Real Deal

by Piper Rayne

  I nod in agreement though I’m surprised that a woman Cat’s age would describe all that as fun.

  “And as for sweet, well, Mr. Kent, you invited me here. You made me dinner and set a table outside on your deck to watch the sun set.” She glances to the door and leans closer. “I think we both know you didn't have to wine and dine me like this, and the fact that you did it anyway makes you sweet.”

  She has a point. Dane takes his dates to Breakers, a fish restaurant that hands out plastic bibs. And that's only if he wants to invest in her. Otherwise, it's a stroll on the marina and maybe a drink at Happy Daze. And Garrett. That guy hasn't been with anyone in years.

  “I’ll be honest. You’re the first woman I’ve done anything like this for. I guess I only do this for the ones, or one as it were, that I want to.”

  She smiles, pushing her plate away from her. “Thank you. I'm glad I'm wanted.”

  “You're definitely wanted.”

  Our eyes lock and I cup her cheek, pulling her lips to mine. I taste the wine on her tongue, but as always when you live with a five-year-old, interruptions happen. I hear her little footsteps running our way and so I pull back.

  “Look at Flynn!” Lily thrusts her iPad into Cat's lap.

  “Lily.” My voice has that note of warning and Lily picks up the iPad from Cat, but Cat stops her.

  “It's okay.” She looks up at me. “It's okay.”

  While she’s watching the video my phone rings in my pocket. I pull it out and glance to see that it's Ashley.

  “Hi, Ashley,” I answer and Cat turns her head my way.

  “Can I talk to her?” Lily asks, running over to my side, jumping up and down.

  I hold my finger up in the air and she jumps side to side like she has to go to the bathroom.

  “Hi, Mr. Kent, I'm sorry, but I won't be able to babysit tomorrow. I think I’m coming down with something.”

  My head falls back and I suck in a slow breath as disappointment sets in. I was supposed to go rock climbing with Dane and Garrett tomorrow.

  “Okay, I understand, Ashley. I hope you feel better.”

  “Thank you and I'm sorry.” We hang up and I tuck my phone into my pocket. I'll have to message the guys later.

  “Sorry.”

  “I wanted to talk,” Lily whines.

  I pat her head. “Sorry, Ashley doesn't feel well so she can't watch you tomorrow.”

  “Can I go with you now?” Her eyes light up.

  “No, but now you get me all day.” My fingers tickle her and she cries out in laughter.

  “Yay,” she squirms and I pull her onto my lap.

  Rock climbing would have been nice, but spending time with Lily isn't something I’d ever complain about.

  “I can do it,” Cat offers and both Lily and I stop and look over to her for a second.

  “Can she? Can she?” Lily turns to face me, waiting for an answer.

  “I can't ask you to do that on your day off.”

  She waves me off, holding her arms out to Lily, who happily shifts over to her lap.

  “I'd love to.”

  Lily wraps her arms around her neck and gives her a tight hug.

  “Thank you,” I say, a little in awe that she’d even offer.

  Cat looks at me over Lily's shoulder. “You're welcome.”

  “Let's play Monopoly!” Lily screams, hops off Cat's lap and runs into the house.

  “I thought we were watching Tangled?” Cat calls out after her.

  “Welcome to the wonderful world of Lily,” I say and chuckle. “I really appreciate you watching her. I'm going rock climbing with Dane and Garrett. Shouldn't be gone too long. Maybe I can make you dinner again?”

  She stands up, stacking the dishes on top of one another. “Maybe we'll make you dinner.”

  I reach out without thinking twice. Before I contemplate if Lily is going to run back out here. My hand cups her cheek and her breath hitches in her throat.

  “That sounds amazing,” I say.

  My lips are millimeters away from hers when I hear the playroom door slam shut which means Lily is going to be out here any second.

  “To be continued.” I let her go.

  Lily comes outside and we both pretend we were clearing the table instead of about to make out like a couple of teenagers.

