Playing Pretend: A Single Dad Secret Baby Romance Read online

  “What the Hell…?” Eric’s pupils blew, and I blinked hard as my own words sent an ache through my skull. “Wow…”

  “You swore-“ His chest, threatening to fuse with mine, lurched at his whisper, and Eric screwed his face. Jaw ticking, he gulped harshly before managing to reign in control of himself enough to continue. “That was disgusting to listen to.”

  The tears that had gathered behind my eyelids leaked in thick streaks down to my hair, and I flung my arms around Eric’s neck. My lips met his sloppily, and he thrust deep, even strokes as emotion filled my lungs. Desperation slickened my skin, and I wrapped my legs around his waist to hold him close. Each tilt of his hips sent waves of pleasure through me, and he propped himself on one elbow to grip my butt hard.

  “Shit- shit…” His grumbles slipped between the seal of our mouths, and he pushed himself up mightily to sit on his ankles. Gripping my waist with both hands, Eric squeezed as I came undone once again. Rolling my hips loosely, I lost myself in the pleasure of his body rubbing against mine.

  “Eric- Eric!” My nails dug ruts into his shoulders and back, but Eric didn’t seem to feel it as he grunted and increased his pace. The tears that slipped down my face tainted our kiss, and I tore my lips from his to hide in his muscular shoulder. Strong arms crossed my back, and his harsh pants rolled down between my breasts.

  “Oh my fucking God-!” Choking out the slur, Eric’s teeth sunk into my own shoulder, and his thrusts became more erratic and sharper. I couldn’t breathe- couldn’t do anything even as my lips moved in silent plea. Tightening around his length, I dug my heels into the small of his back as he tensed.

  Collapsing forward into a shivering, sweaty heap, Eric crushed me under his weight as he struggled to pull his arms out from under me. The slow action took a second, maybe, but it felt like forever as my lungs screamed for sustenance. Finally managing to half-roll off me, his harsh pants disappeared under my wheezes, and every ounce of energy I had left went to breathing.

  “I love you.” The hoarse, bare whisper sent a shock through me, and I jerked even as Eric grabbed my face to force my head to the side. His eyes glimmered brilliantly beyond my watery lenses, and he heaved a mighty gust of a breath before nodding awkwardly. “I love you, Delainne.”

  “Wow…” Mine was all I could think to say, and Eric’s smile bubbled as my tears began with renewed vigor. Roughly rolling me towards him, he draped his arm around my neck to tangle his fingers in my hair. “I’m happy- I’m so happy.”

  “… I’m sorry that I never tried to learn about your childhood before your father remarried.” Blinking hard at the dark note in Eric’s tone, I exhaled a shaky breath as his face became clear only to blur again. My heart thundered hard, and cold shivers danced under my skin where he wasn’t touching me. “I would love it if you could tell me a little more, maybe.”

  “What do you want to know?” The question agitated my raw throat, and I struggled to scoot closer so I wouldn’t have to whisper so loud. Slowly, my mind began to sew back together, and I licked my chapped, abused lips before speaking up again. “My medical conditions?”

  “No… were you happy? Growing up like that, I mean… without your mother…” Sympathy speared my chest and nearly took my heart with it, and I nodded mutely. The relief on Eric’s face wouldn’t be melted away- as if I was his hope that Maggie would be okay.

  It was a lie, though- I was never happy. I was never one of those kids whose lives inspired books about that wonderful life coming crumbling down. I was content, resigned… even if those things could be considered happy. Because I shouldn’t have been born in the first place… but I’m glad I was.

  “You know…” Eric’s pupils fluxed at my rasp, and I reached a shaky hand to his cheek. “Maggie won’t be like me, Eric.”

  “I know… but I also know that I can still fuck up, and it won’t be her fault. That’s my duty, now.” He didn’t dare say Sasha’s name, and my chest warmed as my fingertips fell from his damp cheek. His eyes glowed, and I found myself once again thankful that Greg was such a creep- that things had happened the way they had.

  Eric

  Thumping down the stairs heavily, I raked my hands through my hair and shook my head hard. Even at the top landing, I could hear Tony’s sisters talking, and a scowl set deep in my face as I emerged from behind the wall. Both women stood in the kitchen, right next to the coffee maker, gossiping away without realizing that I was there.

