Unexpected Love

by Davenport, Fiona

  “How is Penny doing, bunny?” Justice asked.

  I lifted Tucker onto my shoulder and swayed slowly as I pretended not to listen.

  “She’s so great with the kids. A complete natural. I’m hoping she’ll come work for me full-time once she turns eighteen.”

  That wasn’t going to happen. At least not right away. I would never stand in the way of what Penelope wanted, but I wanted to spend some time as a family, just us. Tucker and I weren’t going to be ready to share her for a while. Besides, I wasn’t sure if I’d let her out of our bed until I’d knocked her up. Then she’d need to be off her feet and relaxing while she grew our baby. After that, she’d have a newborn. It wasn’t like I could tell them all of that, so I kept my mouth shut.

  “She’ll be here soon, so I’ll have her work with Lauren in the toddler room while I stick to the infant room to be with Tucker.”

  I cleared my throat as I stood and tried to look nonchalant when I said, “I’m comfortable with Penel—Penny watching Tucker.” Blaire raised her brow, and I made sure to keep my expression neutral. “She’s my neighbor’s sister and helped me out yesterday. I’ve seen her with Tucker, and he already loves her. And you’ll be here to supervise anyway.” Not that she needed to be, but I didn’t want to have to give any more explanation as to why I trusted Penelope with my son.

  “Okay.” Blaire studied me closely, but I didn’t give her anything. “Well, I guess I’ll put Penny in charge of Tucker.”

  I nodded and gave my boy a kiss on the head before telling him to be good and not to break too many hearts. Then I nervously handed him over to Blaire. Justice had to practically drag me from the center while I looked back and second-guessed my decision to leave him.

  “You need a break, Jonah. And you’ll be right across the building.”

  “Yeah, alright,” I grumbled. At that moment, I happened to glance back and see Penelope walking inside the building with a bright smile as she headed toward the daycare. I also noticed the other men in the lobby who ogled her as she went by. My hands balled into fists when I saw a few of their gazes lingering on her ass. I took a step toward the worst offender but was jerked backward by my arm. By the time I regained my balance, the man was gone.

  I whipped around, ready to rip Justice a new asshole, but I was caught off guard by the way he was scrutinizing me and the knowing look in his eyes. “You are aware that she is seventeen, right?”

  My face transformed into a dark scowl. “Yes,” I snarled. Silently warning him to watch what he said next.

  “Stop looking at me like you want to skin me alive,” he snorted as he rolled his eyes. “I was just clarifying, not judging.”

  “What does her age have to do with anything?” I attempted to sound careless, but I wasn’t sure if I succeeded.

  “You’re more transparent than you think, Jonah. Especially when you look as though you’re going to rip the head off every man who looks at Penny.” He inclined his head in the direction of the gym. “Let’s go work out some of your pent-up sexual tension and irrational anger.” He began moving again and shot me another glance as he said, “Trust me, there is no one who will understand your situation better than me.”

  I started to argue that there was no situation, but then I suddenly remembered that Justice’s wife had only been eighteen when he’d married her, and they’d had their first baby. Still, it wasn’t the same. I doubted he would truly be able to relate to my situation. But maybe it wouldn’t hurt to get his opinion on the situation. Despite my knee-jerk reaction, I trusted Justice implicitly, and I knew he wouldn’t pass judgment on me.

  We hit the locker room and got changed, then made our way to an empty racquetball court. Once inside the soundproof room, Justice waved me over to the bench where we dropped our towels and extra gear.

  Before I could move toward the play area, Justice put a hand on my shoulder. “Wait.” I turned back around, and he folded his arms over his chest, his eyes once again examining me astutely. “How much do you know about the beginning of my relationship with Blaire?”

  I thought about it for a moment, then shrugged. “Just that she was eighteen when you married her.”

  Justice cocked his head to the side, his gaze becoming no less intense. “That’s true. But what you don’t know is that I’d known her most of her life. She lived on my floor of my apartment building growing up, and I decided to marry her when she was barely sixteen.” My eyebrows shot up so high, they probably got lost in my hairline. He nodded. “Like I said, I understand better than you think.”

