Page 7 of Daddy Reed

He’s so sure of himself and his baby-making skills.

“I’m serious,” I say, standing my ground. “I can handle a lot, but if you ever withhold marshmallows from me again, you’ll see my breaking point.”

“Noted,” he says with a smirk. He leans in over the baby to kiss my lips. “Now eat this before you lose your shit.”

He plucks the gooey marshmallow off the stick and then crams it into my mouth. I glower at him despite the wonderful taste. When he smears the sticky residue from his fingers on the tip of my nose, I’m the one shooting him a threatening glare.

“You’re an asshole,” I mutter low enough the kids don’t hear.

“And you defied the law to be with me.”

Touché.

Chapter3

Reed

I’m not eager to leave my bed. Not when Devon clings to me, body hot and slick with sweat. Early morning sex is both the best and the worst. The best because the house is quiet, and the moment is all ours while we lose ourselves to the passion that always burns between us. It’s the worst, though, because once I’ve fucked my beautiful girl, I’m too relaxed to do shit.

And I have too much shit to do today.

With summer nearly over, there’s a never-ending list of projects to be completed before it starts getting cold. The boys will help hunt and trap game to stock up for winter, and the girls will do their part harvesting what they can from the gardens, but those things take time. Long days from sunup to sundown. No time for lazing around with my naked wife.

Still, I don’t move.

I stroke my fingers up and down her bare arm, nuzzling my nose in her hair. Her scent is always the same. From the moment I first held her in my arms as my responsibility, my treasure, and my little girl to now. She’s my partner, my lover, my everything. I love Devon more than words could even express.

She’s not some drug I’m addicted to.

Devon is the very air I breathe. She’s life and joy and pleasure all wrapped into a beautiful package. Taking her all those years ago was necessary. I had to have her to survive. And because of that, I’m still here. A man past my prime but feral and strong and protective like a beastly creature of the forest.

Without her, I’d have died long ago because I’d be incomplete. Half a person. Fucking empty and soulless.

Her thigh is casually draped over mine. My dick is no longer erect but still wet and dripping from being inside her. The warm air is quickly drying me, and soon I’ll be sticky with the remnants of our cum.

I need to get up and clean us.

A soft creak has both of us stiffening. I’m unable to locate the sheet to cover our nudity and post-sex state before one of our children steps into the room.

In the dim, early morning light, I sigh in relief. It’s just Destiny. Though she can see shapes, there’s no way she will get a detailed glimpse of us or what we’ve been up to.

“Daddy?”

Devon sits up, snatching the sheet from the floor, and swoops it over the both of us. I sit up on my elbows and take in Destiny’s bedraggled state. She looks so much like Devon at that age. My heart squeezes with love.

“Yes, baby girl?”

She slowly makes her way over to us, steps measured and slow because of her disability, unlike the rest of our crazy children. When her knees hit the foot of our bed, she frowns. “Raegan’s not in our room.”

All warmness leeches from my body as a cold chill settles in my bones. “Did you check the couch or the bathrooms?”

Devon is already out of bed, throwing on her nightgown. “So help me if she’s in Ronan’s cabin. . .”

My chest tightens at the thought of catching her in bed with her brother. I’d have to send him away because that shit can’t happen.

“I’m sure she’ll turn up around here somewhere,” I grumble. “Pip, turn the house upside down. I’ll check with the boys.”

Minutes later, I’m fully dressed and storming out of the house toward the two cabins on the other side of our fenced-in property. I make a beeline for Ronan’s cabin since Devon has her suspicions. Unlike Ryder’s cabin, which has discarded boots scattered by his front door, Ronan’s porch is immaculate.

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