“You just let her eat. The mess is all party of the fun, anyway.”
“You’re right.” I sat back but I cringed as ice cream dribbled along Zoe’s little arm. “This is hard.”
“Not doing anything about it? Or cleaning it again and again?”
“Sitting here and not doing anything about it.” I chuckled.
“Do it for two years and you’ll pick the latter.”
He laughed out loud and turned to face me. “I guess I’ll just avoid looking at her. But she’s so cute.”
“The little devil. Drives me crazy but I want to eat her up at the same time.”
I reached over and cleaned her mouth again.
“You’ll exhaust yourself. The ice cream is good, by the way. Do you come out here often?”
I grimaced. “What would I come to here for? I’m committed to a life of solitude.”
“You know what I mean. To shop and stuff.”
“What would I shop for, Nina? What do I need? I can’t even go to work. I have enough clothes to last me for life living in that cottage.”
Her face fell and my own heart twisted a little at the reality of what I’d admitted. It wasn’t a fun life. I’d asked her to move in and live this dull life. I was amazed she hadn’t laughed in my face when I suggested it. She was way too polite for her own good. I couldn’t bear to see the grim look in Nina’s eyes.
“Once Zoe’s was done with her ice-cream, I want to go shopping.”
“You just said—”
“Not for me.” I smiled. “For Zoe.” I smiled at Zoe and silently bit the waffle cone.
Twenty minutes later, I spent a good five minutes wiping down Zoe’s hands and arms up to her elbows with baby wipes. Despite my watchful eye, she had managed to get ice-cream in her hair and down the front of her shirt.
“Don’t fuss. I’ll give her a bath later.”
“Okay.” Yet I continued to wipe her to my satisfaction, and spent the next hour picking out outfits for Zoe.
“This is the first time I’m shopping for a girl and I’ve got to tell you I love it.”
I held up a little black net skirt with a black sleeveless top. “She could wear this to Disneyland with Minnie Mouse ears.”
“Great.” Nina said. She was having a lot of fun. All three of us were laughing, talking. Every time I entered a designer store, Nina would nudge me.
“She’s doesn’t need these expensive clothes.”
“Just one.” I’d promise.
Then I’d walk out with a several items.
By the time we were done, Zoe was wiped out and I carried her to the car while Nina pushed the empty stroller. Half an hour later, I parked Nina’s blue SUV outside the cottage. Nina turned in her seat to check on Zoe.
“She’s asleep.”
“You go on inside. I’ll bring her.”
Nina walked up the cottage and I unbuckled Zoe’s car seat, cradling her against my chest. Her tiny face was nestled into the curve of my arm. I kissed the top of her head and stood unmoving for long seconds. This beautiful little girl was mine. I almost fell to my knees as an insane need to protect her, have her around me, to love her and provide her with everything she needed, overcame me.
I kissed her forehand again and again as I carried her up the steps of the house. Placing her in her bed, I pulled the duvet over her legs. I found my mom and Nina setting the table.
“Dinner’s ready,” Mom called.
I took the chair next to her.
“I hear you went shopping today.”
“Strangely exciting shopping for such tiny girl clothes. I never thought in a million years I’d be buying my own daughter such tiny outfits. But she’s still young, so that’s fine.”
Nina pulled a chair for herself. “Calum went overboard, spent a fortune on clothes. I mean they’re beautiful and all very functional, but still… so much. And I’m not even bringing up that horde of toys in the car trunk.”
My fork stopped halfway to my mouth and I held her gaze. “I have two years of her life to make up for, Nina. Let me do this, please.”
Nina smiled, her eyes fluttering as she glanced sideways at Mom. “I know.”
“And don’t thank me. She’s my daughter.”
“That she is.”
Isabel cleared her throat and carried her plate to the sink. “I’m going to bed early. You kids have fun.”
“Good night,” Nina and I chorused.
Our eyes met. “I had a great time with you and Zoe.”
