Chapter Fifteen
It had been a while since he’d spent most of an afternoon cuddled up with a little girl watching a movie and for the life of him, he couldn’t remember why it had been so long—having Devy curled up in front of him around the dino she’d named Spaghetti was great.
The pain meds he’d administered after giving her a bath seemed to help and while she definitely wasn’t 100 percent, she was at least better and he loved the way her sweet bottom nestled into his lap. It maybe made him kind of a lizard brain but he had to concentrate on not getting hard with her snuggled against him like this, her hair sweet-smelling, the way she wrapped her whole hand around his thumb, and she made these cute little sighs.
But then again, it made sense that he hadn’t cuddled a little girl for hours lately—he had lots of “patients,” could easily find play partners when he went to Hive, but a little girl of his own? It’d been a while. And even when he’d had one, it hadn’t felt like this. Being with Devaney felt good in a way he couldn’t articulate. It was justright.
At the moment, though, his little girl seemed restless.
“What’s up, buttercup? You’re squirming.”
As much as his dick might appreciate the friction, more so he wanted to make sure she was okay.
“I should probably start getting ready to go. I need to get dressed and go to the mall to pick up my car and get some chores done before Carter comes back with the boys.”
His arms tightened around her in a squeeze of possessiveness. As far as he was concerned, Devy shouldn’t go anywhere that wasn’t within shouting distance of him. But she had a life that predated him and she probably wouldn’t appreciate him trying to ogre-stomp all over it and throwing her over his shoulder to haul her upstairs where he could look after her properly. He definitely wouldn’t interfere with her kids. Unless she asked for his help, anything that had to do with Logan and Chase was her call.
That didn’t mean he wouldn’t try to wheedle a little more time out of her. He’d keep her in his arms, in his house, in his life for as long as possible.
Eric hit pause on the movie and rolled her over so she was facing him, Spaghetti squished between them. He would’ve never thought to name a stegosaurus Spaghetti, but it was hilariously perfect.
“Would you like to spend more time together if I can make that happen or are you ready to go home and have some alone time? Tell me the truth, buttercup,” he said, putting a little warning into his tone because Devy was always thinking about other people and what she should do, not what she wanted or needed.
That was some bullshit. That woman deserved to be treated like a princess. And if she was supporting those boys day in and day out, someone ought to be supporting her. But she’d clearly been left blowing in the wind for far too long—way before her divorce it sounded like.
She looked up at him with those big cornflower blues and licked her lips while her cheeks pinked, gave him the sweetest smile. “If the world were a perfect place…”
It was crazy-making how she didn’t finish that sentence.If the world were a perfect place I would stay here with you, forever and always. If the world were a perfect place, I’d be your special little patient all the time. If the world were a perfect place, you would hold me and never let go.
“Well,” she said, a half-smile, half-grimace making her face look pinched when she’d been so easy moments before. “I would love to spend more time with you but I’ve got laundry to do, dinner to make, an apartment to clean, and I have to get my car before I can get started on any of that. So I guess adulting will have to take a front seat…as much as I’ve liked being your little girl.”
God she was gorgeous when she blushed, that perfect peony shade of pink blooming on her cheeks. And the way she said she’d liked being his little girl did something to his insides. Maybe medical science would say it was nonsense, but there was for sure a warmth burning softly in his whole chest and lower.
“I’ve loved you being my babygirl and my special little patient this weekend. So how about I make some calls, and we’ll keep this party going a little longer?”
Hope flashed in her eyes before she looked away and muttered, “Some party I am.”
“Hey now, none of that. No one talks about my Devy baby that way,” he said, taking her chin between the pad of his thumb and a knuckle to force her to meet his gaze again. “You’re perfect just the way you are, and I shouldn’t have phrased it like that. I love spending time with you and taking care of you. Being snugglebugs on the couch with my buttercup is better than any rager, okay? Say ‘Yes, Daddy.’”
“Yes, Daddy,” she replied, the flush of her cheeks darkening, and he kissed the tip of her nose, along the crest of her brows and both her cheeks.
“That’s better.”
He gave her another squeeze before maneuvering them into a sitting position and grabbing his phone. “Now let me make some arrangements.”
* * *
Half an hour later, the chimes of Eric’s doorbell resonated through the house and her heart went wild, like a crowd in a stadium. She’d been drowsing with her head in his lap, Spaghetti clutched to her belly, toasty warm under a blanket, but she sat bolt upright at the sound.
Oh no. She’d meant to get up and get dressed when Eric had said his friends would be here soon but instead he’d tucked her under his arm and then she’d turned into a sleepy puddle since she hadn’t gotten much rest last night and he was so comfortable. That perfect mix of strong and cuddly.
Dammit, though, she could not have anyone see her dressed in this baby blue hospital gown with planets and stars and moons all over it. Couldnot.
“Whoa there, little girl. Where do you think you’re going?”
Eric set his big hands on her biceps, stroked her shoulders with his thumbs.
“I have to change! Or hide. Eric, no one can see me like this, and definitely not your friends.”