  Which made no fucking sense considering my dinosaur steps.

  “-no, I bet you a hundred bucks that she’s a blonde- just like Sasha. Guys have a type, you know.” My heart stuttered as my sluggish mind registered what Cynthia had said, and I slammed the flat on my fist against the frame. Both women jumped, and Esther spilled scalding hot coffee all over her chest before choking on her shriek of pain.

  Tony’s elder sister went ashen, knowing that I’d heard her, and I inhaled a sharp breath that only fanned the flames inside me.

  “Don’t you ever fucking say that name again.” Venom dribbled from my tongue like acid, and Cynthia nodded furiously- like a bobblehead doll. Glancing back up the stairs, I strained to detect even the slightest hint that Maggie was awake, but there was silence. The relief that washed through me couldn’t quench the fire tightened my gut, and I shot both women a nasty glare as I shuffled forward. “You never even met her, and I’ll be fucking damned if you two make this worse for Maggie.”

  Glaring hotly between the both of them, I silently pondered when they’d become gossipers. Esther was struggling not to scream from her burns, but I couldn’t find it in me to care; after all, it was her damn fault in the first place.

  “I’m sorry, Eric- I figured… you know- it’s not even 5:30am, yet…” Trailing off as she realized how idiotic she sounded, Cynthia hung her head in shame. “Sorry.”

  “I don’t accept. Why do you even care about my relationship, anyway? What did Tony tell you?” Somehow, Esther managed to scramble out of her shirt, and I frowned deeply at the bright red glow of her skin. “You should put some water on that.”

  “Tony didn’t say anything, actually. He refused to talk about her after we heard her squeak or whatever. That’s why we’re so interested. He’s always got an opinion, even if he keeps quiet.” Surprise tightened my chest as I snatched a mug out of the top cabinet, and Cynthia shuffled hastily out of the way of the coffee maker. “I mean, most of the women you used to be around were blonde and insufferable, and Tony didn’t like any of them, so…”

  “I’m not a blonde.” Twisting at Delainne’s firm, soft voice, an automatic smile curved my lips as she crossed her arms over her chest. Her gaze flickered to mine, and I could see the memory that played in her pupils as she leaned on the door frame that I’d just punched. “I was at the time we met, though.”

  “Did I wake you up? I’m kinda disappointed.” There was something different about Delainne this morning- she shone brighter- she stood straighter- she had this glimmer in her eye that wasn’t there before. Shaking her head dumbly at the probe, she reached to rake her hand through her beautiful, mahogany, waves before I noticed it.

  The tremors.

  “I was awake when you went in the shower.” Delainne’s silk pajamas rustled softly as she wandered towards me, and I huffed before grabbed the coffee pot. So much had happened in the past 24 hours that there was no telling what changed her. Was it because Greg was in the slammer? Or, maybe, it could be having comfortable, new clothes.

  It could even be the events that transpired after dinner. Perhaps, it was everything. Who knows?

  “What’s all the damn ruckus? It’s literally the ass-crack of dawn.” Limping into the kitchen from the living room, Tony’s expression alone could kill a man. “Does no one care that I’m trying to fucking sleep?”

  With all the bodies, the kitchen was crowded, but Cynthia and Esther just continued to watch Delainne mutely through narrowed, assessing eyes. Their gazes were honestly annoying, and I swapped my fu
ll mug with Delainne’s empty one. A growing sense of impending disaster spread through me, and I kept one eye on the pair as the atmosphere became more and more dense.

  “She’s just a baby-“

  “Is she even legal?” Speaking up at the same time, Esther and Cynthia snapped out of their dazes, and the eldest of the two crossed her arms tightly over her chest. Eyeballing them wearily, a certain relief hit me at the redness in Cynthia’s cheeks. “Is this a fucking joke? What the Hell?”

  Cynthia’s voice reached fever pitch and broke, and I grinned maliciously as she flushed brightly. There it was- the explosion. She’d been this way since before I could remember, and her jaw ticked noticeably when Delainne didn’t crumble under her gaze.

