Page 149 of Steel

Man, those words from her will always warm my heart. They’re words I never thought I’d hear from her. Truthfully, I didn’t think I’d be here right now. Not after the way the past was left between us. But no matter what happens from here on out, I’ll never find it in me to regret this time with Steel because being with him this time brought Lyric into my life.

“Love you too, little bit.”

Grabbing the plates from the cabinet, I fill them full with food, smiling as they banter back and forth.

These two are mine.

Mine.

And I’ll do whatever the hell I have to in order to make sure they’re always safe.

Lyric and Steel dive into their plates as soon as I set them down in front of them.

“Princess, you need to paint my nails,” Steel says abruptly.

When I glance at him, he has a little pout hiding behind his beard and mustache. I snicker, bringing a forkful of food to my mouth.

“Really?” Lyric questions, bouncing in her seat.

“You don’t ever ask me,” he pouts, and I have to hide my smile behind a bite of food again.

“Daddy, will you let me paint your nails?” she asks sweetly, batting her lashes.

Steel shrugs like he didn’t just get his way. “I guess.”

Lyric turns to me with a smile. “What color do you think?”

“Hmm.” I tap the handle of my fork against my chin. “I think something super bright would look fantastic on him, what do you think?”

“Oh! I have that really, really bright pink.”

“Perfect. After breakfast,” I finish when she lifts from her chair.

Lyric sticks her bottom lip out, dropping back into her seat, and I toss a wadded-up napkin at her. “Don’t you stick that lip out at me, little bit. Nutrition first, then you can beautify your dad.”

“Oh, all right.”

“That’s my girl,” I reply with a wink, shoving the last bite into my mouth.

Lyric hurries through her breakfast and then jumps from the seat with a happy laugh.

As soon as she’s out of sight, Steel glares at me playfully. “Neon pink? Really?”

I laugh and lift a shoulder before climbing to my feet to clean up the kitchen. “You’re the one who fell for the bullshit I spit out when I was trying to distract you. Do you really think we’d ever compete with each other? Besides, you’ll look perfect sporting bright pink.”

Steel comes up behind me and grabs the back of my neck in a gentle hold, guiding me around until I’m facing him. “You’re trouble.”

“Well, yeah, you already knew that,” I reply, scrunching up my nose and lifting to my toes to brush my lips across his.

I go to pull away, but he tightens his hold, sliding his tongue in to meet mine. Our tongues dance together to a song that’s slowly becoming my favorite. Steel knows how to fucking kiss, that much is for sure. He takes his time, building the heat between us until I’m left a complete mess and needing more.

There’s something so intoxicating about this man, and I want to crawl inside him to stay forever.

Thankfully, he doesn’t let us get too carried away considering bare feet are smacking against the hardwood floor as Lyric comes barreling back toward us.

Steel pulls away and rests his forehead against mine. I close my eyes, savoring the feel of him against me and soaking in the way he holds me so gently, as if I’m the most precious thing to him.

“Guys.”

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