26. Daddy Wilson

“Caffrey, no.”

He looked up with big, sad blue eyes and tipped his head to the side, confused. Probably because he didn’t have a clue what I was saying.

“No,” I said again, hoping he’d get the point that I didn’t want him to eat my shoe. Or pee on the floor or lick me.

How did I end up here?

Squatting, I glared at the dark brown puppy whose tail was thumping against the hardwood floor.

“We don’t eat anything but our food.” I smacked the back of my hand against my palm, and the eight-week-old chocolate lab barked. “We don’t pee inside.” I cocked a brow, and he barked again. “And we don’t lick people.” As if on command, he jumped up and licked my face.

With a hiss, I stood again. I’d brought the puppy home two days ago and had demanded Jess come over and train him. After two sessions, he still peed on the floor and licked me. I couldn’t stay mad, though. He was too damn cute.

I scooped him up and headed for the living room. Wren would be walking through the door any minute. She’d been busy with the Christmas auction this week, and I’d been occupied with finding, picking up, and trying to train the damn dog. The chocolate lab was a present for her, and yet I wasn’t sure the thorn in my side could really be considered a gift.

When the doorbell chimed, I hollered, “Come in, baby girl.” Then I growled at the adorable puppy in my arms. “You be good. We want her to love you.”

As the front door opened, I set the puppy down, my gut twisting with nerves. Like I expected, he rushed straight for Wren.

“Oh my gosh!” Before I even got around the sofa and into the foyer, she’d dropped her things onto the floor.

“Aren’t you the sweetest thing ever.”

I winced at the telltale slurping sound of Caffrey’s tongue against skin.

Instead of lurching back, Wren giggled. “Aw, little man. I love you too.”

She was sprawled on the floor, surrounded by grocery bags and her duffel, with the puppy jumping all over her. When his paw caught in her black-and-white sweater, I froze, expecting her to freak out.

“Careful, dude, you’ll get hurt.” She pulled his too-big-for-his-body paw free, not seeming to mind that he’d snagged her sweater.

“I see you met the reason we’re staying in tonight.”

She peered up at me from beneath her long lashes, eyes sparkling. “Where did you find him?”

“As of two days ago, he’s officially part of the Wilson family.” I leaned on the doorframe, watching as Caffrey flopped onto his back, legs splayed.

“You hear that, baby?” She rubbed his belly. “You get a Daddy Wilson now too.”

I threw my head back and barked a laugh.

“Let’s get him.” Wren snickered.

The next thing I knew, I was engulfed in perfume and puppy scent as they both kissed my cheeks.

“Enough.” I pushed the dog away as I wrapped Wren in my arms and planted my lips firmly on hers .

Caffrey yelped, and she pulled away to let him down. Instantly, he raced out of the room.

“Caffrey, no.”

“Caffrey?” She lifted one sculpted brow. I wondered how she’d feel about my naming the little guy after her favorite art thief from White Collar .

“I couldn’t call him Peter, because we both know the rigid, grumpy FBI agent is pretty much me,” I grumbled.

Burying her face in my neck, she stifled a laugh. “It’s perfect. I can’t believe you got a dog. What were you thinking?”

I inhaled deeply, forcing myself to meet her eye and give her the full truth, no matter how vulnerable it made me feel.

“I never want you to be alone again. You were right the other day when you said that I can’t always be there with you. But you told me if I couldn’t, I should get a chocolate lab to fill in when I traveled.”

As much as I wished I could be there for her at any time, day or night, I had no plans to retire from coaching for a long while.

She sucked in a quick breath.

“He’ll be trained soon”—I hoped to God—“and there to snuggle with you when I can’t be.”

She fell against me, molding into my chest. “No one would believe you’re this sweet.”

“Because I’m not sweet.” I wrapped my arms around her. “And we can’t leave him alone for too long because he’ll either pee on my shit or eat something that’s not food.”

She threw her head back, cackling. “I love that you got a dog.”