  “Fuck, man.” I scrubbed my eyes with the heels of my hands. “I don’t know what the hell I’m doing. I feel like I’m losing my damn mind. The second I met her, it was like every dirty fantasy I’d ever had, and a whole bunch of new ones, suddenly bombarded me, and she was starring in them all. But shit, I’m twenty-two years older than her.”

  Justice shrugged. “And I’m almost twenty years older than Blaire. Age is just a number”—he paused and held up both hands, palms out—“after she turns eighteen. Then it’s just a number.”

  “I feel like I should have guilt over lusting after a teenager,” I admitted, my lips forming a deep frown. “But I don’t. I’m too focused on the hell the next four months are going to be and dreaming about when I finally get to make her mine. Officially.”

  “Fuck what anyone else thinks, or how you think things should be,” Justice growled. “If she’s yours, then wait until she’s legal and just take her. Don’t let anything, or anyone, stand in your way. I spent two years planning and waiting, and Blaire was worth every fucking minute of it.”

  I groaned and dropped down onto the bench, putting my head into my hands. “I only have four months. How the fuck did you handle two years?”

  Justice chuckled, and I lifted my head to glare at him. “Fantasies. Lots of filthy fantasies.”

  Memories from my nap the day before flooded my mind. “Okay, I get that. But how did you deal with being around her? I feel like if I spend any more time with her, I’ll break and do something stupid. Especially when I see her with Tucker. The first time I watched her hold him, I knew she was his mother, and it was the moment I knew I wouldn’t be able to let her go.”

  “My physical time with Blaire was limited.” Justice stopped talking, and I studied his expression. I was surprised to see it was a little bit wary.

  One part of what he’d said stood out. “Physical?”

  He watched me closely for another long minute, then dropped down beside me and dug in his bag until he pulled out his phone. He fiddled with it, then handed it to me. “I wasn’t physically with her, but I was almost always watching.”

  I raised a brow and took the proffered phone. On the screen was a view of a room, and after a second, I realized it was the daycare. Justice tapped a button on the bottom, and the screen split into four sections, each of a different room. My eyes zeroed in on a red-headed beauty cooing to my baby boy in her arms.

  “Obviously, those are the security cameras,” Justice stated. “However, I also have access to the tadpole app on her phone.” I looked at him questioningly, and he quickly explained what they were. Then he clicked another button, and the cameras switched to what were clearly rooms in a house. “Nanny cams,” he elucidated. I nodded. I had one in Tucker’s room, but I’d been meaning to have them installed throughout the house. One more click and the screen displayed the back interior of a car.

  “Your Town Car?” I guessed as I handed over the phone.

  “Anywhere I could get eyes on her.” He switched back to the first set of cameras and stared at them for a moment, then he fiddled with it before turning off the phone and stowing it back in his bag. “I needed to know she was safe, since I couldn’t be there to protect her. It was the only way for me to have any peace of mind.” He looked at me with a cocky smile. “And my fantasies were so much better when I could actually see her.”

  “Did she know?”

  “Not until after we’d
been married for a few years. By then, she was used to me being an ‘overprotective caveman stalker’—her words. She knows now and sometimes”—he grinned—“that definitely has its advantages.” He lifted his chin toward my bag and clapped his hand on my back. “I emailed you the login information and password to the daycare camera. The rest is up to you.”

  “Thank you. I owe you.” I told him with a relieved exhalation.

  “Big time.”

  I punched his arm hard, and he laughed, then stood. I followed him onto the court and spent the next hour trying to expel all the energy buzzing around inside me.

  Chapter 5

  Jonah

  “Jonah?”

  The sweet sound of Penelope’s voice startled me, and I patted Tucker’s back to apologize for disturbing him. I was lying on the couch with my diaper-clad son sprawled on my naked chest, both of us dozing. I’d sent a text to Penelope after we got home, letting her know that I was leaving a key with her sister’s housekeeper and to just come in when she was ready.

