Who's the Daddy (Crescent Cove 3)

I blushed and quickly tugged the T-shirt over my head.

He dragged me against him before I even got my arms through the huge holes. “But now I can have you whenever I want you.”

“Is that so?” The little niggle of doubt started to fade. This part worked. He wanted me. I didn’t have to wonder about that. Even if he was a little less intense about it last night.

Except the look on his face when he was right on the edge of orgasm. Then I’d seen the Dare who had come into my life like a tornado those two times. Destructive and fast, leaving me disoriented and wrecked.

But then again, he’d also treated me with such softness. So much more than anyone ever had before.

After he helped me get the shirt all the way on, he curled his fingers under the T-shirt and gripped my ass. But then his face gentled again and he touched his forehead to mine. The crumpled sweats were crushed between us, our fingers touching. “We’ll make this work, Kel. I swear it.”

I swallowed. “I know.” I didn’t know, but I had to believe it. Fake it til you make it was definitely my motto lately.

He smacked my ass. “Now put some pants on before my kid comes in here and gets an anatomy lesson I’m not ready to give.”

Another thing I’d have to get used to. Dare’s rare humor and having a child around. As a teacher I had to be hands on with the kids, but there was definitely a line I didn’t cross. I wiped dirty faces and gave an occasional hug, but having one right down the hall while I was naked or doing all manner of things with Dare—yeah, that was new.

Wes Kramer was far more likely to come zooming in demanding food or to play outdoors. He didn’t really have a lot of boundaries in my classroom, and considering the way he came tearing into Dare’s—our—bedroom, all of this would definitely take some getting used to.

I backed out of Dare’s arms and tugged the sweatpants out of his grip. They were too big for me, but the elastic kept them from sliding right back down my hips.

I glanced up to see him watching me with those serious blue eyes again. “What?”

“For the first time, I wish my kid slept in for reasons other than my personal shut-eye.”

My hair slid forward and I couldn’t stop the shriek of laughter when he grabbed me by the waist and lugged me out into the hallway.

“Miss Ford?”

“Uh oh,” I whispered.

Dare set me down and I cleared my throat. “Hi, Weston.” I shook my head. Nope, that was my teacher voice and that would totally confuse him. I crouched low to his height. “Wes, I know this might be a little strange.”

The little boy, a carbon copy of Dare down to the little cowlick sticking up, looked from me to his father and back again, then put his hands on his hips. “Are you boyfriend-girlfriend?”

I shot a look up at Dare.

Dare knelt down next to me. “Actually, that was what we wanted to talk to you about. How would you feel about having Kelsey here more often? Like a lot more often.”

Wes tipped his head to the side, his hands still on his hips. “Can I call her Kelsey?”

I chuckled. “I’d love it if you called me Kelsey. Except maybe not at school, if that’s okay.”

&nbsp

; He shrugged and dropped his hands to his sides. “Sure.”

Dare curled his big hand around Wes’s back and gave him an absent rub. “What about having Kel here most days? Even every day?”

Wes frowned. “Live here?”

Dare pressed his lips together. “Yeah, buddy. Living here. I asked Kelsey to marry me.”

Wes’s eyes rounded. “Whoa. Do I hafta call her mommy?” His voice was almost timid.

My breath stalled. What the hell was I supposed to say to that one?

Dare coughed. “How about we start with Kelsey first?”