Nina twirled her fork in her plate of spaghetti. I could tell she was at war with her thoughts. Her eyes were puzzled, her smile cautious. And the crimson blush on her cheeks made her glow. I’d never wished for something so fervently in my life, knowing that I couldn’t get it.
The family I’d gotten to have today was only a temporary pleasure. It wouldn’t last forever. There was no way I would choose this life. In hindsight, I didn’t want Nina to choose this life either. She deserved more. She deserved a full life. Not here, not like a damned fugitive.
Chapter 14
Nina
I came up the stairs as Calum was peering into Zoe’s room.
Fast asleep.
He turned around, a hot glow in his eyes.
I nodded, pushing my hands nervously into the back pockets of my denim jeans. Biting my upper lip, I let my gaze wander back to his. His eyes were narrowed at me, his shoulder leaning against the wall as he ogled me.
I lifted my brows and chuckled shyly. “What?”
He shook his head in a slow, sexy way that gave me goosebumps and made my breasts swell beneath my shirt. I drew in a deep breath. I had to do this now. I was going to come clean. I didn’t feel right having these secrets. If I was willing to trust Calum around my child, I could trust him with the truth about why I had agreed to come with him in the first place.
“Calum?”
He pulled away from the wall and headed toward me.
I stifled the urge to step away and stood my ground. “I have something very important to tell you.”
His hand slid over my cheek, making me gasp. My eyes grew heavy lidded. The effect of his touch was magical. It transformed me and handed me nirvana within seconds.
“Calum. I really need—”
“Shhh.” His thumb pressed to my lips to stop me from speaking. His touch was enough to steal my words anyway. But he wasn’t quite done. He dragged my lower lip down, baring my bottom teeth. “I’ve been dying a little every second, waiting for another chance to have you alone.”
I sifted through the dense haze in my mind to recall what I had wanted to talk to him about. The eager, desperate need in his eyes made him look vulnerable. The harshness around his mouth spoke of his urgency. He was sex wrapped in one eye candy of a package, and I was putty when he was around. Naked or not. This man unraveled all my senses and left me defenseless and wanting and destitute for his closeness.
“I wanted you alone, all to myself. And here you are.”
“Here I am.” I found myself gasping.
I tilted my head back and reached up for the contact of his hot mouth. Instead of leaning down to take my offering, he clasped my wrist and turned, leading me down the hall toward his bedroom door.
My legs were shaking already, my body burning up to be pressed naked onto this strong chest. I could finally melt in his strength. He closed the door gently behind us, and twisted the lock. His touch was gentle along my shoulder, until his long fingers curved around my nape.
I closed my eyes. My intense thoughts spilled past my lips before I could evaluate the level of sanity behind them. “As soon as you touch me, I forget the world.”
I couldn’t believe I’d said it.
Raw emotion flared in his eyes. “It’s just you and me who exist right now. Just us.”
I stepped forward and tilted my head up for his kiss. I sought nirvana and I found it in his deep, passionate, consuming kiss. His fingers slipped through my hair, clutching at handfuls. I was
a willing captive. I could have killed to stay in his unrelenting hold and taste his mouth. I kissed him with blind, incontrollable need. And when his lips parted and glided insistently over the contours of mine, I welcomed the suggestive invasion of his tongue.
I gasped and clenched him tighter, unaware of anything real and mortal. I floated mindlessly on a wave of sensations. They engulfed me. They made breasts ache and my thighs clench and my pussy throb. My clothes came off my body. A cool draft hit my hot skin, making me shiver. The room seem to tilt beneath my feet as he brought me down onto the couch, next to his naked body.
The world stopped. His hands left my body, his mouth abandoned my lips.
My eyes bolted open. He was leaning on his arm, his brow furrowed as his eyes roved leisurely all over my body.
I lifted my arms to shield myself, but stopped when he flinched.
“What are you doing?” I asked in a bare whisper.
“Looking at you.” The backs of his fingers touched me again, a soft brush on my left shoulder blade. His hand traveled down, stroking the top of my breast, over the hardened peak of my nipple. It took its licentious time getting to the triangle between my thighs.
