Page 25 of Brazilian Fantasy
A shudder moves through him, and I lean forward and press my mouth to his. Our lips meet in a soft, comforting kiss. “What a horrible thing for you both,” I whisper. “For everyone.”
He slides his arms around me, and I lay over him. We stay like that for a long time, just holding one another. “I recently split from my fiancé,” I blurt out. “He dumped me cold.”
Why the hell am I telling him that?
“The loss was his, Piper.” He shakes his head. “The guy is a grade A olho do cu to let a girl like you go. That means asshole in case you’re wondering.”
I lift my head to see him, and in a desperate need to lighten the mood, I ask, “A girl like me?
He grins. “Fishing for compliments much?”
“Yeah, so let’s hear them.”
He laughs and runs his hand along my arm. “Beautiful, smart, adventurous, good with Maddie…” He gives me a wink. “Even better with her father.”
“I think you’re forgetting something.”
“Oh?”
“A thrill-seeker.”
His sexy grin curls my toes. “That reminds me. I need to punish you for that stunt you pulled this afternoon.”
I blink innocently. “Me, pull a stunt?”
He gives my bare ass a small smack. “Yeah, wiggling your ass at me in the kitchen.” His smile dissolves, and he turns serious. “I’m sorry about your fiancé. Do you still love him?”
“I’m not sure if I ever did, really. We dated, got along, and became complacent. He asked me to marry him, and I said yes. Shortly after, he brought up the subject of kids. I guess he just assumed I wanted them because I worked in a daycare. When he discovered I didn’t, he quickly found someone who did, and the rest, as they say, is history.”
“Why don’t you want kids?”
“Today’s kids are spoiled, entitled monsters. Work in a daycare for a few hours, you’ll understand.”
He slides his hand down my spine to my bottom and gives a little squeeze. “You hate your job?”
“I have a degree in management,” I say, having a bit of a hard time concentrating as he caresses my backside. “I’d originally applied for a managerial position, but they wanted me in the trenches so I could understand the business from the ground up.”
He nods. “You’re wrong, you know. Not all kids are spoiled, entitled, monsters. It’s all in how they’re raised. Take Maddie’s Shih Tzu, for example. She’s going to be a kind, mild-mannered dog because Maddie and I are raising her. If she’d ended up in a house where they raised fighter dogs, she’d undoubtedly be violent.”
He’s right. He’s so damn right.
“You’re saying sweet little Cupcake could be a fighter dog?”
“Well, maybe not, but you get the gist.” We both go quiet for a minute, then he breaks the silence. “Want to know what I really think?”
I take in his dark eyes—dark eyes that are too knowing, too probing. “I guess,” I say, even though I’m sure he can see into my soul, see how vulnerable I really am.
He holds me tighter, as if what he’s about to say just might shatter me, and I hold my breath. “Deep down, you’re frightened that you don’t have what it takes to be a good mother and will only end up creating a monster.”
He’s right again…
I exhale, and he touches my face, softly sweeping his thumb over my cheek. The things I feel for this man ripple through me, and I wonder if, when I leave his bed, I’ll ever be the same again.
“Let me just put that worry to rest right now,” he says. “You do have what it takes. Maddie is proof of that. You are doing wonders with her. You’re not going to be like your parents. You’re better than that.”
I swallow the knot in my throat and fight the tears as my heart wavers. “I’ve always worried that if I brought a kid into this world, I’d end up a chip off the old block. I never want to let a child down, or screw up like both my parents did and leave deep scars that never properly heal.”
He lifts his head and kisses me. “You won’t,” he whispers.
