He rises up, blue-gray eyes twinkling. “Is that a challenge?”
He doesn’t give me a chance to respond. He slides out and I mewl in protest, but then he’s turning me over and back inside before I can feel too bad about it.
“Don’t make me leave,” he begs. My sex delirious brain thinks for a moment that he means not to make him leave my pussy, but then he continues. “I want to stay. I want to give us a try. I want to be a father. Don’t make me leave.”
I grip the sheets, struggling to find words from the pleasure. I’m on the cusp of another orgasm when his cock disappears. A second later there’s a sharp smack against my ass.
“Answer me,” he demands. “Don’t make me leave.”
I look back at him, my eyes lazy. “I won’t.”
A look of relief washes over his face and then he’s fucking me relentlessly until we’re both sated and spent. Somehow, I find myself curled beneath the covers—my body coiled around his as I drift off into one of the most restful sleeps I’ve had in months.
Chapter Twelve
Alba
I wake up sometime in the very early morning to cool sheets. Blinking my heavy eyes open I find the spot beside me now empty of Travis’s body. With a groan, I sit up. Before disappointment can settle too far into my chest, I hear murmurings from down the hall. I heave my body from the bed, pulling on a sleep shirt since I didn’t bother with pajamas after I returned to bed from using the bathroom.
Down the small hall I pause, peeking into the nursery.
My heart clenches in the most delicious way when I see Travis in the nursery. He dances around the room with Dahlia in his arms, singing softly to her while feeding her a bottle. I watch for a few minutes before he looks up and notices me in the doorway.
“Hey,” he says in a sleep-thick voice. “I heard her over the monitor in your room so I thought I’d tend to her and let you sleep.”
“The bed got cold,” I say in reply.
“Is that your way of saying you missed me?”
I give a small laugh, stepping further into the nursery. “Maybe.”
Travis stops dancing as I come to his side. We both peer down at Dahlia in awe as she sucks at her bottle, already half-asleep once more.
“How did we make something so perfect?” he asks me. I’m not sure he even means to say it aloud.
“I don’t know,” I reply anyway. “But I’m thankful every day for her.”
Clearing his throat, he murmurs, “I’m glad I finally found my way back here. To both of you.”
There’s a nervous glint in his eyes but it disappears when I say, “Me too.”
I’m fiercely independent. To a fault. I can admit it, but I’ve always had trouble pushing past it. Now I can accept that I like spending time with Travis. I enjoy his company and miss when he’s gone.
I want him to have his time with Dahlia and since I trust him with her now, I turn around and go back to bed.
It’s maybe thirty minutes later and I’ve barely dozed back asleep when the mattress dips with his added weight.
“Are you awake?” he whispers softly into the darkened room.
“Mhmm,” I hum sleepily. His body scoots closer, a second later his arm wraps around my body. “Are…are you spooning me?”
“Shut up,” he growls against my neck, “I want to hold you.”
“Did she give you too much trouble?”
“No. She’s always an angel. She gets that from me.”
I smile sleepily. “You wish.”
When I wake up Travis is missing yet again. Slipping from the bed, I quickly use the bathroom and pull on some leggings and a t-shirt. Down the hall I poke my head into Dahlia’s room but I’m not at all surprised when I find it empty.
As I start down the stairs, I hear Travis in the kitchen and he’s definitely talking to her.
“Who’s the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen? You. Mommy’s a close second but you knocked her out of first place.” There’s some banging of pots and pans and then he says, “Daddy loves you so much. I didn’t know I could love like this.”
I pause on the stairs, my eyes falling closed. This is what he was missing out on by keeping her a secret. More so, this is what I was keeping from our daughter. True, she’s an infant, she won’t remember him not being here initially, but I will and it’s my fault. I could’ve tried harder to get ahold him. I could’ve…
“Are you sleeping on the stairs standing up?”
My eyes pop wide open to find Travis standing at the bottom of the stairs, a mug of coffee halfway to his lips. I have to admit my Gilmore Girls mug looks strange in his hands, but even stranger it doesn’t make me mad.
“No, just needed a moment,” I mutter, coming down the rest of the stairs.
In the kitchen I find Dahlia kicking happily in her vibrating bouncer. She’s freshly changed and dressed for the day. He even put one of her headbands on her.
“I made eggs and bacon for breakfast. Hope that’s okay.”
“It’s great.” I give him a hesitant smile and his eyes narrow a bit. “What?”
He touches his thumb and forefinger to my chin. “Don’t get shy on me. Not after everything we shared last night.”
“I’m sorry.” I feel my cheeks heat. “This is…just weird for me. Relationships are…not something I’m good at or have much experience with.”
I look away from him because it feels almost shameful to admit that I prefer my own company over others, but it’s true. I’ve never met someone worth giving up my time for. But Travis…it seems he’s worth giving up all my previous notions.
Travis shrugs like it’s no big deal. “I don’t either. We’ll learn together.” Then like some English gentleman out of a Jane Austen novel he grabs my hand and places a tender kiss on my knuckles. “There’s no way to know how things will go or turn out. You just have to trust the process.”
“Trust the process?” I try not to smile.
He grins. “Trust me.” He rubs the back of his head. “More like we have to trust each other.”
I give a small nod because he has a good point. I could hurt him as easily as he could me.
“What happened to my pen?” I ask belatedly, spooning some scrambled eggs onto my plate.
“Oh, you remember that now, huh?” He laughs a little. “You’ll get that back when you’ve earned it.”
“Earned it? It’s my pen,” I scoff, both of us sitting down at the table. Dahlia flails her hands, an excited giggle bubbling out of her.
“Yeah.” He cocks his head. “You have to earn it back.”
“When?” I ask incredulously. This man has to be kidding me. He stole my pen.
He gives me a smug smile. “I don’t know yet. But I will.”
Chapter Thirteen
Travis
“You’re smiling and it’s freaking me out.”
I arch a brow at Jessie. “Do I never smile?”