Single Dad's Christmas Present: A Dad's Best Friend Romance Read online

Gage handed the phone over wordlessly. He assumed his position in front of the kitchen stove as I answered the phone.

  “Hi, Dad,” I managed to say in an even voice. “I’m surprised that you were able to call here. The phone and cable have been down all day.”

  “Hello, my darling.”

  I let out a relieved breath at his cheerful voice. I looked over at Gage to give him a thumbs up. He visibly relaxed as well, before returning his attention to the stove.

  “I know the storm has dumped quite a bit of snow all over the Rockies,” my father continued on. “Montana has taken a hit with the storm as well. I am flying to Montana tomorrow morning to meet with the mayor. He has declared a state of emergency with all the snow this storm has produced.”

  “You’re flying to Montana tomorrow?” I repeated in disbelief. “How are you going to be able to do that if the airports are closed?”

  “The commercial airport is. I’m taking the private plane here. Are you snowed in up there at Gage’s house?”

  “No,” I said, tracing an errant pattern on the kitchen island top. “He managed to get the driveway cleared. I can’t tell you about the rest of the roads.”

  “Well, good. I’ll have someone come get you if Gage can’t get down the roads. That SUV I loaned him doesn’t have the best snow tires like his truck does.”

  “Why are you coming to get me?” I asked. My heart sank at the thought of leaving. I didn’t want to go yet. “I can stay here, Dad. I know that you’ll have to fly back to D.C. after dealing with the mayor here.”

  “I’m going to surprise your mother by beating her home.” Voices echoed in the phone as my father replied to whoever was speaking. “I have to go, Amber. Tell Gage to meet me at the log home we rent up there at nine tomorrow morning. He knows which one I’m talking about. I’ll see you soon, sweetheart.”

  “Dad—”

  He hung up before I could say another word. Tears filled my eyes when I looked up at Gage. He set the spatula down on the stovetop with a small smile.

  “I know where the log home is at,” he said. “I’ll have you there without any problems. I don’t trust his security driving around in the snow up here.”

  I didn’t bother hiding my disappointment through the rest of the evening. The only person excited to see my father was Ethan. It took forever for me to get him to calm down enough to drift off to sleep. Gage had disappeared into Lily’s room to get her settled for the evening as well, and then passed by my room without a word a little bit later. I waited until the house was motionless before rising out of bed. It didn’t seem fair to give up this bubble with Gage so quickly. It was just my luck that something like this would happen.

  I strained my ears to hear if there were any sounds coming from Lily’s room, but it was utterly motionless on the other end of the hallway. My bare toes dug into the carpet as I tiptoed down the hallway to Gage’s bedroom door. I pushed the door open, grateful that it was unlocked, and stepped inside the still room.

  Patches of moonlight danced across the foot of Gage’s bed as I walked up to the side, gazing down at him with a small smile. He was spread out on his back and completely relaxed in his dream. It hit me then that I was falling in love with him. Not in a silly school girl crush type of way. It was the type of love where I wanted to bury myself around him and never face reality again.

  Gage shifted abruptly, but his eyes remained closed. His hands flexed beneath the blankets.

  “Amber,” he moaned out, hips rolling beneath the blankets. “Please, Amber. Just do it.”

  A wicked thought crossed my mind. If I had only a few hours left in my bubble with Gage, then I wanted to spend it feeling alive with sensation again. Damn the consequences of tomorrow. I wanted him now.

  I pulled the sheets back to find that he was wearing a pair of boxers. His cock strained against the fabric there. I reached forward to stroke him while I used my other hand to tug down my underwear. He slept on, but his body responded instantly to the touch of my hand.

  I climbed over him gently as possible to straddle his waist. I sucked in a harsh breath when I lowered myself down over his hard shaft. He stretched me in different ways as I gyrated my hips slowly to adjust to the intrusion. Gage’s hands were on my hips then, and when I glanced up, I found his eyes open and fixated on me.

