Daddy 101 (American Romance)

by Leigh, Jo

  Alex knew the moment she let go. The moment she shed her inhibitions and responded like no other woman alive. Her taste, slightly sweet and slightly coffee, was as intoxicating as champagne. Her scent, a mixture of pure woman and summer flowers, snaked inside him and turned him into a cauldron of need. Her feel, soft, feminine, curvy and delicate, made him swell painfully against his jeans. And when she nibbled on his lower lip, teased him with her tongue, ran her hand down his back, he wanted to take her right there. On the dryer. On the table. Against the wall. It didn’t matter, as long as he could take possession of the one thing he wanted more than anything else in the world. Dani. His Dani.

  No longer thinking with reason, he moved his right hand to her breast and the second he touched her rigid nipple beneath her blouse, he groaned and pressed against her lower belly. He heard her moan in response, and that was it. He couldn’t take any more. Moving her back toward the low table, he grabbed her thighs just below her derrière, and lifted her onto the table. He spread her knees apart and moved into that space, never letting go of her lips, never letting the contact between them widen.

  She pulled back for a second and whispered, “Chloe.”

  Without missing a beat, he stuck his leg out, caught the edge of the door and shoved it closed.

  “Oh, my,” she said, and he inhaled the words as he brought his mouth down on hers once more.

  He felt her arms come around his neck, and the insanely sensuous feel of her fingers in his hair. As his head swam and his body boiled, he used his fingers to unbutton her blouse. Quickly, carefully, and then he was touching the soft skin of the top of her breast and the silky bra that held her for him. His thumbs traced the outline of the bra, then slipped underneath, just for a second.

  He pulled back from their kiss and looked at her. She took his breath away with her beauty. This is how he always wanted her. Hungry. Needing him. Mouth parted slightly. Tinge of pink on her cheeks. Eyes half closed and filled with desire. No mortal man could fail to be moved, and God knows, he was only flesh and blood.

  Although he never wanted to stop looking at her, there was more to do. So much more. He leaned down, drinking in the sight of her breasts. Her nipples, as hard as erasers, pushed the silky pink fabric invitingly, and he lowered his lips first to her right bud. Circling the hard nub with his tongue, feeling it swell even further, he took the hidden flesh in his teeth, very gently, then sucked in sharply.

  Her gasp was his reward. No longer content to toy with her, he unclasped the front opening of the bra and peeled it back, letting go with his mouth at the last possible second. She was completely exquisite. Her breasts, pale and high and firm, showed her arousal so clearly it made him crazy. He cupped her right breast in his hand while he gave her left nipple his mouth’s attention. Tasting her skin was too much. Feeling her arch her back was more than he could stand. And when he felt her hand on his jeans, and then, merciful heaven, on his erection, he nearly came right then.

  “Oh, Alex,” she murmured as she felt his heat. “I want...”

  He found her hand and pressed it to him more firmly, echoing her words with his body.

  “Dani,” he whispered, not leaving her breast. Then words were impossible with his tongue and his lips so busy.

  “Mom! I’m gonna be late again!”

  He felt Dani freeze. Her hand pulled away. The arch in her back straightened, and he groaned in frustration.

  “Chloe,” Dani said urgently.

  What could he do? He backed away, unable to look at her. If he did, he’d never let her go, Chloe or no Chloe.

  “I’m sorry,” she said. Out of the corner of his eye he saw her struggle with her bra and then her blouse. He was struggling with something much more personal.

  “I think Pete can come home today. If you want, you can come to the clinic this afternoon to get him, or I can just bring him home.”

  He nodded, knowing that wasn’t an answer, but unable to speak.

  “I’ll call you later.”

  He heard her jump down from the table. “Or you can call me.”

  She moved to the door.

  “Oh, damn,” she said.

  Then the door opened and closed. He leaned hard against the cold wall. It didn’t help. He had a terrible feeling nothing would.

