Devour Me, Baby(38)

The front door opened just as the vehicle came to a halt in front of it. Samuel stepped over the threshold and stood on the top step, hands in his pockets. To anyone other than me and Lola, it would be almost impossible to recognize how nervous he was.

I looked down at Lilah, wishing I didn’t have to wake her. The windows of the car were tinted, so I kissed the top of her head and drew a fingertip down her soft cheek. “We’re here, baby girl.”

She stirred, her eyelids lifting groggily, and she looked up at me with a sweet smile. “Here?” she asked. Before I could answer, her blue pools strayed to the view outside the window and she stiffened. Then she quickly slid back across the bench seat, her hands smoothing her hair and the wrinkles in her mint green blouse.

I frowned at her retreat, but refrained from commenting, simply holding out my hand. She looked at it silently for a moment, her eyes blinking owlishly. Then she met my gaze. “We decided to keep it a secret for now, remember?” she urged. “I can’t hold your hand, he’ll know!”

I sighed. “No, you decided and I gave in. But, that’s not the issue right now. I’m simply helping you from the car, baby girl.”

“You can’t call me that either,” she hissed, slapping a hand over my mouth. My tongue darted out and licked at her palm, causing her to snatch it back. Her eyes heated and I once again hauled her over to me, my mouth slamming down over hers. She went a little boneless, sinking into the kiss, and I ravaged her lips until I felt like she’d been thoroughly claimed.

Leaning back, I smiled smugly at the sight of her pinkened, kiss-swollen lips. It took another minute for me to move while I willed my erection back down. It would be hard to explain away my hard-on.

I opened the door and hopped out, then reached in and helped her down from the car. With her feet steady on the ground, she dropped my hand like it was on fire and a low growl escaped from my throat.

Lilah scowled at me, then faced the house and took a tentative step forward. Then another. Samuel’s face lit up at her approach and he met her at the bottom step. From the tenseness in his arm muscles, I knew he was fighting the urge to pull her into his embrace. Eighteen years he’d waited, hoped, dreamed of meeting his daughter.

I was so fucking happy to give this to him and it made the wait to tell him about us worth it, though it didn’t make it any easier.

“Lilah,” he breathed, his voice filled with awe. “You’re so beautiful, sweetheart. You look just like your mother.”

Lilah flinched at his words and before I could stop myself, I was standing at her back. I didn’t touch her, but let the heat from my body give her comfort, reminding her I was there for her.

“Thank you,” she murmured awkwardly. Some of the elation on Samuel’s face dissipated and he looked between Lilah and I for a moment, his expression telling me nothing. Finally, he smiled at me with gratitude and nodded. I lifted my chin in reply but otherwise, stayed still.

“Let’s go inside and talk,” he suggested. He turned, and I put my hand softly on Lilah’s lower back as we followed him into the house. At my touch, her rigid spine relaxed a little.

We entered a room decorated with neutral tones and comfortable furniture meant to exude a laid-back atmosphere. Samuel took a seat on one of the couches and hesitantly gestured for Lilah to join him.

“Where is your ladies’ room?” she inquired, and Samuel gave her directions. After she left the room, he stood and walked over to where I was casually lounging against a wall by the door.

He stuck out one hand and I shook it as his other clasped my shoulder. “I don’t know how to thank you, Ethan. You know how long I’ve waited.” He glanced at where Lilah had disappeared and sighed. “It’s obvious that you’ve protected her like your own daughter”—my gut clenched in rejection of his summation. I didn’t see Lilah as anything but my soul mate, my soon-to-be wife and mother of my children. But, respecting her wishes, I kept quiet—“and while I’m a little jealous of the relationship you have, I’m grateful. I just hope I can build one with her too.”

Voices outside the door alerted us to her return and Samuel went back to his spot on the sofa. Lilah walked in accompanied by a plump brunette in her early forties, with a wide smile and a rock the size of Texas on her left ring finger. Lola was a bright ray of sunshine in Samuel’s life, and I was certain she would be a bridge between father and daughter.

“Well now,” she said excitedly, her brown eyes sparkling. “We’ve certainly gotten lucky, Sam. She’s a keeper.”