  “What are you doing?” he croaked out.

  “You asked me to do it,” I responded slyly. “So, I was just honoring what you asked me to do.”

  “Amber—”

  I placed a finger on his lips to cut off whatever protests he had. Gathering the hemline of my sleeping shirt, I tugged it off to bare myself to the air and to his eyes only. Gage’s eyes flicked down to my breasts while his fingers twitched against my hips.

  “I know that tomorrow will be different,” I whispered, leaning down to press my naked chest against his. “I just want to enjoy this one last time with you before I have to go. That’s not too much to ask for, is it?”

  “I’d give you anything you want right now,” Gage said breathily. “Just keep moving. Don’t stop, either.”

  I leaned back to sit fully on his hips. A shiver went up my spine when he slipped further into me in this position.

  “I won’t,” I whispered. “I won’t stop.”

  Chapter 15

  Gage

  I had originally thought the feeling of Amber lowering herself over my erection had been a very pleasant wet dream. Her fingers dug slightly into my shoulders as she gyrated at an agonizing pace. I clenched my teeth as she lowered herself up and down at that same wicked pace. The heat. The tightness. I could barely think as I let my body take over to buck up against her desperately.

  Her hips immediately stopped. I opened my eyes, fearing that I had hurt her, but found her smile seductive and teasing. She wagged a finger at me in warning.

  “No way,” she whispered, trailing that same finger down my chest. “Take it slow. I don’t want you to forget me after tonight.”

  Those tight inner muscles squeezed me intimately. My head fell back against the pillow in a thinly veiled effort to honor what she wanted. She wanted this to go slow, but I was already teetering on the edge of desperation because of my earlier dream.

  She rolled her hips again to send fire straight through me. I clutched her thighs tightly in response to my rapidly approaching release.

  “Does this feel good?” Amber whispered, rocking over me with shaky gasps. “Tell me it feels good.”

  “It feels fucking good,” I gritted out, trying in vain to get her hips to move faster. She resisted with a breathless giggle. “I’m about to get blue balls over my entire body if you keep going at this pace.”

  “You can enjoy some teasing,” she said. “Maybe enjoy the show?”

  “What show?”

  That smile turned wicked again as her hand lowered down to where our bodies were joined. All the breath in my lungs was sucked right out of me while I watched Amber’s hand start to rub herself. Her bare breasts were flushed in the moonlight when her head tilted back. A moan escaped Amber’s mouth as she rubbed at her clit feverishly for a release.

  Her muscles were pulsating as I tried to thrust upwards, but she pushed me back down. I let out a frustrated growl in response. She wanted explosive. She wanted to tease me in a way that I would never forget. It would be impossible to forget her. I was already dreading her return to Beau tomorrow morning.

  I refused to let her have all the control, though. Circling an arm around her back, I slipped out of her sweet heat before twisting the both of us around on the bed. She landed on her back with a surprised gasp. Before she could protest, I grabbed her legs to flip her over onto her stomach. She immediately scrambled up to her knees, but I didn’t hear a word of complaint when I thrusted back into her with a relieved groan.

  My fingers dug into the muscles of her ass cheeks. Our pace was rough, fast, and full of desperation. Sweat covered the both of us. I could barely think through the haze of pleasure as I reac
hed around to blindly rub at the bundle of nerves between her legs. Her inner muscles twitched in response as she buried her head into the blankets and mattress to muffle her cries of pleasure. This was what she wanted. I slapped her ass cheek before I felt her release spiral through her body in spasms. I gave in a few seconds later to a body numbing orgasm.

  Depleted of energy, I collapsed on the bed next to Amber. She lifted her head to look at me through the dim light of the room.

  “I did not plan for things to go like that,” she said, panting. “You don’t like losing control, do you?”

  “Not really,” I replied, my heart still racing in my chest. “There’s a time for being a tease. We don’t have time on our side this time.”

