Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
Forest
Josephine laughs so hard that she nearly upends the jumbo-sized bucket of popcorn. I’m not paying the least bit of attention to the movie; my daughter’s smile is better than it could ever be.
“That was awesome!” Josephine says, skipping ahead out of the darkened theater when the movie is over.
“Yeah, it was,” I say, stretching an arm around her shoulders to curl her into my side. Of course, it’s her smile I’m talking about.
While dinner had been low energy and quiet, with Josephine picking at her burger and fries, now she twirls in the lobby, then poses for a picture beside the cardboard cutout display of the princess and her royal steed, who apparently farts rainbow glitter.
She’s back to my joyful little girl. I just hope it lasts.
We stop for dessert at an ice cream shop on the way back to the hotel, though Josephine is already yawning after such a late movie, ready for bed, her strawberry ice cream melting and dripping from her cone.
“Can we watch it again? Please?” Josephine asks when I unlock the door to our suite.
“You betcha.” I’ll do anything to keep her smiling.
“Yay! Thank you, Daddy!” Josephine squeezes me tight around the waist. She’s in such good spirits that she says, “Hi, Autumn!” and skips off to her room to gather her pajamas.
I toss my phone and wallet onto the kitchenette counter, letting the door swing shut behind me, before I slowly approach Autumn.
She’s lying on the couch, using her arm as a pillow, with Benjamin half-asleep on her chest. Sebastian is tucked in next to her, smushed between Autumn and the back of the couch, with the comforter from my bed pulled up over them.
He’s snoring softly while a kids’ cartoon plays at a low volume on the T.V.
mounted to the wall opposite. How wonderful it must be to lie next to an angel, possibly getting the best sleep he’s had since his world was upturned.
I wish it were me sleeping beside her.
“What are you doing here?” I whisper, crouching in front of Autumn, hoping not to startle Benjamin.
“Mrs. Schwartz’s daughter called,” Autumn answers quietly. “She had some kind of accident, so Schwartz booked the first flight out and asked me to watch the kids.”
“Why didn’t y’all call me? Or at least text?” I lightly comb back Sebastian’s sweaty hair. The boy runs hot in his sleep, as does Benjamin.
“We did,” Autumn answers. “Check your phone.”
It is completely unintentional that, when I pull my hand away, I accidentally brush the side of Autumn’s breast with my thumb. Then I do it a second time, not so accidentally.
“Sorry,” I say quickly when her breath hitches, and I rise to fetch my phone, my cock starting to swell. If the kids weren’t here, would she have let me continue touching her? Fully cup her breast and gently squeeze it? Slide onto the couch beside her or lie my head on her chest?
I have to hide my erection behind the counter, pressing my pelvis hard against the lower cabinet, in the hopes that it’ll go down while I check my phone.
I’d had it on silent throughout the movie and forgot to turn the feature off when we left the theater.
I have several missed calls and apologetic voicemails from Mrs. Schwartz and one text from Autumn:
ImAnAngel
I’m staying with the boys. Hope you and Josie are having fun. See you when you get back.
Josephine is much quieter when she leaves her room to head to the bathroom, though she’s still wearing a huge smile.
“You had a good time?” Autumn asks me.
I slide down to sit on the floor, leaning a shoulder against the couch. “Couldn’t have been any better. I have my little girl back.”
Autumn’s expression is soft when she says, “Oh, good. I’m so glad. If you need me to watch the boys again so you two can have time alone together, let me know.”
A smile ticks up one half of my face, and I flip my phone around so she can see the screen. “See? I knew you were an angel, deep down inside.”
Autumn sticks her tongue out when she sees the name I have saved for her in my contacts.
I chuckle. “Don’t worry. I’ll change it back when we get to the office.”
“Whatever,” Autumn grumbles, though her cheeks are rosy.
She’s so undeniably beautiful, and here, watching her cheeks grow warmer as the minutes pass, I have the impulse to lean forward and kiss her. How is it that I’ve kissed her so intimately but not on the lips? I bet she would taste even sweeter.
“Stop it.” It’s not quite a hiss, like all the other times she’s said it. “You shouldn’t look at women like that, or they’ll get the wrong idea and think you want more kids.” Okay, now her attitude is back in full force, and she looks away.
The right woman might be able to convince me, whispers my mind. The right— “Angel?”
Her eyes fly back to mine, her brows creasing briefly.