  SOMEHOW, DANI MANAGED to get through the day. Five dogs, seven cats, two parakeets and one gerbil took her mind off Alex intermittently, although nothing had taken him completely away. It was as if his touch had come with her to work. She could still feel every spot on her body that he’d caressed. She had never been more grateful for the white lab coat she wore, as her nipples had remained hard all day. She hadn’t known they could do that. Of course, she had to wonder if Alex had stayed that way, too. For his sake, she hoped not. Although the idea of doing that to him did appeal to some very primitive, very naughty part of her.

  He’d phoned her at ten. She’d called him at noon. Then again at two. Since she was bringing Pete home with her, he hadn’t come to visit, which was for the best. If she was having this much trouble with him so many blocks away, everything would have fallen apart if she’d actually seen him.

  But now that her last patient was gone, she couldn’t hurry enough. Pete was really doing well, and he was almost as anxious as she was to get home to Alex. His whole body quivered as she locked up the clinic, and never had she identified more with her canine friends. Her own quivering wasn’t quite so obvious, but it was there, all right.

  Knowing it was all wrong, that a relationship with Alex would never work, hadn’t made a bit of difference. Her logic and her body were at odds with each other, and right now logic wasn’t winning. All she could think of was getting home. Seeing his smile. Hearing his voice. Feeling his touch.

  Finally she opened her front door. The first thing she noticed was that Mimi wasn’t in the living room, and the TV was off. She led Pete toward the kitchen and he must have gotten Alex’s scent because halfway there, he started leading her. They’d just hit the kitchen door when they both saw Alex.

  He stood at the stove, stirring something hot in a big pot. He put down the spoon, turned, and with a smile that was pure little boy, said, “Welcome home.”

  He kept his gaze on her as he squatted down for Pete. The old dog bounded across the floor, and nearly knocked him over. But still, Alex looked at her. Until, that is, Pete started licking his face.

  “Mom, guess what? Who’s that?”

  Chloe stood beside her, staring at Alex and Pete. She still had on her school clothes—a green jumper with a turtleneck underneath—but she was also sporting a red baseball cap with the brim turned around. Dani was a little startled to see that her daughter had sprouted again. She came up to the middle of her upper arm, where just a few weeks ago, she’d reached her elbow. She was growing up so quickly.

  She leaned over and kissed her little girl on the cheek. “That’s Pete,” she said. “Alex’s dog.”

  “Cool. Can I pet him?”

  “Sure. But I’d wait for the homecoming to be over first.”

  Chloe nodded.

  “What were you going to tell me?” Dani asked.

  “Oh, yeah. Guess what?”

  “What?”

  “We have to make two cakes. It’s for the school booth. One’s supposed to be chocolate and the other is supposed to be something else.”

  “We? You got a mouse in your pocket?”

  “It’s supposed to be a mother-daughter project. And I’ve never baked a cake before.”

  Dani narrowed her eyes. “When do we have to bake these cakes?”

  “Tonight.”

  “Uh-huh. And when did you find out about this project?”

  Chloe blushed. “Two weeks ago.”

  “And you didn’t tell me then because...?”

  “I forgot. Oh, and we’re not supposed to use a mix. And I have to bring the recipes to school on three-by-five cards so they can be in the cookbook.”

  Dani sighed. “No mix?”
>
  Chloe shook her head. “Mr. Tompkins said that we should find out if there are any old family recipes, like from our grandparents. We’re supposed to write. something about that.”

  “Good idea,” Dani said. “I’m sure Grandma would love to help you with the cakes.”

  “I can help.”

  Dani and Chloe both blinked, then turned to Alex. He’d risen, although his hand was still busy petting Pete’s head.

  “You?” Dani asked. She tried really hard not to laugh out loud. She couldn’t do much about her grin, though.

  “Hey, who do you think cooked dinner?”

  She looked at her kitchen. In addition to the pot on the stove, there were several other pots and pans in or near the sink. Her old punch bowl, which was given to her by her aunt Esther, but which she’d never used, appeared to be filled with lettuce and tomatoes. There was also an assortment of spice jars, oil, vinegar, salt, flour, baking soda and some other unidentifiable food containers lined up on the counter. “My goodness,” she said. “Bored, were we?”

