Page 39 of The Keeper

I exhaled a shaky breath, feeling the weight of everything crashing down on me again. “My boss called. I was supposed to open the bakery this morning and completely forgot. He’s—well, let’s just say I’m not his favorite person right now.”

Dane’s arm tightened around me. “He giving you a hard time about taking care of our daughter?”

“Not exactly,” I said, absently stroking Avery’s hair. “But he did threaten to demote me if I can’t manage my time better.”

His chest vibrated with a low growl. “Manage your time better? The fuck? You were at the hospital with our kid. What’s he expect you to do?”

“I should have called to let him know what was happening,” I said quickly, though I couldn’t deny the warmth spreading through my chest at his protective tone. “I promised to work double shifts for a while to make up for it.”

“And when the hell are you supposed to see Avery if he’s got you working double shifts?” he asked, his jaw flexing and tightening.

I shrugged. “I’ll figure something out. I have to—I don’t have another choice.”

He remained silent for a long moment, his thumb drawing circles on my hip. “What if you did?”

“What do you mean?” I asked, tipping my head back to peer up at him.

“I mean, I work for a security firm and can take care of both you and Avery. You wouldn’t have to work for some asshole who doesn’t give a shit about you or our daughter.”

My heart raced at his words, equal parts tempted and terrified by the offer. “Dane, I can’t just quit my job and depend on you. We barely know each other.”

He raised an eyebrow. “I beg to differ. We made a baby together, darlin’. I’d say I know you pretty damn well.”

The offer was tempting. So tempting. But the rational part of my brain knew it was too soon.

“Has she had meds recently?” I asked, shifting to a safer topic. The swelling on Avery’s head appeared to have gone down significantly overnight.

“I went off the discharge paperwork and gave her some pain meds when she woke up at three after checking to make sure she wasn’t running a fever. She settled pretty quick, so I’m hoping that means we’re in the clear.”

“I’m—”

His brown eyes narrowed. “The next word out of your pretty mouth better not be an apology.”

“It isn’t. I was going to say I’m not used to having help.” Although, I was more than a little curious to know what he would have done if I had apologized.

Something dark and possessive flickered in his eyes. “Guess you’ll just have to get used to it because I’m not going anywhere.”

There was nothing erotic in what he said, but the words sent a thrill of sensation down my spine. I was keenly aware of how thin the material of my tank top was when my nipples peaked against his chest.

Dane’s fingertips skimmed the curve of my breast when he noticed my body’s reaction, and I pulled my bottom lip between my teeth to keep from moaning.

“Baby,” he murmured, voice husky with desire. “You keep looking at me like that, and I’m gonna have to do something about it.”

“Like what?” My breath caught when he slid his hand down to squeeze the back of my thigh.

“Like put little miss back in her crib so I can bend you over the back of the couch and fuck your cunt with my tongue until I’m drowning in your juices.” His fingers moved higher until he was cupping my pussy through my panties.

The air between us crackled with electricity. I wanted nothing more than to climb onto his lap, pull my underwear to the side, and lose myself in the feel of him.

“Dane,” I whimpered, torn between desire and the awareness of our sleeping daughter nestled between us.

“But we’re taking things slow,” he reminded me, returning his hand to my shoulder.

“Right.” I bobbed my chin in a shaky nod and shifted slightly, trying to ease the throbbing ache when Avery stirred against his chest. She smacked her lips together several times before exhaling.

“Tell me something,” he said once her breaths evened back out. “We talked about the day she was born, but what was she like as a newborn?”

A lump formed in my throat as I thought back to those first overwhelming days. “She was perfect,” I whispered. “So tiny and fragile. I was terrified I’d break her.”

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