“Then we need to feed you, huh?”
“Yeah,” she shouted as she sat on the bed to wait for me to give her some food.
I spread out the towel I’d grabbed from the kitchen just in case Cheyanne made a mess, before I laid her plate in front of her. Then, I handed Gage his cup of coffee before I took my own and walked around the bed to join them.
“This looks good. Thank you.”
“Welcome, Daddy,” Cheyanne said as she bit into her toast.
We all ate our breakfast, laughing at Cheyanne and her silly faces and how she tried to act like a fish swimming in water. It was like she wasn’t even sick last night. I leaned over several times, trying to appear to be playing with her hair, but I was really checking to make sure she wasn’t feverish.
“Let’s clean this up, and we can go to the park since you’re feeling better,” Gage said as he gathered the dishes and followed her out of the room. I finished my cup of coffee in silence before I went in search of them.
I found them in the living room dancing around as he tried to get Cheyanne dressed.
“I’m going to head on home,” I said as I leaned against one of the barstools at the island.
“You don’t want to go with us?” Gage asked as he stopped his task to pay attention to me.
“It’s not that. I don’t exactly have anything to wear,” I confessed.
“Yes, you do. There’s a pair of jeans and one of your shirts in my closet along with a pair of chucks that you left here one day. Problem solved.”
“Well then. Let me go get changed and I’ll be right out,” I giggled as I turned on my heel to walk away.
Quickly, I got dressed and made sure my hair still looked okay from this morning before I left Gage’s room.
“You ready to go?” Gage asked as I entered the living room.
“Sure,” I replied.
“Swings, Daddy,” Cheyanne squealed as Gage put a light weight coat on Cheyanne before we left his penthouse.
“Yes, kiddo. You can swing when we get there.” We walked down the hall to the elevator.
“You okay?” Gage asked as he grabbed my hand and kissed the tops of my knuckles.
“Yeah, just tired.”
“You didn’t sleep well?”
“Not really.”
“Why?”
“Because I was afraid she’d choke in the middle of the night,” I admitted, keeping my gaze on the elevator doors in front of us.
“You’re too sweet,” Gage replied just as the elevator door opened.
After we all got into Gage’s SUV, we drove the short distance to the park.
Once Cheyanne was released from her car seat, she darted off in the directions of the swings.
“Slow down, kiddo,” Gage yelled after her as he started to run in her direction.
He was an amazing dad. I’d already fallen head over heels in love with his daughter and seeing him with her, having him treat me the way he did, had me well on my way to falling in love with him too.
How did this happen in just a couple of weeks?
Wasn’t this supposed to take months, hell even years in some cases?
Nothing about us was normal. So, falling in love with him fast wouldn’t be that far-fetched I suppose. I’d have to ask the girls once Lizzie returned from her honeymoon.
Cheyanne was moving her legs back and forth as fast as she could on the swing, trying to go as high as her little legs would carry her, by the time I reached the them.
Gage sat on the swing right beside her, the two of them laughing as they tried to see who could get the highest first. He, of course, wasn’t trying as hard as he could’ve, but that’s just something dads did for their kids. I remembered back when we would go to parks with my dad and he would chase us around as we played tag, letting us always make it back to base before he could catch us. He was so slick in letting us think we’d won. A smile appeared on my face at the memory and the one forming right in front of me. Cheyanne’s laughter filled my heart with such joy that I almost couldn’t contain it.
“She’s beautiful,” a woman’s voice said beside me, breaking me away from Cheyanne’s laughter.
I turned to face her, taking in her appearance. She was wearing a tight-fitted white shirt and as I looked down, I noticed her very round stomach.
“Thank you,” I replied, turning my attention back to Cheyanne and Gage.
Gage looked over at me, and his smile turned into a grimace as he scraped his feet on the ground to slow down the swing. He said something to Cheyanne I couldn’t hear and once the swing stopped fully, he stood and headed my way.
“What are you doing here?” he angrily asked.
“Come on, Gage. You act like I followed you here,” she said as she put her hand on his arm.
Gage quickly moved out of her embrace and over to stand behind me.
“I wouldn’t put it past you,” he huffed.
“Don’t be like that. I saw you on the swings with her as I was walking around the park and stopped to look at her.”
“I will be like that. You don’t deserve anything other than that.”
Who the hell was this woman and what was she to Gage?
Was she Cheyanne’s mother?
As I took her in once more, I could see the slight resemblance in their features. Cheyanne had her cheekbones and the color of her hair. Nothing else from what I could tell since she looked just like Gage.
“Well, we kind of need to talk,” the woman said as she rubbed her hands along her swollen bump.
No.
He wouldn’t have hidden another child from me.
Would he?
“The hell we do. You know that baby’s not mine. Don’t act like it is just to get a rise out of me and my wife.”
“Wife?” the woman all but choked as she said the words.
“You heard that right. She’s my wife.”
“I don’t want her around Cheyanne.”
“You don’t know her for one. And for two, you have no right to tell me who can and can’t be around my daughter. You lost that right a long time ago. I have sole custody of her, remember?”