  Alex approached her, Pete tagging along, obviously happy to be with his master again. “I wasn’t bored at all. This cooking thing is interesting. Easier than I thought it would be.”

  “Oh?” She let him lead her to the stove. He took the lid off the pot, and she smelled chicken and garlic. Lots of garlic. “What’s this?”

  “It’s soup. But that’s not the main course. That’s in the oven.”

  She pulled down the door to the oven and saw a whole bird roasting inside. From here, it looked good. Brown-skinned, juicy. Next to it was a covered casserole. “And?”

  “Stuffing.”

  She closed the door. “I didn’t know I had everything to make such a sumptuous meal. Thank you. May I ask what brought on this mad rush of domesticity?”

  “I promised you a good dinner. I didn’t want to leave Pete his first night home, so the next best thing was to do it myself.”

  She crossed her arms and looked at him, standing there so proudly you’d have thought he’d just invented chicken itself.

  “The only thing we don’t have is dessert.”

  “We’re not big on desserts here—”

  “We can make the cakes!” Chloe said, blithely interrupting. “We can make three, and eat one tonight.”

  “Sure we can,” Alex said, before Dani had a chance to catch her breath. “It’ll be fun. The three of us can each work on one.”

  “Cool!” Chloe turned to her, her eyes already pleading, and her feet doing her little begging jig. “Please, Mom. Can we? Alex said he wants to. I want to. It’ll be fun. I want to do the chocolate. With lots of icing. And three layers, okay?”

  “Hold on. First, I don’t have the ingredients for three cakes just lying around. I don’t even have cake pans.”

  “We can get them. Okay?”

  She looked from Alex to Chloe and back again. How was she supposed to say anything but yes to those two faces? It would be like kicking a couple of puppies. “All right.”

  Chloe jumped up, straight in the air. Alex looked as if he wanted to join her. All Dani could do was shake her head. Which reminded her... “Where’s Mimi?”

  “I gave her the day off,” Alex said. “I was here. So she didn’t have to be.”

  “I see.” She looked at Chloe suspiciously. “And what did we have for our afternoon snack?”

  Chloe wasn’t jumping anymore. She turned her guilty gaze away. “Just some cookies.”

  “Cookies? No wonder you’re hopping all over the place. And you want cake, too? Honey, you’ll never sleep a wink tonight.”

  “I will, too. I swear.” She crossed her heart with her finger. “Honest.”

  Alex was looking a little guilty, too. “What was she supposed to have?”

  “Fruit. Or half a sandwich. Or some cereal.”

  “Ah-hah,” he said. “Got it.” He scowled at Chloe. “As for you, little sneak.” He crouched down and headed for her, mischief in his eyes and his hands poised for tickling. Chloe backed up, her giggles filling the kitchen. Pete got into the act with two spirited barks.

  All in all, Dani couldn’t remember a happier time. Just hearing Chloe sound like a little girl was enough to send her spinning, but watching Alex capture her in his arms, swing her into the air, laugh with her, tickle her and finally hold Chloe close, like a father would hold a daughter, was nearly too much to bear.

  She turned to the stove, not anxious for either one of them to see her sudden tears. Why she felt so choked up was easy to explain. It was Chloe. She hardly ever laughed that way anymore. It wasn’t necessarily because Alex was the one that incited that laughter, or that they looked so happy together. A stranger might think they were father and daughter. Damn.

  With the back of her hand, she wiped the two tears that escaped, then lifted the pot cover. It took her a moment to focus, though, and she stirred the soup until she felt in control.

  “Tell you what,” Alex said. “Why don’t we make those cakes, but we’ll save them for tomorrow, huh?”

  “Ahhhhh,” Chloe whined. “That’s no fun.”

  “Guaranteed dessert for several days to come is no fun?” Then Dani heard him whisper, “Someone’s going to have to lick the spoons, remember. I think that’s mandatory. I think I read about that in Betty Crockett.”

  Chloe giggled again. “Betty Crocker.”

  “Ah. I wondered why there were no bear recipes in that book.”

  Dani laughed. Chloe said, “Huh?” Alex sighed and said, “Never mind.”

