Page 3 of Koa’s Little Girl (Soldier Daddies #8)

W hoever invented an Americano with two shots of espresso should be a millionaire.

Giana yawned behind a polite hand and tried to keep her toe from tapping impatiently as she waited.

She had ordered after the flashy young woman ahead of her had finished batting her eyelashes at the barista.

Giana thrust a hand through her work-rumpled hairdo and remembered dressing up to be seen and admired.

She was not attracting the same level of attention as the blonde dazzler.

Priorities definitely change with time and responsibilities.

Customers packed the coffee shop in the early evening.

She loved this place for the great coffee and the range of customers.

Everyone from elderly couples to teenagers already addicted to caffeine filled the shop.

Giana had found a spot close enough to hear the barista yell names, but far enough away to avoid the crush of people hoping their order would be crafted next.

“Order for Lookaloo!” the barista called.

No one moved.

“Lookaloo?”

When no one stepped forward to take the cup, she tried, “Three pumpkin spice latte frappes?”

A muscular man stepped into her line of sight and claimed the milkshake-like concoctions in a cardboard carrier.

He didn’t fit the image she had of the average pumpkin spice frappe drinker.

Giana controlled her expression with effort as she laughed inside.

And his name? Lookaloo? Poor guy. Thank goodness he didn’t work at the fire station.

Crap! Giana glanced down immediately as the buff man turned to face her. She recognized the man who’d come to see her this morning.

“Hey, fancy meeting you here,” Koa said, stopping in front of her.

That was all she could take. Her mouth quivered with merriment. “Lookaloo?”

“Yeah, it took me a minute to figure out they’d butchered my name. It’s actually Lokela. It’s Hawaiian.”

“Do you drink a lot of pumpkin spice?”

“Are you the coffee police?” Koa lifted the cup to his mouth and stopped, realizing he needed a straw.

That was the final blow. Her control totally evaporated. Giana shielded her mouth with one hand as she giggled. She tried never to laugh around anyone other than family. Her amusement sounded like a delighted seven-year-old. It hadn’t changed since then. His answering smile told her he’d noticed.

Giana spoke quickly to distract him. “I thought you Special Forces guys treated your bodies like a temple?”

“Noticed my physique, did you?” Koa teased.

Immediately back on the defensive, Giana pushed back her shoulders to stand at her full 5′5″ height. She’d grown up with five brothers. Giana had learned to go toe to toe with any of them. She never backed down from a fight.

“Hey, I’m sorry. I thought we were joking with each other. You’re right. I do watch my diet carefully,” Koa assured her.

She eyed him, trying to figure the soldier out. Something was different about him. “I bet. Nutrition is important.”

“Giana? An Americano with double espresso?” the barista called.

Koa looked at her as he absorbed her order. Less sugar than his, but an insane amount of caffeine.

She held up a hand and shook her head. “I know—the proverbial pot calling the kettle black, right? A coffee shop is a nonjudgmental zone. Excuse me. I’ll go grab that.”

Giana weaved her way through the gathered customers and claimed her drink. Tightening her resolve, she headed for the door. Time to leave.

As she opened the door, she spotted him waiting for her outside. Koa had anticipated her actions once again. First her coffee run and now her escape. “I’m not interested, okay?” she told him bluntly.

“Gotcha. I wanted to thank you for the coffee shop recommendation. It’s hard to find good…” His voice died away as he waved a hand over the drinks he’d ordered.

“Pumpkin spice latte frappes?” she suggested.

“Exactly. I don’t suppose you know a good hairstylist?” he asked, rubbing his hand over his military-short stubble.

She rolled her eyes at him, charmed by his quick wit and willingness to make fun of himself. Giana lifted her hand and said a quick, “Bye!” before heading to her truck. Time to go home.

“See you later, Flame.”

She kept herself from turning back to glance at him. Why did that sound like he’d given her a nickname? And why did she get the impression Koa wasn’t fooled by the polished persona she showed the world?

Giana studiously didn’t look back at him as she left the parking lot. Something about Koa Lokela that captured her attention. Whatever it was, she’d avoid it like wildfire.

Pulling into her apartment complex, she navigated to her assigned parking spot. Oh, great. Her next-door neighbor’s boyfriend already occupied it. Giana crossed her fingers, hoping they’d choose to go to his house. The paper-thin walls didn’t block their vigorous activities.

Just what she needed after her regular twenty-four-hour shift—Veronica’s headboard banging into the wall that separated them.

Giana didn’t need to be reminded of how long it had been since she’d had a guest with benefits.

She’d decided at the beginning of her career not to date a firefighter.

Complications and jealousy could run rampant inside the building.

Giana preferred the men to view her as the captain rather than a potential girlfriend. It had taken months to convince everyone that she wasn’t interested—even in them. After Koa’s visit, she’d had to fend off three requests for dates.

Koa. What was it about the Special Forces soldier?

This close to base, she was used to military guys.

They were always in incredible shape. Koa seemed even more…

He’d focused only on her. The flashy blonde teenager in abbreviated shredded shorts and a halter top hadn’t caught his eye at all, despite the virtual drool on the floor from the other men in the coffee shop.

