Page 42 of Forbidden King (Magnolia Falls)

I barked out a laugh. “Nah. It’s all you, dude. The Easter Bunny knows who deserves all the eggs.”

“Like Santa Claus knows I’m a good boy because my elf, Tater Tot, told him to bring me that motorized Jeep?”

This fucking kid, man.

He’d named his Christmas elf Tater Tot, which had been hilarious on its own… but Nash having to do all this elf shit every night was the funniest part of all. The guys and I got really into it, coming up with ideas every day to help him knock it out of the park. I’d built a mini fireplace for his elf, and we’d told him that Tater Tot must have built it.

We hadn’t had fairy-tale childhoods, so if we could give one to Cutler, we’d move fucking mountains to make that happen.

“Exactly. It’s impossible for anyone to miss that you’re the coolest kid on the planet.” I stepped into my bathroom and leaned against the vanity as I listened to the sound of his laughter.

“‘Cause I’ve got the coolest uncles and pops around. And now that I have all my girls by my side, it’s even better.”

“You’ve got a lot of girls, Beefcake. You better pace yourself.”

“I like all the girls, just like you, Uncle King. ‘Cause I want to be just like you when I grow up.”

“I thought you wanted to be just like me?” Nash grumped in the background, and I laughed.

“But Uncle King is the coolest. Even my other uncles told me that. They said he gets all the girls, and he builds things with his hands.”

I was laughing hard now, knowing Nash was irritated as hell.

“I build things with my hands, too,” Nash said, trying to act like he was irritated, but I heard the humor in his voice. I’d never known a better father than Nash Heart. He showed up every fucking day for his boy. He sacrificed and put his own needs aside. I only hoped I would be half the father he was if that day ever came.

“But you don’t get the girls, Pops.”

A fit of laughter coming from Cutler filled my ear, and I guessed Nash had scooped him up and was tickling him. “Hey, I’ve gotyou, Beefcake. I don’t need a girl. I’ve got all I need right here.”

My goddamn chest squeezed at his words.

Nash was raising this little guy on his own. Cutler’s mom, Tara, rarely came into town anymore, and he was doing this whole parenting thing solo. Well, with the help of his four misfit best friends.

“Okay, say goodbye to Uncle King. I’ve got to get this stink bomb into the bathtub,” Nash said over Cutler’s laughter.

“All right. I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Have a good night.” I ended the call and reached over to turn on the water and stripped down before stepping into the shower.

Would it hurt to give myself some relief one more time today? Now that I’d let myself go there, it was all I could think about.

Something caught my eye as I contemplated things. My hand was literally ready—ready to give in to temptation once again. But there was a fucking dandelion right there, between my body wash and my shampoo.

I let the water beat down on my back as I thought about it.

When had she come in here?

There was no way in hell it was when I was in here.

I would have known if she was hiding in my shower, wouldn’t I?

Well, my need to grip my dick was no longer my priority. I had a flashback to the glorious minutes I’d given myself, and sure, I’d thought of Saylor. But I hadn’t said anything incriminating.

I washed my hair quickly as I thought about it.

I did have a habit of being somewhat vocal.

Women had always appreciated my charm right along with my filthy mouth.

Did I say her name aloud?

---