Page 60 of Your Soul to Keep

“The best,” Dylan echoed. “My daddy the best, Shibaby. You wanna play with me and mine best daddy?”

“I’d love to play with you and your best daddy,” I agreed.

Gabe groaned while his mom coughed to cover her laughter.

Giving me a kiss on the cheek, she teased, “You just ruined Gabe’s day.”

Maeve left, and we took Dylan and her favorite doll, a Barbie who had seen better days, to the park.

Gabe slid Dylan into one baby swing, then carefully sat her doll in the one beside her and pushed them both.

My heart waved the white flag.

We ate dinner, read stories, and he begged me to wait for him while he put her to bed. Well, begged was stretching it, but his arguments were convincing.

Twenty minutes later, rubbing a rough hand through his messy black hair, he plodded back down the hall.

Flopping down beside me on the couch, he looked tired. “That should be her down for the night.”

Smiling, I traced the tattoos covering his forearm, and teased, “I think I’ve developed a daddy kink. Can I call you daddy?”

His eyes danced as his mouth twisted to the side. “Are you prepared to get spanked?”

Spanked?

I cocked my head to the side.

He chuckled darkly. “Hm, so it’s like that, is it?”

Laughter bubbled up in my chest. “Gabe,” I admonished. “I was always the good girl to your bad boy.”

Something that looked suspiciously like hurt flickered in his eyes. I barely caught it before he dropped his mask back in place. I hated that.

“What—”

He moved closer, pressing me into the back of the couch. Smirking, he brushed my hair back from my face. “Are you going to be a good girl for me now?”

I smiled, slow and sexy. “I’m going to be such a good girl for you.”

Snaking his hand into the hair at the back of my neck, he held me tight as he dipped his mouth to mine. “You’re not good, Shae. You’re perfect.”

His lips had barely met mine when little feet padded back down the hallway.

“Well, hey there, Daddy!”

I giggled into his mouth as he groaned and dropped his forehead, bouncing it oh so lightly against mine.

Dylan stopped when she saw me, tilting her head to the side and offering me a smile. “Hey there, Shibaby!”

I began to laugh. “I’m going to head home and let you put your baby girl to bed.”

Dylan’s brow lowered. “I not a baby,” she protested, digging her tiny forefinger into her chest. “I a big lady. I a big mommy.” She looked at me, her big blue eyes wide and earnest. “Want to see mine babies?”

“I do,” I admitted, utterly enchanted despite the ache.

“How about Shae-baby helps you and Daddy put all your babies to bed and then you can go to sleep and keep them company so they’re not scared?”

She shook her head, her big blue eyes heavy with fatigue, and countered, “I not tired.”

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