Damaged Goods: A Single Dad & Nanny Romance

by Rye Hart

  When my eyes found Emily, she was standing by the front door with a box in her hands.

  “What’s that?” I asked.

  “Come see for yourself,” she said.

  We all walked into the kitchen, and Emily set the box on the counters. She opened it slowly, revealing a beautiful cake with the word “Congratulations!” scrawled across the top in bright red icing. I laughed out loud and grabbed Emily around the waist, hugging her and lifting her off her feet.

  Her answering laugh was music to my ears. I’d waited all day to hear that very sound, and when I finally set her back on her feet, she looked up at me with a genuine smile on her perfect lips.

  “I couldn’t have done it without you,” I said.

  “I’m proud of you,” she said back. “I really am.”

  “Can we have cake now?” Sarah asked.

  We all laughed, and I nodded. Emily cut us each a large slice, and we sat down to eat. The kids asked me all kinds of questions about the book, but I only had eyes for Emily. I couldn’t look away from her gorgeous face. Her eyes drew me in like magnets, and nothing anyone else said could pull me away from her.

  Cake was our dinner tonight, and the kids were soon ready for bed. Emily took them up for baths, but I read them each a story and tucked them in. Now that my book was done, I felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders.

  As I walked back downstairs with Emily trailing along behind me, I heard my phone ding in the kitchen. I hurried over to it and unlocked the screen. There was an email waiting for me. It was from my publisher friend so I opened it quickly, my eyes scanning the words and my heart beating frantically in my chest.

  When I looked up at Emily, she was watching me with concern. I grinned and held up my phone for her to see.

  “What is it?” she asked.

  “I sent my book to a publisher this afternoon,” I said. “Right after I finished. That was an email from him, saying he likes it. Emily, he wants to publish it! He wants to publish my book!”

  “That’s wonderful, Sean,” she said. And though she truly looked happy for me, she still wasn’t happy with me.

  I sighed and reached for her. She moved hesitantly into my arms. “I’m sorry, Emily. I’m sorry for being such a miserable prick lately. I pull you close, then push you away, and it’s all because of my own insecurities. You don’t deserve that, and I’m sorry. I know you take such good care of us because you care, not because it’s your job. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to us. To me,” I told her honestly.

  When we pulled apart, I tucked her hair behind her ear and pulled her face to mine. I kissed her softly, sighing and leaning into her.

  “I love you,” I said when our kiss broke. “Emily, I love you.”

  “What?” she asked, stepping backward. Her face was flushed, and her eyes were wide. She looked like she didn’t believe me.

  “I love you,” I said again.

  “No.” She shook her head. “You don’t mean that. You’re just excited about your book.”

  “Emily,” I said, stepping forward to take her hands. “I love you.”

  She blinked and stared at me in disbelief. While we looked at each other, understanding dawned on her face. Slowly, she smiled.

  “I love you too.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT - EMILY

  My heart was pounding in my chest as the words rolled off my tongue. I’d been struggling to understand my feelings for Sean for weeks now. When Janie accused me of being in love, I felt for sure she was wrong. After all, I’d only known Sean for a short time. I couldn’t possibly love him yet. Still, there was a truth to Janie’s words that stuck with me in the days to come.

  While Sean’s feelings continued to be unpredictable, I always felt a natural affection for him. Even on his worst days, I longed to be near to him, to help him, and to take care of him. He was like gravity, pulling me to him time and time again. I couldn’t deny my own heart anymore, and now, I no longer wanted to. I’d been waiting to hear Sean tell me how he felt about me. When those three words finally fell from his lips, I thought I would lose myself completely. My heart melted, and my stomach filled with butterflies.

  “I love you, Sean,” I said, loving the feel of those words on my tongue. “I love you.”

  “I love you so much,” he said with a laugh.

  Sean stepped forward to press him lips to mine. Our kiss was slow at first, full of untapped love and passion. Now that our emotions were finally in the open, we had nothing left to hold back. We kissed each other with abandon, pouring every ounce of emotion we had into each other. Sean’s arms were tight around my waist, and I stood on my tiptoes to press myself against his hard chest, my fingers tangling in his dark hair.

