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

  “No doubt about that.” Amber glanced at the alarm clock on the bed stand. “Do you think we could skip foreplay? I’ve been fantasizing about you all week now. That’s enough for me.”

  I hated that she was right, but we couldn’t afford much foreplay. Not with the kids at the museum for the next twenty minutes while they did their art class before we had to join them again. I had to make quick work of Amber’s pleasure before giving in to my own.

  “Lay back,” I instructed, pushing her legs apart. She gave me an uncertain look as she did what I told her. “Don’t worry. I know how to get a woman off quickly.”

  Amber’s eyebrow arched upward at that. “Do you, now?”

  I slid my hands beneath her firm bottom to pull her to the edge of the bed. I pressed a kiss against the inside of her thigh. She was already dripping wet with arousal. I inhaled the scent of it greedily. Smugness went through me, knowing that this was the reaction I got from her.

  “Yes,” I breathed. “Relax, baby. It’ll happen quickly if you relax.”

  I didn’t give her a chance to reply. Taking that bundle of nerves into my lips, I let my tongue and mouth bring her to a high peak. Her thighs quivered against the side of my neck while her feet pushed down on the tops of my shoulders. I found my fingers drifting down to my throbbing erection to stroke myself to ease a bit of tension in time with her pending release. Amber’s back arched off the bed as she cried out in pleasure. Her hips rolled against me as she climbed higher and higher to that pinnacle.

  Unable to stand it any longer, I stood up before either one of us could go over the edge into that sweet oblivion. Amber looked up at me in sheer frustration, her face the color of a ripe cherry about to burst with juices. I pushed her back down on the mattress when she sat up, and settled myself against the heat between her legs. I thrusted deep into her hot and pulsating flesh with a groan of my own.

  I couldn’t think of anything else after that besides for the hot pressure building up in me. I set a hard pace, harder than I’d gone before, and a part of me dimly worried about the intensity of it all. That was until Amber wrapped her legs tightly around my waist, pulling me in even deeper. She whispered broken encouragements in my ear until I couldn’t hear anything over the roar of blood in my veins and my heart pounding.

  I teetered on the edge until Amber’s scream tore through her lips. Her body bucked beneath mine, inner muscles squeezing so tightly that it nearly paralyzed me from the pleasure. My release came barreling down as well, while I emptied myself into her before collapsing on the mattress alongside her.

  “Holy shit,” Amber panted, reaching for my hand. “I think my heart is about to explode.”

  I sucked in a deep breath to try and calm my own racing heart. “Speak for yourself. I’m older than you.” I clutched at my chest to feel the furious pounding there. “You might have to take me to the hospital for a heart attack.”

  Amber giggled breathlessly as she turned to lay on her side. “I thought sex was supposed to be the best exercise for a man your age.”

  “It is,” I said, eyes sweeping along her perfect breasts out of habit. “At least, I’m not at the point of having to take pills.”

  “That’s true. I don’t think you have to worry about that at all.”

  A blonde curl fell against her cheek. I reached out to tuck it back behind her ear with a smile. She nuzzled her face into my palm with a small smile.

  “I’ve missed you,” she said softly. “I wish there was a way we could see each other more.”

  “I know,” I replied, looking back up at the ceiling of the hotel room. “I wish we could figure it out, too. I don’t want to bring any attention to us both until we can discuss this seriously.”

  Amber propped herself up on an elbow to glance at the alarm clock again on the bed stand. She rested the upper half of her body on my chest, breasts pushing up against me. The sensation put a smile on my face. It felt natural to enjoy the afterglow. Especially since our time had been cut short, and it still was short. Too short for us to have a serious conversation about our expectations.

  “We have five minutes,” Amber said. “Is that enough to talk about what you want to talk about?”

  I shook my head. “Not enough time. We do need to talk, though. I don’t want to bring any attention to you with all this hype around your father.”

  “I understand that. I want to keep this quiet, too.” She chewed on her bottom lip for a long second. “It’d be a good idea to keep this to ourselves until things quiet down. Have you seen the latest headlines?”

  “I haven’t bothered to look,” I said. “I don’t get much service right now, either. I’m running out of movies for Lily to watch.”

  Amber ran her fingertips through the curl of my chest hair. “It’s been hell with my ex-husband. Soon to be, I should say. His father is my father’s political opponent at this point.”

  “I’m sure it’s a war of words,” I said grimly. “If I ever see that piece of shit on the street—”

  “You won’t,” she interjected, shaking her head. “He’s all the way in D.C. at the moment with his father. I won custody of Ethan, but he gave that up without a fight, my lawyers said.”

  “What about the final divorce?”

  “Waiting for him to sign the papers,” Amber said. “He agreed to the terms, so it’s just when he signs the papers. I’ve already signed them.”

  I gathered her close again in relief. “Good. That’ll make this much easier for the both of us.”

  “Agreed,” she mumbled against my chest, pressing a tender kiss to the spot above my heart. “I love you, Gage. I’m falling in love with you.”

