Page 7 of Promises & Pumpkins (Haunted in Hazy Cove #1)
Harper
Inever woke up with my pussy throbbing like this in my own bed, and my bed didn’t smell like a mix of leather-scented cologne and last night’s sweat-soaked haze.
Had I really spent all night in bed with my too-hot-to-live-next-door neighbor?
The Hazy Cove Police Department shirt that draped over my otherwise naked figure confirmed that I had.
I couldn’t resist the small smirk that tugged at my lips when I moved and the muscles in my thighs ached.
I rolled onto my side, draping my arm across the empty mattress.
Then I heard footsteps behind me, and I rolled back over just in time for a small, blonde-haired girl to clear her throat. “Who are you?” I asked, jolting upright in the bed, pressing my back against the headboard and tugging the blankets up and over me, hiding the t-shirt.
“I’m Maddie,” she said, shrugging her shoulders and cocking her head toward one. “Who are you?”
“Uh,” I said, looking around the room. Where had Miles gone? And where had this little girl come from? “I’m Harper.”
The little girl nodded like that had been enough of an answer. “What are you doing in my daddy’s bed?” she asked, scrunching her nose like she was trying to come up with any much-more-innocent-than-what-really-happened answer.
“Your daddy?” I asked, still hung up on the word. Miles was a dad?
“Oh, I see you’ve met my daughter,” Miles said, strolling into the room as if he hadn’t spent all night promising dirty things between my legs all night.
His daughter? “Hey, Maddie, why don’t you go downstairs and eat breakfast?
” He put his hand on top of her head, flattening her baby curls while she pouted, looking up at him and back to me.
“Can I watch cartoons while I eat?” She pursed her lips like she was negotiating with herself. I watched the staring contest happening in front of me between the little girl and the man I’d had no idea was a father.
Miles nodded curtly. “Yes.”
The little girl smiled big like she’d won and shrugged her shoulders, unwilling to push it and risk losing the apparently rare treat of breakfast in front of the TV.
“Okay,” she said brightly before she sauntered out of the room.
Miles chuckled, turning around and giving me a slow once over when his eyes were back on me.
“You’re a dad?” I asked, realizing I still had the blanket pulled up to my shoulders.
My stomach sank. I wasn’t looking forward to the walk of shame, but waking up to your one-night-stand-slash-neighbor’s daughter was definitely worse.
My legs buzzed, almost desperate to make the walk of shame I had been dreading.
“I am.” Miles didn’t try to avoid the conversation, and there was a content smile on his face. “That’s Madison, my six-year-old.”
I swallowed uncomfortably, checking the floor for my clothes without getting up from the bed.
He sat on the edge next to me, and I tucked my legs under me to give him more room.
“Where’s her mom?” I asked, half-expecting her to jump out of the closet and chase me away even though I knew she wouldn’t.
“She passed away when Maddie was three. She got sick.” His face dropped and when he closed his eyes, my chest squeezed. A lump formed in my throat, and I swallowed it before I could ask him a lot of questions.
“Oh,” I said, gently folding the blanket in my lap and pushing it off my legs. “I’m really sorry to hear that.”
“Don’t be. I’ve made peace with the fact that I can’t change anything. I miss her some days, but she would’ve wanted me to be happy.” When he put his hand on my leg, it felt like it shocked me, and I gently pulled my leg back. His face dropped, and he furrowed his brow while my stomach dropped.
I put my hand on his arm, brushing my thumb over the muscles. “This was really fun,” I said, dropping one of my feet to the floor and balancing on the edge of the bed. The bed dipped slightly beneath me when I leaned in, pressing a gentle kiss to the side of his face before I stood up.
“Are you sure you need to leave?” he asked. I knew that wasn’t the question he really wanted to ask, and I wasn’t in the mood for a long conversation about the way I had no desire to get involved with a man that had kids. Instead, I nodded, smiling gently.
“Unfortunately,” I said. “I have a busy day. I didn’t realize it was so late.
” Miles watched while I collected my clothes, slowly pulling each item on as I grabbed them.
I handed him back the t-shirt I had woken up in, trying to avoid the disappointment in his eyes when he took it.
Maybe he was used to women leaving as soon as they found out he was a dad.
Miles stood up, grabbing onto the back of my hips and tugging me against him while I pulled my sweater over my head. His breath was warm on my neck. “I can’t talk you into staying for breakfast?” he asked when I melted against him.
I shook my head, turning in his arms and giving him a quick peck on the lips. “I can’t. Thank you,” I said, chewing on the corner of my lip. “For last night.”
“You’re welcome.” He chuckled, kissing me again. “Are you going to let me do it again?”
“We’ll see.” I giggled, determined to turn him down, but my pussy was arguing against it already.
If I could help it, this was going to just be a one-night stand.
I backed away from him, making sure my clothing was straight before I left.
He followed behind me down the hallway we had traveled in a blur last night.
“I’ll see you around?” I asked over my shoulder when we got to the front door.
I could hear cartoons from the other room, and I became more anxious to get out of there.
Miles nodded and winked. “Of course,” he said. “You only live twenty steps that way, remember?”