Page 7 of Tempt Me-

Legs I can’t stop staring at.Strong calves, tanned from playing outside with my daughter and long enough to wrap around my waist while I pound into her.Way not to think about her that way, I think, annoyed with myself.

I adjust my dick and wait in silence until they are finished dancing, giving my body a chance to calm down before announcing myself.

After Bailey twirls around and curtsies, I step out of the shadows, clapping.“Great job!”

“Daddy!”

She runs to me, and as usual, I scoop her into my arms.“Tell me about your first day of dance class.Looks like you already learned something.”

I listen to her chattering, paying attention so I’ll know when to nod, understanding I won’t be getting a word in edgewise and my mind still preoccupied with Mia.

“Who’s ready for me to order pizza?”she asks as she shuts off the music on her phone.

“Can I have plain?”Bailey asks.“I don’t like the roni things Daddy likes.”

“Pepperoni,” I say, “and it’s delicious.”I tap her nose.“Order half plain,” I say to Mia.“I’ll be back down in a few minutes.”I place Bailey down, and I start for the stairs.

“Austin?”Mia calls out.

“Yes?”

“Did you see a car parked on the end of the street when you came home?It was there all day and I just thought it was odd.”

I shake my head.“I came in the back way.I’ll go out to the front door and take a look,” I say, my stomach suddenly in knots for reasons I can’t put into words.

When I step onto the porch and look down the street, a black car is sitting on the corner, too far away for me to grab the license plate.Not that I have a reason to run down the plate.But any time something odd goes on, my thoughts and fears always turn to my ex-wife.

She made it a habit to hit me up for money, both when we were married and when she left me the first time.It wouldn’t be odd for her to want something and scope out the lay of the land before approaching me.

I narrow my gaze on the car in the distance.The sedan isn’t in front of my house, but alongside a copse of trees on a common area where people aren’t allowed to build homes.The car suddenly pulls away from the curb, does a half turn, and drives off the street.

I shut the door behind me, but the uneasy feeling lingers.Pushing it aside for now, I head upstairs to change into a pair of sweats and a tee shirt and wash up before dinner.

A little while later, we are seated around the dinner table.Everyone’s stomachs are full from pizza and our ears from Bailey’s chatter.

“I have news,” I say, my gaze on my daughter.“I changed my schedule up at work, and in a few weeks, I’ll be working from home.No more weird late-night hours.”I glance at Mia, who toys with her food, finding I can’t read her expression or thoughts on the matter.

“Yay!”Bailey claps her hands.“You can play with me when you’re home!”

I meet Mia’s now amused gaze.“Ummm, I’ll be working and you’ll be in school, but if you need me, I’ll be here.And no more missed dinners.”Or danger, which is the key reason for the change, not that I’ll mention that to my six-year-old.

“That sounds good,” Mia says, but she bites down on her bottom lip, clearly taken aback by the news.

“Don’t worry.I won’t be underfoot.My boss will keep me plenty busy, and I’ll be going into the office for regular meetings.”

Her lips twitch in a half smile.“If you say so,” she says somewhat neutrally, although I hear the uncertainty in her tone.

If I were a betting man, I’d say she’s come to the same conclusion I already have.With Bailey in school, we’ll be around each other more.Alone without a buffer, making it that much more difficult to keep any simmering feelings under wraps.

***

Mia

The week fliesby, and the weekend arrives.From high eighties, the temperature falls to the mid-sixties, typical Connecticut fall weather.Unusually, I have Friday night, Saturday, and Sunday to myself.Although I am on call if Austin needs me.Today, Bailey’s grandparents are here to visit, and Austin and his parents take Bailey and her friend Lisa for an early morning at the Bronx Zoo before the lines become crazy.

Mrs.Rhodes extended an invitation, but I didn’t feel right intruding on family time if they don’t need me to work, and they insist they don’t.The last thing I want to do is join them and pretend to be like the big, happy family we aren’t.I know my place, and I plan to stay there no matter how hard it is slowly becoming.

I sleep in and then decide to take a walk around the neighborhood in the gorgeous fresh air, something that has become a ritual while Bailey is in school.As I round the corner where that odd black car parked earlier in the week, I am relieved to see it is no longer there.