She swallows. "You promise to make sure I get full custody of my daughter?"
"It’s my top priority," I murmur.
She peers up into my eyes, and whatever she sees there must satisfy her.
"Fine," she says in a low voice.
"I didn’t hear you," I drawl.
Her gaze narrows. "Fine. I said fine. Okay? You jerkass, you asshole, you—"
I lower my lips to hers.
Mistake, mistake.All of my senses go on alert, but goddamn it, her nearness is driving me insane, and while technically, I’ve agreed to no sex in the marriage, we’re not yet married, so I’m allowed to kiss her, right?
Her muscles lock and tension pours off of her. She freezes in my arms as I brush my lips against hers once, twice. I want to taste her, to consume her. Instead, I nibble on her lower lip, then lick her mouth until, with a sigh, she parts her lips. I thrust my tongue inside her mouth, suck on her tongue, drag my tongue across her mouth, and drink from her. A moan bleeds from her mouth. I release her hands, then wrap her thick blonde hair around my hand and tug. Her head falls back, and I trail kisses down her chin, down the length of her creamy neck. I suck on the skin at the base of her throat and feel her body shudder. She brings her hands up to grip my shoulders and digs her fingers in. I trail tiny kisses as I retrace my path back to her mouth. I bite down on her lower lip and her entire body jolts. I close my lips over hers, thrust my tongue inside her mouth, and deepen the kiss as I grind my thickening arousal into the soft flesh between her legs. A groan trembles up her throat, and I swallow it down, tilt my head, slide my hand between the gaping folds of her robe to cup her breast and squeeze as I shove my thigh between both of hers. She grinds herself against me, and begins to ride my leg.
"That’s it," I growl into her mouth, "get yourself off, Princess." I release her breast, only to untie her bathrobe and shove it off of her. Then, I grip her ass and haul her even closer, until every part of her torso is plastered to mine. She throws her arms around me, pushes her body into mine as she rubs her soft center against the thickness of my cock that tents the crotch of my pants.
A trembling seizes her and her back arches. I know she’s close, that she is going to come, when a cry emerges from the baby monitor.
9
Elsa
He tears his mouth from mine at the same time that I push away from him. I stumble back, and the cool air rushes between us. My pulse pounds at my temples; my chest rises and falls. He rakes his gaze down my camisole-covered chest, and my breasts hurt. He raises his gaze to mine, and I notice those golden eyes have gone even lighter. Flecks of green spark within them. His nostrils flare and he takes a step toward me, when another wail from Avery fills the tense silence.
He freezes. His features wear an expression of panic. I almost giggle at that. Guess the reality of living with a baby is setting in, eh?
I bend, grab my bathrobe and slip it on, then spin around and head for the bedroom. I slip inside and walk over to where Avery is standing up in the play area. I scoop her up and rock her. "It’s okay, honey. What’s the matter? Do you need your diaper changed again, baby?"
I carry her over to the changing table and lay her down before opening the sides of her diaper. I carefully change her. When I’m done, I glance around to find him lurking in the doorway.
"Do you mind dropping this into the waste basket?" I hold out the poopy package containing her soiled diaper.
He seems taken aback, then prowls over to me. He pinches the parcel between his forefinger and thumb, his features slightly frozen, like he’s horrified but also fascinated by what I’ve asked him to do.
"It’s in the bathroom," I gesture.
He stalks away, walks inside the bathroom, and emerges a few seconds later. By which time, I am bent over a warbling Avery.
She grabs my fingers, and I pull her to standing. She glances past me and her gaze fixes on him. Her features instantly crack into a wide smile. She releases my finger and raises one hand toward him. Damn it, of course, she likes him. A bit difficult to resist that larger-than-life asshole, isn’t it? And she’s only female, after all.
She wiggles her fingers at him. I sense him move, and he comes over to stand next to me.
"Up." She laughs up at him. I turn to find his features have softened. He reaches for her, and she latches onto his hand. In fact, she releases my other hand and holds that arm up to him. He scoops her up and holds her close to his chest.
"Scooty, play Scooty." She warbles a few other unintelligible words, then smashes her fist into his face.
His gaze widens, and I hold my breath as he laughs. "You’re a strong girl, aren’t you? Just like your mama, huh? As beautiful and as stubborn, eh?"
He thinks I’m beautiful?Heat flushes my cheeks.
He bends his head and pretends to bite her finger. Avery bursts out laughing. He tickles her and she wriggles in his grasp. She grabs his hair and tugs. He raises his head and the two stare at each other.
Something hot tugs at my chest. Jesus, my daughter is going to fall for him.I’mgoing to fall for him. And then when we leave him—which we’ll have to do when he finds out the real reason I agreed to marry him, we’re both going to be heartbroken. I haven’t even married him, and his charisma is overpowering us. I jump up to my feet, walk over, and take her from him.
"Hey," he holds his hands up as if still holding her, "what was that for?"