Learning to Trust: Sweet Temptation (10 page)

Or
he hoped they would.

Apparently,
Haley got her second wind somewhere between the airport and the condo, and
keeping up with her was becoming increasingly more difficult. She was also
getting a little cranky, but Kane couldn’t necessarily blame her.

“Let’s
order room service and watch a movie,” Kane offered and watched his daughter’s
eyes light up.

“Can
we, Mommy?” she asked, turning to face Lucie.

Lucie
glanced over at Kane and smiled.

“Of
course we can.”

“Can
I pick out what we’re going to eat, Daddy?”

Kane
had been walking across the room, and he stopped mid stride, his legs no longer
working the way they were supposed to. Turning to face the most beautiful
little girl in the entire world, he didn’t know whether he should laugh or cry.
Did she just call him Daddy? He still wondered whether his ears were betraying
him.

He
had dreamed of the day she would start calling him Daddy, but he knew he would
never force her to. Hearing her call him Kane had been harder on him than he
thought it would be, but now, his heart was doing somersaults in his chest and
he was literally scared he actually might cry.

He
looked up, met Lucie’s eyes and saw that she was crying. One single tear rolled
silently down her cheek, and she smiled so sweetly at him.

“Of
course you can, honey,” he answered Haley as he turned back toward the dresser
he had been taking his clothes to. He needed a minute.

Or
maybe twenty.

He
admitted to feeling an overwhelming resentment when Lucie had finally informed
him that he was Haley’s father. Despite the fact that he insisted on a
paternity test, he had believed her. Aside from the anger, he’d felt something
else too. Paralyzing joy. No matter what, he would never get the time back that
he had missed with Haley, but Kane had never thought he’d have children, so
finding out the incredibly beautiful little girl was his had shifted something
deep down inside of him.

“Are
you ok?” Lucie’s voice was soft, her hand warm on his back as she came to stand
beside him.

“I
will be.” He would be better than ok, that was for damn sure. He just needed some
time to catch his breath.

“She
loves you,” Lucie stated, sounding as though she were trying to make him feel
better. What she didn’t know, there was no way he would ever feel better than
he did right at that moment. For Haley to accept him as her father, even if she
didn’t quite know what that meant, made everything better.

Pushing
the drawer in, Kane took a deep breath and then turned to face his daughter.
Walking quickly over to her, he scooped her up in his arms, turned her over his
shoulder before flipping her back onto her feet while she belted out that sweet
little girl giggle.

“All
right, kiddo. What’re we gonna have for dinner?”

~~*~~

Lucie
sat cross legged on the bed beside Haley, Kane on the opposite side of the bed
leaning back against the headboard with a plate balanced on his flat stomach. They
had rented a movie, one of Haley’s favorites and the two of them were waiting
patiently for her to fall asleep. She was fighting it, every step of the way.

After
Kane ordered food, they finished unpacking, and set up Haley’s things in the
second bedroom. Lucie still wasn’t sure how the sleeping arrangements were
going to work because sleeping in the same bed with Kane was what she wanted
more than anything, but she didn’t want Haley to get any mixed messages either.

They
weren’t a couple. In fact, Lucie wasn’t even sure what they were. They were on
vacation, and yes, if she had anything to say about it, she and Kane would enjoy
a little horizontal time together, but she knew once they were back in the real
world, nothing would have changed. She wasn’t sure she honestly wanted it to
either.

Kane
and Haley were obviously making progress with their relationship, and she had
to give credit to Kane. He had asked her permission to seek counseling for him
and Haley in order to try and work through some of the changes that were inevitable
in the little girl’s life. Apparently, Haley was adapting better than any of
them had expected her to.

She’d
called Kane daddy and Lucie’s heart had undoubtedly missed a beat, or maybe two.
Watching while Kane absorbed the words had been one of the most heart wrenching
things she had ever seen. At first, she thought he might cry, but the big tough
guy had managed to get through the moment without even a hint of a tear. He was
stronger than she was.

Since
that moment, Haley had probably called him daddy no less than fifty times, and
he seemed to eat it up every single time. Lucie couldn’t blame him. This was a huge
milestone for the two of them, and she was just happy she had the opportunity
to witness it for herself. After all the heartache she had caused, seeing the bond
between father and daughter grow stronger every day didn’t make her guilt lessen
any, but she was grateful for the choice she finally did make.

“She’s
asleep,” Kane whispered, breaking Lucie from her thoughts. Glancing over, she
noticed that Haley was, in fact, asleep, propped on Kane’s shoulder, her teddy
bear tucked beneath her arm. Glancing over at the television, she noticed the closing
credits were rolling down the screen.

Damn,
she had missed most of the movie thanks to her wandering thoughts.

Lucie
climbed out of the bed and started to reach for Haley, but Kane waved her off
easily. “I’ll carry her if you want to pull the blankets back on her bed.”

Making
quick work of getting the bed ready for Haley, Lucie watched while Kane tucked
her in before standing back and staring down at her.

“She’s
beautiful,” Kane whispered. Lucie barely heard the words, but she felt the sentiment.
He was a proud father, and that made Lucie’s heart break even more. How could
she have been so stupid for so long?

Turning
quickly, she escaped back into the other bedroom and quickly grabbed the empty
plates and the bowl of popcorn Haley had been munching on earlier. With hurried
movements, she returned everything to the small kitchen, rinsed the plates
before stacking them in the dish drainer and dumping the popcorn in the trash
can.

When
Lucie was finished, she returned to the living area, studying the couch to see
whether it actually folded out to a bed like she assumed. She knew there was an
extra blanket and pillow in the hall closet, and this would work perfectly,
even if it didn’t fold out.