My heart pinched at those words. They almost sounded like what I wanted to hear, and yet they weren’t even close.

“You get the damn dog. I’ll get the bags.” I released her and headed for the shit she’d dropped when she arrived.

As I watched her over the next few hours, I wondered why I bothered to pay a trainer. The woman was a dog whisperer. Before the end of the night, she had Caffrey curled up and sound asleep by the heater on my roof deck after he’d pottied out back in the grass.

“It’ll be warm enough for him over there?” Wren asked, eyeing the sitting area where the puppy slept peacefully .

I popped the cork on the champagne and filled two flutes. Midnight was less than half an hour away, and we had Ryan Seacrest playing on my outdoor television so we wouldn’t miss the ball drop. Not that either of us seemed to be interested in the fanfare.

“I promise he’ll be perfectly content.” I pulled my shirt over my head. “That area.” I tipped my head toward the covered outdoor living space surrounded by slatted privacy walls. “Is always a balmy seventy. Unlike over here.” Shivering, I pulled back the hot tub cover. “Caffrey will be fine. Let’s get in before we freeze.”

“Fine.” She slipped her cover-up over her head, and my heart stopped.

Fuck me. Wren Jacobs in a black lace bikini was perfection. All smooth skin and sleek curves. There wasn’t a better view anywhere in the world.

I didn’t move. Like a statue frozen with a champagne flute in each hand, I watched as she climbed the steps and slowly slipped into the water, sending the steam rising off it swirling.

Sinking low, she groaned. “I love a hot tub.”

That word was driving. me crazy, she loved my dog and she loved my hot tub. But did she love me? I wanted her to love me. I swallowed. Because I loved her.

I blew out a breath, subconsciously I probably already knew this. But I hadn’t acknowledged the L word until this moment. I loved my daughter. I loved my job. I had loved my parents, and I’d worked to love my ex-wife. But Avery aside, loving someone or something had never come as easily as it did with Wren. It was like breathing. Like she was made for me to love.

“Are you coming in or are you just going to stand there and look hot as fuck with all the abs and shit?” She hadn’t opened her eyes and wasn’t looking at me, but her words boosted me anyway.

“Oh, I’m coming in, baby girl.” I rushed up the stairs and set the glasses in the cup holders. Then I slid into the steamy water next to her and hoisted her onto my lap, settling her ass against my already hardening cock. Gut tightening at the pressure, I kissed her pulse point. “How do you want to ring in the new year?” I asked into her hair.

“Mmm.” She tilted her head, causing my lips to drag along her skin. “I wouldn’t mind having you inside me while you moan my name.”

“While I moan your name?”

She peered over her shoulder, her lips quirking mischievously.

I cocked a brow. “I think you have that backward.” I ghosted my hands up the soft skin of her stomach until I reached the underside of her breasts.

She rolled her hips once. “Prove it.”

“Oh, I’d love to.” Beneath the triangles of her bikini top, I found her nipples peaked. The wet material rubbed against the back of my hands as I pinched the tight buds. While I toyed with her, I peppered her neck with kisses, pausing below her ear, in the spot that made her squirm, and lapped at the hollow with my tongue.

Her chest rose and fell against my hands as her breathing quickened. She shifted on my lap, rubbing her ass against my aching cock.

Biting back a groan, I caressed her abdomen, teasing her until I found the top edge of her swimsuit bottoms.

She arched against me and rocked up, whimpering.

“What do you need?” I whispered against her ear.

A shiver worked its way through her. “You. I need you to touch me, Daddy Wilson.”

Fuck. Those words were fire in my veins. Without hesitation, I slipped my hand under the fabric and between her thighs. And when I slid my fingers through her lips, her breathing hitched. The second I dipped a finger inside her, she rocked against my palm.

“You like that, don’t you?” My words barely a rumble against her ear. “My finger claiming your pussy while you use my hand to get off?”