  21

  Caterina

  This might be the first date I've spent playing the Frozen version of Junior Monopoly, and making my own sundae. Most of my dates in the past wined and dined me courtesy of their trust fund or daddy's credit card. A lot of those ended with him expecting too much in return and curse words thrown my way as he walked down the hallway of my condo building after I shut him down.

  I watched my sister get screwed over by a rich boy who thought the rules didn't apply to him. Not that I typecast all the guys who attended my private school, but I witnessed enough shit the guys in my inner circle did to know that's not what I want for my future.

  Tonight, I wait in a pink and purple room with butterflies hanging from the ceiling for a little girl to brush her teeth so I can tuck her in at her insistence. I’ve gone from frat parties to play dates.

  “She really likes you,” Marcus says. He seems nervous as we stand alone in Lily's room to say goodnight.

  I'm not even sure she understands I'm here for a date with Marcus. She's talked my ear off the entire night and made sure my attention was focused solely on her. Which isn't horrible, I meant what I said to Marcus. I like Lily. A lot. And she is one of my favorite campers, but interacting with kids when their parents aren't around is much easier. I keep worrying that I'm doing something wrong or he's judging me on how good of a mom I'd be if we got serious. There’s a whole other level of things to stress about that isn’t usually there when I date someone.

  “Thanks,” I say, my gaze continuing to skirt around Lily's room.

  For a guy, Marcus has done a surprisingly good job of decorating Lily's room. Besides the butterflies, there's a mural of a tree with dark pink birds and owls on the branches. Fairies are painted on the four walls. Right above her nightstand, words are written in script. I step closer to read them and my heart fills with warmth for Marcus.

  From the moment they placed you in my arms, you snuggled right into my heart.

  Swallowing past the lump currently lodged in my throat I look over my shoulder to find Marcus leaning on the wall, his intense gaze on me.

  “Wow,” I say, tears pricking my eyes. He loves her so deeply and I'm not sure I realized until this moment, what a big step this must have been for him. That he hasn't gone into the decision of bringing me here lightly.

  Lily runs into the room and jumps onto her bed, shuffling under the covers. She grabs a book off her nightstand, holding it out to me. “Will you read me my goodnight story?”

  I look over to Marcus who’s still leaning against the wall. I've never met a man whose thoughts were so hard to read.

  “Sure,” I say, hoping that’s okay. I take a seat beside Lily in bed and stretch my legs out in front of me.

  “Come, Daddy.” Lily pats the mattress on the other side of her.

  My breath lodges in my throat when the bed dips and the scent of Marcus's crisp cologne reaches me. In the moment, it feels suffocating in the small space Lily has placed us in.

  Together, from an outsider’s view, we're a family, but in reality, they're the family and I'm the outsider. I can only hope that my presence doesn’t threaten their happy bubble.

  By the time I finish reading and close the book, Lily's eyes are droopy. I press my finger to her nose and I’m rewarded with a soft giggle. “Night, Lily,” I say and stand up to leave the room.

  “Night, Miss Cat.” She yawns.

  I circle around to face her, stepping backward out the door. “I promise to bring some fun things for us to do tomorrow.”

  “Yay,” she says, her eyes shifting to her dad's with a look that says, tomorrow's going to be amazing.

  I wait in the hallway
outside her room for Marcus to finish saying goodnight.

  “Let's just take it off for the night,” I hear Marcus say.

  I'm positive they must be talking about the bracelet.

  “No, Daddy.”

  “Okay, okay. Night, Lily Lu, see you in the morning,” Marcus says and the nickname Lily Lu surprises me. Marcus doesn't seem like the type to nickname someone, but then again, he doesn't seem like someone that would paint the quote about his daughter snuggling into his heart.

  It’s almost as if he holds his emotions captive inside of him.

  “Daddy?” Lily asks.

  “Yeah?” Marcus’ voice is closer now.

  “Can Miss Cat be my mommy?”

  All my muscles tense and my breath catches in my throat. I'm certain my heart sputtered over a beat or two.

  “Miss Cat is here as our friend, sweetie. But we'll talk about that when we have more time. Love you, Lily Lu,”

  “Love you, Daddy.”

