Page 108 of Steel

The difference in their bond and the one I had with my father is so startling that the little girl inside me weeps for something she never got to have. The adult me is just glad that this beautiful little girl does, at least from her father.

I wonder if Steel would be open to me talking to him about Heather and Lyric’s relationship or if it’s still taboo. This thing between us is new, and as much as us being together as a couple scares me, losing him and essentially Lyric terrifies me a thousand times more. What if I bring it up and he’s not receptive to it?

“Daddy, you promised to do the face masks with me tonight.”

My eyes pop open at Lyric’s words, and I stare at the crimson flush that spreads over Steel’s cheeks.

No. Freaking. Way.

Is my big, badass biker . . . blushing?

It’s freaking adorable.

“That I did. Go get the stuff,” he tells her.

As soon as she runs out of the room, I crawl over to where he is and slide into his lap, tossing my arms over his shoulders and staring down into his face.

“Have I told you how much I love that you love your daughter?” I murmur.

His hands grip the sides of my ass cheeks. “No, but goin’ to tell you how much I love that you love her.”

I brush my lips over his. “It’s not like it’s a hardship. Lyric is one of the easiest people to love.”

“My girl, she ain’t ever had someone like you in her life.”

Even as I don’t want it to, my mind drifts to Emmy Lou, and I tuck my lip between my teeth so I don’t say anything.

Steel sighs, reaching up to pull it out. “Don’t know where your head went, Hummingbird. She’s got a good relationship with Em, but it ain’t like this. Never has been.” Then he aims an intensely heated look straight at me. “Not for either of us.”

I think, for the first time, I believe his words. It’s rare that I get moments like this with Steel, so I don’t take it for granted. Instead, I snuggle closer and bury my face in his neck. He grunts when I wiggle around because of the bulge resting under my ass, but it’s something we both ignore as that’s not what this moment is about for us.

Truthfully, he seems to have a need for this non-sexual closeness tonight as much as I do.

That’s how we stay until we hear Lyric’s tiny feet barreling toward us from the hall. Then he grabs my chin in his hand and gives me a quick heated kiss before helping me from his lap.

I sit across from them, stealthily recording from my phone because I’ve never witnessed something so profoundly enchanting as my big, beautiful biker getting a facial from his little girl. It’s a memory I want to always have because one day it’s all we’ll ever have left of someone. These two . . . I never want to forget a moment with them.

“Bailee, are you fuckin’ recordin’ this?” Steel growls, glaring at me through the eye holes of the face mask.

I chew on the inside of my cheek, doing my best not to snicker at him trying to pretend to be angry, but the way his beard moves from his lips curling into a smile tells me he’s not really mad. So, I stick my tongue out at him, not missing the way his eyes heat at the move.

No one can say we don’t have some awesome chemistry, that’s for freaking sure.

Another hour passes full of warmth and laughter before Steel is declaring bedtime. The routine is quick as it’s something they’ve done so many times over the years. As soon as Steel hasLyric rolled tightly like a burrito in her blanket, her head lulls to the side as her eyes settle on me standing just inside the door.

“You’ll be here in the morning?”

“I’ll be here,” I reply quietly. “Blueberry or chocolate chip pancakes?”

“Chocolate chip!”

I turn to Steel to ask him silently if all the supplies are in there, and he gives a nod in confirmation, so I turn back to her with a smile. “Absolutely. A whole stack of them just for you.”

“Yay,” she says sleepily, her eyes fluttering quickly as she fights sleep. “Love you, Bee.”

Water fills my eyes as my breathing backs up in my lungs. My heart races so quickly that I swear it’s going to come right out of my chest. This little girl and her father have so much power over me and neither of them know it.

“Love you too, my beautiful little heart song,” I whisper, blowing her a kiss.

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