“Are
you ok?” Kane’s voice startled her, and she jumped, turning to face him.
Surprised to see him just a couple of inches behind her, Lucie nearly stumbled
backward, and she would have if he hadn’t slipped his arms around her and
stopped her.

“I’m
fine.” Ok, so she didn’t even sound fine to her own ears.

“You
don’t look fine.” Kane smiled. “Well, that’s not entirely true. You look
fucking hot, but you don’t look happy.”

Despite
herself, Lucie smiled. Kane had a way of doing that to her.

“I
was just trying to figure out how this makes into a bed,” she explained, her
hand flailing backward hinting at the sofa behind her.

“Well,
I’ve got a better idea.” Kane lifted her easily, and Lucie was forced to wrap
her legs around him.

“I
don’t want Haley to see us in bed together,” she murmured against his neck,
giving in to the emotions that were overwhelming her.

Kane
stopped, leaning his head back slightly so she was forced to look up at him.

“Do
you trust me, Luce?” he asked, and she was instantly mesmerized by his smoky gray
gaze.

“I
do,” she said honestly. Lucie had always trusted him. That had never been her
issue. The reason she kept Haley a secret from him hadn’t been because she
didn’t trust him with their daughter. She had done the unthinkable because she
was trying to protect him. In her mind, she didn’t want Kane to feel trapped.

“Then
do exactly what I tell you to do,” he whispered as he continued moving toward
the bedroom.

Kane
carried her to the bed and then stood her back on her feet. Once she was
planted firmly on the ground, she looked up at him, noticing the passion and anticipation
that had replaced the concern she detected a few seconds ago.

“I’ll
be right back. When I get back, I want you naked.” Kane kept his gaze leveled
on hers. “And I want you standing right here where I left you.”

Lucie
nodded her head in understanding, although she felt a little out of sorts. This
was new to her. This place. This man. This feeling. All of it churned together
making it difficult to breathe, much less think.

Kane
turned and disappeared from the room. For two, maybe three seconds, Lucie
hesitated. Finally, when the warmth that had started in her tummy penetrated
her limbs, she began to move, quickly disrobing, tossing her clothes on the
chair in the corner.

When
Kane returned, Lucie was stunned silent as he stalked toward her sans his
shirt. The man’s body was drool worthy. The way his shoulders bunched, his
biceps flexed, and the perfectly sculpted triangle of his tricep tightened had
her clenching her thighs together. That was only part of it. The ripple-effect
of his washboard abs made her want to drop to her knees and trace every luscious
line with her tongue until she’d gotten her fill of him.

Lucie
was pretty sure that would never happen, and she got the impression Kane knew
it.

*** ~~ *** ~~ *** ~~ ***

Looking
at Lucie had never been a hardship. In fact, looking at her was one of the
highlights of his day. That’s when they were at work. But here, right now,
seeing her naked and waiting for him, Kane wasn’t sure he’d ever seen anyone as
beautiful as her. Dressed, Lucie was stunning, no matter what she wore. Naked,
she was captivating.

Kane
shut the door behind him, flipping the lock to avoid any mishaps in the event
Haley woke up in the next hour or so. An hour didn’t seem like nearly enough
time to do what he wanted to do with Lucie, but he also wasn’t sure he could
last more than a few minutes. The woman made his skin overheat, and his dick to
react like a hair trigger.

“I
think you’re a little overdressed,” she stated in that sweet, raspy tone that
sent chills down his spine. He loved her seductive husky voice, and watching
her heart shaped lips form every syllable.

“You
think?” Kane knew he was overdressed, and the only thing he was wearing was his
jeans. He’d disposed of his shoes and socks before the three of them had taken
their spots in the big bed to watch a movie. After checking on Haley and making
sure the main door was locked, he’d dropped his shirt somewhere along the way.

“I
want to taste you.” Lucie’s words surprised him, and based on the way her eyes
widened, he was pretty sure she hadn’t intended to speak them out loud.

His
only response was the animalistic growl that surged from somewhere deep in his
chest. As he closed the gap between them, Kane pulled the button on his jeans
from the mooring and then slid the zipper down. Once he was within touching
distance of her, he stopped, staring down into her chocolate brown eyes and
feeling as though someone had sucker punched him. She made him breathless, and
the anticipation he felt at the thought of touching her again made him feel
like a teenager.

Kane
had been with a number of women in his lifetime and experienced more than his
fair share of raunchy, take-what-you-want sex, but none of that compared to
even the buildup he felt when he was with Lucie.

His
mind drifted back to the conversation they had shared just that morning, and he
almost flinched at the memory of what she said he had done to her. Although her
description never hinted at her distaste for what had happened between them,
Kane was still mortified at how he had treated her. He was almost grateful that
he didn’t remember because he wasn’t sure he’d be able to look her in the eyes
ever again.

She
deserved gentle, loving caresses, not slammed up against the counter fucking,
although that part of him was clawing to get free, to take her without
hesitance... to own her.

“I
don’t want sweet and gentle,” Lucie whispered in the otherwise silent room, her
words bringing him back to the moment. For half a second, he had to wonder
whether she had read his mind.

“You
deserve that,” he replied, moving his hands to the gentle curve of her waist,
his gaze roaming down the sexy, sleek column of her neck to the gentle curve of
her collarbone, then beyond. Her breasts were tipped with sweet, dusky pink
nipples, hardened and begging for his mouth.

“I
want you, Kane,” Lucie whispered, taking another step closer until her breasts
brushed against his chest. “I don’t want gentle right now. I know that’s not who
you are and for at least the next few days while it lasts, I want the real
you.”

Kane
didn’t bother to tell Lucie that he was looking for more than the next few
days. He had come to terms with that somewhere in the last few months and last
night had solidified it in his mind. He didn’t just care about Lucie and her
wellbeing because she was the mother of his child. He loved her. Deeply and
with everything he was.