Page 73 of Unwilling Bratva Bride

“Well,” I looked around, noticing that the patio door at the back of the house was open. I guess I can find the wife.”

When I reached the back deck, which was still one of my favorite spots in the house, I saw Adley sitting on the lowest platform with her easel in front of her. Grace was plopped inside what we lovingly called the “Yoda Pod,” happily squeaking.

I did everything I could to keep my steps quiet. I still loved sneaking up on Adley, but Grace looked in my direction as I got closer, and her delighted cooing just got louder, giving me away.

“So much for that plan.”

Adley turned around, grinning as she shook her head. “Your daughter is better than a guard dog.”

Going straight for the little stinker, I reached down to pick up her, but Adley was quick to swat me away.

“Um, absolutely not. You’re filthy. No cuddles until you shower.” She glared playfully at me, and I put on an exaggerated pout. “Do not give me that face. You need a bath as much as your daughter. But you can’t blame it on finger paints.”

Laughing, I looked inside the little playpen of sorts. There were several large sheets of paper taped to the bottom, and Grace’s hands and feet were covered in an array of colors that she’d smeared over her masterpieces.

“Training her early, I see.”

Adley got up from the deck, stretching. The low cut of her tank stretched over her breasts, and I couldn’t stop myself from staring intently. Her chest had grown a bit—apparently a side effect of pregnancy and breastfeeding—and my cock twitched as Adley’s nipples stood out against the thin fabric of her shirt.

“She saw me painting and kept grabbing for the paints, so…” Adley gestured at the Yoda Pod. “I’d intended to save thefinger paints for when she was maybe one, but here we are. At least she hasn’t put her hands in her mouth.”

As if on cue, Grace gave her fingers a good suck and immediately cried. The paint couldn’t possibly taste good, but at least it was nontoxic.

“Well, shit. Okay, inside the both of you. You’re getting baths.”

Adley scooped up Grace, tickling her to distract me from the unfortunate paint flavor, and I smirked.

No one was ever truly “ready” to be a parent, but watching Adley with our daughter over the past few months has been incredible. I tried my damnedest to be around as much as possible, too. Between the two of us and her pair of overprotective uncles, this little girl had an entire house wrapped around her finger.

It was perfect.

Adley started inside, and I followed along all the way up the two flights of stairs to our room.

“You know, we’re going to need to call those contractors again. I’m not waiting another three weeks for them to get started.”

I nodded when Adley looked over her shoulder. “I’m on it, sweetheart. I’ll put the fear of God in them.”

She knew how well I could do it, too, and Adley rolled her eyes. Yes, she was right. I needed to play it a little nicer with the company we’d found to add another room onto the third floor. Still, Grace wasn’t going to fit in her bassinet forever, and she needed her own room.

“Okay, little paint fiend. In the bath.”

Grace squirmed happily in Adley’s arms as she brought our daughter to the bathroom and began to strip her down for a bath. The sound of rushing water filled the quiet room, and I headed directly to the hamper to deposit my nasty clothes.

It was a shower right after that, and the water ran red and pink for several minutes before I got all the blood off.

“Why are you so gross, anyway? I thought it was a recon job?” Adley called out.

“It was. Unfortunately, one of the men got twitchy and started lighting up the place during the meeting. The Irish are in shambles after Donovan, and they couldn’t hold their own against the Italians. Good for us, though. We were able to basically decimate the remaining few, and it won’t come back to the Vadims. When you see an opportunity…”

Adley hummed. “You have to take it. Fair enough. But please be careful. Okay?”

I turned around to face her, meeting her eyes through the haze of the shower.

“Always, babe. I promise.”

After Grace and I were clean, Adley dried off the baby while I got dressed. Dinner was in dire need by the time we were finished, and I went back downstairs to cook as Adley sat on the couch nearby to feed Grace.

“Nope, that’s not it, hun. Come on.” Looking over at them, I watched Adley try to get Grace properly latched with a grin. “There you go.”

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