Tempt the Hookup

by Natasha Madison

  “Should I ask?” I look at Aiden who stands between us, looking up at her.

  “Who wants ice cream?” she says, and Aiden just smiles. He turns to walk toward the exit. When he is out of earshot, she looks at me. “He’s never coming back here.”

  “I agree,” I tell her and put my arm around her and bring her to me as we walk.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Eliahn

  “Who would have thought this Monday would end with me eating ice cream on a park bench at four?” I look over at Luca who sits on the bench next to me. His jacket’s off, his shirt is rolled up to his elbows, and his tie is also gone.

  “Not me,” he says as he licks his own ice cream. “Are you going to tell me what happened when I left the room?”

  I look over at Aiden who is trying to go across the monkey bars but falling after only two. He always gets back up and tries again. “Well, considering you left the room and took her dignity, she made it a point to tell me that maybe Aiden is acting up because of his home life and seeing as things are so wishy-washy between us that getting into a fight was his outsource.” He stops licking his ice cream, and I see his jaw get tight. “I wish I had a good comeback instead of ‘bite me,’ but it was the only thing that came to my mind,” I say, and now he laughs. “Well, it was better than fuck off and eat a bag of dicks.” I look back out at Aiden and hear Luca roar with laughter.

  “Eat a bag of dicks,” he says. “Always go with that one.”

  “What are we going to do?” I look over at him, and I have to say having someone to share the burden with is amazing. When I saw him stand up for Aiden the way he did, I wanted to jump on him and tear his clothes off.

  “I already placed a couple of calls and pulled a string or two,” he says, and I look at him in shock. “We have an appointment tomorrow morning at Kruper Academy,” he tells me, and I look at him in shock. It’s the best school that you can send your child to. It also only takes the top students. “He has to pass the exam,” he says, “but talking to his teacher, I don’t think it’s going to be a problem.”

  “How did you pull that off? I called them and were told that the waitlist was four years,” I tell him, and it’s not a lie. I called them from Paris when I knew I was coming back, and the receptionist literally laughed at me.

  “It’s all about who you know.” He winks at me and then leans forward. “You did amazing raising him, Eli, and I owe you everything.”

  I lean forward now, and I’m about to kiss him when our son yells his name and my phone rings. “One of these days.” He laughs and looks at Aiden. “No one is going to interrupt us.” He gets up and walks over to our son, and I see him holding him up while he goes across the monkey bars.

  “One of these days, I’m going to send our son to their grandparents and turn off my phone,” I mumble when I hear my ringtone. Looking at my phone, I see it’s my father calling. “Speak of the devil.”

  “Is this a bad time?” my father’s voice booms, and I can tell he’s in the car.

  “No, I’m at the park with Aiden and Luca,” I tell him, and I don’t even think about not mentioning Luca.

  “Is Aiden okay? I heard there was a situation at his school.” I roll my eyes. Why am I not surprised that he heard this? Even when I was in school, he would know before I had a chance to tell him.

  “It was fine,” I say and then look at Luca and smile. “Luca actually handled it.”

  “Really?” he asks, shocked and surprised. “You aren’t the type to keep quiet.”

  I laugh. “I figure that he is the lawyer, so he should handle it.”

  “I agree with you there. Your mother is making spaghetti, and she wants you and Aiden to come over for dinner,” he asks.

  “The invitation includes Luca also?” I inquire.

  “I’m assuming that isn’t a yes or no answer,” he says, laughing. “Come over whenever you guys want. The pool is heated,” he says and hangs up. I look up to see Aiden running away from Luca as he chases him. Aiden’s squeals fill the park as he laughs, and no matter how it was for me at the beginning, I would do it all over again for him to have this. Luca catches him around his waist and throws him over his shoulder, walking back to me with him laughing and giggling.

  “Hey, you two,” I say. “Would you like to go eat spaghetti at Grandma and Grandpa’s house?” I ask, looking at Luca, who puts Aiden down. Aiden walks over to me, grabbing the water bottle next to me and drinking it as his chest rises and falls from his heavy breathing. “The pool is also ready.”