  It wasn’t long before I couldn’t breathe. I pulled away with a gasp and a giggle, but Sean didn’t release me. He moved his lips down to my neck, kissing me softly. His stubble had grown out over the past couple days, and it tickled my sensitive skin. I laughed and pushed him away, but he held onto me, rubbing his face back and forth against my neck. I was giggling uncontrollably, and when he growled against my neck, I laughed loudly and slapped my hand over my mouth.

  “Stop it,” I said, still laughing. “You’ll make me wake up the kids.”

  “They’ll be fine,” Sean said. “They can sleep through anything.”

  “I doubt that,” I said.

  “It’s true,” Sean said. “They once slept through an earthquake.”

  “They did not.” I laughed.

  “They did,” Sean said with a nod. His face was serious, but I knew he was kidding. His eyes were flashing playfully.

  “I’ve never seen you this happy,” I said softly. “It’s nice.”

  “It’s because of you,” he said, his voice just as soft. “You make me happy Emily, happier than anyone ever has.”

  “I’m so proud of you for finishing your book,” I said, cupping his cheek in my hand. “I knew you’d do it.”

  “I’m sorry for how I acted,” Sean said, his eyes looking down at the floor. “I know I wasn’t easy to be around for a while. It’s been hard not to be moody and cranky. The stress really got to me, but that’s not an excuse. I shouldn’t have taken out my frustrations on you, Emily. That was wrong.”

  “Thank you for apologizing. Fortunately for you, I can’t stay mad at you for long when you’re standing there looking all sexy as hell,” I said.

  “You think I look sexy?” Sean asked, smiling.

  “Come here,” I said, taking his hand.

  “Where are we going?” he asked.

  “To your bed,” I said simply.

  Sean growled and grabbed my ass. I giggled and hurried forward, pulling him along behind me. When we reached his room, we slipped inside, and I watched while Sean closed and locked the door behind us. With a grin, he turned to face me, and I smiled back. He looked so handsome in the evening light. The moon was shining brightly outside his window, and it lit up his room in a romantic glow. Sean’s dark hair fell evenly over his face, and his scruff was more obvious than ever.

  In that moment, I knew I would never feel stronger for another person. I loved Sean so much, and I never wanted to be without him. He, unlike the other men I’d dated, knew how to truly be a man. No matter how many mistakes he made or how many times he upset me, he always apologized. He was willing to admit when he was wrong, and that was such a turn on to me. As he walked over to me, I moaned and wrapped my arms around his neck.

  He kissed me quickly, but I slowed him down. I wanted to remember this night. I wanted to commit everything about him to memory. We’d just said I love you for the first time, and I wanted nothing more than to immerse myself completely in his body and soul. As we kissed, I tasted his tongue slowly, eliciting a low groan from his chest. His bulge was pressing into me as we held each other. The only thing separating us was our clothes.

  I pulled back, my eyes locking on Sean’s. I removed my clothes slowly, giving him a show. I wanted him t
o see all of me. I was confident. I was in love.

  Sean’s eyes followed my every move as I stripped down. When I was completely naked, I turned around and walked over to his bed. I crawled up to the pillows and laid on my back, and looked at him from under my lashes.

  “You’re a dream,” he said.

  I smiled and watched as he removed his own clothes and crawled onto the bed.

  Without a word, Sean slid himself up my body. He kissed my legs, licking my thighs and breathing against my clit. I sighed as he moved farther up, laying light kisses over my stomach and my breasts. My nipples were hard with desire, but he didn’t take them into his mouth. Instead, he ran his fingers over them gently, making me shiver with anticipation.

  When our faces were finally even, he kissed me slowly. I moaned and tangled my body around his, wrapping both my arms and my legs around him. I rolled us over so he was pinned to the bed. While we kissed, our tongues danced with frantic passion. I loved the way he tasted, the way he felt, and the way he smelled. Everything about Sean was beyond intoxicating.

