Saved by the Single Dad (The Single Dads of Seattle Book 3)

by Whitley Cox

  “This woman had a wicked temper,” he started. “Not five minutes before I took this photo, she and I had been bickering. She also held a grudge and could give me the silent treatment for days. I’m pretty sure she was giving me the silent treatment when I took this.”

  Paige’s eyes narrowed on him as he scrutinized the photo of his late wife and their daughter. His Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat before he spoke again.

  “Melissa wasn’t perfect. She had flaws. One of those flaws was how goddamn stubborn she was. Her second pregnancy was really hard. She had morning sickness all day long. We’d been trying for a baby for a while and miscarried once between Jayda and the twins. She’d been asked to teach an additional class; one of her colleagues was going on sabbatical, and the department asked Melissa to fill in. I asked her not to. She was having a hard time with the first trimester and already working full time. But she wanted tenure and figured teaching the extra class would get her there quicker. Make up for the semester she planned to take off after the babies were born.

  “It was a late evening class they’d roped her into teaching, and she got stuck in traffic on the way home. I’m sure she was exhausted. I’m sure her hips and back ached. She was probably nauseous and tired. Maybe she could have swerved and avoided the semi-truck that flipped just ahead of her if she’d been alert and not thinking about all the things going on in her body. Maybe she’d still be alive. But my wife was stubborn. She never asked for help. Never showed weakness or let me take care of her. I often wonder—maybe if I’d pushed her harder to not take on that extra class, she’d still be alive. Maybe I should have put my foot down rather than given into her stubborn streak.” He laughed tightly. “Melissa used to say that the pants in our relationship were so stretched out they were virtually unwearable because we constantly battled to both wear them. Perhaps if I’d battled just a little bit harder, made her see my side of things, she wouldn’t have been in the car that night on the road.” He clenched his jaw and gritted his teeth. “But she was just so fucking stubborn.”

  A tear slipped down Paige’s cheek, and she wiped it away.

  Why was he telling her this?

  He put the photo of Melissa and Jayda back down on the table and walked back around to stand next to Paige. He turned her to face him, his hands back on her shoulders. His touch grounded her. His warmth reassured her. His closeness calmed her.

  “When I look at that photo, I don’t see the fight we’d just had. I don’t see her stubbornness. I don’t see her temper. I know it’s all in there, because she was a multifaceted woman, and that came across in everything she did. What I do see is a wonderful mother, a spectacular wife, a generous friend. I see a woman with flaws but that those flaws are what made her who she was. And who she was was spectacular. Our flaws, our imperfections, our scars and war wounds are what shape us. They are what make us unique and not Photoshopped, they are what make us real. They are what make us who we are.”

  He picked up a different photo of Paige. It was one of the ones of her dancing on stage at Art in the Park. Pain showed on her face as she danced to the music, let her emotions unfold with each movement and beat.

  “I see the pain you hold close to your chest in this one. I see your struggles and your self-doubt. But I also see your strength. I see your openness and willingness to change and improve yourself. Melissa didn’t like change. She was not an overly flexible person. She liked things her way, and that was that. But you are. You’re flexible, you’re adaptable, and much of your strength comes from your willingness to bend, to go with the ebb and flow of life. The swells and squalls, the calms and storms.”

  Her bottom lip quivered. She didn’t see half of that. All she saw were her imperfections. How her leg should have been higher and her arm straighter.

  “What do you see?” he asked.

  Paige worried her bottom lip between her teeth for a moment before she spoke, her voice coming out in a croaked whisper. “I see a woman in pain. I see a woman who is nervous and unsure of herself. I see a woman who is very aware of her flaws and failures and focuses on them more than anything else, to the point where they nearly consume her. I see a woman who is trying to be a dancer, but she can’t quite get her leg up high enough or her arm straight enough. The crowd probably sees that too, and they’re judging her for it. I see a woman who no longer knows where she fits into the world.” She choked out the last sentence before swallowing down the hard lump in her throat and turning her head away from his intense stare.