“That’s just a legality. One I will be fighting you for soon.”
“And I’ll win that fight, Krista. You know I will.”
“We shall see,” the woman I now knew went by the name of Krista said as she took one last look at Cheyanne before she stalked off in the direction I assumed she came from.
I looked over at Gage who had his head down as he took deep breaths to calm his anger.
“You okay?” I touched his shoulder for comfort.
“I am now. Let’s go enjoy the rest of our day,” he said as he quickly kissed my forehead before he headed back over to Cheyanne who still sat on the swing. Only now it sat unmoving as she stared at the two of us.
“Daddy, mad?” she asked as we stood in front of her.
“No, kiddo. Daddy’s completely fine. You want to go down the slides now?” Gage asked to change the subject.
“Yay,” she screamed as she stood from the swing and rushed over to the other side of the play area to where the slides were.
We spent the rest of the early morning hours playing at the park, and it was probably one of the best days I’d had. Sharing laughs with the them was such a memorable experience. One I wanted plenty more of.
Cheyanne fussed when we had to go home to fix her lunch, but she quickly stopped with one stern look from Gage, that I could tell she knew meant business. I held back a laugh so I didn’t under mind him, but it was too funny with the way she quickly quieted down with just one look. A look my father had perfected by the time I was born.
Once we arrived back at the apartment, Gage told Cheyanne to go wash up for lunch and I stood at the island as I watched him ready subs for the us. He moved throughout the kitchen with such grace that made me want to watch him in his element for hours on end.
He made sure Cheyanne had grapes and strawberries to go along with her turkey
and cheese sub as he plated all our food.
Just as he sat the plates down at the table, Cheyanne returned.
We ate in relative silence. The apparent elephant between Gage and I lingered throughout the room as we took bite after bite of our food.
The second Cheyanne said she was done, Gage took her from the table and told me he was going to put her down for a nap.
I hadn’t seen the mad side of Gage yet and I had to say, I wasn’t ready to see it again any time soon. He brooded when he was mad. He didn’t use words. His silence said it all.
I went back to his room to collect my dress, shoes, and clutch from the night before. Something told me he’d need a few moments to himself, and I would be lying if I said I didn’t need a few moments alone too. I had to wrap my head around what I witnessed at the park. He had such hostility for her. I wanted to know why, but didn’t want Cheyanne to be around when we had that conversation. She didn’t need to potentially hear anything that was said about her mother. And I wouldn’t be the reason that she did.
I was just about to walk out of the apartment when Gage calling my name made me pause at the door.
“Where are you going?” he asked as he stood right behind me. I could feel his breath on my neck, causing chills to be sent throughout my body.
“I thought you’d want me to leave,” I replied, still looking at my way out that was mere feet away from me.
“What gave you that idea?” he asked. Using the tips of his fingers, he gently caressed the back of my neck.
“You seemed angry and like you wanted to be alone. I was just giving you what I thought you wanted.”
He turned me around at my confession, forcing me to now face him.
“I don’t want you to go anywhere, Avery. Right here in my penthouse is exactly where I want you to be. Am I angry? Yes. But not at you.”
“But,” I tried to counter, but the tip of his finger met my lips to make me stop before I could continue my thought.
“No buts. I want you here in my space with Cheyanne and me. And since she’s napping, I know just what I want to do,” he said as he kissed the tip of my nose.
“What’s that?” I asked with a gulp.
“You,” he replied. With one simple word, I was putty in his hands.
He took my hand within his and led me down the hallway to his room.
Once inside, he shut the door and then his mouth was on mine. His kiss was gentle at first as he explored my mouth. His hands went to my back, pulling me flush against his body. His hardness very apparent behind the denim of his jeans. He lifted the back of my shirt, gently using his fingers to rub the spot just above the top of my jeans. My body shivered on its own accord at his touch.
He broke our lips apart, resting his forehead against mine as he breathed heavily.
“What’s that do to you, sweet Avery?” He took the tip of his finger and ever so softly ran it across the spot that sent me spiraling into a frenzied state.
I couldn’t hold back the moan as it quickly escaped.
“It turns me on,” I breathed out as he continued to rub back and forth.
“What about this spot?” His mouth descended to the spot where my shoulder and neck met.
I let out another moan, this one a little louder than the first, as I put my hands onto his biceps and held on for dear life. My panties now drenched from just a few caresses and a few tender kisses along my neck. My body had never reacted this way. Until Gage.
I was trying to process how quickly he turned me on, when he lifted my shirt and had it off before I could process what was happening. With a flick of his wrist, my bra fell off my breasts and landed on the floor between our feet.
“So damn beautiful,” he said as his hands moved from my neck between the valley of my breasts.
I didn’t feel beautiful, but he made me believe I was.
He walked us backward until my legs hit the bed and with a gentle push, I landed on the mattress. My body laid out on display for him to see. He pulled my shoes off and kissed the insides of my ankles before letting each foot drop. I didn’t even know that was a spot that could set my body aflame, but damn if he hadn’t done just that.
