Page 19 of Stowaway Whirlwind
“I am so fucking sorry. I didn’t mean to. I was still half asleep, and I thought you were my—mine. AndJesus, I’m sorry, Goldie.”
My cock twitches in my pants under her gaze the longer she stares at me, and when Lily cries louder from her cradle, stealing her attention, I finally have the presence of mind to turn back around and close myself into the bathroom. Panicking, I shuck my pants and turn the shower on full blast to the coldest setting, then step into the large tub under the spray of water, punishing myself for what I’ve done.
Grabbing my bar of soap, I hurry to lather my hands to wash the blood off my fingers. My dick still hasn’t deflated, despite the icy water, and I’m sick. I’m so goddamn sick because I stroke it. I hate myself as I stroke my dick furiously, thinking about the weight of Goldie’s tit in my hand, her nipple hard between my fingers.
I slap my hand against the wall, barely biting back the roar of Goldie’s name when I orgasm, my dick swelling and jerking with each rope of cum that shoots out and drips down the small, white square tiles. My toes curl, and I almost lose my footing at the intense pleasure, utterly disgusted with myself.
As much as I would rather pack a bag and leave like a coward, I know I need to face Goldie and own up to my mistake—if you can call it that.Assaultwould be a more appropriate term. I have to apologize and assure her that it will never happen again. I’ll get on my knees and beg her forgiveness if need be.
Swinging open the bathroom door after pulling my pants back on, I come face to face with Goldie, sitting on the edge of the bed, nursing Lily. “So, uh, that was weird,” she says with a forced chuckle before I have a chance to speak. “I’m sorry.”
I rock back on my heels and grip the doorframe. “Am I living in the twilight zone? I came out here to beg you to forgive me for being a creep. I didn’t mean to fall asleep in here last night or get under the covers with you.”Or stick my hand down your panties while you were asleep, but I can’t seem to say that part out loud.
She shakes her head and drops her eyes. “That was my fault. It was cold in here last night when Lily woke up a couple of hours ago, and I thought you might be freezing. I didn’t want to kick you out since I knew you were exhausted, so I pulled the covers over you.”
My head spins. “Are you seriously blaming yourself for whatIdid toyou?”
She goes on. “I should have gone to sleep on the couch, but your bed is amazing. I was so tired, and you were spooning me before, and it was warm and comfy, so I got back into bed and hoped you would cuddle me again. I shouldn’t have done that.”
As I imagined doing so, I drop to my knees in front of her. I’m almost as tall as she is sitting on the bed, and I reach up to cup her cheeks, angling her to look me in the eye. “Stop blaming yourself. I’m the one in the wrong, and I promise I will never touch you like that again.”
Her brows crease in the middle with a frown. And then, just as she did at the hospital, she shocks the hell out of both of us when she slips her hand behind my head and kisses me.
Instead of pulling away and figuring out what kind of alternate dimension I’ve woken up in, I slant my head to the side and slip my tongue between her lips. I want to taste her, morning breath and all. I drop my hands to her wide hips, yanking her closer to the edge, her thick thighs on either side of me.
And then I remember that one—we’re not alone. And two—Goldie just gave birth. What the fuck am I doing? I finally find the strength to pull away and sit back on my heels. If I expected Goldie to look or feel as heated as I do, I’m wrong. Her already pale skin loses its color.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. I don’t know why…” Goldie stands from the bed and takes a few steps to the side, biting the inside of her cheek. “I don’t know what’s happeningto me.” Goldie shifts Lily to her shoulder and absently pats her back to burp her as she paces back and forth, the repetitive motion lulling Lily back to sleep.
I lurch to my feet and approach her but stop when she backs away and then rushes to lay Lily down in her cradle. Goldie finds her backpack and the bags I had left on the floor just inside the bedroom the night before, gathering them to drop them at the foot of the bed.
“What are you doing?”
“Packing. Thank you for everything. I mean it. But I…I can’t stay here. Maybe my dad will let me stay with him if I apologize until I can find somewhere else to go.”
I spin her around, battling between fear and anger at the thought of her leaving me to live with her dad. “You are never going back to your dad’s,” I tell her with more force than necessary, though I keep my voice low for Lily’s sake. “You are going to stay right here,” I say, pointing at the bed, “while you recover. I’m not going to allow you to put your or Lily’s health and safety at risk by going back to that shitty,dangerousapartment and living with that asshole.”
It was the wrong thing to say.
Goldie’s eyes flash with warning, and she bares her teeth, replacing the woman who had kissed me softly just a few minutes ago with this feral creature.Thisis the side she showed when she first pulled the gun on me in New Mexico.
“Don’t you think for one second you can tell me what to do, Davis,” she hisses. “Where I can and can’t go. You’re not my dad or Lily’s either.”
Something inside me cracks, and I crowd her until the backs of her knees press against the mattress. I get right in her face as I drop my voice low. “Oh, yes, I am.”
She snaps, “You are what?”
“I am yourDaddy,” I growl, baring my own teeth. “And by law, I’m Lily’s father, too.”
Chapter 8
Goldie
A lightning bolt of shock shoots down my spine. “What the hell does that mean?” I whisper-scream the question, trying to figure out just what it is that’s making my heart pound so hard. Fear that this man may be legitimately insane and dangerous? Fury at myself for putting my daughter and me in this situation? Unhingeddesireat hearing him say he’s myDaddy? NotDadbutDaddy. All three?
There is something seriously wrong with me, being distracted by that instead of his wildly inappropriate and delusional claim that he is somehow…“Just because you were there at her birth, that doesn’t mean you’re Lily’s father, legally or otherwise.”
His eyes tighten, and he shifts on his feet without responding.
