Page 77 of Single Dad's Fake Bride
"I haven't been with anyone since Eloise's mother left." I couldn't remember if I'd told her before, but it was true. Eloise was everything to me. "My daughter became my entire world. No one else seemed worth the risk of disrupting what we'd built together."
"That must have been lonely."
I considered this. "I thought it was practical. Eloise needed stability, not a parade of women coming and going from her life." I paused, choosing my words carefully. "But when she connected with you so quickly, so completely… it felt right in away nothing had for years. You were already part of her world before you became part of mine."
Sadie sat down beside me, close enough that I could smell the faint scent of her shampoo. "Tell me about before. About why you left your father's world."
The question I'd been avoiding for weeks. I looked down at my hands, clasped loosely between my knees. "Growing up at Hawthorne wasn't education—it was grooming. My father had a vision for what the school should be, what I should be. When my mother died, he became even more rigid about shaping me into his ideal heir." I glanced at her. "I spent my childhood trapped in that place, never having a real home, never being allowed to be a child. The day I turned eighteen, I walked away from all of it."
"But you brought Eloise back there."
"Because it's a good school, despite my father. The education is exceptional, the resources are unmatched. I just made sure she came home to me every night." I met her eyes. "When he died and left me the inheritance, I didn't want the money or the estate. I wanted to protect the school from becoming something twisted, and I wanted to ensure that Eloise could stay. The marriage requirement was just an obstacle to overcome."
"And now?"
I sighed and let my shoulders sag. "Now it's more complicated."
She was quiet for a long moment, studying my face. "You could've told me this from the beginning."
"Could I? Would you have believed that a man willing to marry a stranger for an inheritance actually had noble motivations?"
A small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. "Probably not."
"I've never really told anyone what it was like… Growing up there, I mean. Even Juan doesn't know the full extent of it." Ilooked at her, this woman who'd agreed to tie her life to mine for five years. "You deserve to understand what you've gotten yourself into."
"And you deserve to know that I don't regret it." Her voice was soft but sure. "This arrangement, I mean. Even if it's harder than I expected."
Something shifted in the space between us, a recognition of the vulnerability we'd both revealed. When she leaned toward me, I thought she might speak again. Instead, her lips found mine, tentative at first, then more certain when I didn't pull away.
The kiss tasted of salty tears and regret transformed into something warmer. When she pulled away, her lips were red and her skin scratched by my stubble, and I wanted more.
"Eloise is outside," I said, though I made no move to leave.
"With the neighbor. She's safe." Sadie's hand found my chest, resting over my heart. "We both are."
Her hand lingered against my chest, the steady thud of my heartbeat under her palm making the air between us heavier. I covered her hand with mine, holding it there as I leaned in again, this time kissing her with intent. Her breath hitched when my tongue slid against hers, a low hum escaping her throat as I deepened it.
I pulled back just enough to search her face. “Didn’t you say we should keep our distance? That this was just an arrangement?”
Her eyes dropped to my mouth before meeting mine again. “I did,” she murmured, shifting closer until her knees brushed mine. “But when you’re this close, I can’t seem to remember why. I lose control around you.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “Maybe we should just go with it.”
The invitation in her tone snapped the last thread of restraint I had. My hand found the curve of her hip, my thumb tracingthe hem of her T-shirt before sliding beneath it to stroke the soft skin of her waist. She shivered and leaned into me, her lips parting on a quiet sigh when I let my palm travel up her side, feeling the swell of her breast against my hand through the thin cotton of her bra.
“Harrison…” My name on her lips was half a plea, half a dare.
“You have no idea what that does to me,” I growled, pulling her into my lap. Her legs straddled me, and she settled over the hard length straining against my jeans. She rocked against me instinctively, her head tipping back when I mouthed along the column of her throat.
Her breath caught. “Tell me what you want.”
“I want you naked,” I said, my voice low against her skin. “I want to feel you squeeze around me while you scream my name.”
Her fingers curled in my hair. “Then take it.”
I unclasped her bra with one hand, dragging the straps down her arms and pushing her shirt and bra out of the way in one motion. Her breasts were warm and full in my hands, her nipples tightening against my palms as I rolled them between my fingers. She let out a breathless moan that went straight to my cock.
I dipped my head, sucking one tight peak into my mouth, and she ground down against me harder. “God, you feel so good,” she gasped, her voice breaking when I slid my hands to the waistband of her leggings. She lifted for me, and I pulled them and her panties down together, baring her completely.
She was already wet when I slid my fingers between her thighs, her hips jerking at the first stroke over her clit. I teased her there before sinking two fingers inside her, groaning at the way she clenched around me.
