Treat Me (One Night with Sole Regret #8) (11 page)

He drew away slightly, and her eyelids fluttered open.

“So you do still want me,” he said in that low, smooth voice of his. Parts of her craving his mouth on them began to throb distractingly.

“Of course I still want you.” She breathed in his clean scent, marveling at how it made her heart race and her belly clench.

“Daddy, are we going now?” Julie’s muffled voice drifted out from inside the car.

“Be patient, princess,” he called to her before lowering his head and capturing Amanda’s tender lips in another kiss.

By the time they finished packing the trunk, Jacob had somehow managed to ignite every inch of Amanda’s skin with little touches and stolen kisses. She was on fire—burning for him—and that inferno had absolutely nothing to do with the sizzling Texas heat.

“What taked you so long?” Julie asked when the adults finally entered the cool interior of the car.

“Couldn’t find the sunscreen,” Jacob lied as he fastened his seat belt on the passenger side of the car.

“We need to hurry up if we’re going to two zoos today,” Julie said, holding up two fingers and waving them at her distracted caregivers.

Resigned to a long day, Amanda shifted the car into drive. She was overly conscious of the man beside her as they headed to the hills just outside the suburbs. Though he wasn’t touching her, she could feel his gaze, and if his thoughts were even half as sensual her own, she had a reason to squirm in her seat beneath his avid attention.

Jacob slid his fingertip up the outside of Amanda’s smooth thigh. He grinned to himself when the car decelerated suddenly as her foot slipped off the gas pedal. She caught his hand just before his questing finger reached the hem of her shorts and turned her head to glare at him.

“Are we there yet?” he asked in a low tone—the one he knew aroused her—and leaned close to inhale her spicy perfume.

“Soon,” she said, pushing his hand off her leg.

This could be fun, he decided. She’d made him promise that he wouldn’t touch her when Julie was a witness, but there would be plenty of opportunity to tease her when his daughter’s attention was elsewhere.

“Can we sing a song, Daddy?” Julie asked.

His daughter’s sweet voice was like a bucket of cold water in his lap. He shifted away from Amanda, his bare shoulder pressing against the warm glass of the passenger-side door. “What should we sing?”

“You pick it.”

“I know a song your Aunt Amanda likes to sing when she thinks no one is watching.”

Amanda took her eyes off the road just long enough to glance at him, one eyebrow raised comically.

“How does it go again?
I’m walking on sunshine
,” he sang. He’d caught her singing when she’d been washing dishes, completely unaware of his presence. What she lacked in vocal talent, she made up for in enthusiasm. He wasn’t sure if that was the moment he’d fallen for her or if her carefree singing had only added to already blossoming feelings.

Amanda flushed, which made him want to kiss her pink-stained cheeks. But despite her embarrassment, she sang along in her ever-off-key, wholehearted style. “
Whoa oh
!”

They sang alternating lines—Julie in the back seat clapping along in perfect time—and when they reached the end of the chorus, Julie sang, “
And don’ I feels good?
”

Surprised, Jacob chuckled and turned in his seat to look at his wriggling daughter. He was surprised her booster seat held out under her vigorous dancing.

“You know this song?” he asked.

“Aunt Mander always sings it when we do dishes.”

“And does she always sing it off-key?” he teased, glancing at the gorgeous woman in the driver’s seat.

Amanda swatted at him, and he jerked up against the door to avoid her blow.

“I try to help her sing it right,” Julie said.

“She does,” Amanda said. “But it’s a lost cause, I’m afraid.”

“It’s okay, Aunt Mander,” Julie said. “We still love you.”

Amanda stole a glance at Jacob, her hands gripping the steering wheel as if she feared she was about to spin out of control. She still hadn’t acknowledged his words from earlier that morning. Would she accept them coming from Julie’s innocent lips? Was he moving too fast? Did he care? He wanted Amanda in his life. She was just going to have to come to terms with that, because he refused to back down. He might be convinced to slow down, however. Maybe.

Oblivious to the tension between the adults in the front seats, Julie asked, “Can we sing more “Sunshine,” please?”

They sang the chorus, each of them taking their own line, and repeated it over and over until they arrived at their destination. Jacob was pretty sure there was more to the song than three lines, but he was having too much fun to worry about getting the lyrics right or about the odd stares their vehicular performance received from passing motorists.

Jacob had never been to the Austin Zoo. He was stunned by how small the graveled parking lot was and surprised that it wasn’t teeming with humans looking to examine the caged wildlife.

