“Oh God,” she breathes, and I lean up, capturing her mouth, feeling her pussy flutter around my cock. As she falls over the edge, I kiss her, my hips jerking as I lose myself inside her. As we both shudder, she collapses against my chest, and I wrap my arms around her, holding her as close as physically possible.
As quiet settles between us and our breath returns to normal, I run my hand down her back. “In case you don’t get it, baby, I think you’re hot as fuck,” I say, and she leans back to meet my gaze, then laughs before dropping her forehead to my chest.
“I’m not,” she denies once again, and frustration makes my muscles tighten.
“You’re perfect for me.” I grasp her face between my hands, and her eyes soften as they search mine. “I love you, everything about you, every inch of you.”
“Tide.” She shakes her head, and I notice her eyes fill with tears. I don’t give her a chance to argue. I cut her off by covering her mouth with mine, vowing to do everything in my power to make her see herself the way I do.
________________
Leaning against the counter in the kitchen, I watch Aria as she bends over to put her plate in the dishwasher, and I reach over to smack her ass.
“Seriously?” She looks at me over her shoulder, rolling her eyes.
“Sorry, babe, but if you shove it in my face, I’m gonna smack it.” I grin at her over the rim of my coffee mug.
“I’m not shoving my ass in your face.”
“It feels like you’re taunting me.” I drop my gaze to her round bottom that is even more pronounced in the leggings she’s wearing. “I might need you to change before Olivia gets here. I don’t think I’ll have the willpower to keep my hands off your ass today if you’re wearing those pants.”
“Sorry, sir, but you’re just going to have to dig deep and find the willpower to keep your hands to yourself, because I don’t have anything to change into.” She picks up her coffee and glances at the clock, something she’s done about a dozen times in the last fifteen minutes.
Not liking that she’s nervous about meeting Anna, I lean forward enough to grasp the bottom of her shirt, then tug until she’s standing right in front of me. “Nervous?” I tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, and she lets out a deep breath.
“I am a little.” Her eyes search mine. “Are you worried?”
“No, Olivia’s opinion is the only one I care about, and I already know she likes you.” I wrap my hand around the side of her neck, then lean in and kiss her forehead when the doorbell rings. “Ready?” When she nods, I place my cup of coffee on the counter, then take her hand and lead her to the front door.
As soon as it opens, Olivia squeezes past Aria and me, shouting, “Sorry, can’t talk! Gotta pee!”
“Olivia, you don’t say that!” Anna yells, and Aria laughs, then sobers when Anna looks at her. “You must be Aria.”
“I am. It’s nice to meet you.” Aria holds out her hand, and Anna glances down at it before looking at me.
“Olivia said you three are spending the day at the lake.”
“That’s the plan,” I agree, biting back the urge to call her out for being rude.
“You need to make sure she wears a life jacket.” She glances at Aria quickly before meeting my gaze once more. “And I’d prefer if she didn’t stay anywhere but here or at your parents’ during your week together.”
“You can prefer all you want, but I’m not guaranteeing you anything,” I say, and Aria’s hand tightens around mine while anger curls in my gut. “If you’ve got a problem with that, then you can take me back to court.”
She opens her mouth like she’s going to say something but snaps it shut when Olivia comes bouncing in. “Hey, Dad.”
“Hey, angel.” I pick her up, and she wraps her arms around my neck. “Are you excited about today?”
“Yes.” She grins at me, then looks at Aria and leans half out of my hold so she can give her a hug.
“Hey, honey.” Aria smiles, touching her cheek.
“Give me a hug, Olivia,” Anna snaps, making Aria and Olivia both jump.
“Jesus, Anna,” I growl.
“What? I need to get on the road,” she says, taking Olivia from my hold. “I’ll see you in a week. Make sure you call me.”
“I will, Mommy,” Olivia agrees, and Anna sends me a look before turning on her heel and storming off.
“Do you want to help me pack for our picnic?” Aria asks Olivia while I shut the front door.
“Yes, can we make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches?”
“Absolutely,” Aria replies, walking to the kitchen with Olivia at her side.
“While you two do that, I’m gonna get the canoe in the truck,” I tell them, refusing to let Anna’s bullshit ruin our day.
“We’ll be in here,” Aria says softly, her eyes scanning my face, I’m sure trying to figure out how pissed I am.
The thing she has yet to understand is that I’m normally pissed whenever I gotta deal with Anna. And honestly, I no longer give a fuck. My goal is to make Aria a permanent part of my life, whether Anna likes it or not.
“Now remember, angel. That water is cold, so we need to do everything we can to make sure we don’t end up in it,” I tell Olivia while double checking that her life jacket is buckled properly.
“I know, Dad.” She looks over my shoulder to where Aria is standing and rolls her eyes like Can you believe this guy? He must think I’m an idiot.
“I’m just reminding you, since last time we were on the lake, you thought it was funny to rock the boat back and forth, and we ended up in the water.”
“That was funny, but it’s too cold to go swimming today.” She shrugs as I stand, then I watch her bounce toward Aria and grab her hand so she can drag her toward the canoe we carried down to the dock when we got here.
Watching the two of them together, a sense of contentment like I’ve never felt before fills me. It’s always been easy for me to date and find women to spend time with, but none of them were women I could imagine bringing into my daughter’s life. Even as nice as they were, they were all missing something. Qualities I didn’t even know I was looking for until I found them in Aria, from her quiet strength, to her vulnerability and resilience. Everything that makes her, are traits I’ve come to admire and appreciate more than she even knows.
“Dad, are you coming?” Olivia yells, and I snap out of my thoughts and focus on her and Aria. I find them trying to figure out how they will get into the canoe.
“Yeah.” I jog toward them, and then order, “Get in, you two.” Once they sit as I hold it steady, I take my seat and untie the rope that is tethered to the dock and use the paddle to push us out into the water. As I take us around the small lake, both girls point out different birds, and fish when they jump, and Aria takes a million pictures of Olivia and the trees that have changed from green to varying shades of gold.
When we are safely back on solid ground, we find a grassy area, and I toss out one of the painting blankets I keep in the back of my truck. Aria unpacks the lunch she and Olivia made, which includes hot chocolate, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, chips, veggies, and hummus. As we eat, I know I could get used to days like this, with both my girls.