  Slowly, I broke our kiss to slide down his body. I trailed my tongue over his glorious abs before I lightly flicked it across the tip of his dick. He groaned and brushed my hair back, holding the curls in his hands.

  I lowered my mouth over his cock, taking it fully into my mouth. Everything I did was slow, and deliberate, and I could feel Sean trembling beneath me. I swirled my tongue around him and moved my head up and down over him. When he started to tense, I released him and crawled back to kiss his lips.

  “You feel amazing,” he said right before I kissed him.

  I could feel my own desire pooling between my legs. I straddled him and rubbed myself along his length, letting him feel me.

  “I want you,” I moaned, grinding my hips harder. “I want you now.”

  Sean growled and rolled me onto my back. He laid down on top of me so our faces were inches apart. Supporting himself with one arm, he reached down to spread my legs. I opened for him easily, and he thrust his hips forward. In one motion, he was inside me.

  “God,” I said with a low moan. “That feels so perfect.”

  “You are perfect,” he said softly.

  Sean kissed me as he started pumping his hips back and forth. He moved slower than he ever had before, and soon, my body was shaking beneath his. He never pulled all the way out. Instead, he pressed himself in so deep that I swore we were going to fuse together into one body. I moaned deeply as he hit my G-spot over and over. His cock was so huge that he filled me easily. I rocked my hips upward to meet his, pushing us closer together. He groaned and kissed me hard. I nibbled his bottom lip while he moved faster. We were both panting and rocking together, our rhythm perfectly in sync. Sean broke our kiss to breathe. He grunted with each thrust, and soon, I was bordering right on the brink. He pumped so hard inside me that my head was bouncing against the headboard, but I didn’t care. Pleasure was just seconds away.

  Ecstasy flooded my body. Sean felt me shake, and he pressed harder, making my orgasm last so long I thought my body might give up. I cried out and buried my face in his shoulder, letting the waves wash through me slowly.

  When it passed, Sean still wasn’t done with my body. He kissed me and continued thrusting, but I wanted more. I wanted to bring him to orgasm myself. I wanted control.

  Keeping him buried deep inside me, I rolled us over so I was top of him. My body pinned him to the bed as I ground my hips down on his cock. He groaned and held onto my hips while I leaned forward. As I rode him, my breasts slid across his face. He opened his mouth and took my nipple between his teeth.

  “Emily,” he breathed against my skin. “Emily.”

  I rode him harder than ever, feeling his body tense beneath mine. As he came closer, so did I, and suddenly, we were both panting with exertion. Sean and I finished together, both coming hard and fast. Sean growled and bit down on my nipple, and I cried out his name, throwing myself forward onto his chest.

  Sean’s arms wrapped around me, his fingers sliding gently down my spine. I pulled upward, letting him fall out of me as I repositioned myself on top of him. I rested my head on his chest, and he played with my hair, planting kisses on top of my head as he tried to control his breathing.

  I’d never experienced anything like that before. Sean held me so close that night that I felt like he would never let me go. My orgasms went deeper than just physical pleasure. They were fueled by our love for each other, and I never wanted it to end. I was desperate to freeze that moment, and to live in it forever.

  I rolled to the side so I was lying on the bed, my head still on Sean’s chest. He held me close with his face buried in my hair. When I could finally breathe normally again, I felt the exhaustion take me prisoner. My eyes fell closed, and I listened to Sean’s heartbeat beneath my ear.

  “I love you,” he whispered.

  I smiled and kissed his chest. “I love you too.”

  I felt his smile as we both tightened our grip on each other. We fell asleep that night in a blissful cocoon of happiness.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE - SEAN

  Emily and I woke up on Saturday morning tangled in each other’s arms. She was snoring softly, and I laughed to myself at the sound. I’d never heard her snore before, and somehow, it made me love her even more.