“Are you sure this is a real zoo?” Jacob asked Amanda as she shifted the car into park.

“It’s not your ordinary zoo, but I’m sure it’s a zoo.”

Jacob shrugged and got out of the car, opening the back door to release Julie from her booster seat. “Should we bring the stroller?” he asked Amanda, who was opening the trunk.

“I’m a big girl!” Julie insisted. “I don’t want a stroller.”

Yeah, she said that now, but in ten minutes her feet would be hurting and she’d want to be carried for the next three or four hours.

“The paths aren’t good for strollers,” Amanda said. “And it only takes an hour or so to see everything.”

Which would give them plenty of time to make the hour and a half drive to San Antonio for a second zoo visit.

Jacob sighed in resignation and set Julie on her feet in the gravel. Within two steps, he had a rock in his sandal. He was already wishing he’d opted for tennis shoes as he fished the sharp stone out with his finger. “I think you two are going to have to carry me if I keep getting rocks in my shoe.”

Julie giggled. “You’re too big to carry, silly.”

“Come get your sunscreen on,” Amanda said, tugging a large bottle of SPF 80 out of Julie’s bag.

Amanda filled her palm with the coconut-scented stuff and handed the bottle to Jacob, who followed her cue. They each worked on one side until Julie was sufficiently coated with enough sunscreen to stop a solar flare.

“Here’s your hat,” Amanda said, handing Julie her white straw hat. His baby was incredibly fair skinned, and her pale-blond hair didn’t provide much protection to her scalp from the harsh Texas sunshine.

“You need sunscreen too,” Julie said. “I don’t want you getting wrinkles.”

Jacob chuckled. She’d probably heard that from her mother, but he found it humorous that a four-year-old would have such concerns.

“Allow me,” Jacob said, taking the bottle from Amanda and squeezing a healthy dose into his palm. He rubbed his hands together to distribute the lotion between them and then worked the sunscreen into Amanda’s sun-kissed shoulders, her graceful throat, the back of her neck, and—after peeking at Julie to make sure her attention was elsewhere—the tops of her lush breasts. Amanda released a breathy sigh as his fingertips rubbed her warm, pliant flesh. She leaned closer, and he lowered his head, craving her kiss and the feel of her body pressed against his.

“Daddy, did you bringed me a drink? I’m thirsty!”

Amanda jerked away and after discreetly rubbing her arm over the erect tips of her breasts, began to rummage through Julie’s bag again. Jacob admired the curve of Amanda’s ass as she bent over the trunk. That and the long graceful lines of her legs. The woman had amazing legs. They looked especially fantastic wrapped around his waist as he drove his cock into her hot, slick pussy.

Holy hell. Jacob rubbed a hand over his face, trying to clear the erotic images suddenly bombarding his thoughts.

“Apple juice?” Amanda asked, holding up a juice box for Julie to see.

“Yes, please. I want to do the straw.”

This behaving himself stuff was going to be far more of a challenge than he’d anticipated.

“Daddy, hurry up and put on your sunscreen,” Julie advised while she held the juice box against her belly and jabbed the little foil circle with a pointed straw. She was soon slurping juice and watching a family with six small children unload from a minivan.

“Allow me,” Amanda said with a devilish grin as she filled her hands with the thin white cream.

Dear lord, did she have to stare up at him with her gaze full of longing and promise? He couldn’t take it.

Amanda’s hands were cool and slick against his heated fleshed as she took care to make sure every inch of his exposed skin was fondled—er, covered with fragrant lotion. Amanda squatted at his feet and ran both hands up his right leg from ankle to knee and then up the leg of his shorts. The father corralling his flock of kids toward the only visible building walked into the bumper of a car as he gawked at them. Julie waved at each of the passing kids, oblivious to the spectacle her aunt was making of her father.

“I think I have enough sunscreen,” Jacob said, his voice raspy with arousal. He crouched and captured Amanda’s shoulders in his hands, drawing her to her feet. It took every shred of his willpower not to crush her body against his and devour her mouth as she stared up at him beguilingly.

“What about your other leg?” she asked, blinking at him with faux innocence.

“It will just have to burn,” he said.

By the time they’d collected everything, Julie had finished her juice and wanted to hold onto Amanda’s left hand and Jacob’s right so she could swing between them. Jacob couldn’t help but grin at the cute giggles his daughter produced each time her feet flew out from under her as she placed complete trust in her companions.

