Page 107 of Steel

Okay, so not so vulnerable that he doesn’t allow himself a quick way to protect us straight from his sleep. As long as he doesn’t end up aiming it in my face, I ain’t even mad about it.Experience has taught me that doors only keep people out for so long. If they want in bad enough, they’ll find a way.

As much as I want to hurry and see my little heart song, I take my time, knowing her daddy needs to get a bit of rest. It won’t be much longer ‘til I’m reunited with the tiny version of Steel I’ve fallen in love with.

The front door of Steel’s place flies open as soon as he shuts off the bike. Then a whirlwind of long black hair and girlish squeals comes barreling toward us.

“Bee,” Lyric cries.

A delighted laugh tumbles from me as I scramble from the bike to catch my girl. Her body slams into mine, causing me to wince when the still-healing wound in my thigh pinches a bit.

“Gotta be easy with her, Princess,” Steel admonishes.

“Oops. I’m sorry, Bee. Didn’t hurt you, did I?” Lyric peers up at me with her sparkling green eyes.

Cupping her cheeks in my palms, I smile down at her. “Nothing a Tylenol can’t fix.” I glance over at Steel to find him watching us with so much warmth in his eyes, it makes my heart race. “Leave her be. I’m fine. A little pain ain’t keeping me from loving on my pretty little heart song.”

His face softens as he climbs from the bike. “Hear you, Hummingbird.”

Lyric stays curled into me, and I hide my smile at the disgruntled expression that comes over Steel’s face.

“Chopped liver over here or something, Princess?” he grumbles.

She looks up at me with twinkling eyes, and I know she’s fixing to twist her father’s leg. Lyric waves her hand in his direction.“Can you believe this guy? Two whole seconds while I hug a friend, and he already thinks I forgot him.”

I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from smiling and peer over at Steel as if I’m considering before glancing back down at her. “He’s something else, right?” I run my finger down her nose and give a soft tap to the tip while winking at her. “We should probably make sure he knows that he’s not easily replaced, huh?”

The heavy warmth of Steel’s eyes on me begs for me to look at him, but I keep my attention on Lyric, not ready to let him see the depth of my feelings for him. Lyric, however, is pretty freaking perceptive for her age because a knowing glint sparkles in her eyes. Considering who her father is, and some of the stories I heard about Heather, it’s not hard to see why. Steel is an amazing father, one of the best I’ve seen, but he doesn’t hide his lifestyle from her. Not that I expect him too. It’d probably be stupid to do that with how dangerous it can be.

Heather is a different story all together. Maybe that’s why I bonded and fell in love so quickly with Lyric. I know what it’s like to have a parent that’s shit. It’s not like Lyric made it hard to love her. Unlike her daddy, my heart song is the easiest person I’ve ever willingly given my heart to. That comes with its own onset of fear that I don’t even want to think about.

Lyric heaves a playful sigh, pulling me from my thoughts. “I guess.”

I could watch the two of them interact every day for the rest of my life. It’s some of the most beautiful moments I’ve ever witnessed, and I’m blessed that Steel finally chose to let me be part of them.

For the next hour, we spend time as a unit, sitting on the living room floor and playing Clue, which I found out was Lyric’s “most favorite game in the world”,as she put it.

She taps her pen against her paper and narrows her eyes at me as she debates whether to make her accusation. If she’s wrong, she knows she loses this round. There was a time that I thought I had a pretty good poker face, but apparently not when it comes to playing Clue with a freaking six-year-old mind reader. Lyric has won each round. At first, I thought Steel was letting her win, but I quickly realized that wasn’t the case at all when he would get that confused expression on his face. He couldn’t believe his child was actually kicking his ass, and it was hilarious to see.

This round is down to me and her, and while I’m pretty sure I know who did it, with what, and in what room, I can’t be too positive, so I’ve been holding out.

I chew on my lip as I narrow mine right back. Triumph sparks in her eyes, and her mouth curves in a slow smile as she reaches out to the middle of the board and grabs the little manila envelope holding the three cards.

“Miss Scarlet in the conservatory with the rope,” she says, bouncing up and down on her knees while she waits on me and her father to prove her wrong.

When we both shake our heads with a smile, she squeals and yanks the cards from the envelope with a dramatic flourish. Steel and I glance at each other, and I know when he winks at me that we’re about to be over-the-top dramatic for her sake.

“This isn’t fair,” I whine. “You’ve got to be cheating. You’ve got extra cards hidden somewhere, don’t you?”

She giggles, shaking her head. “Nope. I’m just good.”

“Smellin’ lies here, Princess,” Steel says, tapping his nose.

“Your nose has been broken before, Daddy. Not reliable.”

Why surprise always crosses this man’s face when his daughter comes back at him with such sass, when she isjust like him, I will never understand.

“You little . . .” he growls playfully, hopping around the table and beginning a tickle campaign.

Her laughter is infectious, and as much as I want to watch them, I’d rather soak up the sound of their love for each other more, so I lean back on my palms and close my eyes.

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