  “… Anyway…” For the first time, it occurred to me that Delainne might have some experience with powerful businessmen and women. After all, she’d practically grown up at work- courtesy of Greg, the sleazy fuck- and the moment slid by on pins and needles until she continued. “I’m going to make breakfast.”

  “Waffles?” Tony’s bad mood vanished instantly, and I poured myself a cup of coffee with a smile. My best friend smirked when Delainne nodded, and she took a gulp of her blacked brew to sigh heavily. “Awesome. I love waffles.”

  “If you’re not going to play nice, Cynthia- you can leave.” I liked Cynthia, but she was the eldest- and she was a bit of a controlling bitch. Casting her a hard glance, I blew on my coffee as she stood stiff in a dark cloud. “Don’t spoil your reunion with Tony because you’re a bigot.”

  “I’m not a damn bigot-“

  “Then why are you so mad?” Arching a brow as I cut her off, I sucked my teeth in disdain as she started to turn a shade of purple. “You don’t know Delainne. She could look young but be our ages. You started judging her before you even met her based on what, exactly? That Tony kept his mouth shut? What do you know about her?”

  “I-“ Raising my hand to cut Cynthia off, my frown deepened even as her ire reached its peak. She hated being treated like she was less than someone; as a teenager, my favorite passed time was pissing her off about it. The quirk in her personality made her personal life difficult, and she was pretty sensitive about it.

  “I literally couldn’t care less about how you justify it. Get over yourself or get out. Those are your only two options, Cynthia.” Maybe it was the tone I used, but Cynthia backed down pretty quickly. Her gaze never left Delainne as she brought out the waffle maker, and she could’ve breathed fire when she huffed loudly and whirled around.

  Storming off into the living room, Cynthia all but shook with irritation, and I sighed heavily. Raking my hand through my hair, I glanced at Esther as she stood in the corner by the refrigerator, holding her bra off her burning skin. She was the middle child, but she had the decency to look guilty as she blew on herself.

  “You’re in the way.” Twisting as Delainne pushed me lightly, the tension seeped from my shoulders at her little smirk. Shuffling away from the cabinet she needed, I took another gulp of my coffee as she nodded in satisfaction. “Do you want strawberries in yours, Eric?”

  “Yeah. So, have you thought about what you’re going to tell your father while you were fake sleeping?”

  “No. I was wondering, actually…” Trailing off to grab the box of waffle mix, Delainne inhaled deeply as my gaze scanned her silk-clad body. She’d done a whole lot of shopping, and the unicorns smattering the fabric told me she didn’t have much choice in what she bought. Still, I was confident that she didn’t mind; Maggie could make her wear a tu-tu, and she’d do it with a smile. It’d be embarrassing, sure, but she’d suffer through it. “Maybe, I’ll go back and explain everything in person. Trying to do it all over the phone… I don’t think that’d be the best move.”

  “I think it’s a good idea.” Her smile firmed, relief shimmering in her eyes, and I reached to tug a stray lock of her hair. “Since that little shit’s in jail, someone’s going to have to tell your step-mother, too. That’s definitely not a conversation to have on the phone.”

  “Yeah…”

  “We should celebrate.” My brows nearly flew off my face at Tony’s declaration, and I choked on my own spit as my eyes flew to him. Leaning heavily on the wall, he crossed his arms over his chest to laugh an abrasive sound that filled the room. “Come on, Eric- she deserves it. We could go to the water park or something. It’ll be great. It’s been a long time since we went to Crocodile Cove, and Maggie’s never been, right?”

  “You want to go to the water park?” Skepticism laced my tone, and Tony shrugged carelessly even as I warmed to the idea. “I mean, I guess it’d be a good idea. School’s going to start next month, and we should do something big and fun… but- why would you suggest it?”

  “Chicks in bikinis, dude.” Barking a laugh at that, I only shook my head before Tony laughed again. “Seriously, it’ll be fun. I need some fun, and if I get to look at some nice asses, then so be it. What’s the worst that can happen?”

  Delainne

  My heart squeezed for Maggie as she sobbed wildly in my lap, and I stroked her back soothingly. Her cries filled the otherwise silent car, and her tears soaked my shorts and the bottom of my shirt.

  “The worst that could happen is it’s fucking closed and you didn’t bother to check the website, Tony.” Eric’s grumble from the front seat earned him a rough grunt, and I tore my eyes off the scenery outside. “I should’ve double checked instead of listening to you.”