  Amber curled up next to me and rested her head on my chest, with one leg draped over my thigh. I slipped one arm around her to trace errant patterns across the skin of her back. She nestled against me with a soft sigh.

  “I don’t want to go back to my father tomorrow,” she whispered, her hot breath stirring the hair on my chest. “I didn’t know how to tell him that I don’t want to go back to Colorado Springs. I’d rather stay here with you.”

  “You have to go,” I said. A chill came over me then. “We can’t draw attention to ourselves right now. Not with your father just resuming his position in Congress. Not to mention all media vultures hovering around you, looking for any excuse to drum up a scandal.”

  “I hate being so well-known,” Amber said. “Growing up in the lens of the public eye sucks. I can’t ever do anything without someone giving their opinion, or having the risk of my father’s name being tarnished. And now things are so much worse.”

  I pressed a kiss against her temple because I didn’t trust myself to talk any more. I had vowed to never go across that line with Amber, but I had sprinted across it without hesitation. I didn’t want to think of how Beau would react if he knew what I had let happen underneath my house. Turns out, it wasn’t Scott that he should be worried about. It was me.

  Sleep took Amber eventually after I scooted the both of us up the bed to lay in the center of it. I dressed quietly after I was confident she had fallen asleep. I didn’t want to risk one of the kids finding the both of us naked in bed.

  I stretched out on top of the blankets to gaze out the window of my room. I watched a few evergreen pines sway in the cold night breeze. Snow fell from their branches in a white cloud that was almost crystalline in the moonlight leaking through the clouds. I drifted off to sleep. At one point, I woke to the sound of Amber sliding out of bed with a sad sigh. She didn’t even bother looking back at me as she went into the bathroom, shutting the door softly behind herself.

  The shower turned on a few seconds later. I resisted the urge to go in after her. A quick shower would turn into a long one, but I didn’t want to draw out this goodbye, either. Instead, I dressed quickly before heading down the hallway to peek into Lily’s room. She opened her eyes the moment I opened the door to glare at me sleepily.

  “We have to get going,” I said. “It’s time to get up.”

  Lily groaned in protest as she tugged her blanket up over her head. “Why though? Why are we getting up so early this morning?”

  “I have to take Amber and Ethan to the city this morning. Her father is here to help with the snowstorm.”

  “You mean, they’re going back?”

  My throat clenched in disappointment. “Yes. They have to go back.”

  “I don’t want them to go, though,” Lily said and pulled the blanket from her head. She sat up to look at me with a frown. “They can stay longer here with us. I like Amber, Dad. I like having her around to help me with clothes and stuff.”

  “I know that, baby,” I said. “I can help you with your clothes.”

  Lily pulled a face at me. “Yeah, but you aren’t good at it like Amber or Mommy. Nothing ever matches if I let you do it.”

  “I’m trying my hardest,” I replied, chuckling. “Get dressed, Lily. We have to get out of here in the next hour.”

  I closed her bedroom door. I felt relieved to know that Lily was starting to regain interest in clothes again. Her tomboy phase was slowly coming to an end since her mother’s funeral. That was progress I gave Amber credit for because I had no idea what the latest fashion trends were.

  I glanced in the spare room to find Ethan still curled up in his bed, but I decided to let Amber get him ready. There were still times that I caught Ethan’s eyes watching me warily. He gladly joined in games if Amber gave permission, but he was still timid when it came to being alone with me.

  I credited his piece of shit father for that.

  Amber came down the stairs with Ethan on her hip and Lily at her side, while they talked about clothes. It took all my strength to not gather Amber into my arms and to hold her close like I wanted to. Disappointment swept over me.

  We couldn’t have a proper goodbye with the kids around us, so I helped pack up Amber and Ethan’s bags into the SUV while Amber buckled Ethan into the car seat. The drive back to the city was long and quiet. I poured all my concentration onto the snowy and windy roads. Plow trucks passed by us slowly as we entered the outskirts of Bozeman.