Moaning, I pressed a kiss to his flat brown nipple. He lurched, his muscles flexed away from my lips. I splayed my fingers over his heart and kissed the spot where it was beating. When I lifted my face again, he bent his head and took my mouth in a poignant kiss. It stole my breath. His hands slid roughly down my body, stroking every inch of my bared flesh.
He kissed me until I was moaning. His mouth traveled down to my breasts, making them ache and throb. His fingers explored and kneaded and squeezed my sensitive, swollen tits. Abruptly, his body shifted fully on top of me.
I reached for his hips. They were hard and taut between my fingertips as he spread my legs and settled between them. I slid closer. “I want you now.”
“Oh, baby.” He pinched both of my nipples at the same time. The hot pain caught me by surprise, made me whine as hot streaks of desire shot to my clit. “I want you all the damned time.”
I reveled in the way his biceps flexed. He caught his cock in one hand, pushing his hips forward until the head of his cock buried into the fleshy folds of my sex. I shivered in delight as he leaned over me, his tongue fighting its way into my mouth. All the while, my pussy agonized in wait over the full thrust of his cock.
Everything happened at once. His tongue tangled with mine. He caught my waist between both hands, holding me in place. His mouth abandoned mine.
“Nina! Look at me.”
The harsh command registered. My eyes opened languorously. The moment our gaze met, he drove into me with a force that made a short cry escape my parted lips. My body arched like a tight-strung bow. I clawed at his shoulders, keeping him in place, seeking his comfort, his protection, and the fierce heat of his body. I opened my eyes, so utterly aware of his presence everywhere. On me, in me.
He shook his head almost ominously.
“Keep looking at me. Don’t look away!” he lunged hard. His teeth clenched with the strength it took.
I cried out in time with every deep thrust. I fought to keep eye contact when my eyes wanted to roll back into my head in delirious euphoria. The unwavering eye contact with his green eyes was somehow more erotic and intimate than his cock ramming the opening of my cervix.
“Keep looking at me. Let me see you.”
His touch was tender again. His long fingers stroked the sides of my face, but the thrusts of his demanding hips belied his gentleness. There was visceral urgency in the way he claimed me. As if he wanted to brand me with his shape and his heat. His dick was rock hard. The dull ache of his thrusting radiated through my core.
It hurt. I wouldn’t have had it any other way.
His eyes were warm and obsessed, as if he couldn’t have enough of the sight of me. He slowed the rhythmic tempo of his lunges. Then picked up the pace, to suddenly glide in with agonizing slowness. It was a constant surprise. Not knowing what he would do next. How he’d fuck me.
I clung to him as I came, my eyes squeezed shut on impulse. Uncontrollable jerks rolled over my body.
“Look at me, darling.” His fingers seized my nape, yanking me up into his arms. I ended up straddling his thighs, and my upper body fell over him, limp and exhausted. He held me down and thrust upward. His mouth taut around my nipple, he sucked with enough pressure to make it ache. My fingers ran through his hair, holding him in place, his cock desperately, relentlessly plunging upward.
He gave so much. I wanted to give him back more.
I slid off his lap and was surprised when he grunted in protest.
He reached for me. “Stay.”
I turned to face away from him, dropping onto all fours. He didn’t miss a beat. His hands clasped my ass, spreading the cheeks apart. His cock claimed my pussy with surprisingly speed. I groaned, lifting my head.
My eyes met his.
My breath stopped.
In the large mirror beside his bed, I held Calum’s gaze. His flexed upper body lorded over me. His navel pressed to my ass. His cock impaled me from behind. I saw my swaying breasts.
That’s exactly what he sees.
Watching us fuck sent a thrill through my body. “I see you.” I moaned with a gasp as he pounded me forward.
His throaty chuckle reverberated through me, tickling my clit. It was such a sexy sound. But what was sexier was the way he leaned down to gather my breasts in his hands. Clutching them securely, he pulled me up. My back lay against his chest. Our gazes held in the mirror. I lifted my arms high up, reaching for the back of his head. He caught my breasts roughly to rock me forward with the force of his hips. I watched his hand make the scandalous trip down to my clit. Even before he burnished it in soft strokes, I reacted.