He unfastened the button on my jeans and ever so slowly pulled the denim down my legs. Damn him for taking this slow. I was almost fully naked, and he stood there still in his jeans and white shirt.
Once the jeans were off, I rubbed my thighs together to soothe the ache that was building between my legs.
“I don’t think so, sweetheart,” he said as he pulled my legs apart.
“I want you crazy before I enter you.” He slowly lifted his shirt up over his sculpted abs. He was a sight to behold as he stood in front of me and did a strip tease. His pants were next and when I thought he’d just fling his boxers off, he stood there and let me stare at him.
“You ready?”
“Yes, now get naked,” I commanded then gripped the comforter beneath me.
Where in the hell did that come from? I’d never in my life said such a thing.
He chuckled as he removed the last piece of clothing on his body.
Reaching in the nightstand, he grabbed a condom and covered himself before he crawled up my body and settled between my thighs.
“Two weeks without being inside of you is too damn long,” he whispered as he rubbed the tip of his cock between my folds.
He teased me for a few more long moments before he pushed the tip of his member inside of me. I tried but failed at tensing before he entered me.
A questioning look crossed his features before he fully seated himself inside of me.
“Never in my damn life,” he said as he started to move. Slowly at first, but picking up the pace once I started to move along with him.
His mouth landed on mine, only this time the kiss was more passionate, more loving than the kisses from our first night together.
I felt my orgasm building from the tips of my toes as I continued to move, the tip of him hitting the perfect spot so deep inside of me I almost saw stars.
“Oh God,” I mumbled, just before I fell apart.
“So, fucking perfect,” Gage whispered in my ear as he picked up the pace and then stilled, his body shuddered as the force of his release hit him. He let out a groan as he kissed his way down my neck then stopped at the spot he’d used to lure me back here, gently sucking it into his mouth. My pussy clenched, causing us both to let out a groan, our sensitive flesh even more sensitive than before.
“I’ll be right back, beautiful,” Gage said as he gently pulled out of me and went to dispose of the condom. I covered myself in the comforter, the air from the ceiling fan hitting the sheen of sweat that covered my body, causing a chill to course through me.
“You look so damn good in my bed,” Gage said with a smirk as he exited the bathroom and walked over to the bed.
“I feel good in your bed,” I replied, a grin forming on my lips. It was amazing how good I felt lying here in bliss from the amazing sex we’d just shared.
“I’ll just have to find a way to keep you here then, huh?” He smirked as he jumped on the bed and landed right beside me. He propped his head up with his hand and laid on his side, looking down at me with a hint of love in his eyes.
“Can I ask you something?” He pulled me further into him.
“As long as I can ask you one in return?”
I worried what he’d want to know. Especially after we just shared.
“That’s fair,” he replied as he moved a piece of my hair that had escaped my braid out of my face.
“What did you want to know?”
“I thought the first time was just nerves, but then you did it again just now. Why’d you tense right before I entered you?”
I feared this conversation would happen one day. That’s why I tried so damn hard to not tense this time, but my traitorous body reacted.
“It was a long time ago. Not worth discussing.”
“But I think it is.”
; “It’s embarrassing and….” I tried to get the words out, but they wouldn’t come. Tears filled my eyes and I tried to look away, but Gage’s hand met the side of my cheek and turned me back to face him.
“It’s obviously still affecting you or you wouldn’t be on the verge of crying. And the man in me right now wants to pummel the person who did this to you.”
“Persons.”
“Excuse me?”
“It was two people.”
This wasn’t going the way I had planned. I looked up at him and could tell he thought the worst. I had no choice but to explain now just so he’d get the crazy thoughts that I was sure were running rampant in his mind to cease.
“My first time was horrible. He wanted a quick lay, and I’d never had sex before. I didn’t even get the chance to tell him before we started. I could only lay there since it was so painful. When it was over, he said some nasty things to me that stayed with me. And then I got into another relationship which ended much like the first. Neither of them were anything like you. You took the time to make sure I was ready, but they were only worried about themselves. I’ve never been the type to be ready at the drop of a hat. Until you,” I confessed and then turned my head to look away. All of this was so damn embarrassing, and now that he knew I could only imagine what he thought.
“Those two are fucking idiots. Typical college boys only after one thing. Sweetheart, what did they say to you?”
“I don’t want to repeat it. It’s bad enough that they’re in my head.”
“Then let them go. Let it out so you can get past it,” he encouraged.
“’You’re the worst lay of my life.’ ‘You’re frigid. What’s wrong with you?’ ’I can’t believe I waited so long to sleep with you and that’s what I was waiting for. Unbelievable.’ ‘Even popping your cherry wasn’t worth that horrible experience.’” I repeated those words and then felt the urge to vomit once they were out in the open.
“What the ever-loving fuck? They said that to you?” Gage said, enraged as he sat up and looked down at me.
“Every word.”
“Look at me, beautiful,” he whispered once he calmed down and laid beside me once again.
I blinked rapidly to keep the tears from escaping as I turned my head to look into the depths of his baby blues.
The Right Mistake Page 10
