Page 29 of Snow Harm, No Foul

“I wanted you back here with me. But this is beyond my wildest dreams. You’ve given me the best Christmas gift, angel, and I’m goin’ to be here for the both of you. Don’t care that this is sudden or that we’re still gettin’ to know each other. I’ve got all the time in the world when it comes to you,” I vow, offering my heart to her on a silver platter.

Ivy’s eyes glisten while staring right into my soul. She discards the plate beside her and smooths her hands up my arms to hold my shoulders.

“Do you really mean that? All of it? Because there’s a lot to me that you don’t know. You might learn something that has you ready to run out the door.”

“Won’t happen. I’ll prove myself to you.”

Her smile is more stiff than usual. “If you say so.”

“This is ’cause of Travis, yeah? The things he spewed about you to his friends? You’re expectin’ the worst of me because of it.”

“Why is he the way that he is, Niko? Why didn’t he respect me? I gave him everything I had, but I was too imperfectto please him. Too loud but not enthusiastic enough. High-maintenance but boring. Too fat for him to get hard without me putting in the work, and even when I did, I wasn’t sexy enough for him to enjoy himself. I learned all those things when I went through his texts, and he never once had the balls to tell me to my face. I’m not trying to be hard to please, Niko. I’m just . . . I’m scared.”

Anger burns my blood, turns it to lava in my veins.

I glide my hand from her belly to the curve of her waist, holding her firm. “I had Travis when me and his mother were fifteen. It was a reckless hookup that cost me everythin’ at the time, and I’m still payin’ the price of it. Did what I could to raise him right and show him how to treat those around him with kindness and respect, but clearly, I failed. The way he treated you, Ivy—fuck. I never saw it. Not once when you were together did I think he was acting like his old man did back in the day. Like the world and the people around him were steppin’ stones. That’s my fault. I should’a done a better job of showin’ him how to treat a woman.”

She shakes her head, brows knitting together. “You’re not responsible for his actions. I’m not trying to put the blame on you for the person he became. I just, I don’t understand why or how someone can be so cruel. For as long as I’ve known you, I’ve never seen you treat him poorly. You’ve been a good dad to him. I’m not usually an insecure person, but these past few months . . . yeah.”

“I’m real fuckin’ sorry, angel. You were always too good for him. Too good for the likes of me, too, but I’m not lettin’ you get away the way he did. And this baby is a gift. I’m ready to love the both of you the way you deserve to be loved,” I vow, dipping my head to brush my mouth across hers. “I’ve had a lifetime to prepare for you, Ivy. I’m not the same person I was when I had Travis. There isn’t anythin’ I’m not willin’ to give up to keepyou. No lines I wouldn’t cross or deals I wouldn’t make. You got that?”

“Yeah, Niko. I got that,” she whispers before slanting her lips over mine in a kiss that hits like lightning.

I take her cheek in my palm and stroke her blush. It’s impossible to get close enough to her. Every inch of my body wants to feel the press of her soft, warm skin. If I had it my way, I’d walk around every day with her glued to my front.

Pulling her lip into my mouth, I suck on it gently, teasingly. Ivy grips me tighter, her tiny hands clawing at my shoulders as she tugs me against her. Surprise has me leaning back enough to stare down at her.

Flushed cheeks and pupil-blown eyes greet me. I push her hair out of her face and try to hide a smirk.

“Are you needing more than a few kisses, angel?”

She wets her lips excitedly and tries to yank me against her again. “I’ve been so sensitive, Niko. I’m—I just need you to keep touching me.”

I nip at her mouth and grip her thigh, using it to lift her leg onto the counter. “Where?”

She showed up here in a fucking blizzard with a baggy, ankle-length dress on and clunky winter boots. I was planning on scolding her for the lack of pants, but considering the ease of access I’ve been given to her pussy, I’ll let it go this time.

With her leg up, I pull the laces on her boot and start easing her foot out of it. She watches me with drooping eyelids over the vibrant blue eyes that have visited me in my dreams every night these past few weeks.

I drop the boot to the floor before taking the opposite foot in my hands and bringing it to the countertop. She’s splayed wide open for me now, but I keep my attention fixed to the boot I’m beginning to unlace.

“What a gentleman,” she muses, the corners of her eyes crinkling.

I hum and slide the boot off. It falls to the floor beside the first, and then I’m pinching the edge of her dress, claiming her eyes.

“We’ll need two pairs of slippers here from now on.”

“Matching ones?”

I start lowering myself to my knees before her. “Whatever you want.”

Ivy flutters her lashes, staring down at where I kneel. Her knees are bent, and the skirt of her dress is pulled tight over the V between them. It’s a pretty sight, but not nearly as beautiful as the one I’ll have in a minute.

Hooking my hands around her ankles, I tug her toward me, forcing her legs to spread to the point of discomfort. Her ass hovers over the edge of the counter, and I groan at the close-up view of her cotton-covered pussy.

I click my tongue. “You’re wet, Ivy.”

“I’m always wet around you.”

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