  The Roselynn house was on the opposite end of the city, a few miles out of town. The roads were much better as I pulled through the gated driveway, past a security checkpoint when they waved us in, and parked in front of the spacious four-bedroom home. There were several other vehicles parked in front of the log cabin, including my truck that I had left behind in Colorado Springs to avoid media detection. I cut the engine before turning to look over at Amber.

  A lone tear clung to the corner of her jaw. Her sunglasses were pulled down low to cover her eyes, but I could sense the sadness radiating off of her.

  “Amber,” I said.

  She glanced over at me, her face completely devoid of emotion. I swallowed thickly. There was so much that I wanted to say, but I couldn’t. Not with the kids in the car. I didn’t want to risk Ethan mentioning something to Beau.

  “I promise that we will make plans for the kids to get together,” I said. “Soon. Okay?”

  The door opened on her side of the SUV. She didn’t get the chance to reply as Joe held out a hand to help her hop out onto the icy and snow-packed ground. I hopped out as well to help the security team carry in their bags while Lily climbed up into my truck, slamming the door shut without a goodbye.

  “I’m sorry,” I said to Amber as we walked along the shoveled pathway. “She’s upset that you’re leaving. I don’t know what to say to her.”

  Amber smiled empathetically as she shifted Ethan on her hip. “There isn’t anything you can say. I told her that I would make it a point to give you pointers on how to shop for her in the future.”

  “I need the advice,” I remarked wryly. “Nothing too pink and frilly, right?”

  “Right. Cool and hipster now.”

  The front door opened to reveal Beau, who opened his arms up with a wide grin. Ethan immediately slid off Amber’s hip to throw himself into Beau’s arm with an excited giggle. I walked alongside Amber, trying desperately to not reach for her hand, and waited for Beau to finish giving them both a long hug.

  “Thank you,” Beau said, clasping me on the shoulder. “I appreciate you looking out for them. They look wonderful.”

  I nodded at him. “It was my pleasure. They’re welcome anytime. I’ll let you all settle in.” I caught Amber’s eyes briefly before I took a step back. “I’ll see you all soon, hopefully. Get the kids together again. They seemed to enjoy spending time together.”

  “Sounds wonderful,” Beau replied, hugging Ethan close to him. “I’ll call you. We have press all week to get to.”

  “I understand. See you all later.”

  I walked down along the pathway to the truck when the front door closed shut. I kept my face emotionless as I passed by various members of Beau’s team that followed him everywhere. Lily didn’t say a word for the entire drive to Raychelle’s house. I w
as glad of that, since I was wrapped up in my own conflicting thoughts.

  We arrived at Raychelle’s house, and Lily gave her aunt a long hug before heading upstairs to play.

  “What’s going on with her?” Raychelle asked, frowning. “She seems upset, Gage. What is going on?”

  “It’s a long story,” I said, sighing. “And complicated. I don’t want to go into it.”

  Raychelle pulled me in the direction of the small kitchen. Chicken noodle soup simmered in a pot on the stove. The smell of baking biscuits filled my lungs as I took a seat at the small round table in the kitchen nook. She stirred the soup with a large spoon before pouring us both hefty cups of coffee.

  “I’m all ears,” she said. “I can see that something is different about you, too. What is it?”

  “Nothing. It’s noth—”

  “It’s something,” Raychelle said impatiently. “I’m not blind, Gage. I can see that you’re struggling with something inside of your head there.” She paused for a moment to look at me closely. “Is it a woman? Are you seeing someone new?”

  I took a long sip of coffee in response. I wasn’t going to deny that part of it, even if I had no idea what was going to happen between Amber and me.

  A smile spread across Raychelle’s face. “So, you are. You are seeing a new woman. That’s great, Gage!”

  “You think so?” I asked, surprised. “I figured you would be lecturing me about it.”