“I’m going to cum.”
“I’m going to make you,” he whispered, kissing my earlobe tenderly.
His tender kisses and touch, the rough pounding of his dick—the contrast gave me a whiplash that I never wanted to surface from.
His fingers slipped through the folds of my sex, spreading me apart. The combined stimulation of his cock burying deep in me, his fingers rubbing my clit, and watching us in the mirror set me off quicker than I expected.
I shook, holding onto his neck to stay upright. My knees buckled. Calum caught me and fell to his side, taking me with him, spooning me as he lunged hard and fast. This time, he selfishly sought his own release. I sucked his soaked fingertips while the hot friction of his too-big cock ravaged my insides. I shifted closer to him, but the force of his thrusts kept propelling me away.
His passion and his need, the territorial way he took me utterly and completely, ended with the perfect hot gush of his cum flooding my insides.
I clenched my pussy lips together, waning to squeeze every last drop of his load out of him. He grunted, and his over-sensitized cock twitched inside me.
My breath was so frantic, it sounded like broken sobs. My heart beat frantically when I turned to face him, lifting my head onto his shoulder, I pressed my palm to this thudding heart and waited for the frantic heartbeat to slow down.
His fingers clasped my chin. He lifted my face up to his. “Do you have any idea…” His lips pecked my nose gently, before paying the same attention to the corner of my mouth. “… How wonderful you are, and how fucking responsive?”
I closed my eyes, kissing the side of his nose. A smile played on my lips. “Do you know, you fuck me like you’d stop breathing if you stopped?”
His fingers squeezed into my hips, and his short fingernails scratched my flesh. He yanked me closer. “I just might, Nina. Without you, I just might fucking stop breathin—”
I caught his words in my mouth, drowning out the rest of the horrid sentence. Tears of longing burned my eyes. I kissed him with ferocious hunger, moving fully over him. I was engulfed in a torrid cloud of fierce want to keep him, have him, own him. I pinned his arms by the sides of his head.
&n
bsp; I had years’ worth of longing to expend. So did he.
I looked out the kitchen window and spotted Zoe on the beach with Isabel. She seemed to be having a great time. I smiled when Isabel lovingly rubbed sunscreen on Zoe’s face. Zoe was blossoming under the attention of three doting family members. The break I’d taken from work had been for Zoe, and it turned out that coming with Calum to Newport had been a great decision. Zoe not only got to spend quality time with me, but also with her father and grandmother. I had trouble imagining a life where Zoe didn’t have Isabel and Calum in her life. She’d be missing out on too much. There was too much at stake. When I’d met Myles a week ago, the fact that FBI was trying to find Calum had shook me to the core. But everything had turned out so much better than the doomsday I’d expected.
I smiled as Calum kissed my cheek and put on the kettle. “Do you want some tea?”
“Mhmm. Sure. Do you have a computer I could use? My phone mail app isn’t syncing. Something’s gone wrong.”
“It’s in my room. I’ll bring you your tea there.”
As I walked over to the bedroom, I tried refreshing the mail app on my phone. It didn’t work. I opened Calum’s laptop on the desk in front of the window. It looked out onto the beach. At that angle, I couldn’t see Zoe and Isabel—only the private dock and the beautiful boat Calum owned. It was a great place to sit down and work, and in my lovesick state, I pictured many an afternoon seated here, working.
I laughed to myself as signed into my mail. I was makeup artist. I didn’t have work that involved sitting at a desk. But for the short time the musings lasted, they were great fun.
I tried my damn-dest to not think about the future. There were so many variables. Myles existed on the horizon of my mind at all times, terrifying me. What would happen when I went back home and provided no info on Calum? Calum would always remain in hiding. How could I overcome that and build a family with him?
I had to go back to work and take care of my business. I wasn’t ready nor willing to give up my entire life…
Irish Billionaire's Lost Daughter Page 7
