His smile grows and pulls out one of my own as he looks down with tender affection. "Piper."
"Where've you been?" It's a question I ask every day, and one he never answers. His whereabouts are a mystery. He leaves in the morning and doesn't come home until dinner. Then he helps me bake, plays belly-time with JT, and does numerous things around the cabin. But he never lets on as to why he returns sweaty and ready to eat through house and home.
"Somewhere. Piper?"
"Yes, Caden?"
"You have a baby on your boob."
I laugh and wince when JT tugs a little too hard. "I do. A big, hungry one."
He walks over to the counter and digs around the basket of treats from the bakery I left out for him. "A boy after my own heart."
"Gross. It's breast milk-that can't be a fetish."
"Don't let any man fool you. We're all curious." I level him with a stare as he inhales half a scone in one bite. "What? It's true," he says through a mouthful. "Guys like tits. Big, small, a handful-a boob's a good boob. I particularly like that I see yours on a daily basis."
Mine are on display more than I care to think about, but the function removes any sexual overtures, or so I'd thought. "Are you admitting to ogling my breasts while JT nurses?"
"Sunshine, I don't ogle. I fantasize."
So much for platonic footing. My heart skips a beat when he reaches in the fridge to grab the milk. Drinking it right from the carton, he's a picture of mountain man perfection. Since coming to Lilyfalls, his wardrobe consists of ripped jeans that ride low, too low to be anything other than an invitation to come off, and flannel shirts that are more open than closed. Push the sleeves to his elbows and I'm ice melting on the floor by his feet. He makes me hot. I glance away, blinking through the not-very-friendly thought.
Friend, my friend, my non-baby-daddy who saw me through the perils of newborn-itis. He's not the kind of guy you take for a spin and decide afterward you want another model, an upgrade, a new year. Caden Lawless is the only ride in the lot and once you get in, there's no stopping. I'm just not sure he's ready for the long haul, and I'm not in to mass transit.
He throws the empty container in the trash and then grabs and shoves diapers, wipes and a burp clothe in my baby bag until it overflows. Gus lays his chin on my thigh, and I absently run my free hand over his head as he watches JT. "I like you," Caden says with no hesitation.
I nod. "We've established that. I believe you do. We're friends. Good friends."
He stops in front of me. I give him credit. His eyes don't stray to my exposed nipple when JT breaks away to wave wildly at the dog. With no real coordination yet, Gus takes a beating and happily pants through it. What I don't expect is for Caden to bend down so low his nose is an inch away from mine. His warm breath fans over my lips. "I think you may be working on a false presumption. I like you, Piper." I blink, stuck on the turbulence darkening his eyes. "And to be very clear, my fantasies are about fucking a baby back into your belly. My baby."
"What?" I squeak, seeking clarity. When he's around, the meaning behind words scatters into something new and different, as if I'm learning a foreign language.
His thumb finds my bottom lip, pressing it down until I taste the tip against my tongue. Salty, dirty, like the things I want him to say to me. Rough like the grip I wish he had on my hips. Fuck. I'm in deep with the roommate thirty minutes ago was a neighborly companion.
But he's never been that. Not since the moment he showed up on my doorstep with a one-track mind. He's hell-bent on fixing my life, and now he thinks he can do it with his cock and an attitude.
"I said my fantasies are about getting you and the baby out of this fucking cabin. And you've got something on your mouth." He swipes my lips, a simple brush of his fingers that he pulls back to show a hint of chocolate on them. "You've been sneaking into the cookies again, haven't you?"
"Oh." I got that wrong, really wrong, and I switch gears to hide my embarrassment. "I have a baby on my boob."
He laughs and looks. I asked for it, and this time I flush under the weight of his stare. As it turns out, he's more interested in JT than my exposed flesh-at least it appears that way when he takes him from my lap and puts him in perfect burping position. Caden with the world's cutest baby draped over his chest, his gentle touch, the reverence in his turquoise eyes as he rubs JT's back, is holy shit. I gulp past the stirring in my ovaries.