  He steps out of her room, his hand on the doorknob, freezing on the spot when he sees me.

  “You heard?” he whispers, letting go of the doorknob and walking toward me.

  “Yeah,” I whisper.

  If Lily is anything like my nephew, Alexander, she's not asleep yet. Hell, she might surprise us in a second by cracking open that door.

  Marcus continues walking, his hand grabbing hold of mine and leading me down the stairs. “Let's go have another glass of wine.”

  Following him down the staircase, I admire the way his lean, muscled body moves. His movements are controlled and suave, as usual.

  My skin tingles in anticipation of his touch. My nipples have been able to cut glass almost all night and my panties are soaked. I want Marcus so fucking bad that I'm half tempted to make the first move. I don’t think he’d complain, but he shut me down all those years ago and that’s not a feeling I can easily forget.

  He guides us to the kitchen, pulling another bottle of wine out of his wine fridge, his hand never letting mine go. He navigates us around the kitchen until he detours to the family room, grabbing a blanket off the couch, finishing up by walking back onto his deck.

  It's a spectacular view, although right now it's in darkness except for the lighthouse and a few restaurant and bars still open in the downtown part of Climax Cove.

  Marcus lets go of my hand and I saunter over to the edge of his deck. It’s so high up on stilts that it might make some people nervous, but all I can think about is what a great spot it would be to paint. I hear the cork pop out of the wine bottle, but my gaze refuses to divert from the view in front of me as I wish I had my paints and canvas.

  “I don't suppose you'd mind if I locked myself up here for a few hours to paint this view one night?” I look over my shoulder and Marcus is closing the distance between us, the blanket in his hands.

  He wraps it around my shoulders and cages me in against the railing between his two arms. “You're welcome anytime.”

  I lean back into him, his strong chest taking the weight of my body with ease. “What made you build up here?”

  He brushes my hair off my shoulder. “I wanted to be the king of Climax Cove.” Before I can ask if he's serious, he laughs into the crook of my neck. “My dad owned the land, it made sense.”

  His lips touch my temple and my eyes drift closed as I relish in his touch.

  “It must be nice to be so remote.” Although, I'm not sure how much more remote you can get than Climax Cove.

  “It's nice not to hear the fisherman in the morning. We used to live downtown right off Main. Close to your apartment.”

  I tilt my head and he gets the hint, his lips traveling along my skin, his hands still on either side of me gripping the iron balcony.

  “Yeah, they can be loud in the morning, but I love painting them when they come in for the day.”

  He tenses behind me. “Do I need to be worried that you like fisherman?” The tone in his voice is light, but there’s still a slight edge to it. I hope he's catching on that I only do have eyes for him.

  I circle around, allowing his lips to fall from my skin. “I like men who build boats more.”

  He steps forward, so we're chest to chest.

  “I'm trying really hard right now to tell myself that this balcony was built properly and that I won't plummet to my death.” I laugh, but he only moves further forward, making me bend over the edge.

  “Trust me, Cat, nothing bad will happen to you if I'm near.” His eyes hold the conviction of his words and without the thought of repercussions or rejections, my hands grab a hold of his cheeks and I plant my lips to his.

  His urgency meets my own, swiping his tongue along the seam of my lips and I open to him. The taste of red wine comes off his tongue and I dive deeper, needing to feel how much I unglue him. As if he can hear my thoughts, his hands wrap around my waist and he lifts me up, carrying me over to the loveseat.

  My arms slide around his neck, my fingers fisting in the strands of his hair on the back of his head. Breaking the kiss, he sits down on the loveseat, taking my hand and guiding me down so I straddle him. His gaze fixates on my movements and when I sink down on top of him he growls, his hands landing on my ass and pressing me into him.

  The hard erection hidden under his khakis isn't a surprise, but I never thought I'd crave it this much. I want to unbuckle his pants, freeing the beast that teases me. See what it can really do and how it will leave me panting for breath by the end of the night.