  I whispered to Tucker, soothing him back to sleep as I sat up. Glancing over the back of the couch, I smiled and softly greeted Penelope. “Hey, angel.”

  Her eyes widened as I stood, and I suppressed a smile at her reaction to my bare chest. There was a bassinet a few feet away, and I padded over to it and gently laid Tucker down. A fuzzy blue blanket was draped over the side, and I spread it over his body before tucking it around him at the sides.

  Pivoting around, I watched Penelope as she hesitantly entered the room. I almost groaned out loud when I saw what she was wearing. She had on a bright pink tank top with tiny spaghetti straps, baring too much skin for my liking. Especially the V at the top that allowed tantalizing flashes of her cleavage when she moved. It hung to just above the waistband of a fitted, jean skirt which stopped mid-thigh. It was so short, it would be damn easy to slide it up to her waist, pull her panties aside, and fuck her against the nearest wall. Unless she wasn’t wearing any underwear. That thought had a scowl forming on my face, but I tried to soften it when I saw Penelope’s worried expression. It was hard because I felt building rage knowing that if I was thinking these things, then so was every other man who laid eyes on my angel.

  I cleared my throat and attempted to smile, but it felt like I only managed a grimace. On top of that, the state of my arousal was quickly becoming uncomfortable. I needed to get my ass to my office.

  To work. Not hide.

  I opened my mouth to give her instructions about Tucker and, “You should wear more clothes,” was what I growled instead. Her eyes rounded with surprise, and her pretty little mouth formed an O. Fuck, I wanted to see those lips wrapped around my dick. Somehow, I knew she’d be an eager student, and it wouldn’t be long before she’d be taking my big, long cock to the back of her throat. Shaking my head, I stalked by her and tossed instructions over my shoulder. “He’ll need to eat when he wakes up. My office is on the third floor if he needs anything.”

  Once I was in the relative safety of my home workspace, which took up the entire third floor of the house, I shut the door and leaned against it. I grunted as I adjusted myself and then huffed out a frustrated breath. Four months. Four months dreaming about my girl’s sexy body under me...or over me...in my mouth…fuck. There were so many things I was going to teach her. She may not want to go to college, but she’d be studying hard once she was moved in here. And I’d make sure we practiced her lessons frequently. I grinned at the thought of punishing my little angel when she didn’t do her homework. She’d be begging to come by the time I was done, but if she took her punishment like a good girl, I’d make sure she was screaming my name by the end of it.

  With a sigh, I tried to focus on something else. Anything else. Clearly, I’d done something truly horrible in a past life to be put through this purgatory.

  Sitting at my desk, I fired up my computer and logged in before opening the program that ran all my security and “nanny” cams. Penelope was curled up on the couch next to Tucker’s bassinet, reading a book. I stared at her for a while, cataloging her every movement. The way she tucked her auburn curls behind her ear every time they stubbornly fell forward. The way she chewed on her bottom lip as she read. The way her tits bounced just a little with every breath she took. She was so fucking perfect.

  After an indeterminate amount of time, I finally minimized the cameras, though I didn’t close them. They were still visible as thumbnails at the bottom of my screen. I managed to submerge myself in work for a few hours and whittle down the hundreds of emails my assistant had vetted and felt I should address directly. I was a little surprised that I hadn’t gone to check on Tucker. We’d rarely been any farther apart than the next room since he’d become mine, and I didn’t like to hand over his care to anyone else. I wanted him to know I would always be there for him. However, when he was with Penelope, all my worries melted away. I missed him—them both, actually—but I didn’t feel the anxious need to check on him every few minutes. The only thing driving me to search them out on the cameras every so often was my complete obsession with Penelope and my need to be able to see her all the time. The drive to know where she was, what she was doing, and who she was with strengthened with every hour. Also, I enjoyed seeing her in my and Tucker’s space. She was going to fit perfectly into our life. The image of Penelope holding my son was burned into my brain, and when I thought about it, I felt a contentment that I’d never experienced before. She was a natural nurturer and would be an amazing mother.

