: Chapter 12

I’m standing outside of Isla’s room with my hand hovering over the handle as I prepare to go inside. It’s been almost thirty minutes since Ellie brought Isla upstairs and I’ve almost worn a hole in the living room floor pacing back and forth while I wait for her to come back. I’ve never known Isla to want anyone to take her back to bed besides me. There were even a few times their mother called me in the middle of the night because Isla was inconsolable and kept asking for me. She is growing out of the fear of monsters under her bed thanks to Sawyer telling her that basically nothing is real.

The only good thing to come out of him spilling the beans about Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, and the Easter Bunny, I guess.

But she still felt more settled when I was the one to take her over anyone else, so asking Ellie sent an unfamiliar feeling through me. It felt like a combination of happiness that she is connecting with someone and concern that she is connecting with her in a way that will make it extremely difficult for her when Ellie inevitably leaves.

And now I’m thinking about her leaving.

Fuck. She can’t leave. Not after…

“Can I?” I hear her soft voice in my head asking if she could touch my dick while she was sitting in my lap. I’m fairly certain that’s a scene that’s going to play on a loop in my head for the rest of my fucking life. Her face, her voice, the softness of her curves under my hands while she ground herself against me.

A feeling of pride shoots through me when I remember that I’m the first man she’s ever done that with. The only man she’s ever rubbed her sexy little body against and I’m instantly curious if I can make her come that way.

I finally push through Isla’s door quietly, hoping that Isla is asleep and Ellie is on her way out of the room. What I do not expect when I enter Isla’s room is both of them asleep on Isla’s full-sized princess bed. Isla is pressed against Ellie’s side but what strikes me the most is that her hand is still encased in Ellie’s. I stare at them for a moment before I move closer and press a kiss to Isla’s forehead and then to Elianna’s. She stirs slightly but doesn’t wake up, and despite the fact that I want her to so she’s not sleeping in here for the rest of the night, I know it’s mostly because I want to pick up where we left off before Isla interrupted. Before I can talk myself into waking her up, I’m out of Isla’s room.

The next day is Saturday, thank God, because it took me at least another hour—half of which I spent with my hand wrapped around my dick while I pictured Elianna’s cunt wrapped around it—to fall asleep which meant it was almost five in the morning before my eyes closed for the night. Now, it’s ten in the morning and the only reason I’m awake is because I hear Isla screaming Sawyer’s name followed by, “Look what you did!!” And, “Shhhh! Dad’s still sleeping,” from Margot.

Definitely one of the cons of having my room on the main floor instead of upstairs.

I briefly wonder if Ellie ever came back downstairs or if she slept the whole night in Isla’s room. I reach for my phone and I’m pleasantly surprised to see a text from her.

Surprised and fucking giddy like a teenage boy getting a message from the girl he likes.

A smile finds my lips and before I can tell myself that she may not be under the same carnal haze that we were in last night or that she may be freaking out about what we did, I type out a response.

My heart momentarily stops knowing that she’s probably in the kitchen with my kids cooking and if Margot or SJ happen to see her phone light up with a message from me, they may question it, or worse, open it.

And what if she has text message previews enabled?

Shit. Does she have a passcode on her phone?

Of course, everyone has a passcode on their phone.

But they still may be curious as to why I’m texting her instead of just coming out and saying whatever I need to tell her.

I’m out of bed and moving into the bathroom quickly before I let myself spiral any further and convince myself that my kids are currently interrogating her about why I’m telling her how comfortable my bed is.

A few moments later, I’m walking through the kitchen to find all of my kids fully dressed and eating French toast. Ellie’s eyes meet mine from her seat at the table over her cup of coffee and I don’t see her phone anywhere in sight. She gives me a shy smile before her eyes move to Isla.

“Hi, Daddy!” she says waving her hand and patting the seat next to her for me to sit.

“You slept late,” Margot says without looking up from her phone.

“Yeah, I was uh…up late.” I try not to let my eyes drift to the gorgeous reason I was up late sitting on the other side of the table next to SJ. “Why are you guys all dressed?” I say as I make a cup of coffee.

“I’m going to the away soccer game and we are all meeting at the school at noon.” Margot looks up from her phone. “And then I’m sleeping over at Mel’s.”

“I want to talk about that before you leave.” I don’t miss the eye roll before she gets up from the table in a skirt that seems a little too short for a soccer game in October despite her tights underneath.

“Fine. Leaving in thirty!” She tells me.

“Thanks for coming to my soccer game!” SJ calls after her and Margot peeks her head back in.

“Since when do you care?”

He puts a hand over his chest. “I always care. I am hurt,” he says with his usual sarcasm.

“You’ll get over it. Good luck though.” She blows him a kiss before she disappears.