  Not missing a beat, Marcus's hand slides up my back, finding the zipper of my dress and dragging it down. The cool night breeze hits my overheated skin and I shiver, arching my back.

  “If you want me to suck on your tits, just tell me.” A smirk teases his lips and he pulls down the sleeves of my dress, leaving me in only my bra from the waist up.

  I wore a demi cup bra so my nipples are about a millimeter away from the edge of the fabric. Marcus wastes no time in pulling the cups down and his mouth closes over one nipple, devouring it while his thumb and forefinger pinch my other one.

  “What about Lily?” I ask, my eyes closing and my arms wrapped around his head as my body rocks back and forth, grinding into his lap.

  My nipple pops out of his mouth and he looks up at me, his hair a tousled mess.

  “Please don't mention my daughter's name right now.”

  He smiles then buries his head back between my breasts. My skin has never burned the way it does now. The small amount of stubble on his face tickles as it rubs along my skin.

  “What if she wakes up?” I whisper.

  He pulls away from me and this time he leans back on the love seat. “She’s a deep sleeper.”

  His eyes say ‘trust me on this, I'm her dad,’ but I can't help the fear that I'm going to look through that glass door and find her face pressed to the glass. We'd ruin her for life and only years of therapy would fix her.

  He blows out a breath. “You aren't going to relax, are you?” he asks.

  I bite my lip and shake my head. “I'm sorry. I just don't want her to see us.”

  He inches forward and I pick up the sleeves of my dress, my hand reaching to my back.

  “Don't zip up.” His callused hand covers mine. “This isn't exactly what I wanted for our first time, but I need you relaxed when I fuck you.”

  He entwines our fingers, grabbing the wine and the blanket, walking us through the patio door. He shuts and locks it then pulls me through the house to another door—one with a deadbolt lock on it. The door opens and reveals an office.

  “We could play therapist and patient,” I say, letting go of his hand and falling onto the brown leather couch along the window.

  He laughs, placing the wine bottle on his desk.

  “I'll be whoever you want me to be.” His determined footsteps come straight for me and he has that cool and debonair look to him again that makes my insides tingle and zing and sizzle. You'd think I was some kid with the most wanted toy just out of reach.


  “Well, doctor,” I shimmy my arms from the sleeves of my dress again, my tits out to play since I never tucked them back into my dress. “I have an unhealthy obsession.” I drop my voice to a seductive tone and lick my lips.

  “Not all obsessions are bad, Caterina.” He sits next to me, his arm hanging on the back of the sofa, his cologne filling the space between us.

  “He's,” I lean forward, “older,” I whisper.

  His finger grazes along my bare shoulders and shivers run up the back of my neck.

  “With age comes experience.” I watch his gaze dip to my breasts and the pulsing between my legs vibrates through my entire body.

  “So, it's okay to want an older man?” I bite back my smile because in all honesty, I don't see Marcus as an older man. I get that he's ten years older, but he's still hot as hell.

  His head falls forward, his lips capturing my earlobe and my back arches. I lean into his mouth, goose bumps overtaking every inch of my skin.

  “I think I'd heavily endorse your obsession.”

  “Figures. All men are alike.” I fall out of the patient role, needing him to touch me and calm the overzealous arousal burning inside of me.

  “We are a hungry breed.” He nibbles on my earlobe and then bites down until I almost scream. His mouth stays next to my ear, his hand sliding to my back to undo my bra and then along my ribcage. His large palm covers my tit and he squeezes. “Now Cat, let me show you the perks of an older man.”

  He places his weight on me until I’m against the back of the couch.

  “Well then, Mr. Kent, do show me what I've been missing out on.”

  My eyes drift closed as his hands venture along my ribcage and my legs part, making room for him to ease between my thighs.

  He says nothing else although I know the dirty words will start pouring out of his mouth soon. His mouth covers mine and his elbows rest on either side of my head while his lips press to mine in an unexpected gentle and loving manner.

  Just when I think Marcus went sentimental on me, his hands slide down to my hips. His warm, wet lips leave my mouth and he flips me on my stomach.

  “Ass in the air,” he demands.