Life Begins (6 page)

              After that, Josie had no other choice but to give Jane her last feeding and get her down to bed. Jason was in bed on time and so were the girls. So, Josie put up the chili, leaving out a portion for Žarko when he finally returned home. She turned on the big screen television and decided to relax.

              She had no idea what time she actually fell asleep, but her next memory was of being settled in a bed. She only knew that because it had been a while since she’d laid in one. “Stay still,” she heard him say while she was mid-stretch.

              “What time is it?”

              He sat on the edge of the bed. “It is late. Too late to go home.”

              Her body felt like it, so she rolled over to snuggle deeper into the mattress. “Don’t let me sleep too long. Jane will probably be awake and hungry soon.” That was the last thing remembered for the rest of the night.

Chapter 6

              Žarko checked on everyone in his home, ensuring that all was well. Just as she said, the infant was starting to wake, so he lifted her into his arms so she would halt her shifting. It seemed like it had been forever since he’d had the chance to hold something so small, just because he could. So, he took her into the kitchen where he prepared a bottle that Josie must have forgotten that she’d brought over when they first made their agreement.

              He had everything ready by the time Jane decided that she really was hungry enough to start fussing.

              Jane. It didn’t suit such a cute baby. She needed a new one, like maybe Jasmina or Jelisaveta. “We will talk to your mother about new name,” he told the baby. He knew she didn’t much care about anything, considering she was too busy eating. Little ones had it so easy.

              “Tata.” He turned to find Desa entering the living room, while rubbing her eyes.

              “Why are you awake?” His daughter came to sit beside him, snuggling into his side.

              “I heard you and wanted to say hi.”

              “Now you have said it. It is time to go back to sleep,
da
.” She nodded before placing a quick kiss on his cheek and then made her way back to bed. He then burped the baby before putting her back to sleep in her crib. One last check around the house then he made his way to his bed. By that time, Josie had taken up most of the bed space. He shifted her over enough to leave him space to lay, but for the most part, it didn’t matter. He awoke to Josie hanging off him like a clinging vine. She had a leg thrown over his hip, pressing against his rising cock.

              He sighed but didn’t stop his arm from wrapping around her waist, leaving his hand extremely close to her rear. This is where he hated the fact that she was so innocent still. With any other woman, he would have simply rolled her over and proceeded to tease her body into wakefulness. But not Josie. He needed her to remain whole so that she could take care of his children and her own, though he still wasn’t sure why her kids mattered to him.

              Maybe it was because she represented the kind of wife he’d thought he’d married, one that cared all about taking care of the family. His mother had been the one to make it possible for his father to do everything necessary to provide for them. He’d wanted the same thing for his girls, but hadn’t met the right woman the first time around. Josie being what he needed, gave him hope for the future of his daughters. He could tell that she didn’t mind taking care of the home for him.

              Now, when they got used to one another and developed more of a partnership, he fully intended to make use of her body. It wasn’t hard for him to see how much he unnerved her. She probably didn’t want to be attracted to him and he didn’t blame her. He never had been a soft boy and didn’t know what it would mean to be one.

              Josie would benefit from a softer man, someone willing to give her soft words and tender caresses. He, as she had said, would eat her alive. She would survive because he wasn’t the kind to simply leave a woman in lesser condition than he met her in. She just wouldn’t be the same as when she met him.

              He tapped her thigh with his free hand. “Time to get up.” She jumped. He had to grab her knee to keep her from doing some form of damage to his important bits. “Be careful when you move. You might hurt me.” He could tell that she was barely awake. There was no way she would have snuggled deeper into him if she were fully aware of her actions. He tapped her again to see what she would do, which was basically to swat at his hand absently. He found it funny.

              “Josie.” He head Ljiljiana’s morning alarm going on in her room. Then it went off and just as he expected, he heard the shuffling of his elder daughter making sure her younger sister woke up so that they could get ready for the day. He didn’t need to be involved in this aspect of his children’s life, but he at least wanted to make sure that they had everything ready before he left for the day. He just had to get the woman clinging to him up, even though her breasts felt nice against him.

              “I think you are not as averse to being in my bed as you say,” he whispered directly in her ear. That got her attention. She sat up, staring down at him, as if confused to how this happened. Žarko took that opportunity to roll her to the side so that he could finally move to get his day started.

              Josie sat in the middle of the mattress, continuing to stare at him and he knew why. His body was impressive and because he wasn’t changing his sleeping habits, he knew that she got a great look at him. He slid into a pair of nearby boxer shorts. He liked to wear black because of the contrast with his skin color. “The girls are getting ready for the day. You should do the same.”

              He decided to have pity on her and slid on a pair of his discarded jeans before leaving her to fully awaken herself. For the amusement value alone, he was glad that his path crossed with Josie. She did things to him that no one else ever could.

              Josie had no idea what was going on.  Her mind could only process a naked body full of muscles. She had to get out of the bed because obviously, she was going crazy. But before she did, she had to check and make sure she was wearing panties, she had a feeling that many found theirs disappeared when in his presence.

              She sighed in relief, finding them present and white, just as she needed them to stay.

              “Josie, can we have pancakes?” Desa said, sticking her head through the bedroom door to ask her question.

              Josie took a glance at the clock.  “I don’t think we have time today. Why don’t I make them this weekend so you can help me make the batter?” That was a good idea right?

              “Okay.” She through Josie a smile before she left again to do whatever it was she still had to do. Josie finally got out of bed, determined to get the day started. First on the list was taking care of her daughter. Her breasts hurt. They were so hard and heavy.