  “I love you, too,” I said and pressed a kiss to the top of her head with a smile. “We better get back before the classes end.”

  We drove back to the museum in a sated and mutual glow of contentment. I let go of Amber’s hand when I found a parking spot. Both of us walked in to retrieve a happy Ethan and Lily from the classroom. A shadow crept over me, though, when we reached the cabin Beau was using for his stay in Montana. I hated leaving Amber here and returning back to the emptiness of my own home. Lily didn’t seem too thrilled with it, either.

  I helped carry Ethan’s various crafts into the house with Amber at my side. She caught my eyes before walking through the front door and reached out to squeeze my forearm gently in wordless understanding. She didn’t want me to go, but until things settled down, this was the reality of it.

  Beau was waiting for us in the dining area with a field of paperwork in front of him. He glanced up when Ethan came barreling in with glee.

  “Look at those crafts,” he said when I set them down on the table. “Very impressive, Ethan. You did such a good job.” He smiled over at Lily, lingering at Amber’s side. “I’m sure you did a good job too, Lily. Your dad says you have a knack for painting.”

  “I suppose,” Lily said glumly.

  Amber smoothed a hand down the back of Lily’s head. “Why don’t we get Ethan down for a nap together? I have some clothes for you that I picked up.”

  I smiled in appreciation at the gesture. Beau waited for the three of them to leave before he rose out his chair with a smile.

  “Thank you,” he said. “Amber seems to be happy with you around.”

  It took all my resolve to shrug nonchalantly. Raw guilt coated my insides, though. I glanced down at the impressive amount of paperwork that was spread across the table.

  “What’s this?” I asked.

  Beau glanced at the papers dismissively. “Just a new law I’m about to propose, is all. I have to ask you a question, Gage. A serious one.”

  My heart stilled with dread. A part of me was tempted to duck out quickly, but I forced myself stay. “Sure. What is it?”

  “Has Amber mentioned anything about Scott?” Beau asked.

  I let out a relieved breath at the question.

  “No,” I said, shaking my head. “Not all. Not once really. Why are you asking?”r />
  “I’m not sure how to explain it, but there is something secretive going on with her. I have a feeling it is has to deal with Scott.”

  “How so?” I asked, even though I didn’t want to know. Not after spending an incredible afternoon with her.

  Beau shrugged his shoulders. “The divorce proceedings are stalling is all. She hasn’t gone to her appointments, which I fear is a sign that she’s hesitating.” He smiled thinly at me, unaware of the jealousy sparking in me. “You know that Amber is one of those people who tries to fix broken people. She even admitted that to me this week when I asked about the divorce.”

  A coldness washed over me, despite the logical part of my head arguing that it didn’t matter. We were both trying to move on with our lives. I still missed Marcie every time I got up in the morning, but all of that had dulled with Amber’s company. Now, I found myself running over the weeks that Amber had spent with me. I never picked up on that hesitation, but Amber was good at keeping her emotions guarded to when she needed.

  Lily and Amber entered the dining room a moment later. Holding up the bags of clothes, Lily smiled at me.

  “Look what Amber got me,” she said. “All new clothes to try on for school. What do you think, Dad?”

  I avoided Amber’s eyes to keep my emotions guarded. I didn’t want to explode in front of everyone in the room.

  “Very nice,” I said, a bit curtly. “We need to get going, Lily. We’ll figure out another day to come back down.”

  Lily picked up the warning in my voice. She thanked Amber for the clothes before coming to my side without an argument. I managed a tight-lipped smile at Beau before looking to Amber. Confusion danced in her eyes, but all I could do was nod a quick goodbye.

  I didn’t want to think about the jealousy simmering in my veins. It wasn’t my business if she still had feelings for Scott, or if she was stalling the divorce. It wasn’t my place to talk about it, even if a part of me burned to know.

  Chapter 18

  Amber

  It was a huge relief to hear my father tell his team that we were going to stay in Montana for a little bit longer. The state-wide impact from the winter storm was now spreading into other surrounding states. The highways were an absolute mess. Trucks couldn’t get to where they needed to go, to deliver food and supplies to supermarkets. There were deaths, too. A lot of them.

  I lowered the newspaper after reading another story of a man pulling off the side of the road to wait for help. The exhaust pipe had clogged up without him knowing it with snow and ice. He was found dead by first responders who were on the way to help him as fast they could. I prayed for his family quietly as I picked up my coffee cup. The airports were closed down, too, with this rush of arctic temperatures.

  I felt guilty for being so relieved that we were staying put until the weather let up. People were dying in the cold temperatures while utility crews fought to bring power back on. We were lucky to have generators and an endless supply of money to fuel those generators with.

  My fathered appeared in the kitchen with Ethan tagging along behind him. They were both dressed in their Sunday clothes, finely pressed pants and button up shirts. My father’s silver hair was slicked back as usual. He smelled fresh of aftershave as well when he deposited Ethan into the chair next to mine.

  “Are we ready to go?” he asked, pressing a kiss to my head in passing. “I want to make sure we leave on time with the roads being icy. Don’t want to be late for church.” He winked playfully at Ethan, who giggled. “Thou shall not be late when going to church.”