  He wouldn’t let her body turn away though. He held her steady, kept her standing when she wanted to crumble.

  “I don’t see any of those things,” he said softly. “Yes, I see your pain, but I also see your strength.” He pointed to her face. “Look at the determination in your eyes, the focus, the intensity. You went out and performed in front of hundreds of people all on your own. Your classmates were sick with food poisoning, so instead of fading away into the shadows and letting Violet go on for a second time to save the show, you saved the show. You went onto the stage alone and danced your heart and soul out.” He shook the photo in his hand, a touch of frustration lacing his tone. “You are so strong. You need to see how strong you are, how beautiful you are both inside and out. Stop blaming yourself for what happened. Stop letting the bad things influence all the good. Stop criticizing everything you do or can’t do and instead celebrate yourself and all of your successes. Celebrate all that you’ve overcome, all that you’ve achieved. You are a warrior, Paige. I don’t know how you can’t see that.”

  He stepped into her space. The heat from his body made her sway a bit where she stood, but she welcomed it. He bent his knees just a touch so they were eye to eye.

  Hot tears burned the back of her eyes, and her throat ached from holding back the emotions. She struggled to swallow and began to tremble. How could he see her like that? How did he see such strength inside her when she didn’t even know where to find it?

  His eyes pinned on hers, and his fingers tightened just a touch on her upper arms. “Love yourself. Love yourself the way you love others, which is fully and without quarter. Love yourself the way you love your child, your parents, your friends and family. Love yourself the way others love you. You deserve to be loved. Open up your heart to yourself, and love yourself.”

  His knuckle fell under her chin, and he lifted her head up just a touch. “The way I love you.”

  Paige’s eyes grew wide.

  He must have noticed the shock because one corner of his mouth lifted up in a shy smile. “Yeah, I love you. Kind of surprised the crap out of me too.” His eyes darted back and forth across her face in sudden panic. “That’s not what I mean. Shit.” He stepped back and ran his hands through his hair. “I’m not surprised that I could love you. That’s not what I meant. I mean, I’m surprised that it happened this fast. That I fell for someone so quick. I hadn’t even been looking to start dating when you danced across the stage and into my life. And then I couldn’t get you out. Not that I wanted to.”

  Paige’s lips parted.

  “I love you, Paige. I’m not sure when I knew. I don’t know if I had some defining moment like they do in the movies, but I know that I do. With all my heart.”

  His eyes searched her face again, worry settling in.

  “Mitch … I … ” She took a deep breath. “I … ”

  He shook his head. “I don’t expect you to say it back. That’s okay if you’re not there yet. If you’re not ready. But just know, I’m not going anywhere. I love you, and I want to be with you.” He picked up another photo. This time it was one he’d taken of just her with a hummingbird on her finger. “I mean, how can I not love someone who even the hummingbirds love?” His smile was lopsided and boyish. “Kind of a no-brainer.”

  Paige half-laughed, half-sobbed.

  “Let’s get back to the great mood you were in before I ruined it all,” he said with a regretful tone. “I’m not sure how I always do it, but I manage to take
a great moment between us and make it all dark and depressing.”

  With another laugh, this one far lighter and carefree because her heart was feeling lighter and looser by the second, she looped her arms around his neck. “You do no such thing. You want to talk and dig deep.”

  He stared into her eyes. “I want to know you. I want to know everything.”

  Her eyes fluttered shut for a moment before she opened them again, opening up her soul to Mitch. “I want to know you too. And I … I have strong feelings for you too, it’s just … ”

  “You need to love yourself again first before you can love anybody new.”

  She nodded.

  He got it.

  “Yeah.”

  “Then let’s get you loving yourself again.” He pulled away from her embrace, and they faced the table once again. “Now, help me pick some pictures. I measured it out, and I figure I have space for about eighteen to twenty-four, depending on how I group them. I have thirty-six on the table here.”