She dropped her head back against my shoulder and offered her lips to me. Tongue thrusting against hers, I swallowed her moan, dominating her mouth and her pussy. Claiming both. My cock was hard as stone throbbing, but it wasn’t the only ache. A powerful emotion tugged inside my chest, making me feel unsteady.

She writhed against my palm, swirling her hips, chasing her pleasure. Each panting breath that left her lips settled deep inside me, as if she was worming her way into a place no one had ever found. And maybe she was.

With a thumb, I flicked her clit, then followed the move with a curl of my finger, hitting the spot that never failed to make her scream. Fuck, I needed her to come like this, then she could come on my cock.

“Right there.” She rocked hard, her head thrashing back and forth, her pussy quivering. I bit down on her shoulder, and in return, her core tensed, gripping my fingers tight and pulsing. “ Yes .” The word left her in a long, low moan.

“You’re so fucking beautiful when you come. I could watch you do this all day, baby girl.” I toyed with her until her orgasm ebbed, making sure each wave of pleasure rocked her to the core. When her body relaxed, she slumped against me, panting.

Standing, I spun us both. “Bend over. Hands on the edge,” I ordered. “You’re going to do that again, but this time on my cock.”

The second she was steady, I tugged her suit bottoms down her legs.

“Spread.” Heart hammering, I yanked off my own suit, releasing my cock, already leaking, begging for the woman before me.

I guided my dick over her pussy, pulling another moan from her. Over and over, I teased us both. My hands were shaking with the need to slip inside her, but I willed my body to hold back, to be patient.

“Either put your cock inside me, or I’ll do it for you,” Wren threatened.

The chuckle that escaped me was pure gravel. “There’s my needy girl.” Instead of giving her what she demanded, I gave her a good hard swat on the ass. Her already warm skin reddened in response. My abs tightened and my cock throbbed at the sight of my mark on her.

Mark her, claim her, own her . My body vibrated with the desperate need for all of it. I swatted again.

“Fuck, I love that.” She groaned. “Do it again, but this time with your cock in my pussy, Daddy Wilson.”

My threadbare restraint disappeared. I notched myself to her and plunged into her wet cunt, bottoming out.

Fuck. She was heaven. Water splashed around us as I thrust. The way her pussy gripped my cock as I spanked her ass had my knees almost buckling.

“God, yes. More.” She rutted back against me, her breath leaving her in a burst every time I drove into her. Hitting the spot that made her legs shake. “Yes, right there.” She whimpered. “Faster.”

What she wanted, I’d give her.

Hips pumping, I slapped her ass once more, then soothed the sting. “Come on, baby girl. Come for me.”

The words had hardly left my lips when she shattered around me. I locked my knees to keep them from buckling under me. While she moaned my name, pleasure erupted through me, fierce and all-consuming. I let myself fall under the spell, under her spell.

“Fuck.” I slammed into her again and again as waves of pleasure racked my body. I only slowed when we were both wrung out, curling over her as she leaned on the edge of the tub.

Those three little words were on the tip of my tongue as I pressed my lips to her shoulder. But she shivered in the cool air, so I pulled back, bringing her with me.

I sat on the bench, guiding her onto my lap into the warm water. For one breath, she reclined against my chest. Then she spun and settled her thighs on either side of mine. Pride rose in my chest as I took her in. Her cheeks were flushed, her dark eyes deep pools of contentment, and a ghost of a smile pulled at her lips. She was gorgeous, she was happy, she was mine.

She raked her hands through my hair, pulling a groan from deep in my chest. Our faces were just inches apart. Every exhale from her lips brushed mine.

Behind us, the countdown had begun.

“Four, three, two, one,” she whispered along with it.

“Happy New Year,” we said in unison. In the next heartbeat, I dropped my lips to hers.

Maybe it was only a simple holiday, but it felt like the start of something more. Like the start of forever.

The only sour note was how long I’d have to wait to tell the world that Wren was mine, since my daughter’s wedding was weeks away .

I might have planned a life that revolved around order, but that was long gone. Because now that I had this woman in my arms, I’d never let her go.