Page 50

N ASH

Waking up with Kendall wrapped around me, her head on my chest, is one of the best feelings in the world. Almost better than sex. Almost. If I could hold her close to me like this forever, I would.

I can.

I will.

If she ever lets me.

Since I first told her I loved her last week, I haven’t said it again and she hasn’t acted uncomfortable about it. I didn’t mean to let it slip again last night, definitely not during sex, but I’m tired of holding it in. I want her to know how much I love her.

In the throes of passion, when we’re cooking dinner, when we’re cuddling on the couch, even when we’re arguing, I love her. That Jason prick did a number on her, and I hate him for making her feel like she can’t trust again, like she isn’t worth being loved.

“Mm. Morning,” she purrs and stretches her legs like a cat, pointing her toes so they rub against my calves.

“How are you feeling? I was rough with you last night. I should have drawn a bath for you.”

“Oh, a bath in your tub sounds amazing.”

I slip out of bed and cross my room to the bathroom. I turn on the taps, and when the water warms, I head back to the bedroom. Kendall is curled on her side watching me with a mischievous grin on her face.

“Need help with that morning wood?”

I glance down at my cock and wrap my hand around it. “You have any ideas?”

“A few.” She flings back the covers and saunters across the room, her tits bouncing, her hips swaying.

Damn, I’m fucked. I can’t think straight when Kendall’s in the room dressed. When she’s naked? Fucked. I’m royally fucked.

She skims her fingers down my chest and swats my hand away, wrapping her delicate fingers around my now hard cock.

“ Come, follow me.”

She guides me by my fucking cock, and I follow her into the bathroom. I’m not big on baths. The house came with a jacuzzi that can easily fit four adults, but Paisley is the only one who’s ever used it, and hell if I’m thinking about my daughter right now.

Kendall releases my cock only so she can climb in the tub, then tugs again. She tells me to sit first then she straddles my lap.

“This kind of defeats the purpose of soothing your aching muscle—” Kendall lowers herself on my cock and I lose all my breath.

She’s so wet I slide in easily. We make love slowly, staring into each other’s eyes, the warm water lapping around our bodies. We come at the same time, and it’s sweet, soothing. Perfection.

She slides down in front of me, her back to my front, and we’re quiet as we soak in the warm water. I link our hands, settling them on her lower stomach and resting my chin on her shoulder.

“What are your plans for today?” I ask.

“I’m fine spending the day here in your tub.”

“While I like the sound of that, eventually you’ll turn into a prune, and chances are a little six-year-old is going to come barging through the door.”

“That wouldn’t be good.” Kendall lifts her head and I lean over and press a kiss to her lips.

“She’ll get used to it.”

“Finding us naked in the tub?”

“Waking up and seeing you in my bed.” I’m pressing without pushing. Letting her know I want her without guilting her into it.

When the water starts to cool, I stand and help Kendall up. The towel warmer has done its job, and I pat her body dry before wrapping her in the warm towel. Pressing a kiss to her forehead, I give her a tap on the ass.

“Get dressed and I’ll make us breakfast.”

“We were in kind of a hurry last night and I left my suitcase in your truck.”

“That’s too bad. I’m gonna hate seeing you naked all day.”

“Funny.” She smacks my chest.

“Fine. You can wear something of mine.” I put on my glasses and rummage through my drawers. I toss her a pair of sweats, a t-shirt, and a hoodie.

“Damn, you look sexy in glasses.”

“Seriously?”

“Like you don’t know.” She rolls her eyes and gets dressed. My clothes dwarf her, and she rolls up the waistband of the sweats a few times so they’re not dragging at her feet. “Why do you look so hot in these clothes, and I look homeless?”

“You think I look hot in sweats?”

“Please.” She waves her hand through the air. “Like you don’t know how good your ass looks, and how easy it is to tell when you’ve got a hard on.”

“Baby. If you’re around, I’ve got a hard on.” Kendall rolls her eyes and I smack her ass again.

“Well, for the record, I have the female version of a hard on,” she says as she opens my bedroom door and heads downstairs.

Paisley’s door is still closed, and I figure we have another thirty minutes before her internal alarm wakes her up. When we’re in the kitchen and Kendall starts the coffee, I pick up where we left off.

“What’s the female equivalent?”

Kendall gives me a sly smile. “I’m wet, not wearing any underwear, and my nipples are hard.”

“Christ.”

“Kendall is still here,” Paisley says with as much excitement as she can with a pound of sleepy seeds in her eyes. Startling the shit out of me, she reaches out her arms for Kendall, who scoops her up and snuggles my daughter’s face to her neck.

“Morning, sunshine. Did you sleep well?”

Paisley nods and wraps her arms around Kendall’s neck, soaking in her warmth. Damn. I’ve never been so jealous of my kid before.

“Are you hungry or do you want more time to wake up first?”

“Do we have school today?”

“We’re on Christmas break, remember? No school for two weeks.”