  I rolled her off me, gently laying her head on the pillow, before I slid out of bed to grab a shower. As I stepped under the stream of hot water, I let my muscles relax, and all the stress I’d been feeling melted away. Now that my book was finished and had a publisher, I felt like I could truly relax.

  When I got out of the shower, I saw Emily still asleep in my bed. She wrapped herself in the covers and buried her face in the pillow. I watched her sleep for a few minutes, just enjoying the view of her beautiful face and dark curls. I never wanted to look away, but I knew the kids would be up soon. Emily deserved a morning off so I tiptoed into the hallway and headed toward the kitchen. As I got breakfast ready, Tommy and Sarah came downstairs.

  They were both moving slowly, dragging their feet and yawning widely. It seemed like everyone was overly tired this morning. I set them both up with some breakfast before I poured myself a cup of coffee and joined them at the table.

  While we sat there, they slowly began to wake up and become themselves. Sarah began telling me all about her dream from last night: it featured both a unicorn and a dragon. While she talked, Tommy ate silently, occasionally glancing around the room with a frown on his face. After we were finished, he finally turned to me to ask the question he’d been thinking of all morning.

  “Where’s Emily?”

  “She’s still asleep,” I said simply. “She was up late last night and needed to rest this morning. I think we should let her sleep as long as she wants. What do you think?”

  “Who will take care of us while you work?” Sarah asked with a frown.

  “I’m not working today,” I said, smiling. “My book is all done so I don’t need to work. I thought I might just hang out with you guys today. How does that sound?”

  “Awesome!” Tommy said. “What are we going to do?”

  “The park?” I asked, my eyebrows raised.

  “Yes!” Sarah said.

  Tommy nodded enthusiastically, and I told them to run upstairs and get dressed. As I waited for them to come back down, a knock sounded at my front door. I frowned and headed over, wondering who it could be this early. I peeked through the peep hole and saw a man about my age standing on my porch.

  I pulled the door open and the guy jumped a bit.

  “Can I help you?” I asked him.

  The guy regained his composure and nodded, tucking his hands into his pockets. “Are you Sean Evans?” he asked.

  I narrowed my eyes and nodded. Something about this guy didn’t sit well with me. “Yeah. And you are?” I asked in return.

  The guy cleared his throat and looked up at me. “I’m Glen Wilson. Sarah’s father.”

  I felt like I�
�d been punched in the gut. A few hours ago, everything in my life had felt absolutely perfect. Now, I felt the world pitching under my feet.

  “I’m sorry?” I said, thinking there was no way I could have heard him correctly.

  “I said I’m Sarah’s father,” the guy said again.

  I stepped out onto the porch and pulled the door shut behind me. The last thing I needed was for the kids to come down and hear what we were saying.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked.

  “I sent you an email several months ago. I’m here to take my daughter home.”

  I knew I had to do something quick before my children walked in and found out about the very thing I’d been trying to protect them from this entire time.

  ***

  “Wait, what?” Emily said, shock on her face.

  I paced back and forth across the living room, sick to my stomach. After I’d gotten rid of the guy temporarily with the threat of physical violence, I’d taken the kids over to Mrs. Johnston and told her I had an emergency I had to handle. She had looked worried, but gladly took the kids in and promised to let them help her bake some cookies.

  I’d woken Emily when I came back to the house and told her what had happened. She sat on the couch looking as stricken as I felt. “I don’t get it,” she said. “Why is he coming forward now?”

  “Actually, he emailed me months ago. It’s the reason I brought the kids here, to keep him away. I can’t believe this is happening. She’s my daughter, Emily, mine,” I said vehemently. “I’m the one that was there when she was born, I’m the one who took care of her from day one, I’m her father.”

  Emily stood and came over to where I was standing. She put her hands on my chest and forced me to look in her eyes. “I know that. Anyone who’s ever seen you with her knows that. So, what can we do? Stop thinking like a dad for just a second and start thinking like a lawyer.”

  I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Emily was right, I had to think about this strategically. Even though I was the one who had loved and raised Sarah from birth, her biological father would have rights. I needed to figure out exactly what to do.