  “It’ll be okay. We can have a party in the back yard?” My suggestion made the child draped in my lap bolt upright, and I tensed as Maggie grappled with my cheeks for force me to look at her. Bright, watery eyes shone brilliant with hope, and my lips twitched in a smile. “Yeah- we’ll get some tarps and some soap and we’ll make our own slides.”

  “That sounds like a great idea- we have a pool somewhere in the basement, too. Tony can blow it up, since this disaster is his fault.” Maggie’s rough, reddened cheeks puffed in a grin, and she squealed with excitement at her father’s words. “We won’t have to climb any stairs or wait in any lines- it’ll be way better than the water park.”

  “Really! Really! Why didn’t we just do that first!” Giggling at her high-pitched shriek, I carefully wiped away Maggie’s tear stains. She forgot all about her disappointment, and I caught Eric’s gaze in the rearview mirror. “How come we never did it before, Daddy? You should’ve thought it up a long time ago!”

  “I guess I’m just not as fun as Delainne, Maggie.” Eric’s laughter faded as he took a turn that led into his suburb, and I smiled when Maggie threw herself on me once again. Her arms wrapped around me awkwardly, and her booster seat dug into my hip.

  But the perfect moment didn’t last when the squeal of tires blasted through the air. I couldn’t even blink before Eric’s car crumpled around us, and I automatically crushed Maggie to me. His car flipped over a sidewalk, and blood beating against my ear drums drowned out Maggie’s terrified shrieking. Everything happened too fast, and when I finally managed to blink, I was hanging by my seat belt.

  Perched precariously on its side, Eric’s vehicle groaned ominously, and my brain struggled to find out which way was up. The decision was made for me, though, when a hand wrapped in my hair. Pain rattled my skull, and I held Maggie even tighter as I was jerked from the seat through the shattered back window.

  My heart beat slowly, not yet caught up to the situation, until I saw a face that sent my entire self into overdrive. Adrenaline flooded my system, kickstarting my brain, and I released Maggie onto the glass-littered lawn to reach up. Clawing in futility at Greg’s wrist, I ground my teeth and squeezed my eyelids against the shooting pain that raced down my spine.

  Greg threw me to the ground, and I landed hard on my arm when I rolled. Questions whizzed through my brain too fast to follow, but one of them stuck as I struggled to push myself to my hands and feet.

  How did Greg get released from jail?

  “I bet you think you’re slick-“ A
hard, steep-toed boot slammed into my gut, and bile sloshed up my throat. “Hiding behind some jarhead motherfucker and his little brat.”

  Shoving me onto my back, Greg landed hard on my thighs, and the discombobulation that slowed my responses suddenly snapped. Cracking my eyes open, my pupils blew in horror as my step-brother leaned over to shove the barrel of a hand gun under my jaw. Time itself seemed to stop, and the wild look in his face was all I could see. Even my heart stuttered to a halt, and warmth pooled underneath me as my bladder gave way.

  “All I ever wanted from you, Delainne, was a little fucking compassion. All I fucking wanted was one time, but you- you couldn’t give me the time of day. Sitting on your fucking high horse- you even turned my own mother against me.” He’s delusional. Had Greg really been so affected by the fact that his real father left him that he became like this? Had he really never tried to resolve this? Did those years of therapy never do anything- or did they just make him better at hiding how he really felt?

  Jamming the gun against my jaw, Greg cut my racing thoughts off, and the smell of urine billowed in the hot, dry atmosphere. He grinned maliciously, and I tensed when he cocked the gun slowly- like he wanted to watch my reaction.

  “And, now, you shacked up with some loser piece of shit- with a kid. Who the fuck do you think you are, huh? You’re no fucking saint.” Boiling rage pocked Greg’s skin and bulged the veins in his neck and forehead, and the gun against my jaw started to tremble. Not once did my brain realize that I might, actually, die- too locked with fear, I couldn’t think of anything at all but the expression he wore. “It’s all your fucking fault- everything I suffered through since my mother married your worthless, crapchute father… you both turned her against me. She won’t even look at me anymore, and it’s your fucking fault.”