My Father's Best Friend(8)

The driver returned to his seat and pulled out onto the road. I slipped  an arm around her waist and hauled her over to my side. Lifting her  chin, I stared down at her intensely. "Do you trust me, baby girl?" I  asked quietly.

Her quick nod of agreement filled me with satisfaction, and I rewarded  her with a swift but hard kiss. "I would never put you in a harmful  situation. I protect what's mine, and you"-I placed my hand over her  flat stomach-"and the little one I'm doing my damndest to put in here,  are mine." Lilah blushed prettily and laid her head on my shoulder.

I had wanted to take Lilah home first, but she'd insisted that she  wouldn't be able to relax until after the initial meeting with her  father was done. I almost put my foot down but I was worried about her  stress level, especially if she was already pregnant. She'd already been  more tired than usual from all the worry and anxiousness. So, we were  going straight to Samuel's house. I was immensely relieved when she  quickly fell asleep on the drive. She needed to rest.

A little over an hour later, we pulled into the driveway of a large,  brick house with white pillars and shutters. Samuel had built the house  for Bonnie after he'd proposed, but she'd never had the chance to see  it. When he got serious with Lola, he considered selling it, not wanting  to make his new fiancée live in the house he'd built for another woman.

Except, Lola was everything Samuel needed and she knew that it wasn't  actually Bonnie tying him to the house. The truth was, he was afraid to  move just in case his daughter ever tried to find him.

The front door opened just as the vehicle came to a halt in front of it.  Samuel stepped over the threshold and stood on the top step, hands in  his pockets. To anyone other than me and Lola, it would be almost  impossible to recognize how nervous he was.

I looked down at Lilah, wishing I didn't have to wake her. The windows  of the car were tinted, so I kissed the top of her head and drew a  fingertip down her soft cheek. "We're here, baby girl."         

     



 

She stirred, her eyelids lifting groggily, and she looked up at me with a  sweet smile. "Here?" she asked. Before I could answer, her blue pools  strayed to the view outside the window and she stiffened. Then she  quickly slid back across the bench seat, her hands smoothing her hair  and the wrinkles in her mint green blouse.

I frowned at her retreat, but refrained from commenting, simply holding  out my hand. She looked at it silently for a moment, her eyes blinking  owlishly. Then she met my gaze. "We decided to keep it a secret for now,  remember?" she urged. "I can't hold your hand, he'll know!"

I sighed. "No, you decided and I gave in. But, that's not the issue right now. I'm simply helping you from the car, baby girl."

"You can't call me that either," she hissed, slapping a hand over my  mouth. My tongue darted out and licked at her palm, causing her to  snatch it back. Her eyes heated and I once again hauled her over to me,  my mouth slamming down over hers. She went a little boneless, sinking  into the kiss, and I ravaged her lips until I felt like she'd been  thoroughly claimed.

Leaning back, I smiled smugly at the sight of her pinkened, kiss-swollen  lips. It took another minute for me to move while I willed my erection  back down. It would be hard to explain away my hard-on.

I opened the door and hopped out, then reached in and helped her down  from the car. With her feet steady on the ground, she dropped my hand  like it was on fire and a low growl escaped from my throat.

Lilah scowled at me, then faced the house and took a tentative step  forward. Then another. Samuel's face lit up at her approach and he met  her at the bottom step. From the tenseness in his arm muscles, I knew he  was fighting the urge to pull her into his embrace. Eighteen years he'd  waited, hoped, dreamed of meeting his daughter.

I was so fucking happy to give this to him and it made the wait to tell  him about us worth it, though it didn't make it any easier.

"Lilah," he breathed, his voice filled with awe. "You're so beautiful, sweetheart. You look just like your mother."

Lilah flinched at his words and before I could stop myself, I was  standing at her back. I didn't touch her, but let the heat from my body  give her comfort, reminding her I was there for her.

"Thank you," she murmured awkwardly. Some of the elation on Samuel's  face dissipated and he looked between Lilah and I for a moment, his  expression telling me nothing. Finally, he smiled at me with gratitude  and nodded. I lifted my chin in reply but otherwise, stayed still.