  “Of which twenty are of me,” she said with a bit of sarcasm in her voice, enjoying the fact that the air in the room was no longer tense and filled with heavy emotions and the thick, overwhelming fog of her self-doubt and flaws.

  Before she knew what was happening, Mitch had pushed all the photos to one side of the table, grabbed her around the waist and plunked her on top of the heavy wood. He wedged himself between her legs. “I could add another twenty right now if you’d finally let me photograph you naked.” His teeth scraped up her neck, and he nipped that soft, extra-sensitive spot just below her ear.

  She chuckled as her hands went to work on the button and zipper of his shorts. “Yeah? Maybe you should give me the camera and I can photograph you naked.”

  His growl, low and primal, made the embers of arousal inside her ignite to long, licking flames. Heat chased across her skin and liquefied her insides. “Maybe another time. I’ll need to do some push-ups and crunches before I sit down for a nude shoot.”

  She tossed her head back and laughed, loving how both open and full her heart felt when she was with him. He made her laugh like she hadn’t laughed in far too long, and it was a feeling she didn’t want to let go of.

  He took the exposure of her neck as an invitation and raked his teeth up her throat. She gasped from the small snap of pain as he nipped her chin before wedging his tongue between her lips and capturing any further gasps.

  The moment turned frantic and need-driven in seconds. They were peeling off layers and kissing in between the disrobing until her dance gear was off and she was in nothing but her thong, sitting on the cool wood of the table. Mitch stood before her, shirtless and sexy with his shorts pooling around his ankles and his impressive length standing up straight in his dark gray boxer briefs.

  A small damp patch of precum showed on his boxers, which made her salivate with the need to taste him.

  He must have caught her wavelength, because the enormous smile on his face made her once again toss her head back and laugh.

  Like a vampire starved for sustenance, he was on her. His teeth scored her neck as his hands made their way around her hips, and he cupped her butt, bringing her center closer to him.

  “Condom,” she breathed, pushing his boxer briefs down slightly and running the pad of her thumb over the damp crown of his cock, swirling the precum around the shiny purple head.

  “Always packing now.” His voice was a deep rumble in his throat.

  His eyes flared as she brought her thumb to her mouth and sucked.

  He released her butt and crouched down to retrieve the small square foil packet from his shorts pocket. Within seconds, he was sheathed and ready.

  “This isn’t why I called you here,” he said, cupping her butt once again and rocking her clit against the long line of his cock.

  “Liar.” She laughed, locking her ankles behind his back. “We both know what I was coming in here for. It’s why I have condoms in my bag as well.”

  With a grunt and a sigh, he seated himself inside her. “I knew there was a reason I fell in love with you,” he said, then he took her mouth, smothering her sighs and breathing in her shallow pants.

  Paige’s eyes fluttered shut once again as she let the sensation of being full of Mitch consume her. The subtle stretch inside her was a welcome ache that she felt all the way down to her toes, while the way his pubic bone rocked against her clit had her seeing stars and biting her lip to stifle her cries.

  His thumb on her bottom lip had her opening her eyes.

  “I want to hear every moan,” he said hoarsely. “Every cry. Every plea. Don’t hold back, Paige.” He thrust harder, hitting her deeper inside. She arched her back, and he drew a taut nipple into his mouth, laving at her tender peak until it was so tight it hurt.

  “Open your eyes,” he ordered.

  She loved it when he got bossy.

  She hadn’t even realized her eyes had closed, but she did as she was told, watching as his eyes seared her face, his mouth set in a determined frown, brows pinched in concentration.

  She ran her hands over the tight muscular bulges of his biceps and chest. Mitch had mentioned that he’d joined the same gym as the rest of the single dads, the one that Adam’s brother Zak owned. Paige used to belong to the gym too.

  Leaning forward, she bit his pec, enjoying the sharp inhale of his breath as she scraped her teeth over the bunching muscle. Her nails dug into his flexing biceps and her heels into his contracting ass cheeks. Whatever he was doing at the gym was paying off. She liked what she saw. She liked what she felt.

