Accidental Neighbor by Sharon Woods

Chapter 33

Jennifer

I have been at the new house for a week. It’s been nice just having my best friend, Olivia, to hang out with every day. Katie has been coming over most nights too. We all sprawl out on the couch watching TV shows and eating Mom’s dinners.

Being here, I don’t feel different, but I do miss Thomas. I thought by now it would be easier, but it isn’t. It's Wednesday and I decide to teach Lily and Rose how to bake chocolate chip cookies. Both girls have a bowl and their own mixture. I brought them a pair of their own little matching aprons. They stand on stools on either side of me, looking as cute as pie. The smiles on their faces covered in dough is infectious.

I have to keep Rose from eating the entire batch of dough raw. “Okay, let's take pieces and roll them up and squash it on the pans like this.” I show, then watch as Lily rolls some dough and squashes it down.

“I can’t wait to eat them.”

“Me too but after dinner, okay?” I offer.

I hear the door open, and I pause. Hearing the heavy footsteps causes my heart to beat rapidly. Panic spreads throughout my entire body. I still can't stop the desire coursing through my veins. My brain and body crave him.

“Okay,” Lily moans. “But I am having two.” She throws two fingers up at me.

I giggle.

“Two of what?” His voice sends tingles down my spine. My eyes focus on his handsome face as he steps closer.

“We are making cookies, Daddy,” Lily says.

“Cookies,” Rose squeaks.

He dumps his keys and wallet on the counter and steps beside Lily. He is in a charcoal-gray suit that fits like a second skin. The electricity buzzing between us is palpable.

I have to bite my lip and refocus on Rose to concentrate.

“Hi, Jen,” he says in his silky voice.

“Hi, how come you’re home early?”

Oh God. Shut up. How rude. I can’t believe I asked that. This is his house.

I’m helping Rose finish the cookies and from the corner of my eyes, I can see he is taking his jacket off. Throwing it on a stool, he unbuttons his sleeves and rolls them up, then helps Lily squash the dough on the tray.

“I managed to finish up early today and I only have a few nonurgent emails left. And I wanted to catch you. I’m taking Rose next week.”

“Where is Rose going that I can’t go, Daddy?”

“Well, sweetheart, you may need to go at some stage too. But the first session with the doctor is just for Rose okay.”

Lily shrugs. “Okay.” Then she returns to squashing dough on the tray.

“That's great. I'm sure it will help a lot. Rose, are you ready to lick the bowl?” I ask.

She nods and layers her fingers with dough. I gaze over at Thomas and Lily; they have finished and are doing the same. I watch as he brings his finger to his mouth coated in dough and wraps his lips around it, sucking the dough off. My stomach hardens.

I'm jealous of the damn dough. I want his luscious lips and tongue on me.

His gaze flicks to me—caught red-handed perving at him. And I'm sure he knows exactly that I was thinking—dirty thoughts. Shit. I jolt and move to pop the trays in the oven and set the timer.

“Girls, let's wash your hands, and then go play, and you can have one after dinner.”

“I want two. Jen said we could, if we have dinner first.” I have to roll my lips in to prevent a laugh from slipping out.

His gaze shoots up to mine. He pops a brow, and I see humor written on his face.

“Okay, two then,” he surrenders.

“Yay,” the girls squeal.

I help the girls wash their hands, and then they take off to play. I begin cleaning up, still sensing Thomas near me.

“Thanks for doing this with the girls; they love it. I wish I could do this, but truthfully, I’m an awful baker.” He laughs. His deep laugh is a sound I have missed. It's sexy and warms me. Our conversations are so easy and natural.

As I wipe the counter and look up at him, I say, “I’m sure you're not that bad."

He raises his brows, amusement appearing on his face. “Want to make a bet?”

My lips lift, and a warm rush fills my chest. I push aside thoughts of us. I have finished cleaning up and with no other reason to stay, I gaze into his warm brown eyes, and say, “Dinner is ready and in the fridge. The timer will go off when the cookies are done.”

Moving past him, I grab my bag which is sitting on the counter.

“You sure you can’t stay? You made the cookies.”

I smile at the offer but shake my head gently. “They are for the girls. I better get home.”

“If you’re sure. I would say I would save some, but with us three, there is no way."

I chuckle. "Good. Enjoy them."

"Girls, Jen’s going.”