  “Oh, can we go?” he says, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. His cheeks are red from running. I look at Luca, waiting to see if he says anything.

  “We should just drop your car off at home and take one car,” he says, and I smile at him. He grabs my hand when we walk back to our cars, kissing Aiden first and then me. “See you at home.”

  I follow him home, and we jump in his car and go toward my parents’ house. I look over at Luca. “Are you sure you’re okay with this?”

  He looks over at me. “I’m as okay with this as I am with you coming to my parents’ house on Friday?”

  I look at him. “I thought you usually go there on Saturdays?”

  He smirks. “I was hoping that maybe I could take you out on a date.”

  I try to hide the smile from my face. “Is that right?”

  “I was hoping,” he says, pulling into my parents’ long driveway. I don’t say anything because Aiden claps his hands together and calls my father.

  “Grandpa,” he says as we pull up at the same time my father is coming out the front door. Luca puts the car in park, and Aiden already has his belt off. He looks at Luca, who just nods at him, and he opens the door. “Grandpa, Grandpa,” he says, getting out and running to my father who catches him in his arms and kisses him. I get out of the car and look over as Luca follows, and we walk to my father.

  “Hey, you two,” he says, smiling as Aiden puts his hands around my father’s shoulder. “This is a nice surprise,” he says, and I don’t know if it’s Luca throwing it down or not, but he puts his hand over my shoulder, pulling me to him. “I got that email you wanted,” my father says, and I look at him confused.

  “Did you? I’ll check it out tonight,” he tells him, and I look at Luca and then my father. “I’ll get it to you first thing in the morning.”

  “What are you talking about?” I ask my father and then Luca. The sound of my father’s laughter makes me look back at him.

  “Didn’t have that conversation?” he says, and then looks at Aiden. “Let’s go tell Grandma that you’re here.”

  I watch him walk away and then turn to Luca. “What was all that about?”

  “We had a conversation this morning,” he starts to say and then looks up at the front door to see my mother. “How about we table this for later?”

  I cross my arms over my chest. “This is going to be definitely tabled,” I tell him, almost hissing.

  “This is new,” he says, coming in closer to me. “You being all feisty and sassy.” He continues to inch forward. “I like it.” He kisses me softly and then walks away, slapping my ass. I stand here; one, shocked he just kissed me in front of my mother, and then two, shocked he then slapped my ass in front of my mother.

  My mother, on the other hand, stands at the front door with her hands together laughing as she welcomes Luca, as he bends down to kiss her cheek. He walks into the house, closing the door behind him, and my mother comes to me. “You are going to catch flies if you don’t close your mouth,” she says, and I close my mouth. “I take it you two hashed things out.”

  “I don’t even know how to answer that,” I tell her. “He wants me to be his girlfriend or whatever that means, and he wants to take me out on Saturday,” I tell my mother.

  “I would say that things are progressing well then,” she tells me. “And I would love to watch Aiden,” she says, and I walk into the house. Dinner goes off without a hitch, and the conversa
tion isn’t as strained as the first time we were all together.

  “Can I sleep at Daddy’s tonight?” Aiden asks from the back seat, and I look over at him. “You can come, too,” he tells me, and then looks at Luca. “Mommy can come, too, right?”

  “Mommy can come, too,” he says and then looks over at me. “I want Mommy to come very much.” I gasp and smack his arm; he grabs my hand, bringing it to his mouth and kissing it.

  “I’ll go over to my house and grab a couple of things and meet you at your house,” I tell him when we get to the house and then see that there are tracks on my grass. “What is all this?”

  “Oh, I had them come in and add a gate to the fence in the back,” he says as if it’s nothing. “I was thinking to just take it down, but we can’t,” he says, and then kisses me and walks away.

  “You keep doing that,” I tell him, and he turns around halfway up the stairs, Aiden by his side. “You do something and then kiss me walking away.”