              When she finished feeding her daughter, she made her way to the kitchen to get started on breakfast. Like the day before, she showered and dressed while everyone ate. It also allowed her to get herself together after the experience of the morning. She couldn’t figure out what it was about him that made her feel so shaky, but it did and it she felt like she needed to preserve herself from him.

              She wouldn’t be surprised if condoms broke the moment he opened the package. The temptation he made was too much and she wasn’t fool enough to think that she wouldn’t eventually succumb to him. To her, it was more about finding a way to do it on her own terms. Whatever her terms would be. As long as she made it clear that she wasn’t easy, or would just start bed hopping just because she was no longer married.

              “I’m going to take the girls to school today,” Žarko told her when she returned to his apartment. He held Jane in his arms, looking way too comfortable holding a baby. She didn’t like that her daughter actually looked comfortable being held by him. “Then I will return.”

              She paused. “Why are you coming back? Don’t you have to go to work?”

              “Not until later. I will take the
bebe
with me.”

              “Why are we taking my kids?”

              “Because they are cute,” Desa said, holding Jason’s hand. And that’s when Josie understood how closely she would have to watch her kids. Žarko and his brood would spoil her children rotten. And if this, whatever this thing was, didn’t work out, she certainly didn’t want to give them away because she refused to deal with the fall out of it.

              “Then what am I supposed to do while you take my children to run errands?” She definitely didn’t trust his devious smile.

              “Why don’t you try making real Serbian meal? Fried breaded cheese is not enough. You should try to make
Ćevapi u lepinji sa kajmakom
. I think you are up to the challenge.”

              “How the hell am I supposed to know what that is? That wasn’t even in English.” She followed him throughout the apartment, but not getting an appropriate answer.

              He chuckled, even as he made sure all the children were ready to leave. “I am teaching you Serbian. You cannot be Serbian mother unless you know Serbian.”

              She had no words that could match the way she felt hearing that statement. Was she in the twilight zone or something? “I can’t be a Serbian mother because that would require me to be Serbian, which I’m not. Not even a little bit.” Her words didn’t seem to deter him.

              “Let’s go girls. It’s time to go to school.” He left her there, mouth gaping open. It just pissed her off.

              But, she was thankful for his daughters when Ljiljiana paused before exiting the apartment. “It is Serbian kebab.
Baka
makes it for us when we visit Serbia.” With that bit of knowledge, she walked out the door, closing it behind her. Left alone in a man’s apartment, Josie had to wonder what the hell she was doing.

              Obviously, it was time for her to start setting out boundaries and limitations. The way he behaved with her definitely didn’t mesh with some of the words that he said and she was determined to get to the bottom of it.

~*~

              “
Tata
, are you going to marry Josie?” Desa asked him.

              Žarko peered into the rearview mirror at her. That was an interesting question and not one that he had expected from his youngest. This wasn’t the first time that he’d had a woman taking care of his daughters, but it was the first time that one of them had asked about it.

              “We have talked about it.
Tata
was already married once and is not looking to have another wife.” That was the best answer that he could give to a child. The real answer was simply too complicated and not suitable for a child to know, particularly as it pertained to their mother.

              “I know, but I like Josie. I want us to keep her.”

              “She’s not a puppy,” Ljiljiana said from the passenger’s seat.

              “I didn’t say she was. I just want her to stay with us. She’s nice.”

              “But you have met a lot of nice women,” he said in response. “Nice is not a good reason to marry.”

              “It is not reason not to either,” Ljiljiana responded back. “She is a good
majka
. She does not like us just for you.”

              His girls were so smart, but he didn’t see the need to argue with them. He kept his peace as he dropped the girls off at school. Then, while he gave Josie time to begin to panic, he decided to stop and get some coffee from the Starbucks’ drive thru window. He also bought little Jason a cake pop to eat when they made it back to the house.

              He found Josie sitting at his dining room table with her little cookbook, looking very worried. He set the baby carrier and the coffee near her. He then lifted Jason into the seat across from his mother. “Why are we looking worried?”

              His answer was a groan. “How the hell am I supposed to honor your dinner request when I can’t even remember what the hell you said in the first place? I know that Ljiljiana said it’s a kebab, but that’s not helping me.” She thrust the book toward him. “I give up.” He had to give her extra points for the cute pout, something he noticed that both of her children had received from her.

              It made him willing to take pity on her. He picked up her book and flipped through it to find the correct page. Then, he turned it toward her and pointed it out. “Do you think you can make that?”

              She took a long look at it. “I have to make the bread, too?”

              He nodded. “Of course. Why would I make it easy?”

              “Yes, it’s not like you’re nice or anything,” he heard her say under her breath.

              “You say you are good in kitchen. Well, now you are in Serbian kitchen, so you will cook like a Serbian.”

              She gave a deep aggrieved sigh. “You’re not funny.” She picked up the book and took it into the kitchen with her.

              “You forgot coffee I buy for you,” he called out after her.  He gave her son his cake pop to start eating and left the baby to her napping. Josie stormed back, grabbed one of the cups and left again.

              “I’m not saying thank you,” she shouted back at him. His laughter trailing after her.

              She really did entertain him and it made him think about what his youngest daughter said. He didn’t know that he ever did want to marry again, but he did want his girls to have a good example of a mother. He looked down at her children, for a moment wondering what a child of his would look like with Josie. It was something to really think about. “Come, Jason.” He said as he unstrapped the baby from her seat. “We are going to learn Serbian.” He still had the programs that he used with his own children.