Page 49 of The Billionaire Alpha's Assistant

“Because it’s got too much sugar.”

Mia seems to think about that for a moment, her little six-year-old brow scrunching up in the most adorable way. “Cocoa Pebbles are a breakfast food, and Mom says it has a ton of sugar.”

I have to hand it to the kid — her logic is sound. “That’s true . . .” I admit, choosing my words carefully so I don’t end up shooting myself in the foot. “But you can’t have pie.”

“Can I have Cocoa Pebbles?”

“Not today.”

“Why not?”

“Because your mother made eggs.”

Mia groans and throws her head toward the ceiling in exasperation.

“I’ll tell you what,” I say, sitting down on the edge of the desk. “If you go out there and eat the breakfast your mother cooked for you, you can have an extra-giant slice of pie for dessert tonight.”

“With snow cream?” she asks, her little brown eyes lighting up.

“Yes, with snow cream,” I say with a chuckle, my chest squeezing with love and pride. Mia is only in first grade, and the kid is already one hell of a negotiator.

“Okay!” she says, bounding up out of the chair in a way that tells me she’s totally satisfied with the outcome. She gets caught in the phone cord she wrapped around herself, and I hurry over to unwind it.

By the time we get back to the kitchen, Alex is busy corralling Hugo into the chair. Elena is already seated at the table, nursing her little one while eating pumpkin pie straight out of the tin. I shoot my sister a wide-eyed look, glancing pointedly at Mia, and she shoves the pie tin to the side, brushing a few crumbs off the baby.

Alex sets a sippy cup down in front of Hugo while squeezing ketchup onto his plate, her eyes glazing over in that busy way of hers that tells me she forgot something for the kids’ meal.

But before she can wander off in search of a fork or bib, I grab my mate around the waist and haul her into my lap. Alex giggles and pretends to fight it, but I can tell her heart’s not in it. It takes a minute, but then her body relaxes, and she nuzzles her nose against me.

“How did you get her to come out?” she murmurs, reaching up to run her fingers over the stubble along my jaw. “Last I heard, she was on a very important conference call with Beijing.”

I shrug. “I made her an offer she couldn’t refuse. We’ll be paying her off later in pie.”

Alex snorts, and I breathe in her delicious chocolate-and-caramel scent. With my mate’s perfect curves nestled against certain parts of my anatomy, it’s all I can do to keep things G-rated in front of my family.

It’s only been an hour since our drowsy lovemaking this morning, and already I’m imagining all the things I’m going to do once I finally get Alex alone.

“You know what I was thinking,” I whisper, bringing my mouth close to her ear.

“What?”

“I was thinking I could do the dishes tonight since you guys are doing all the cooking.”

“Ooh. Tell me more . . .” Alex purrs in an exaggerated seductive tone.

My heart beats faster at the images forming in my mind, and I glance down to the end of the table to check that my sister isn’t listening. Elena is busy burping the baby, and she doesn’t have incredible shifter hearing the way Jake and I do.

“I really want to make sure we get that kitchen island cleared off . . . in case we feel like reenacting our first Thanksgiving together.”

“Ahh,” Alex sighs, wriggling in my lap so her ass just barely teases my cock. “You know how I love a clean kitchen island.”

“Well, it won’t be clean for long,” I admit, stroking my thumb along the inside of her knee.

“Yes, well, a woman’s work is never done,” says Alex in a breezy, sarcastic tone.

“Work is definitely not what I had in mind,” I growl. “Unless you’d like to get going on baby number three . . .”

“Hmm . . .” Alex’s voice cracks with amusement as she leans in closer. “I don’t think we need to worry about that anymore.”

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