I’m halfway to kissing her, if only to see if she’ll turn sweet on me again, having leaned closer without conscious thought, when Josephine abruptly exits the bathroom amid a cloudy scent of her bubblegum body wash. I draw back, surprised to find Josephine holding her hairbrush.
Josephine’s chin quivers just the tiniest amount when she drops her eyes to the floor and asks, “Will you braid my hair?” She’s not asking me.
“I’d love to,” Autumn says, motioning for me to lift Sebastian.
Standing from the couch with Benjamin, I see she’s wearing a similar pajama set as last night, this one in a deep, unbelievably sexy, burgundy color.
Thank god I have my phone, because I get to take another sneaky picture when she bends over to put Benjamin in his crib.
She only huffs the slightest bit when the flash goes off.
After kissing the boys goodnight, Autumn and I hesitate, having a silent conversation, before I follow her out to the living room.
Scooting as far back as she can into the couch, Autumn has Josephine sit between her knees while she brushes out Josephine’s hair and begins braiding.
Twice, Autumn says she messed up the braid and needs to start over to make sure it’s perfect.
I think it’s just an excuse to prolong the moment.
Josephine twists and throws her arms around Autumn, who returns the hug, squeezing my little girl tighter, and she kisses the top of her head.
I could weep, seeing the two of them embrace, neither seemingly wanting to let go.
I’m terrified all over again about my daughter’s heart breaking when we get back home.
Once Josephine is tucked into bed beside Sebastian, Autumn swiftly moves to the suite’s front door, swiping her hands across her cheeks. Is she crying?
“Wait, Autumn,” I say when she cracks open the door. “Don’t go yet.”
Without pausing, she says, “It’s late. I need to get to bed.”
“Please—” She’s almost out the door when I capture her wrist and spin her around, pulling her into my chest. Slapping my hand against the door to shut it, my mouth is on hers in an instant.
Autumn fists my T-shirt, and I pull back a fraction, waiting to see if she’ll slap me, or heaven forbid, start tickling me viciously.
But no, she rolls up on her toes to kiss me without a second’s hesitation.
It’s as if we’ve ignited a wildfire, bumping into the furniture as we stumble into my room.
We tear each other’s clothes off, skin to gloriously soft and smooth skin for the first time. I pray it’s not the last.
I lift Autumn by the backs of her lean thighs, my dick nestled between her supple pussy lips, and crawl onto the bed, lying her down beneath me. Her hands are in my hair as she kisses me with a fury, her knees drawn up to my ribs with my hips between her thighs.
“I was right. You’re even sweeter here,” I say, pressing my thumb to her lower lip.
“Forest…” she breathes out, arching beneath me. “Kiss me.”
She doesn’t have to tell me twice. My lips are swollen by the time we come up for air, her laboring for breath with my body pinning hers to the mattress.
I grind my erection against her, sliding it between her lower lips, wetting my shaft with her arousal.
If I want to cum, I need to get her to cum first. With that goal in mind, I begin kissing my way down her slender neck to her chest.
“You’re so beautiful, angel.” I plump her heavy right breast that spills out of my hand and lick the tip of her nipple, amazed to have ended up here again, blessed to have this angel in my bed.
“Every part of you.” She tugs at my hair and moans when I open my mouth to draw in her full nipple, sucking on it gently, which I’ve long wanted to do.
Kissing across to her left breast, I tell her, “You have no idea how hard it is to keep my hands to myself when you wear those tight blouses at work.” I give her nipple a languid suck.
“I pray each morning that today will finally be the day your buttons pop open.”
Autumn’s mouth parts with a long moan, her eyes fluttering shut when I take a deeper pull on her breast, leaving her nipple darker and swollen, and I kiss my way down her stomach. If I bring her to an orgasm or two, will she let me kiss one of her toes? I hope so.
“Where are you going?” she asks with a frown.
I nuzzle my nose in her belly button, curious why she suddenly looks so grumpy. “I’m going to eat your pussy. Do you not want me to?” Lord, take me if she doesn’t want to go any further.
She chews her bottom lip, then says, “Not tonight.”
“Then what do you want?” I climb back up and pull her bottom lip from between her teeth, rubbing the indentations they left behind.
“I…want to…have sex.”
Though my cock jumps at the thought of having sex with her, I do the very last thing I want, which is to remind her, “I don’t have any condoms.”
“Dammit,” she says with a hint of a whine, blowing out a long breath, squeezing her eyes shut. I’m of the same mind. “I forgot.”