Page 148 of The Single Dads Club
“Eggs? For dinner?” Alexa questioned, her tone one of surprise.
“What do you have against eggs?”
“Nothing,” she back-peddled, smiling. “I’ve just never had scrambled eggs for dinner.”
“Hey, you try cooking to please the palate of both an eighty-year-old and a three-year-old. I’d like to see what you come up with.”
She placed her hand on my cheek and held my eyes with hers as if to acknowledge all I’d been through. I smiled at her gentle concern, and after a moment she dropped her hand and stepped aside to allow me room to work. I removed a carton of eggs and a package of shredded cheese from the fridge and got to work.
I hadn’t explained the whole story to her, and didn’t plan to. That year I lost my grandmother was hard enough—she’d basically raised me. But couple that with my parents dropping off Lily, still unable to walk at age three because they hadn’t invested the time or money into her care, and my grandfather’s failing health…and yeah, life had been hell that year.
The truth was, none of us liked my attempts at cooking that first year, but rather than starve, we made it work. And a carton of eggs was cheap. Of course, those had been the days when we were still surviving off my grandfather’s meager social security checks, before he passed away in his sleep one night and I gave up going to school and started working full time.
Gosh, it seemed like so long ago. Now I took care of myself and Lily almost on auto-pilot, but back then, it had literally seemed like an impossible feat.
After dinner, Alexa and I settled on Lily’s bed while she read us a story. Even though the story she’d selected was quite a bit above her reading level, I’d read it to her so many times she had it memorized nearly word for word. My eyes drifted along Alexa’s outstretched form, her arm thrown over Lily’s shoulders as they huddled together on the pillow, rosy cheeks and eyes glued to the book they read from. My gaze followed the length of Alexa’s lean, denim-clad legs down to her cotton-candy-pink polished toes. I ran my fingertips lightly over the arch of her bare foot and her eyes caught mine. I knew we were both anticipating being alone tonight. I also knew I had some groveling to do.
Once Lily was tucked in for the night, Alexa and I crept from the room. She started off down the hall, but my hands on her waist stopped her. I pulled her up against my chest. “I thought we’d go in my room tonight.”
Her eyes darted up to mine, trying to understand my meaning. She blinked up at me with blue eyes widening in surprise, trusting me, following me wherever I might lead her. My chest felt full with some unknown feeling.
I took her hand and led her inside my darkened bedroom. Not bothering to turn on a light—it’d only reveal a large messy bed, and a single dresser in the corner anyhow—I gently steered her toward my bed. When I felt the backs of her legs bump against the mattress, I gave her shoulders a gentle nudge and she fell backwards, giggling as she hit the bed and tugged me down on top of her.
My lips sought out hers in the darkness, my body needing to be close to her in every way possible. Our limbs were a tangled heap in the center of the bed, though I tried to keep my weight from crushing her. I couldn’t believe I’d been stupid enough to push her away. If by some small miracle this angel thought I was good enough for her, I was hers. Body and soul.
“Hey, I almost forgot. I got something for you.” I disentangled myself from her, felt my way to my dresser and located what I was looking for. “Where’s your purse?”
“You can give it to me.”
“Not right now. I’ll just tuck it inside your bag for later.”
“Okay. My purse is on the couch.”
“Be right back.” I jogged down the hallway, depositing the canister into her bag before rejoining her.
She’d tugged down the blankets and was resting in the center of the bed when I returned. Once I located her, she cuddled against my chest, her head tucked under my chin as if this spot was designed solely for her. Hell, maybe it was.
She reached one hand under my T-shirt and soothed me with gentle caresses I didn’t deserve. Her fingers worked away all the tension in my neck and shoulders. “It’s all going to be okay with Lily, you know. You’re doing an amazing job with her,” she whispered.
Hearing her approval of my efforts with Lily was a shock to my system. It was something I never heard from anyone, least of all myself. There was always more to do, more to worry about, more I should have been doing.
Alexa’s presence in our lives was proof of that. But then again, she was filling a void I couldn’t. Providing a woman’s touch. And seeing the joy she brought to Lily, I wasn’t about to rob Lily of that. But having Alexa acknowledge my efforts, working to calm my fears, set off something inside me and my heart squeezed in my chest. I knew I didn’t deserve a woman this pure and perfect, but damn if I didn’t want to keep her.
“Thank you,” I said, simply.
“I hated how we left things,” she breathed against my skin.
“Shh.” I kissed away her fears, brushing her hair back from her face. “That was my fault. Will you forgive me?”
“Hmm. That’d be too easy. You might need to remind me of how good we are together.”
I pressed a kiss to her forehead, her sweet scent rushing over me. “I know I’m not the type you take home to Mommy and Daddy, and that never bothered me before now, but dammit Alexa. I’m sorry…” Even if I got to be the first one inside her, the first to fuck her, would it even be enough? Would I be okay with the fact that sooner or later some prick with a nice car and an office job would come along and put a ring on her finger? Fuck, I couldn’t think like that. It was what she deserved. But I’d take every second I could get with her until then.
She pushed against my chest, wanting space and I rolled off of her. In the moonlight, I could just make out her silhouette as she sat back on her heels and lifted her shirt off over her head, thrusting her tits out. All the blood rushed to my groin and I bit back a groan. I swallowed, and pulled in a ragged breath. She was fucking perfection.
She pressed a few soft kisses on my throat and my chest, and rocked her hips against mine. Everything felt different with her. Sure, I was horny as hell, but it was more than that, too. There was nothing meaningless about this. With each soft cry I elicited from her, each time her gaze met mine, I was falling deeper and deeper. But I hadn’t asked her to be part of my life because I knew it wasn’t realistic. I’d been around the block, seen how things worked and wouldn’t put Lily through that. Because sooner or later things between us would run their course. I closed my eyes and tried to just enjoy the time I had with her.
I reached behind her and unclasped her bra, needing to taste her. Hell, I’d give my left nut for a taste. I planted several openmouthed kisses on each bare breast. She thrust her chest out, angling herself closer to my mouth. “Don’t tease me, cupcake. Not if you’re not ready for this…” My voice was coarse, and my tone more menacing than I intended, but Alexa rose on her knees in the center of the bed and began unbuttoning her jeans, slowly sliding them down her hips, wiggling her fine little ass.
