The Single Dad (The Dalton Brothers 3)

“Ford”—I shook my head—“I can’t believe you did this.”

“Robes are against the back wall,” the attendant said. I’d almost forgotten she was in here with us. “Your massage therapists will be in shortly.”

The moment she was gone, he pulled me closer, cupping my face. “This vacation has been all about Eve. Now, it’s your turn.”

“But it’s not supposed to be about me.” I held the back of his hand. “We’re celebrating her birthday, as we should be.”

“My real intention for this trip was for Everly to experience us together—to feel our connection, our interactions, the way we work so well together—and then, on the way home, I’ll tell her about us.”

“You know I love that idea.”

He kissed me, taking his time, breathing me in. “You’re the most selfless person I know, Sydney. Let me spoil you. Let me show you what life with me will be like.” His thumb rubbed across my lips. “Let me enjoy having you all to myself.”

My body was on fire.

Not my heart.

That was beating so fast that I could barely breathe.

Every dream was coming true, and I continually had to tell myself that this was real.

That Ford was mine.

That he cared about me as deeply as I felt for him.

“Okay,” I whispered, leaning into his hand. “I guess you can spoil me just this once.”

“Let’s get you naked.”

He lifted the bottom of my shirt over my head and unhooked my bra. Once my breasts were loose, he worked on my jeans, lowering them down my legs along with my panties, and helped me out of my shoes.

I was suddenly standing before him, completely bare.

He stepped back, like he needed the distance to get a better look, and his gaze dropped down my body. “Damn it, I’m so fucking lucky,” he moaned. “You’re gorgeous.”

Every time he said that, it felt like the first.

He captured me and pulled me against him, his lips devouring mine.

“Mmm.” I gripped the collar of his shirt when he pulled away. “I want more.”

He growled, “If I give you more, I’m going to spread you over that massage table, and the only thing rubbing you will be my tongue.”

“And there’s something wrong with that?”

“My impatient girl.” He kissed me again, his hand moving to my chin. “More will happen. You’re just going to have to wait.”

“That’s not going to be easy.”

He lifted his shirt off and tossed it onto the bench in the back. “For the next ninety minutes, I want you to think of all the ways I’m going to fuck you.” After he took off his shoes and pants and placed our clothes together, he touched that spot. The one in between my legs that was pulsing. The one that made me gasp. “Fuck, you’re wet.”

“I told you … I want you.”

He sucked the wetness off his fingers and held my neck, his mouth hovering above mine. “And I told you, I’m going to take care of you once this massage is over.” He bit that same lip again, harder this time. “Now, go get on your table unless you’re looking to get spanked.”

A type of pain I’d never had before Ford or realized how much I liked until he slapped my ass during sex.

I smiled, licking the spot he had just nipped. “And if I am?”

“Go.”

I laughed as I headed for the table and slipped beneath the covers, getting lost in a sea of fluff and softness until I felt his hand. The tables were close, and his fingers had searched under the blanket until they found mine.

I glanced across the open space, meeting his grin.

My chest swelled, my throat tightening.

Some of the moments we spent together were so pure that they didn’t need words.

They were raw, honest.

Full of emotion.

Like when he had walked into the pantry while I was presenting the birthday cake to Everly.

When we’d had dinner with his parents the night before we left and he held my hand under the table.

When I’d been on a call with Gabby while we were in Vegas and he took the phone from my hand, promising her he would keep me safe. That nothing would ever happen to me.

Like now.

The knock at the door pulled me out of my thoughts, and I heard Ford say, “Come in.”

“Hello,” one of the massage therapists said.

They closed the door behind them and washed their hands at the sink before they began to work on us. With fingers that were covered in oil, she started on my shoulders before running them up and down my spine.

I was lost.

Swallowed in a cloud of relaxation. The only thing that stayed constant was Ford’s hand locked with mine.

The heat of his skin a reminder that he had me.

That he was never going to let go.