  “Yeah,” he says, smirking. “You getting used to it yet?”

  I put a hand on my hip and glare. “I suggest you get used to it, baby,” he says, and then Aiden laughs.

  “She’s not a baby.” He puts his hand to his mouth. “She even poops on the potty.” I try not to laugh at our son and his timing, but Luca just shakes his head.

  “Go get your stuff, and I’ll get him in the bath,” he tells me and turns to walk into his house with our son. I walk over to my house and open the door. I put my bag down and walk upstairs. I pack a little bag with pjs and my robe for tomorrow morning. I also take out my phone and text Troy to let him know I will be in late. I walk over to Luca’s house, and when I get inside and walk up the stairs, I hear them in the bathroom.

  “And then I saw her, and I knew I wanted to spend the whole night talking to her,” he says, his voice soft, and I hear the water running.

  “And you wanted to kiss her?” he asks, and I put my hand in front of my mouth.

  “Oh, I wanted to kiss her all the time,” he says and then whispers, “and I did every chance I got.”

  “Her kisses make my booboos all better,” he tells him.

  “I bet her kisses make everything all better,” he says. “You know that feeling when you wake up, and it’s Christmas morning?”

  “And all the presents are under the tree?” Aiden asks him, and Luca must nod. “That’s my favorite.”

  “Well, that is what it felt like with your mom,” he says, and I hear the drain of the water start. “Every single time I kissed her, it was like Christmas.”

  “Hey, you two,” I say, interrupting them. “Are you almost done with bath time?” Luca picks Aiden up out of the tub, not even caring if he is dripping water everywhere. He puts him on the rug and then grabs the towel and wraps it around him. “Go dress him, and I’ll clean up in here.”

  “Leave it,” he says. “Go take a shower and then come say good night to him.”

  “I can do it,” I tell him, and he just looks at me with soft eyes.

  “I missed six years of this, let me,” he says and starts to walk away.

  “That excuse is getting really old.” I tilt my head.

  “Not an excuse,” he says, “it’s a fact.”

  “Fine,” I say, and he smiles and walks away. I walk to the door, closing it, and I’m undressing when there is a knock on the door. I grab one of the towels to wrap it around me. I open the door, just poking out my head.

  “What are you doing?” Luca asks me.

  “Taking a shower,” I say. “Isn’t it obvious?”

  He pushes open the door, and I look at him in shock. He grabs my bag and then my hand and proceeds to pull me into his en suite bathroom. I have never even been in his bedroom. “You shower here,” he says, putting my bag down. I’m about to tell him that he is ridiculous when our son calls him.

  “Dad, I put on the Power Rangers undies!” Aiden yells.

  “Coming!” Luca yells, then kisses me on the lips and walks out. One thing Luca wasn’t seven years ago was bossy, and he wasn’t as alpha either. I mean, I guess he did always take charge in the bedroom, and then he always did make sure everyone knew we were together, but I just assumed it was just because we had only four days. I drop the towel and walk into the walk-in shower. I stand under the hot water and grab Luca’s body wash, smelling it and smiling. I put it down and pretend I didn’t just smell his body wash. When I can’t convince myself, I open it again.

  When I finally come out of the bathroom, I walk to Aiden’s room and see that he’s fast asleep, and Luca is turning off the light. When I go in and kiss his head, Luca waits for me and closes the door a touch. The next thing I know, my back is against the wall. “You smell like me,” he whispers, his head coming in to smell me. One hand goes to my hip, and the other pushes the hair away from my neck. “I love it.”

  “Luca.” My heart beats fast, and my body trembles.

  “The only thing wrong with this picture is that you are wearing clothes,” he says, his hand roaming under my shirt and cupping one bare breast. As I feel him tweak my nipple, my head falls back on the wall. “I need to shower, but when I get out of the shower, I want you in my bed and naked.”

  “Luca.” It’s the only thing that comes to mind, that and I want to be naked with him.

