Chapter 5

She gives a small shrug. “I finally managed to fall asleep around two.”

I start stacking pancakes onto a plate. “Yeah, I had a hard time falling asleep, too.”

When she doesn’t say anything, I turn to look at her and find her staring at me. She looks so beautiful with her blonde hair still messy from sleep and her big brown eyes staring at me as if she wants me to press her up against the counter and kiss her senseless. She’s wearing a pair of sleep pants and a t-shirt, and it’s still the sexiest damn thing I’ve ever seen. Her hard nipples are begging for my attention, but instead of going to her, I hand her a plate of food.

The smile she gives me as she takes it makes me happier than I’ve been in a very long time. I’m already hard, have been since she walked in, but this is much more than just lust. I love her and want to take care of her. I’m just not sure how to go about making that happen. She’s only 18. There’s no way she’s going to want to settle down with someone who’s old enough to be her dad. I know she’s attracted to me, but that’s probably all it is. Just a simple crush on her part.

She thanks me when I pass her the bacon before getting out the butter and syrup. We both sit at the counter and when she bites into the pancakes and lets out a satisfied moan, I accidentally let my fork drop. The sharp clatter echoes through the room, and when I look at her, she’s staring at me wide-eyed and embarrassed.

“I’m sorry,” she quickly says. “It just tasted really good. I couldn’t help myself.”

“I love to hear you moan. Please don’t ever apologize for that.”

Turning my body, so I’m facing her, I search her face, looking for any clues about what she’s thinking or feeling. She meets my gaze, and although there’s a blush on her cheeks, her eyes are anything but uncertain. There’s a heat to them that takes my breath away. Her lips part slightly, and whether she realizes it or not, so do her thighs.

I lightly dance my fingers along her forearm that’s resting on the counter between us, enjoying the trail of goosebumps that instantly arise at my touch.

“You drive me crazy,” I admit, knowing I’m not even telling her the half of it.

The surprised look on her face almost has me laughing. How can she possibly not know the effect she has on me?

“I do?”

I love how it isn’t a fake response because of some game she’s playing. There’s an innocence about her that intrigues and amazes me. She’s genuinely surprised by my reaction to her, and I love that.

“You do,” I say, lowering my head so I can kiss the line of goosebumps that are still visible on her pale skin.

She gasps at my touch, and when I look up at her before running my tongue over her skin, the desire in her eyes is the best aphrodisiac in the world. I want to run my tongue over every inch of her body, and I promise myself that one day soon I will, but her lips are calling to me, and I can’t resist.

Standing, I cup her face in my hands and look down at her. Her eyes are a soft chocolaty brown with long, dark lashes. There’s a light dusting of freckles over her nose, and her lips are pouty and begging to be sucked on. I run my thumb over her bottom lip and smile when her eyes get heavylidded and she looks like she’s about to beg me to fuck her. She’s a sensitive thing. Makes me wonder what she’d do if I ran my thumb over other parts of her body. Another thing I promise to explore later.

Leaning down I replace my thumb with my tongue and slowly lick first her bottom lip and then her top. She’s already opening herself for me, wanting me to slide my tongue inside her. I’m more than happy to give her what she wants, but not yet. I take my time nibbling on her lips, letting my teeth graze along her sensitive skin before sucking one lip into my mouth.

Her soft moans are making my cock press painfully against my pants, and when I feel her hesitantly reach her tongue out to touch mine, I lose what little restraint I have and kiss her hard. She tastes of sweet syrup, and I can’t get enough. I explore every inch of her mouth, devouring her with my lips and tongue while I cradle her face in my hands.

I’m just about to pick her up from the chair and carry her to my room when I hear Sara’s door open. We both freeze, our breaths coming in fast pants. I rest my forehead against hers, willing my body to calm down. The panic in her brown eyes makes me want to cradle her against my chest and protect her against anything and everything, but I hear my daughter’s steps getting closer, and I can’t.

Instead, I give her a reassuring smile and say, “It’s going to be okay. We’ll talk later. I promise.”

I kiss her once more, hating that I can’t take my time, and I’m back in my seat by the time Sara drags her sleepy ass into the kitchen.

“Morning,” she says, going straight for the coffee.

Ashley looks like a deer caught in the headlights, and I want to laugh when I see her shovel a big forkful of pancake into her mouth so she won’t be expected to talk.

“Good morning,” I say, trying to look normal and not like I’d just been making out with her best friend. “Are you hungry? I made plenty.”

She switches to Italian and tells me that she stayed up way too late and is exhausted but also starving. I finish my plate while she fills me in on telling Ashley about her acceptance into the study abroad program and that she thinks it’s upset her. I glance at Ashley who still looks a bit shaken by our almost getting caught. It’s safer to let Sara think she’s upset about Italy rather than the truth, so I tell her I’m sure she’ll be fine and leave it at that.

Ashely is used to us speaking Italian, but I always feel like we’re leaving her out, so I switch us back to English. Sara gets plenty of practice when we’re alone anyway. Italian was my first language, and it’s something I felt very strongly about passing on to my daughter, so I’ve been speaking it to her since birth.

When Sara’s done fixing her plate, I offer her my seat and start cleaning up. I can’t help but listen in to their conversation since they’re right in front of me, and I learn that Ashley has to work tonight.

“Which restaurant are you waitressing at now?”