Chapter 31

LAYLA

I settled on the sofa with the laundry basket, folding sleepers and undershirts into neat little piles. The boys were growing fast. We had already sent several bags of outgrown clothing to the Value Village in town.

I smiled when my phone chimed with a text from Briggs.

Briggs

We just landed. Be home in twenty minutes. I can’t wait to see you, doll.

Layla

I’ll be waiting.

I added some heart emojis at the end of my text, giggling when he texted back an eggplant and a peach.

Briggs and Vlad ended up staying in New Orleans for three days, making arrangements for Kyla’s mother. I wasn’t surprised when Briggs told me his daughter was coming to live with us.

We hadn’t talked on the phone because he didn’t want to risk his daughter overhearing our conversation. But he kept me up to date with texts.

Sonya sat down next to me and reached into the laundry basket. “Are you excited to meet Briggs’s daughter?” she asked.

“Of course.”

“I heard Briggs wants to keep his relationship with you under wraps for a bit until she gets settled.”

“Yeah.”

“How do you feel about that?”

“I was upset at first. But I understand why.”

“I think he should be upfront with her. She’s going to be upset that he lied when she eventually finds out.”

I stared at the tiny blue sailboats on the shirt in my hand, my eyes swimming with tears. Briggs told me he loved me. He made promises to me. But his actions didn’t match his words.

He had wanted to keep me a secret even before his daughter came into the picture. It was bad enough that we had to hide our relationship from the public. But now we would even have to tiptoe around the house.

If he really loved me like he said he did, why would he keep it from his daughter?

“It’s his decision,” I said with a shrug.

“I’m sure it will all work out,” Sonya said, squeezing my shoulder. But she didn’t look convinced.

***

I peeked through the kitchen window, studying the girl sitting on the edge of the pool splashing her feet. She was staring straight ahead, her face devoid of emotion.

Briggs said she was tired and had chosen to wait until the next day to meet the nannies. She didn’t even want to see her half-brothers. As soon as she arrived, she had gone to her room.

Kyla Allison was definitely Briggs’s daughter. She had the same hair, facial features, and build. I wouldn’t want to meet her in a dark alley. She’d kick my butt.

I thought I was tall, but she had a couple of inches on me.

“Hey!” Briggs hissed, coming up behind me. His arms snaked around my waist, and he nuzzled my ear, pulling me away from the window.

“Your daughter could walk through the door at any moment, Briggs.”

“Fine,” he grumbled with a heavy sigh. He let go of me, glancing out the window with a frown. “She barely said a word on the flight. Three hours of radio silence.”

“Maybe because Vlad was there.”

“Maybe.”

“What about the three days you were down there?”

“We were busy. When we got back to the hotel at night, she stayed in her room. I don’t want to push her. She’s grieving.”

“Did you find out why she was living in a shack in the bayou?”

“They were living with Julie’s grandmother. I had no idea. Whenever Kyla came to visit, she was well-dressed and clean, with healthy teeth and hair.

“She seemed like a happy, well-adjusted kid. I should’ve paid more attention, asked more questions about where all my money was going. I’m guessing her mother was spending it on drugs.”

“You had no way of knowing, Briggs. This isn’t your fault.”

“I’m a shitty parent.”

“You brought her here. It’s not too late. She can go to school and become whatever she wants. You can give her the life her mother deprived her of.”

“She can’t have a normal life with me. The paparazzi will be circling like vultures once they find out she’s here.”

“Won’t they get bored with you now that you’re retired?”

“Not as long as my life sells newspapers.”

“Who reads the paper? Do they even print those anymore?”

“It’s just an expression.”

“Oh?”

“Maybe she’d talk to you,” he suggested.

“I don’t know, Briggs.”

“C’mon, honey. You guys are around the same age, with a similar upbringing. You’re probably exactly what she needs right now.”

“She needs her estranged father’s secret lover to befriend her?”

He turned away from the window and pulled me into the walk-in pantry. “You make it sound so dirty,” he whispered, closing the door behind us.

“I’m the nanny half your age. It is dirty.”

“I’m thirty-eight. Half my age would be nineteen.”

“Pardon me. I didn’t excel in math.”

“And I happen to like dirty.” He lifted me onto the deep freezer, nudging my thighs apart as he pressed his erection between my legs. “Do you like it rough and dirty, baby?”

“Yes,” I moaned, wrapping my legs around his hips.

“I think you wore a skirt on purpose.”

“Maybe.”

He pushed my skirt up around my hips and tugged my panties aside. “Your pussy is so wet. I think you need my cock inside you right now.”

“Then give it to me,” I whispered.

He pushed his shorts and boxers to his ankles, his swollen cock standing straight up, precum seeping from the tip. “Lay down, doll.”

I lay back so my ass was right at the edge. “It’s cold on my back,” I giggled.

He pulled my panties down, pushing my thighs back so my ankles were practically behind my ears. I had no idea I was that flexible.

“Put this in your mouth,” he instructed, handing me a clean dish towel.

“Why?”

“To muffle your screams.”

I bit down on the towel when he pushed three digits into me, fingering me roughly while he rubbed my clit with his thumb.

He pulled his hand away, sucking my juices from his fingers before lining up his cock with my entrance. I screamed into the towel when he drove into me, filling me with one deep thrust.

He cupped my rump, holding me tight while he pounded into me. The pantry reverberated with grunts and moans, and the sound of flesh smacking together.

“Hold back, baby,” he growled. “I want you to come with me.”

“I don’t know if I can,” I panted.

“I’m almost there,” he gasped. “Look at me, Layla. I want you looking me in the eye when we come together.”

I gazed up at my boyfriend, his dark eyes penetrating mine as his facial muscles tightened, his engorged cock stretching me wide open, just before we climaxed, simultaneously.

He unloaded inside me, holding my body tightly against his chest while he kissed me hungrily.

“I want you in my bed tonight,” he declared.

“What about Kyla?”

“Her room is on the other side of the house. She won’t hear us.”

“Are you sure, Briggs?”

“Yes, baby. I need more of this pussy. It’s ~mine. You ~are mine~. ~And I want you underneath me with your legs spread all night long.”

“What if I wanna be on top?”

“You can be wherever you want, as long as my cock is buried inside you.”

“I like your dirty mouth,” I giggled.

“Where do you like it?”

“Everywhere.”

“I love you, Layla,” he whispered.

“I love you too, Briggs.”

“I wanna make sure you understand that this thing between us isn’t just about sex. I want you in my life. Permanently.”

I glanced away, the intensity of his stare and his words rocking me to the core. Briggs was a serious man. He wasn’t some boy just looking for a fuck buddy. I was only twenty.

The word ~permanent~ was a bit overwhelming. I was finding it hard to think clearly with him watching me while his dick was still inside me.

He gripped my chin, forcing me to look at him. “Do you understand, Layla?”

“Yes,” I couldn’t control the tremor in my voice.

“I understand that you’re young, and you’ve never been in a relationship before. The last thing I wanna do is pressure you. But I need to know that we’re in the same place.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” I promised. “I’m all in.”

He kissed me, exploring my mouth with long strokes of his tongue as his cock came to life. “Let’s save this for later,” he whispered, pulling out of me slowly.

“Do you still want me to try and talk to Kyla?”

“I would really appreciate it—yes.”

“I’ll try.”