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My face was on fire by the time we finished, and I avoided Hendrix’s eyeline to hide my embarrassment. I didn't want Sophie to think I didn’t love our little hobby together, but doing that kind of thing in front of the man I was dating was a little mortifying.

Hendrix clapped, and I finally peeked over at him, watching him beaming at Sophie as she hovered in front of him. She looked so proud of herself, which was exactly why I started doing this with her. I pushed past some of the embarrassment, scooping her up when she came to hug me.

“Good job, sweetheart. You’ve improved a lot. I think your friends will love it.”

“You think so? I really want to dance with them.”

I nodded solemnly. “Do what makes you happy. I’m sure your friends will have fun dancing with you.”

“Can I use your computer? I want to see what it looks like with more people.”

“For a little while,” I agreed, setting her on her feet. She darted off to my home office, which was across the hall from my bedroom. It gave us a moment of privacy and Hendrix took advantage, wrapping himself around me from behind.

“That was the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. You’re a good dancer, babe.”

I blushed, staring at the wall in front of me to avoid his eyeline. “It’s just for her. She was too embarrassed to do it alone, even though I could tell she really wanted to. I’d never do that in public. I didn’t think I’d ever do it in front of anyone but Sophie.”

He hummed, pressing a kiss to the side of my neck. “There’s lots of things that you didn’t think you’d do before you met me. I love that you trust me enough to share your firsts.”

There was no judgment, no teasing. His compliments seemed genuine, and when I finally turned to face him, his smile was soft and encouraging. And a little heated. Okay, a lot heated.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

A slow grin overtook his face, and his voice dropped to barely a whisper. “Can’t help it. If you shake your ass in front of me, I’m gonna get ideas in my head. There are a few firsts you haven’t done yet.”

I sucked in a sharp breath, jerking my gaze to his. I was interested in trying more things with him, but I was too embarrassed to ask. I was waiting for him to take the lead. I didn’t want to appear uninterested, though.

“I, uh… When–”

“Daddy! There’s another dance I want to learn!”

I grimaced. Now was not the time to talk about sex. I stepped away from Hendrix right as she burst into the room, grabbing my hand to drag me to my office. Hendrix followed behind us, a low chuckle in his throat. I felt the tips of my ears burning and I was glad for the distraction when Sophie pushed me into my office chair and climbed into my lap to show me the video she found.

If I thought the dance we learned before was embarrassing, this one was even more so. It was very cutesy and even had a move where they used their hands as bunny ears and hoppedaround. I could see why Sophie would like it, but I wanted to cringe at the thought of doing it myself.

“I don’t know, Sophie…”

She twisted around, an already heartbroken look on her face. “Why not? It looks like fun. Please?”

There were a few things that my ex wife wasn’t wrong about. She always said I didn’t have a backbone, especially when it came to Sophie. I hated telling her no. Luckily, Hendrix came to my rescue in the best way possible.

“Hey, can you and I learn it together? I think it looks like fun. And your dad probably has to make lunch soon, right?”

Tipping her head back, she looked curiously at Hendrix. “You know how to dance?”

He shrugged, not a hint of embarrassment on his face. “I mean, I enjoy dancing at a club, but I’ve never learned something like that before. It looks fun. And I know how to perform like I’m in front of an audience.”

Her eyes lit up, and Sophie beamed at him. “Okay! Daddy, can you put the video on the TV so we can practice?”

Shooting Hendrix a grateful smile, I nodded. “Yeah, sweetheart. I’ll do that.”

As she bounced out of the room, heading downstairs, Hendrix leaned over my seat and pressed a kiss to my forehead. “I’ve got you, babe. After years of being up on stage, I don’t get embarrassed easily.”

“Thank you. I don’t want her to get embarrassed either, but it’s hard…”

He hummed, taking my hand and pulling me out of my seat. “I get it. And it’s not like it’s a hardship for me to spend time with Sophie. You made a great kid. Just promise me you’ll reward me later.”

He winked at me to make his request clear and I nearly tripped over my feet, arousal zipping up my spine. Whatever hewanted as a reward, I’d give him. Because when it came to him, his rewards were rewards for me too.