Those dark brown eyes seemed to see past all the barriers she’d created to guard her inner self.

The dark shadow of his whiskers after a long day made her imagine what the handsome man would look like with a full beard.

The scruff was attractive. After not shaving for a week, he would be a walking billboard for a testosterone overload.

A honk behind her made Giana realize she was idling in the middle of the parking lot.

With an ‘I’m sorry’ wave, she pulled into a guest parking spot and turned off her engine.

The horn blared a second time with indignation, and the inconvenienced driver didn’t move.

Rolling her eyes, Giana stepped out of her car.

“You need to learn how to drive!” the jerk behind the wheel of a blue sedan yelled as he glared daggers at her.

“Sorry, sir. A long day at work. My apologies for holding you up,” Giana said and headed for her apartment building.

“We all have long days at work, bitch.”

Giana kept walking and took a sip of her coffee to stop herself from popping off with an equally rude response.

She refused to allow the man to rile her.

Waving her key fob at the security door, she walked into her building and pushed the door closed behind her.

She’d be careful going in and out for the next few days.

That hothead would soon shift his anger to someone else.

Taking a second to claim her mail from the entryway, Giana couldn’t wait to get in the shower and unwind a bit before going to bed. She’d become a firefighter to help others, but some days her job was a bit too people-y.

Once in her apartment, she locked the door and deadbolt.

She dropped off the rest of her drink at her favorite spot on the sofa before heading for the shower.

For many, drinking caffeine before bed would make them toss and turn for hours.

Giana lived on the delicious brew at all hours.

She’d learned to sleep when she could because the next emergency could sound at any time.

After letting the water pelt down on her tired muscles, Giana pulled on her favorite nightshirt and stepped into her bunny slippers.

She padded out to the living room and pulled the vertical blinds across the sliding glass doors on the balcony.

The room darkened immediately, and she asked her virtual personal assistant to turn on the light.

With a sigh of relief, Giana crawled onto her modular sectional sofa.

She loved this U-shaped monstrosity with ottomans cuddled up to it.

It was the closest thing to having a crib that looked normal to anyone who visited.

She carefully picked up Jellybean from the nest the stuffie had napped in while Giana was at work and settled on the pile of pillows.

Jellybean was a new acquisition, but she loved her lots.

“Hi, Jelly! I missed you. Did anything exciting happen here?” Giana asked the sweet creature.

She listened carefully to Jelly’s answer and nodded. “The office sent out a notice last week that they were going to come in to check the air filters. The maintenance guy didn’t scare you, did he? Yeah, he’s nice. I like him too. Want to watch a movie?”

After listening to the stuffie’s answer, she cheered, “Perfect! That’s a brilliant choice.”

Giana squirmed on the couch to reach the remote and started the movie she’d seen a million times before.

Singing along with the dancing animals, she and Jelly enjoyed it for the million and first time.

When the credits ended, she was too lazy to move.

After turning everything off, she grabbed a throw from the back of the couch and crashed into sleep.

“Please. Please, Daddy,” Giana begged.

Jolted out of an erotic dream by the sound of her own voice, Giana stilled and blinked into the darkness. She ached with desire. Damn him. Koa’s face lingered in her mind. He’s not a daddy.

Or is he? Her imagination battled with her skeptical nature. She’d searched for a daddy for so long and not found one. Why was this guy sticking in her brain?

She untangled herself from the soft material trapped around her legs. Her fingertips brushed over her mound, leaving an electric zing that lingered from the soft touch. Giana spread her legs as she pulled up her nightshirt. She traced the cleft of her pussy, finding herself slick.

An image of Koa popped into her mind as she stroked herself more intimately. His powerful form inspired her fantasies. What would he look like naked?

Her imagination’s Koa yanked his fitted T-shirt over his head and drew his fingers down his chiseled torso. When he popped open the top button of his fatigues, Giana glided her fingers through her wetness to trace her opening. She shivered as her body responded eagerly.

Picturing him in her mind, she watched him slowly finish releasing his pants, revealing his thick cock.

Giana slid two fingers into her drenched pussy as she dreamed of how his shaft would stretch her.

A soft moan fell from her lips as she flicked her thumb over her clit.

She wouldn’t last long. Just talking to him briefly had put her on edge.

In her vivid fantasy, Koa crawled on his hands and knees toward her and stopped to wrap his fingers around himself. “Let’s have a contest, little girl. Who can hold out the longest? The person who comes first gets her bottom spanked,” he explained the rules as he jerked his hand down his cock.

That threat was all it took to push her over the edge.

Giana cried out as she exploded with pleasure and shook.

She lightened her touch and then pulled her hands away when even that was too much.

Koa faded from her mind, and she blinked into the empty room.

Her stuffed bunny stared back at her with knowing plastic eyes.

“He’s a daddy, Jelly. I know he has to be. Can you help me be brave enough to take a risk?”

Did Jelly just wink at her? Giana grabbed her new best friend and hugged her close. With her stuffies in her corner, Giana might be able to try.