I reached for a sweater that had been thrown casually across the sofa, but JJ stopped me.

  “Don’t,” he said. “I want you naked.”

  I started to feel the self-consciousness creep back into my psyche. “Really?”

  “Come here,” he prompted. He grabbed the multi-colored throw that Haley used to decorate our plain couch and wrapped it around his shoulders. Then he stretched out one hand and gestured for me to enter the little cocoon he had built for me. “I’ll keep you warm.”

  I wasn’t exactly dressed, but I wouldn’t feel so completely exposed, either. I moved willingly into his arms and tucked myself under his shoulder. The blanket was soft against my naked skin, and I felt myself relax immediately. JJ grabbed the plate with our food and fed me the good bits of chicken.

  “Mmm,” he said. “Even burnt, your food’s delicious.”

  I smiled. “You’re just saying that.”

  “Maybe I am,” he shrugged. “Maybe I’m too hungry to notice.”

  “Either way,” I smiled, “it works in my favor.”

  He stuffed his mouth with chicken and kissed me on the forehead. “Come to Colorado with me,” he said. “We’ll have so much fun.”

  It was a beautifu
l offer that I was seriously tempted to accept, but I thought better of it. The restaurant couldn’t afford to be shut up for so long, and I had the feeling that Haley was going through something and might need me.”

  “I know we would,” I said. “But… I just can’t. I have a business to run…”

  JJ looked at me with disappointment, but I could also see that he understood. “I know,” he sighed. “I just thought I’d try one last time. It’s only because I’ll miss you while I’m away.”

  “I’ll miss you, too,” I said fervently. “Like crazy.”

  He smiled. “I’ll be thinking of you the entire time.”

  “Ditto,” I replied, looking into his beautiful hazel eyes and wondering if I was making a mistake.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  JJ

  I thought of Kami the whole flight back to Colorado. There would be tiny moments in between when my mother would pop into my head, but they were fleeting. Kami’s face was concrete. Sometimes, if I closed my eyes and concentrated, I could even smell her sweet scent.

  I wished she had accepted my offer to join me for Thanksgiving, but I understood that meeting my brothers might be a little more than she wanted to handle. She did, after all, have a bunch of anxiety pills in her bag and I already knew she wasn’t a fan of crowds. My family was nothing if not a crowd.

  Apart from missing Kami, I was excited about being back home for a few days. I was looking forward to seeing everyone and had finally resolved to tell Peter the truth about my search.

  I headed for baggage claim and then towards the outer canals of the airport. I spotted Sam before he spotted me. He was dressed in a dark pants and a white shirt, and I knew he was trying to look like a chauffeur. He had a huge sign in front of him that said “doctor douche bag” in all caps.

  I rolled my eyes and came forward. “Original,” I called to him.

  Sam turned in my direction and laughed. “You like?” he asked. “I made it myself.”

  “I’m flattered.” I shook my head at him. “The effort you go to, to insult me.”

  “Don’t think you’re special or anything,” Sam replied. “I make as much effort for Alan and Pete.”