  As I pushed my chair back and stood to stretch, the scent of something delicious reached my nose, making my stomach growl loudly. She’d been puttering in the kitchen for about the past hour, talking to Tucker, who was propped in his infant high chair by the island. By the smell, it seemed she’d been making dinner. Smiling, I headed for the door to the staircase and took the steps two at a time until I reached the main level.

  The kitchen was on the left side of the house, opposite of the staircase, and I wandered over to it, keeping silent so I could eavesdrop on the conversation she was having with my baby boy.

  “You are such a sweet baby,” she cooed. I stopped at the door and moved into the shadows where I could watch her, but she wouldn’t notice me unless she was actually looking for me. “I hope I have a son just like you someday.” She leaned over and blew a raspberry on his neck, making him flail his arms in excitement and smile. Penelope’s laughter tinkled in the air, and her face flushed with happiness. “I hope I have a whole bunch of little Tuckers one day.” Her tone was wistful, and I couldn’t help but smile. She’d be getting her wish sooner than she thought, though I was determined to have a little Penelope running around first.

  “Can I tell you a secret, Tucker?” My ears perked up, and I found myself inching closer to make sure I didn’t miss a word. “I wouldn’t mind making those babies with your daddy.”

  I swallowed my groan and silently cursed as come leaked from the tip of my rock-hard dick. She was so innocent; she probably didn’t have a single clue what her words were doing to me. She’d probably faint if she saw the things that I was imagining in my head.

  The ding of a timer pulled me back to reality as Penelope smacked a kiss on Tucker’s head before dancing over to the oven and pulling out something in a casserole dish. I gave myself a few minutes to get my body under control, then strode nonchalantly into the kitchen.

  “Penelope,” I murmured in a low greeting as I approached Tucker. She jumped and spun around, her face turning pink as her eyes darted between me and the doorway. I didn’t say anything, though I did smirk and wink. She clearly didn’t know what to make of my attitude because she shuffled from foot to foot and chewed on her lower lip, eyeing me with confusion.

  When I was standing in front of my boy, I released the harnesses and scooped him into my arms. “Hey, little man. I missed you.” One tiny hand stretched toward my face, and I pretended to nibble his fingers, making him gurgle, which I’d determined was his version of laughin
g.

  A small, almost imperceptible sigh had my head swiveling in its direction. Penelope was standing at the island staring at us with a plate in one hand and a serving spoon full of casserole in the other. Both were suspended over the baking dish as though she’d been frozen in time. I smiled, and she almost dropped the plate into the food when she flinched as though I’d sprung out and yelled, “Boo!”

  “Um...sorry. I got lost in my thoughts and...um...so, I made dinner.”

  “Thank you.”

  She shrugged carelessly, but her blue eyes sparkled. “It’s no big deal. I love to cook, but it’s no fun for just one person, and Mallory is never home.” Her head flew up, and she looked nervous as she continued to ramble. “Not that I’m expecting to eat with you. I mean, I wasn’t assuming; I didn’t mean to invite myself—”

  “Angel, calm down,” I interrupted with a chuckle. “Of course, you should have dinner with us. It would be awfully ungrateful of me to eat what you made after kicking you out.” I winked at her, and she beamed, making her even more beautiful. Spending more time with her right now was dangerous, but it was just a meal, right? Besides, I had Tucker there as a buffer.

  I brought Tucker’s swing from the corner over to the edge of the table and buckled him in as Penelope carried two plates heaped with food and set them down on the shiny, wooden surface. The table was pristine because, before Tucker came into my life, I couldn’t ever remember using it.

  She returned to the island, going straight to a drawer that held silverware, and I laughed, drawing her attention. “What? Are these not the forks we should use?” She looked horrified at the thought. “Oh my gosh, I must seem like such a dumb little country girl.” She covered her eyes and groaned.

  “You didn’t do anything wrong, angel,” I assured her. “I was actually laughing at myself. I think you are better acquainted with my house than I am.”

  Penelope narrowed her eyes and raised a disbelieving eyebrow. “You’re teasing me.”