They entered through the gift shop, a smallish wooden structure that reminded Jacob of an old general store. Julie was immediately drawn to the stuffed animals and bestowed on him the look of longing she knew he couldn’t resist. “You can pick one on the way out,” Jacob promised. “You don’t want to have to carry it the entire time.”

“I didn’t know you were volunteering today,” the friendly woman behind the counter said to Amanda.

“I’m not,” Amanda said. “I brought my niece and her father for a visit. Thought I might get them the backstage experience if it’s okay with Margie.”

“The backstage experience?” Jacob had thought he was the only one with such privileges.

Amanda grinned at him. “You’ll see.” She opened her purse to grab her wallet, which sent Jacob scrambling for his cash supply.

“I got this,” he said. “My treat.”

“You don’t have to pay,” the cashier said. “God knows you do enough for this place.”

“We insist,” Amanda said. “And we’ll also buy three bags of sheep pellets.”

Sheep pellets? Jacob paid their admission and purchased three little brown bags that were stapled shut.

“What is this?” Julie said as one of the bags was passed to her.

“Don’t you want to feed the goats and sheep?” Amanda asked.

Julie worried her lips together. “Do they bite?”

The cashier leaned close to her. “They don’t bite, but watch out for the big brown goat. He’s a greedy one who will try to steal your entire bag.”

Julie nodded in understanding and cradled her sack of feed against her chest.

“I’ll let Margie know you’re around,” the cashier said to Amanda.

“Thanks, Frances.”

Jacob followed his two ladies across the hollow-sounding wooden floor, out onto a porch, and down a set of dusty steps to an uneven path. He glanced around, looking for signs directing them to the exhibits, or at least to a wide cement path that would be easy on sandaled feet.

“Chickens!” Julie cried, approaching the free-roaming birds that didn’t look like any chicken Jacob had ever seen.

The dark
-
gray-and-white-speckled birds fluttered away from her, releasing a chorus of raucous chirping that made Jacob wince. The noisy creatures were definitely
not
chickens.

Amanda chuckled and squatted next to Julie, rubbing the center of her back soothingly. “Those are guinea fowl,” she said. “You’ll have to stand still and watch them quietly, or they’ll run away.”

“Can I pet one?” Julie looked up at her aunt, and Jacob was struck by the resemblance between the two.

Julie’s eyes and nose resembled her mother’s, and he hadn’t ever noticed that Amanda had the same nose. Amanda’s eyes were a different color—hazel rather than blue—but the shape of them was definitely a Lange family trait. His attraction to her was inevitable, it seemed. While Tina had the personality of a cactus, outwardly she was one of the most beautiful women he’d ever laid eyes on. He’d always liked Amanda for her personality, but he couldn’t deny that she had the physical looks he admired most. So why had he fallen for Tina first? It was an unfortunate fact that he’d probably never understand. But if he hadn’t married Tina, he wouldn’t have Julie, and he’d face any hardship to have his little girl in his life. Even put up with her mother.

“Guinea fowl don’t like to be touched,” Amanda said, “but watch what they’re doing while they walk. They eat all sorts of bugs. Even ticks and wasps.”

The small flock of birds marched across the grass side by side, devouring any living creature stirred up by their scaly feet.

“And butterflies?” Julie asked.

“Sometimes. If you keep these birds in your orchard or vegetable garden, they’ll keep all the pest insects away.”

“Better than bug spray,” Jacob said, knowing this kind of nature stuff inspired Amanda.

She smiled up at him, the sunshine catching golden highlights in her hair. “Exactly.”

“What’s an orch herd?” Julie asked.

“Where they grow lots of trees,” Jacob said. “Like apples and oranges and stuff.”

Julie looked to Amanda, who nodded her agreement.

Did Julie think he was an idiot or something? Her mother certainly made that opinion of him well known. Jacob scowled, pulled a pair of sunglasses from the low collar of his tank top, and shoved them onto his face.

“Want to see a lemur?” Amanda asked.

“Like on
Madagascar
?” Julie asked.

“Exactly.”

Jacob was underwhelmed by the first exhibit. A lemur sat on a platform just above eye level, his long striped tail dangling several feet behind him. He watched them with enormous yellow eyes as he used human-like hands to grab fruit from a bowl and bring it to his mouth. His cage was clean, but barely the size of a small closet. One side was draped with a blue tarp, presumably for shade.