Tame the Beast : Small Beach Town, Single Mom Romance

“To hit the intruder on Zoe’s couch. Thank you for giving me the idea, baby.”

“I did no such thing!” Jacob protests. “You know I don’t condone violence, and this is not an intruder. It’s Matteo!” I open my eyes slightly, and see Joy raising an eyebrow at her husband.

“Fine, not an intruder. More like a random stray that got lost at my friend’s house.”

“I’m not a stray,” I mumble from my not-to-comfortable spot on the couch. Where did Zoe even get this thing? It should be illegal to sell bricks disguised as couches.

“See, Wildflower?” Jacob grins. “He’s not a stray.”

“I’m her forever,” I mumble some more, still partially in my lovely dream and turn around to try and go back to sleep, but that poking comes right back. Only now it’s ten times stronger and is coming from a frowning Jacob.

“Ahh,” I shriek because that’s a totally normal reaction to having the Viking of LC looming over me like an imposing mountain with his nose practically touching mine.

“Who’s forever? Because if you think for a second you can hit on my wife, I will twist you into a pretzel faster than you can say quack.”

I swear, I hear Joy whimper somewhere in the background.

“Jesus Christ.” I jump up, but Jacob’s face doesn’t leave mine. Literally. His nose is still right over mine. “Dude, I might have a reputation but I’m not into married women.” I chance a glance at Joy.

Sure, she’s hot but everyone pales in comparison to my Zoe. I meant what I told her last night. Ever since meeting her, I simply don’t see other women and for the first few months after my spring break in LC, I was freaking the fuck out.

All my outings to bars and clubs were fruitless. All the girls rubbing themselves over me on a dance floor made me want to go scrub my skin clean, and what’s worse my dick was enjoying life in a permanent state of flaccid.

I even saw a doctor, but he said my equipment should work just fine.

I didn’t understand what was happening until thoughts of her would cross my mind and all of a sudden, I was as hard as a rock and ready to go, painting my shower walls with a fresh coat of my cum.

It finally all clicked in for me when I saw her again. My dick fell in love with Zoe’s pussy. But what’s worse…I think I fell in love with her that night too.

Which is madness and what’s even crazier, not once since the realization kicked in—or since her father smacked it into me—did I get scared of such commitment.

I tried. I tried to talk myself out of it for these past weeks, but it was utterly useless, because for the first time in my adult life, I understood what my dad meant all those years ago before he passed away.

Fate. Bloody fate.

Now, I just need Zoe to snap too. To realize that as much of a player as I was and was allergic to relationships, none ever felt like this before. And I’m all in.

Jacob immediately straightens up, the intimidating mask replaced with a huge grin on his bearded face. We could pass for brothers if he wouldn’t be a giant and have blonde hair. “So, you mean Zoe.”

“Duh.” I rub the sleep out of my eyes which I didn’t get that much of because as soon as Zoe took Mellie away for the night she started crying and I’d like to think she was protesting being torn away from me.

Mellie.

I shoot up from the bed, not caring if these two intruders get an eyeful of my morning wood—especially after that dream—and look around for my baby.

I ended up taking her away after about two hours of wailing so Zoe could get some rest and she was sleeping peacefully on the coffee table next to me. Now she’s not.

Did she roll out of there?

I drop onto my hands and knees, searching the floor but there is nothing. Wait, she’s too little to do that, no?

“What is the stray doing?” Joy whispers to Jacob.

“I have no idea.”

“I’m not a stray,” I repeat again. “And I’m looking for my baby.”

“Wait, you have a baby?” Jacob asks, but I don’t get to answer because the door to the master bedroom opens and Zoe walks out looking like an angel from heavens with her blonde hair in disarray, her tank top twisted around her waist and the cutest pillow mark is on her right cheek.