  “It wouldn’t be a good idea,” I agreed with a smile. “Are the SUV’s packed with extra blankets that I bought?”

  “All packed up.” My father smiled at me from across the table as he picked up his cup of coffee. “I’m proud of you, honey. The church promised to help hand out any blankets that people needed. Only half the city has power with the power lines snapping from the ice.”

  “I just can’t imagine being without power right now,” I said, shivering at the thought. It was freezing outside, much colder than normal temperatures during the winter months in Montana. An arctic front was coming through, and with all the snow still on the ground, it was frigid out. Many of the churches had been kind enough to take in any homeless people to prevent them from freezing to death in the middle of the night.

  “No, we’re lucky that we have generators here to help us get through the cold days and nights.”

  We fell into companionable silence while Ethan ate between us. He hopped down after finishing his breakfast to go play in the living room. I gazed out the kitchen window. A part of me wanted to pick up the phone, to call Gage, and hear his voice. It didn’t take a body language expert to know that something was wrong in Gage’s demeanor yesterday after we returned from the afternoon in the hotel room. He had spoken harshly to Lily who followed him without an argument. She knew when to push her father’s buttons, but when not to argue, either.

  I had no idea what happened. My father remained in a cheerful mood throughout the day afterwards. If something had come out, Gage wouldn’t have walked out of the house unscathed.

  “Amber?”

  “Hmm?”

  “Did you not hear a word I just said?”

  “I’m sorry,” I said, and looked back at my father, who sighed in irritation. “I was thinking about something. What were you saying?”

  “That’s what I was commenting about,” he remarked wryly. “That you seem a bit lost in your thoughts, again. What’s going on with you?”

  I shook my head at him because there was no possible way that I could explain my feelings for Gage to him. I didn’t want to sell the relationship out before it could begin, either. I wanted to stay in our private little bubble longer, if not permanently, before everyone else pushed themselves into it.

  “Nothing is going on with me,” I said. “Why do you keep asking me that question?”

  “Because I’m starting to worry that you’re stalling on the divorce,” my father said coolly. “You haven’t been to any of your appointments with your lawyer. They’ve done everything completely blind for you.”

  “I thought that’s what the plan was. For me to stay out of sight.”

  My father gave me a long and critical look that instantly had me shifting nervously on the edge of my seat. He had the uncanny ability to see things in people, particularly when they weren’t being honest. My mother and I always joked that he should’ve worked for the CIA or the FBI, taking down criminals or analyzing them.

  “Something is going on with you,” he said slowly. “I know there is something that you don’t want to tell me about, but I’m going to trust that whatever it is, you’ll tell me eventually.”

  I didn’t respond. I felt the lure of information in his words. He wanted me to confirm that there was something going on, but I refused to acknowledge it. I didn’t even know how to process through my own emotions for Gage yet.

  “The lawyers have sent over the terms of your divorce. We are just waiting for Scott’s lawyers to agree.”

  “Then, why are you asking me if I’m stalling?” I asked irritably. “It’s him that is stalling. Not me.”

  “It would’ve gone faster if you went to those appointment, Amber. That’s what I’m saying. I don’t know why you felt the need to skip them.”

  “I don’t want to go to them because then I’ll have to face Scott in front of a judge,” I said, rising from my chair. “I’m going to finish getting ready for church. I’ll see you in the car.”

  I left the kitchen with tears burning in my eyes. I could feel the weight of my father’s stare burning into my back. Bypassing the busy living room, I hurried up the stairs to the guest room.

  Why can’t he just let this go? I want to just move on. Move far away from everything.

  I entered the bathroom to grab my bag of makeup from the counter. The bubble with Gage felt even more inviting than ever. At least it was peaceful, but it was also exciting i
n there with him. The rest of the world felt cold and critical to whatever decisions I made.

  Dabbing some foundation under my eyes, I stared at my reflection in the mirror as a wave of queasiness crashed over me again. My skin felt different this morning. Everything about my body felt different. I couldn’t explain the constant cramping, or the back aches followed by nausea.

  The flu. That’s what it is. The flu.

  I found Ethan already buckled in one of the SUV’s when I stepped outside. Cold air nipped at my bare legs as I hopped into the passenger seat next to him. My father hopped into the other seat. The drive back through Bozeman was slow and, at times, treacherous. The roads were slick with ice. By the time we reached the church, I was covered in a sheen of cold sweat. My stomach was churning, too.

  All of that disappeared though when I spotted Gage’s truck in the church parking lot. My heart leapt at the prospect of having another excuse to see Gage, but his truck was empty when I walked past it.

  “I didn’t think Gage would be here,” my father remarked, also looking at the truck with a frown. “He normally never attends church. I can’t remember the last time he even appeared in a church.”

  “I’m not sure,” I replied, adjusting Ethan’s weight on my hip. “I’m going to drop Ethan off at daycare in the church basement.”

  My father glanced at me with a frown. “Bring a security detail with you to keep an eye on Ethan.”