  The man was a well-oiled, powerful machine.

  Pistoning in and out of her with slow, measured thrusts, he brought her closer and closer to that sweet peak of ecstasy, to the pinnacle she’d come to strive for once again since meeting Mitch Benson.

  He wedged a hand between them and rubbed rough, erotic circles around her clit, heightening her pleasure, bringing her to the clifftop quicker so that she suddenly found herself teetering on the edge. Her lips roamed across his heated flesh, sprinkling soft kisses to his chest, neck and shoulders. He pinched her clit between his thumb and forefinger, causing a gasp to break free from her lips. She bit his shoulder in response, loving the way he responded by bucking into her harder with a surly, masculine growl. Her heels dug more firmly into his muscular ass cheeks, the feel of them tightening and relaxing with each deep pump turning her on and giving her that gentle nudge she needed to tip off the mountain.

  She clamped down hard on Mitch’s shoulder and let go.

  He didn’t stop.

  He just kept going, coaxing out her release at the same time he found his own.

  She contracted around him, squeezing her muscles tight as the waves of bliss crashed through her. He pinched her clit again, and another orgasm blended with the first, taking her back up to the top of the hill and flinging her off the highest peak one more time.

  Her toes curled, and her fingers bunched on his biceps, digging deep wells into his arms with her nails.

  Mitch grunted, but she didn’t think it was in pain. He brought his head up from the crook of her neck and took her mouth, thrusting his tongue in and out to mimic the pace of his cock inside her. He stilled and then relaxed as his cock pulsed and he found his release. She squeezed him, though she hardly had enough energy after those two back-to-back orgasms, but she did the best she could, milking him, doing what she could do to increase his pleasure the way he did for her.

  They stayed there for a moment, their breaths ragged, chests heaving, bodies covered in a thin layer of sweat.

  Paige opened her eyes and lifted her head up. Mitch was looking at her. She batted her lashes and attempted to look away. The intensity in his stare unnerved her.

  “Don’t,” he whispered, though the edge to his tone was unmistakable. “Don’t look away.”

  The grip of his hands on her butt cheeks tightened, and he picked her up off the table and carried her over to the couch, plopping her down and pull
ing out of her in the process. He removed the condom and tied it before he tugged his shorts back into place. Then he disappeared, returning seconds later with a washcloth and a glass of water.

  She was still naked, and a breeze from a fan in the corner of the room made goosebumps rise on her skin as it cooled her heated body. Mitch grabbed a blanket from on top of a small trunk across the room and draped it over her. “Warm?” he asked, sitting down on the couch beside her, gauging her reaction with a wary look in his eyes.

  She smiled lazily at him and took a sip of her water. “I’m perfect, thank you.”

  He seemed to relax after that and accepted the water when she offered him a sip.

  “Use whatever photos of me you like,” she said after a few minutes of quiet. “They’re all stunning and do showcase your talent.”

  “And your beauty,” he replied.

  She still had a hard time believing him when he said she was the perfect model and continuously called her beautiful, but she also wasn’t in the mood to argue. She looked good in those photos because he knew how to wield his camera like a wizard with a wand, she was sure of it. He could probably make a bag of garbage look like a million bucks with the right lighting.

  She’d been staring off at a spot on the wall in thought when his knuckle tucked under her chin and he turned her to face him. “It’s my new mission in life to convince you that you’re beautiful. To love yourself again.”

  She rolled her eyes and tried to look away, but he wouldn’t let her.

  “Roll your eyes like that at me again, and you’ll find yourself over my knee faster than you can blink, with a red handprint on that sexy ass of yours.”

  Paige’s eyes flew open wide.

  Mitch’s face split into an even wider grin. “You think I’m joking? Go on and test me.”

  She took another sip of water, finishing the glass but wishing that he’d brought her a big bucket. She was parched.