“Bye,” they call out.

Feeling my body tensing with anticipation. I walk to the door with an erratic pulse. I pull open the door, then step out, not allowing him close.

I don't want to hope and have my heart crushed again. He waves, so I wave back at him, admiring his solid body as he leans against the doorframe, then I go next door to visit my parents.

◆◆◆

It’s Saturday and Olivia is out shopping for a new outfit to wear tonight. She has been begging me to go out, but I really just want to stay home and have the house to myself.

I’m tidying up the house before I cook some lunch. The doorbell chimes, and I bet it’s my mom. They normally stop in on the weekend. They like to check on me, but really, I’m sure they believe I have been corrupted by Olivia.

Wandering to the door in my gray tracksuit set, I pull it open, suddenly feeling light-headed.

What is he doing here?

“Hi. Sorry. I hope I am not interrupting?” he asks.

I blink and shuffle my feet. “No, uh, it’s fine.”

I look around him, wondering where the girls are.

“My mom has the girls at her house for the weekend,” he answers.

I nod, staring back. His finger-swept brown hair looks messed up like he has been running his hands through it a million times. He wears a pair of jeans and a V-neck khaki top. Everything looks made for him, showing off his delectable body, making me burn up inside. Why can’t he look bad for once? Here I stand in my baggy tracksuit and my hair in a messy bun on top of my head, definitely not expecting visitors. And visitors that look like him.

“Can I come in and talk to you for a moment?” He says, his forehead creasing in question.

“Uh, yeah, I guess so.”

I stand back, bringing the door with me, allowing him to pass by.

He steps into the house and his spicy scent hits me full force. I briefly close my eyes before trailing behind him.

He takes a seat on the cream couch. “Nice house.”

I sit down opposite him on the other couch. “Thanks, Olivia’s.”

I can’t seem to form flowing sentences, feeling tongue-tied. But also, he needs to explain why he is coming here and asking for time.

With a quick realization, I ask, “Are you and the girls okay?”

“Yes, it’s nothing like that.” He takes an audible breath. “I owe you some answers.”

I nod. “Okayyy.”

His hands are twisted and resting on his thighs as he leans forward, speaking directly to me.

An empty feeling in the pit of my stomach hits as I wait for the news he wants to share. "I want to tell you about my late wife, Victoria."

His eyes stare through me with a blank expression. I blink rapidly and offer a small tilt of my head.

"Victoria died in a car accident. I was in the car also.”

I gasp, covering my mouth with my hand. Staring at his face, I know there is more; his pain written clearly on his face.

He shuffles forward on the couch. “We were driving home from an ultrasound; she was twelve and a half weeks pregnant with our third baby. I was driving around the corner from home on the main street when a drunk driver hit us head-on. Both Victoria and he died on the scene.”

Feeling hot wet tears stream down my face, I refuse to remove my eyes from him. Even with blurry vision, I can see his lashes have tears sitting on them, waiting to fall.

“I was in hospital and when I woke up, I had all these ugly scars and learned that Victoria was gone…” He touches his chest with a wince. “It was a nightmare, and I decided to cover them up a few months later. I was still very angry at the world.”

He pats his chest. "The lion is Victoria.” He points to the center over his heart. “This was a rose I was drawing the first day we met in class, and the other is her and the kids’ names. We didn't name the baby so I had the footprints instead.” His voice is low and tormented.

I did see the footprints, but I assumed it was one of the girls. Definitely not that.

My stomach is in knots and my heart squeezes in pain with the shock of the story. I don't know how to make this better.

"When I met you, the connection I had with you was so unexpected and so magnetic, I never thought I would see you again let alone be your neighbor." I can hear the lightness in his tone.

I smile to myself as he speaks.

"I never thought I would meet someone that would make me hope. Hope for happiness and love and a future as a family. My worry is that you're young and I don't want to make you settle down and not live the life you deserve. I don't want to hold you back. Take it from me, life is too short.”

I begin to open my mouth, but he interrupts. "And I don’t want another baby. I love my girls, but I don't want to be in a situation where I am left with another child to raise on my own—the thought alone kills me. I realize how unfair that is to you; you're twenty-two and you haven’t had kids so that's why I broke things off. It's a lot for me to take away from you. Totally selfish. I felt like I needed to come here and be open and honest with you."