  “Change of plans for next time,” he says, his hand still playing with my nipple. He leans in and licks my neck and then sucks it. “We shower together.”

  “I think the shower is what gave us a beautiful boy,” I tell him, and then I see his eyes almost twinkle.

  “We should do that again,” he says, and my stomach flutters like it did seven years ago. “This time, I can watch you grow with my child. Spoil you, hold your hand.” His hand drops from my breast, and he steps away. “In my bed naked.”

  With his hands not on me, I can finally get my senses. “We still have to discuss what is going on with my father.”

  His smirk tells me that I’m not going to like it. “I’ll tell you when you’re naked.”

  “Oh, no.” I shake my head. “You will tell me when you aren’t touching me.

  He turns now. “I’m paying him back for the house.”

  I tilt my head to the side. “What house?”

  “The house you live in,” he says, and I glare at him. “He sent me the amount, and I’m going to write him a check.”

  “But why?” I ask him. “I mean, I wanted to pay him back, and he said no but that’s because I’m his daughter.”

  “Well, my son lives there, and so do you, and, well,” he says, standing straight. “You’re both mine.”

  “You’re kidding, right?” I ask him but don’t give him a chance to answer. “This is insane.”

  “For six years, you paid for everything. If you calculate it out, I owe you a shit ton more.”

  “But he was my responsibility,” I tell him, and he cuts me off.

  * * *

  “And now he’s mine.” My glare must make him take it back. “Ours.”

  I put my hand on my forehead. “This is just too much.”

  “Not even close,” he says, and I look at him. “If it were up to me, you would be living here, and we wouldn’t have to go through this back and forth. But I’m trying to go easy.”

  “This is you going easy?” I ask him, laughing.

  “It’s as easy as I am going to go. Me and you, it’s happening. It should have happened after we got off the boat, but that’s my mistake. For seven years, I looked for you in every single room I entered. I looked for you in every single crowd, and finally, by the grace of I don’t know what, you have come back to me, so yeah. I’m going easy.”

  “What if we aren’t the same people?” I ask him, a little afraid of the answer.

  “I fell in love with you two days into a booze cruise. I’ve been with you for almost two weeks, and nothing has changed.” He now comes closer to me. “Well, some things have changed. You being a pain in my ass has.” My eyes go to slits.
r />   “How can you be all romantic one minute, and then make me want to strangle you the next?”

  He shrugs. “Must be my charm.” Now he comes to me, taking my face in his hands. “Now I’ve had a long day between the meeting with your father and then with the school. The fear of him being hurt and now having you in my house. I just want to take a shower and go to bed with you.” He comes closer. “Naked.” He kisses my lips. “Please.”

  “Fine,” I say, pretending I’m annoyed, but I’m not. “Go take a shower, and I will give you a back rub to make you feel better.”

  “That sounds amazing, but you know what sounds even better?” he asks me. “Burying my face in your pussy.” My mouth hangs open. “Meet you in ten,” he says, and just like that, he walks away from me.

  I’m walking to his bedroom, tearing the robe off, when I hear Aiden call my name. “Mommmmmmm!”

  I walk back to the room, pushing open the door. “Can I sleep with you?”

  “Um,” I say to him, trying to think of an excuse.

  “I don’t want Dad to feel bad, so we can all sleep in his room,” he says, getting off the bed and walking to Luca’s room. He climbs into the bed and goes to the middle and lays his head down on one of the pillows. I walk to the other side of the bed and pull over the huge thick cover and slide in with him. This is not how I thought my first time in Luca’s bed would be. His bed literally feels like you’re sinking into a cloud. I move the pillows, and Aiden rolls into my side. I put my arm around him and kiss his forehead, and he is already fast asleep. I hear the shower stop, and then I look over at Luca who comes out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist. Water droplets are still on him. His chest is so much more defined than on the cruise, and I can already see the outline of his cock.

  “What just happened?” he asks me.

  “He got scared and said we could all sleep in here,” I tell him, and he puts his head back and groans. “You need to go put boxers on.”