But maybe it was okay to imagine a future with Jacob in it. A little dreaming couldn’t hurt.
Jacob’s voice softened on the next chorus and softened yet again on the next. Amanda peeked into the room to find him sitting on the edge of Julie’s bed, stroking her hair gently as he sang to her. Julie’s eyes were closed and her face had gone slack. The tender smile on Jacob’s face and the love in his expression melted Amanda’s heart.
Amanda’s own father had always been a minor player in her life. He’d doted on Tina, as all men did. Amanda had a much closer relationship with her mother. Seeing Jacob with Julie made her ache for the kind of blind devotion a father had for his little girl. Julie would probably never realize how lucky she was to have this man’s heart in the palm of her tiny hand. Amanda hoped Julie didn’t mind sharing a bit of it.
Jacob finished the song on a whisper, and his hand went still. He waited for a moment, watching Julie for signs of wakefulness. He carefully stood, disturbing her mattress as little as possible as he moved away. He shut off her lamp, which looked a lot like the castle at Disneyland, and tiptoed out of her room.
Amanda smiled at him and said, “I think—” But Jacob’s finger against her lips silenced her.
He took her arm and led her to his room, not releasing her until the latch clicked shut behind them and he’d locked the door.
“Whatever you do, don’t wake her up,” Jacob said.
“Sorry,” she whispered.
“I’m in desperate need of some adult time.”
Amanda released a breathless laugh. “I’m with you on that.”
He tugged off her clothes while she pulled his off. They were mostly naked when his patience reached its end and he lifted her off the floor to carry her to the bed. They collapsed on the mattress, a tangle of arms and legs. He shattered her with deep passionate kisses while he used hurried motions to cover his length with latex. Amanda cried out in bliss when he filled her. He took her hard and fast, his breaths excited and ragged against her ear. She dug her nails into his shoulders and hung on as he brought her closer and closer to the brink of release. Unexpectedly, he called out, clinging to her hips with strong fingers as he buried himself so deeply, it stole her breath. And then he shuddered against her as he let go.
She couldn’t believe he’d finished so fast. He usually outlasted her several times over.
“Sorry,” he murmured against her jaw, his sweat-slick belly bumping against hers with each of his labored breaths. “I probably should have rubbed that one out in the shower.”
She hugged him close and snuggled into his neck. “I’m glad you rubbed it out in me.”
He chuckled and went slack in her arms, pressing her into the mattress. “Just let me catch my breath and I’ll make it up to you.”
She had absolutely no doubt that he would, but lying beneath him, with his breath in her ear and his heart thudding so hard in his chest she could feel it in her breast, meant more to her than she could express. She was pretty sure what she felt for Jacob was love, but she was in no way prepared to tell him she felt so strongly. He was already much too close to her, and he didn’t realize that loving her could destroy an important part of his life.
But she had no time to fret. His touch soon chased every troubled thought from her head until nothing mattered but the two of them, their bodies connecting in a way she wished was someday possible for every facet of their lives.
Chapter Eleven
Jacob smeared extra waterproof sunscreen on the bridge of Julie’s nose. He couldn’t help but smile when she scowled at him and wiped at the goop dripping from the tip.
“Don’t want you to get burned,” he said, splattering another glob on her nose.
“Can I get in the water now?” Julie asked, peering out through the sliding patio door at the inviting blue pool in the backyard.
“Wait for your aunt. She’s putting on her swimsuit.” Thank you, God.
“I can swim,” she said, rubbing the excess sunscreen off her nose again. “I take lessons and everything.”
“I know you can. Amanda should be out any minute.”
Jacob heard a throat clearing and turned his head to smile at Amanda. The smile dropped along with his jaw as his gaze traveled up her legs. The well-muscled curves seemed to go on for miles, accentuated by the high cut of her tiny orange bikini bottoms. He sucked drool back into his mouth as his stare moved up her flat belly to the beguiling cleavage spilling from the cups of her bikini top. His heart was thudding so hard by the time his eyes met hers that he feared it might burst.
He patted Julie on the back. “Go sit by the pool,” he said, rising from his crouched position to his full height. “I need to ask your aunt something.”
“Can I jump in?”
“Not until we’re out there with you. Go sit and don’t move.”
“But I’m a big girl.”
“Julie,” he said sharply.
“Fine,” she grumbled, and her bare feet slapped against the decking as she headed out the door and toward the water.
Jacob watched to make sure Julie sat outside the pool and then took the two steps that separated him from Amanda and pulled her against him. His mouth claimed hers as he filled his hands with her scrumptious ass and lifted her slightly so he could press his suddenly attentive cock into the beckoning crevice between her thighs. How long had it been since he’d been buried inside her? An hour? Two? Jesus, this woman had him out of his head.
Would he ever get enough of her? He hoped not.
“After Julie goes home,” Amanda whispered in his ear, “I want to go swimming with you alone and mysteriously lose my swimsuit bottoms.”
“And I mysteriously want my—”
A loud splash made his heart skip a beat. He pulled away from Amanda and rushed around the corner to the tiled decking around the pool. Julie was not where he’d left her. Ripples marred the surface of the water at the deep end of the pool.
“Julie!” he yelled before diving into the water and swimming to the bottom. Chlorine stung his eyes as he searched the pool. He located Julie sitting calmly on the bottom of the pool, bubbles blossoming from her nose and an impish smile on her face. He didn’t know whether to be terrified or angry. Admittedly, he was both. He grabbed Julie by the upper arms and kicked off the bottom of the pool, launching them upward until their heads surfaced.
“Oh, thank God,” Amanda said from beside the pool.
“I can hold my breath for a really long time,” Julie said, beaming with pride.
“Don’t you ever, ever jump into the pool when I’m not with you!” Jacob shouted, his heart thundering so hard in his chest that his ears were ringing.
“It’s okay, Daddy. I’m a big girl.”
“It’s not okay, Julie,” he said, his voice still booming. He didn’t know the best way to get his point across. He’d never yelled at her before, and he refused to spank her. He knew how much she hated time out, but this lesson needed to stick. “You could have drowned.” He hauled her to the side of the pool and sat her on the edge. “If you can’t do what I say and stay out of the water until I tell you it’s okay to get in, then you can’t go swimming.”