"Let's go inside and talk," he suggested. He turned, and I put my hand  softly on Lilah's lower back as we followed him into the house. At my  touch, her rigid spine relaxed a little.

We entered a room decorated with neutral tones and comfortable furniture  meant to exude a laid-back atmosphere. Samuel took a seat on one of the  couches and hesitantly gestured for Lilah to join him.

"Where is your ladies' room?" she inquired, and Samuel gave her  directions. After she left the room, he stood and walked over to where I  was casually lounging against a wall by the door.

He stuck out one hand and I shook it as his other clasped my shoulder.  "I don't know how to thank you, Ethan. You know how long I've waited."  He glanced at where Lilah had disappeared and sighed. "It's obvious that  you've protected her like your own daughter"-my gut clenched in  rejection of his summation. I didn't see Lilah as anything but my soul  mate, my soon-to-be wife and mother of my children. But, respecting her  wishes, I kept quiet-"and while I'm a little jealous of the relationship  you have, I'm grateful. I just hope I can build one with her too."

Voices outside the door alerted us to her return and Samuel went back to  his spot on the sofa. Lilah walked in accompanied by a plump brunette  in her early forties, with a wide smile and a rock the size of Texas on  her left ring finger. Lola was a bright ray of sunshine in Samuel's  life, and I was certain she would be a bridge between father and  daughter.

"Well now," she said excitedly, her brown eyes sparkling. "We've certainly gotten lucky, Sam. She's a keeper."

Lilah blushed, but as I expected, Lola's bright attitude and charismatic  draw had put Lilah more at ease. "And, I've even convinced her to  forget this rubbish plan of staying somewhere else. She'll have the  whole guest suite downstairs!"

My body went rigid at her announcement. What the fuck? Lilah wouldn't be  staying anywhere but in my fucking bed, and I'd been completely clear  about it from the beginning. I'd agreed to keep our relationship a  secret for a while with the condition that she tell them she was  "staying with a friend."         

     



 

Lilah peeked at me through her lashes and when she clocked my no doubt  thunderous expression, her eyes darted away guiltily. She rushed over  and took a seat on the opposite side of the couch from her dad, keeping  her back to me.

Lola launched into a conversation, drawing both Lilah and Samuel out of  their shells, keeping the topics light and helping them get to know each  other. All the while I stayed where I was, silently fuming.

Sometime later, Samuel looked up at me and I quickly wiped all expression from my face. "I hope you'll stay for dinner, Ethan."

"Absolutely," I answered evenly, trying to hide my clenched jaw and the anger radiating from my body.

Lola smiled happily and stood. "Great! I'll go check on it." As she  neared me, she placed a hand on my arm to gain my attention. "Would you  mind grabbing Lilah's bags from the car and take them to her room,  Ethan?"

It was on the tip of my tongue to refuse, but I decided to do as I was  asked for now. I needed to talk to Lilah alone before I caused a scene.  After retrieving her small amount of luggage, since most everything had  been shipped to our home, I dropped it in the bedroom of the guest suite  on the first floor.

Stalking out into the hall, I glimpsed a flash of mint green, and  platinum-blonde hair, vanishing into Samuel's office. I purposefully  strode after her and walked in to find her bent over, her round little  ass in the air, rummaging through an open drawer of the desk. I shut the  door behind me, flipping the lock. At the sound of the click, Lilah  whirled around, clutching a small book to her chest.

She breathed out in a huff and frowned. "You scared me," she accused.  "Lola sent me in here to grab this photo album." Her defensive  explanation was unnecessary. I didn't give a flying fuck why she was in  there. My long legs quickly ate up the distance between us and I  snatched the book from her, tossing it onto the desk. Then I put her  wrists behind her back, locking them in one of my hands. I backed her up  until she was caged between me and the desk.

"I ought to put you over my knee and spank the shit out of you, baby  girl," I growled. Her eyes widened and she glanced over my shoulder to  the office door. "Eyes on me!" I snapped. "You want to explain why the  fuck Lola thinks you'll be spending your nights here?"