Isla hops up from her chair and moves to the corner of the kitchen to grab something sitting on the floor. When she comes back, she holds up a sign that’s almost as tall as her. The sign says ‘Go Sawyer! #14’ written in bright blue paint. “Look what Ellie and I made!”

SJ wrinkles his nose. “You are not bringing that,” he says as he looks at his little sister.

“Yes huh! Ellie said we could,” Isla responds instantly.

“Can we not? That’s so embarrassing,” he retorts.

“Oh, come on, I think it’s cute!” Ellie says. “She even used your favorite color. She worked hard on it, SJ.”

“No one else is going to have a sign.” SJ looks to me, I assume to be of some help but I shake my head.

“Your sister cared enough to make you this sign. Sounds like no one else has anyone that cares about them coming to their games,” I interject, and Ellie glares at me.

“Not true! But Isla’s still bringing it.”

SJ groans. “Fine.”

“What time are you guys leaving?” I ask, knowing that I should know this but I don’t always make his soccer games. I think I’ve only made one of the five so far this season. I usually use this day to work with no interruptions because Isla either goes to the game too or goes to Sabrina’s for the day.

“Maybe thirty minutes?” Ellie tells me.

“Okay, I’m just going to shower, and I’ll leave with you,” I tell them and SJ’s eyes immediately widen.

“No way. You’re coming?” SJ asks, and I hate the way the shock is so evident in his tone.

“Yeah…if that’s okay?”

His face lights up and seeing him so excited warms my heart. “Hell yeah.”

“Hell yeah!” Isla repeats and I glare at Sawyer and then at Isla all the while I see Ellie trying to hide a smile behind her hand.

“You both know better.”

“He said it first!” Isla giggles before she holds up her sign over her head as best she can. “Go Sawyer, hell yeah!” she repeats and I look at her.

“Isla Jude, you have one more before you’re in trouble.”

She looks at Ellie and giggles before she skips around the table and climbs into her lap. “Sorry, Daddy!”

“Do you want some breakfast? I can make more French toast?” Ellie asks and I shake my head.

“No, I’m good, thanks. I’m going to go talk to Margot and then shower. Do you know anything else about what she’s doing tonight?”

“Gabe is out of town if that’s what you’re asking,” SJ interjects before he gets up, puts his plate in the sink, and heads out of the kitchen.

“Well…that does answer one of my questions,” I say, grateful that SJ somehow seems to know everything about what goes on in this house.

The thought kind of terrifies me after what happened last night with Ellie though.

“Isla, are you going to Sabrina’s after the game?” I ask her, wondering if there’s a chance the house would be empty tonight except for Ellie.

“No, she’s coming here.”

“Is she sleeping over?”

“Yes! Ellie said she could!”

I nod, knowing that at least that will keep Isla preoccupied for the majority of the night. Plus, Margot will be out…and usually Sawyer has friends over after the game. That might mean Ellie and I can have five minutes alone tonight. My eyes drift to hers hoping she can see the ideas of everything I plan to do to her if we have any alone time later.

“Isla, you ready to go?” I ask her.

“I just need my sunglasses!”

“What color?”

“Blue, for SJ’s team.”

“Okay, go get them and your coat,” I tell her and she nods before hopping off the chair and running out of the room. I’m acutely aware of her footsteps going up the stairs and then I don’t hear anything, leaving Ellie and I alone in the kitchen.

“Hey,” I say with a smile and when she returns it, I can feel my heart start to pick up speed.

“Hi,” she says and I immediately start counting backward from ten in hopes it’ll keep my dick from rising in response to the pink spreading across her bronzed skin. She is so fucking beautiful. “I saw your text…I just couldn’t respond at the time.”

“I didn’t even think about the fact that you weren’t alone when I sent it. Sorry.”

“It’s okay. I have a passcode on my phone and I put your messages on mute after I texted you so if you responded it wouldn’t just pop up on my screen.”

“That’s smart.” I let out a sigh of relief that she’d had the foresight to do that. I take a few steps, closing the distance between us and she shakes her head.

“Not now,” she whispers and I swallow realizing how close all of my children are and though their voices all enter a room at least ten seconds before they do, I don’t want to risk it.

“Tonight,” I tell her. I’d meant for it to be a question but I hear how it comes out. Direct with a hint of dominance, and her eyes widen like that one word transports her back to last night and everything we did.

She nods rapidly. “Okay.”

“I mean…if that’s something you want…to continue what we started.” The last thing I want is for this very inexperienced woman almost twenty years younger than me to feel like I coerced her into something.

“I do. I know what I said before but…I have to stop ignoring what I want. And…I really want you,” she whispers before she walks by, barely brushing against me. Her scent surrounds me and I want nothing more than to submerge my face in her neck to keep it on me.

“Elianna,” I grunt and spin around just in time to watch her disappear around the corner without another look back.