A few tears leak from his eyes, and I crack. I stand abruptly, moving to sit beside him. Reaching out, I grab his hands, breaking the vise-like grip he has and twining my hands through his fingers. I have missed his touch, so warm and strong. He watches my thumb rub across the top of his hand.

I take a breath, knowing there was something special about him from the very beginning. "That's a lot to digest. I wish you had told me about the accident, the baby, and your fears. It would have been nice to understand back then, and we could have prevented a break."

His gaze lifts to mine, his brown eyes gentle and understanding. "Sorry, my feelings for you overwhelmed me, and then your father agreed to my thoughts, and then you spoke about children of your own and I freaked out," he says.

"It's okay. We all have different ways of coping with emotions. I'm glad you're opening up now, but I do want to make one thing clear. You and the girls are my family. If I never had a baby, I promise you I would still be the happiest woman alive. The break proved to me how much I love you, Tom, and I want us to be a family."

"I can't promise you I'll change my mind," he whispers honestly. He reaches out and strokes my face in the softest caress. I blink rapidly. "I love you, Jen. You were a piece of sunshine that I never knew I was missing, until I met you."

“I love you too.” I thrust my fingers through his hair and pull his face down. His dark gaze meets mine and my heart turns over. His large hand cups my face, and he brings his lips down gently to capture mine. The kiss is soft and thoughtful, my sex reminding me how much I’d missed him too.

I push his shoulders back, making him fall back onto the couch, then I scurry over and sit on top of him. Feeling his desire hit my core, I rub my sex hard along him.

He lets out a groan and captures my lips in a deep kiss. My eyes slam shut and I feel him grab my neck and turn the kiss harder, more desperate. My sex fills with my own desire, my body on fire for him.

I pull back, panting. I pull his top up. He helps me rip it off his body, then lets my hands explore every dint, ripple, and muscle.

He pushes my gray sweater up and off. "Fuck, princess," he moans.

I tug my lip between my teeth, knowing my bare breasts are on display. Thank you for being too lazy to throw on a bra or t-shirt, Jen.

My nipples are erect from need, my body burning up from his heated glare.

"I need you," I grunt.

He snaps, lifting me off him quickly. I stand on shaky legs. He rises and pecks my lips. "Where is your room?"

A wicked grin breaks out on my face. I walk on wobbly feet, dragging him by hand.

We walk through the hall and enter my simple room. I’m excited he is in my space. But the thoughts are short-lived when he rips my gray pants down.

"I have missed you," he grits out.

"Clearly." I giggle.

"Sorry." He winces.

"No, no, no. You go back to what you were doing, Mr. Dunn. I am still wearing panties and I expect you to remove them with your teeth."

His eyes bug out of his handsome face, and I want to high-five myself for being ballsy, figuring I need to be the grown-up I want people to treat me like.

His eyes drop to my black panties, then up to my face. A flash of fire hits before he leans forward and bites down on my panties and drags them down my legs. And I climb higher just from the sight, his naked back, rippled with muscles, on display. My mouth dries. I need him now.

I lift my legs when he taps each foot. He then sits back, clearly waiting for instructions.

"Up." I'm barely hanging on. I want him inside me.

I unbutton his jeans and tug them down along with his briefs.

Aware of my neediness for sex, he helps, and once they are off, I push him down on my bed and straddle him. Grabbing him, I rub his cock along my dripping folds. His hands, that have softly rested on my hips, dig in. And the pain encourages me to line it up and in one movement slowly lower myself down, waiting for my walls to adjust. It's bordering on painful, but I can't stop.

Condom.

My eyes snap open. "Condom."

"You said you're on the pill," he grunts.

I nod.

"Then don't worry, I trust you."

He enters me and my eyes close, my body reminding me how close I am to coming.

I prop my hands on his rippled stomach and move up and down slowly before moving at a faster pace. His hands are still on my hips, guiding me, but he allows me to set the pace.

Feeling myself climb, knowing I'm close, I say, "I'm close."

He growls.

Thank God.

I fall apart and continue moving until I feel him pulse and then fill me.

Falling down beside him, I drape myself on his side. I feel his chest rising and falling at a rapid rate that matches my own underneath my palm. We cuddle, panting until I hear, “I love you, princess.”

I turn to look at him, smiling with satisfaction. "I love you too."

The End.