Paisley pops her head up, suddenly filled with energy. “For you too? Are you going to be here every day now?”

I pour two mugs of coffee and dump a stupid amount of hazelnut creamer in Kendall’s, how she likes it, and offer it to her.

“Good question, Pais.” I sip my coffee and stare at Kendall over the rim of my mug.

“As much as your dad needs me.”

My mouth turns to an instant frown. This is what I didn’t want. Kendall to be here out of obligation. She rests her cheek on Paisley’s head while staring back at me.

“It seems like your father has been quite...needy lately.” Her eyes drop to the front of my sweats and the corner of her lip lifts. “So I may be around more than usual.”

I’m pretty sure we’re on the same page now. I set my coffee down and move over to my girls, sandwiching my daughter between Kendall and me in a group hug.

“What would you think about that, Pais? Kendall sleeping over every night?”

“Every night?” they both ask, their eyes equally wide.

Okay, maybe I pushed it a little with the every , but it brings my daughter as much excitement as it does me.

“Can we have sleepovers every night, please?” Paisley pleads to Kendall.

The guilt creeps up again. She has a hard time resisting Paisley, but I don’t want her staying over to please my daughter. I want her here because she wants to be. Rescuing Kendall from having to respond, I take Paisley from her and hold her on my hip.

“How many cookies did you eat yesterday? You weigh a ton more than you did a few days ago.”

She giggles and kisses my cheeks. “You ate a lot of cookies too.”

“I did. We’re going to have to make another batch before Santa comes in a few days.”

Kendall sips her coffee and moves about the kitchen. “What can I make you two for breakfast?”

“Chocolate chip pancakes.”

“How about something with a little less sugar?” Kendall asks.

“French Toast?”

Kendall taps her finger to her chin. “How about an omelet and peanut butter toast?”

“With jelly?”

“Jelly if you promise to eat an extra helping of vegetables at dinner tonight.”

“Does that mean you’ll be here for dinner?” I ask.

“Maybe.” Kendall starts taking ingredients for the omelet out of the fridge. “I need to spend some time at home and finish my Christmas shopping. There’s wrapping to do as well.”

“Did you buy me a Christmas present?”

“Pais. That’s not polite to ask.” I tweak the tip of her nose.

“But we got Kendall a present.”

Kendall’s eyes soften and she treats me to the sweetest smile. “I don’t need presents, sweetie. Spending time with you...and your dad is all I need.”

Well, fuck. My heart and my cock twitch at the same time. Not good with my daughter in my arms. It’s not a declaration of love, but it’s the closest she’s gotten to telling me how she feels about me.

As is the norm, Paisley’s chatter is the center of our attention during breakfast. When she heads upstairs to get dressed, I corner Kendall by the kitchen sink.

“I’m all you need, huh?”

She rests her wrists on my shoulder. “As far as gifts go, you have a really nice package.” She rubs her thigh against my cock, which appreciates the attention.

“It’s pleasure and pain having you here.”

Kendall quirks an eyebrow. “Pain?”

“Yeah.” I rub myself against her thigh. “My cock doesn’t know how to relax when you’re around.”

She tips her head back and laughs. “You’re cute.”

When her lips meet mine, it’s anything but cute. The thump of footsteps coming down the stairs has us breaking apart.

“I should change and head home.”

“You should?” I twist her hair around my hand.

“Dani and I usually wrap presents together. She was looking forward to it.”

While I can’t begrudge her commitment to her family, I hate to let her go. “Will you be back tonight?”

“I’m not sure. It depends if Dani needs me to stay.”

And this is why I didn’t ask her to watch Paisley for me. Kendall spends more of her time giving to others and being there for them than she takes for herself.

“I love you for that.” I mean it more along the lines of I love that about you, but it is another reason I love her. Instead of making the moment too emotional, I kiss the tip of her nose and intercept Paisley in the hallway. “Grab your coat, Sweet Pea. We’re taking Kendall back home.”

“I don’t want her to leave.”

Me either, kid . I head out to the garage for Kendall’s overnight bag, even though I’d much rather have her wear my clothes.

Paisley whines the entire drive to Kendall’s house, but finally lightens up when Kendall promises to have a cookie baking day tomorrow.

“I’ll be right back,” I say to Paisley as I walk Kendall to the door.

“Don’t let her get to you. We’ve been hogging a lot of your time lately. She’ll see you tomorrow when I leave for practice. Spend the evening with your family.”

I kiss her gently, not wanting to give my daughter or Kendall’s mother a show.

“Thank you.” She smiles sweetly at me. When she has her hand on the doorknob and starts to push it open, she looks over her shoulder at me. “And by the way, I love you too.”

Kendall rushes inside and closes the door before I can respond.

She loves me too.

I’m fucking shocked and glowing as I grin like a stupid love-struck idiot at the closed door. I barely remember making my way back to the truck or the rest of the day with Paisley.

Kendall loves me.

Kendall fucking loves me too.