Proving Paul's Promise(18)

Friday laughs but bites her lips together when I look up at her. Sorry, she mouths.

“She’s going to sleep in her own room, in her own bed, with her door locked.”

Friday’s eyes open wide. I am? she mouths. I nod, and she looks down at Hayley. “I am!” she says as though she’s excited about it.

“You going to tell her a bedtime story?” Hayley asks.





Friday

Paul swipes a hand across his smile. “Probably not.”

Hayley slides her hand into mine and says, “You can come and listen to mine.” She tugs my fingers so I follow her into her bedroom. I stand there, not at all sure where I’m supposed to go.

Paul sits down on the bed with his back against the headboard. “Which book?” he asks.

Hayley points to one, and I look around the room. I don’t know where to go because she doesn’t have any furniture aside from her bed and her toy chests, so I sit down on the carpet beside her bed and lean against it. My head is near Paul’s knee and his feet are crossed, pointed toward the end of the bed. He’s taking up a lot of space, and Hayley snuggles into her covers with a stuffed rabbit in her arms.

Paul opens the book and starts to read about a bull named Ferdinand. It makes me smile, hearing him read to his daughter. He loves her so much that I’m a little bit jealous. Not because he loves his daughter, but because I feel like I missed out on having anyone love me like that.

His voice gets softer and softer, and he stops when he’s about halfway into the book. “She’s asleep,” he says, and he closes the cover.

“You can’t stop now,” I protest. “I have to find out what happens.”

He grins, opens the book back up, and continues to read. He turns pages with one hand while the other strokes down the length of my hair. My eyelids grow heavy, so I lean against the mattress and let them fall closed. His fingers dig deeper and start to massage my scalp. I finally look up when I realize he has closed the book and all his attention is on me.

I get up on my knees and lean on my elbows, looking at Hayley snuggled and safe under her blankets. “She’s beautiful,” I whisper.

“Yeah, she is,” he says. He brushes my hair back over my shoulder. “So are you.”

My heart stutters, and I force myself to take a deep breath through my nose. But all I can smell is him and the little-girl scent that’s all Hayley.

“Did you ever want this?” he asks, jerking his head toward his daughter.

I nod. “Once upon a time, yes,” I whisper. “I wanted it. More than anything.”

“What changed?” he asks. His blue eyes stare into mine.

“Everything,” I say. Regret hits me like a truck smashing into my body. I push to my feet and walk to the door. I turn back to look at him. “Are you coming?” I ask.

He shakes his head. “Sometimes I just like to watch her sleep.”

“Okay. Good night,” I say softly.

He looks up at me and smiles. “’Night.”

I go out to the kitchen and clean up a little. The pizza boxes go into the recycling and so do the beer cans. I load the dishwasher and wipe off the counter.

I startle when I see Paul with his hip hitched against the counter. “You don’t have to clean up,” he says. He’s quiet, probably because he doesn’t want to wake Hayley.

“I don’t mind.” I wipe my hands with a dishtowel and smile at him. He looks at me. He really looks at me, and it makes me want to squirm. “We never did talk about how much I’m going to pay you for the room.”

“I thought we’d just take it out in trade. You know, sexual favors?”

I snort and toss the wet towel at his head. He catches it. “Have you ever paid for sex?” I ask.

This time he snorts. “Never had to.” He grins, and it’s so damn sexy I could drop my panties right here and not even feel bad about it.

“Women come easily for you.”

He smiles even more widely. “Some come more easily than others.”

He knows that’s not what I meant. “You and Kelly…you weren’t exclusive, were you?” I ask.

He shakes his head. “We were before we had Hayley. Then we weren’t.”

“And that was okay with both of you?” I go sit down on the couch, and he follows me. He sits beside me and takes my hand. Heat shoots from his palm to mine, and a tingle spikes up my arm. I shiver.

“It was okay with us,” he says quietly. “I like that you shiver for me,” he adds, his voice so soft and rough I can barely hear it.

I take a deep breath, and he watches my chest rise and fall and licks his lips. “I can’t have an orgasm,” I blurt out.

He sits back a little. “What?”

“I…um…I can’t have an orgasm. I can’t come. I can’t get off.” Fuck, I should have stopped at orgasm. I groan inwardly.

He chuckles and scratches his head. “Well, that’s a challenge. But I feel sure we can get past it.” He leans down until his lips are almost touching mine. “I’m sure I can make you come,” he says. “I’m a hard worker.”

“That’s not what I meant,” I squeak, pushing him back with a hand on his chest.

He sits back. “Talk to me.”