  Composed once more, Dani faced the two of them. To her surprise, Alex hadn’t let Chloe go, and her daughter showed no signs of wanting to leave. He was leaning against the fridge. His arms were crisscrossed over Chloe’s chest. Chloe was holding on to him, just above his elbows. Dani had never wanted to kiss Alex so badly. Or hug her baby so much.

  She caught Alex looking at her, though. He crooked his head a bit, asking her what was wrong in that silent way that he had. She just smiled. She wasn’t going to tell him what she was feeling, though. It would be too hard to extricate herself. The ammunition would be too great.

  “So what time is this feast supposed to be ready?”

  “Any minute,” Alex said. “Just enough time for me to give Pete some food and water.” He bent over Chloe’s head to look at her upside-down. “You gonna help?”

  “Yes!” she said. With that, she was off like a rocket. And he wanted her to lick the spoons.

  “Come on, Pete. We’ve got dog food in the garage .”

  Pete looked at Alex, and only when his master nodded did the dog take off after Chloe. My God, it was like something out of Lassie. Next thing you know, Pete would be telling them that Timmy had fallen in the well.

  “You want some wine?” Alex asked.

  She shook her head. “Not if there’s going to be baking later.”

  He moved toward her slowly. His demeanor had changed, and she was pretty clear about what he intended to do. If she had a brain in her head, she’d clear out. Go take a quick shower. At least wash her face. Instead she just stood there, waiting. No. Anticipating. She wanted his kiss. Oh, God, did she ever.

  Unfortunately, Chloe and Pete made a reappearance that threw that idea out the window. Grabbing a rare flash of sanity, she fled, knowing she was just putting off the inevitable. But she had to regroup if she wanted to get out of this one. The question was, did she want to?

  ALEX SET THE TABLE by himself. He poured the water all around, milk for Chloe and sparkling water for grown-ups. He set out salad plates, and a separate cruet of homemade dressing. He brought the bird to the two lovely ladies, and placed it on the hot pad with all the flair he could muster. He tried to imagine what would have happened if Ted had decided to show up tonight instead of last night. The poor guy probably would have had a coronary. He’d never have believed that Alex had fixed this perfect meal all by himself.

  “It looks wonderful,” Dani said.

  Music to his ear
s.

  “Smells good, too,” Chloe added.

  He just smiled. “Wait till you taste it.” He ladled some soup into Chloe’s bowl, then Dani’s and finally his own. Then it was his turn to sit. He did, and then something strange hit him. A thought. No, more like déjà vu, only he’d never experienced this before. Well, not for real. This was a remembrance of a dream. Of a picture-perfect family he’d only imagined. A sense of belonging so strong it made his chest hurt. This family. His family.

  Only it wasn’t. At least, not yet.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Dani couldn’t get over the beautifully set table. It really looked great, and the fact that Alex had gone to so much trouble wasn’t lost on her at all. He was trying so hard to impress her. To show her that he was thinking of her. The problem was, it was working.

  No man in her life had ever put so much effort, so much thought into pleasing her. She didn’t like to admit it, but it had occurred to her more than once that if he was this attentive outside of the bedroom, she couldn’t even imagine what he would be like between the sheets. If he continued to charm her this way, she had a sneaking suspicion she might find out.

  She lifted her soupspoon, curious to test his culinary skills. It smelled good, although a little garlicky. Well, a little garlic never hurt anyone. He was watching her, so she figured whatever it tasted like, she was going to say something complimentary. Hopefully Chloe would remember some of their past etiquette talks, and do the same.

  She brought the soup to her lips, and swallowed. At first, she just noticed hot. Then she was on fire! Struggling not to cough or choke, her mouth blazing, she grabbed her water but then she saw Chloe bringing her own spoon to her lips, and she put down her glass, stood up in her chair, lunged for the spoon and yelled, “Stop!”

  Chloe did. She froze, looking at Dani as if she’d lost her mind. Dani couldn’t explain. She couldn’t talk yet. She just got her glass once more and this time, she chugged the cold water. Her eyes were tearing and her cheeks were warm and all she wanted was for the fire in her mouth to stop. My God, what had he put in the soup?