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“Hey, hey,” I whispered into her face. The heat from her crying thick like steam. “I know you don’t know my voice or the feel of my arms, but I’m going to tell you something.” I pressed my lips against her forehead, breathing her in, her scent so clean and powdery. “I’m never going to let anything happen to you.” I held my lips there, my eyes closing, my heart pounding away. “I promise.”
I turned toward Eve when I reached the doorway. “I love you.” “More than all the stars in the sky, Daddy.”
“Do you know what I see when I look at him?” “I can’t wait to hear this.” She squeezed my shoulder. “Handcuffs. Dirty sex. Waking up in the morning with his face between your legs.” She lowered her voice, finally whispering, “That man has dominance written all over him.”
“What I’m thinking about is your mouth.” He ran his thumb over my bottom lip and then the top. “What it would taste like. What it would feel like.” His gaze was there, on the spot he was speaking about, making those same lips part. “And I don’t know how much longer I can wait to find out.”
You want to kiss me”—her voice was soft, breathless—“in the middle of the bar?” With my hand still on her cheek, I aimed her mouth up to mine. “It’s not just that I want to.” I lowered my face until we were only inches apart. “It’s that I have to.” The
That was because it hadn’t just been a kiss. It was a promise.
Who is this girl … and what the fuck is she going to do to me?
Instead of asking any of those, I softly said, “She’s lucky to have you.” “Nah, Sydney.” He stilled, his voice so coarse. “I’m the lucky one to have her.”
“Remember, no bed,” she reminded me. I held her hips, taking in her gorgeous body, my stare on her tits and that fucking pussy that I knew would be soaked the second I touched it. When our eyes finally connected, I replied, “There are plenty of surfaces in here. I see no need for a bed.”
“I want you to come the second I enter you.” She was tightening around my fingers. “I want to feel the orgasm pulse through you.”
“I want you to think of this moment every time you sit down for breakfast,” I said and plunged inside her. “I want you to think of my fucking cock when you’re drinking coffee here.”
“Your pussy …” I shook my head. “Fuck, Sydney.” I pressed our foreheads together, our breaths mixing. “What I wouldn’t give to taste you again in the morning.”
All I knew was that if Ford was the person I was supposed to be with, one day, this would all work out.
Except just the opposite was happening. Now, all I thought about was him. And each day, those thoughts became more consuming. I would arrive at his house, hoping, somehow, his arms would find their way around me. His lips would press against mine. His voice would whisper, I want to be with you. But that wasn’t going to happen. He’d made that clear.
“Because I have feelings for you. Because there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for you.”
“But when I was out at the bar tonight and the guys were giving me a boatload of shit for not being with you, they were putting the fear of God into me that I’d waited too long, and I knew they were right. You were going to find someone else, and that would be my fault. I pushed you away, and I’d deserve that. But”—I held her so steady, getting lost in those icy-blue eyes—“I’m not going to let that happen. You are going to be mine.”
“I would pick her over and over again. Everly means everything to me.” She took a breath. “But I want you both, and the truth is, I always have.”
“One second. I have a condom somewhere in my wallet.” “Ford, no.” I paused, looking at her. “If we’re together, then you don’t need one,” she said. “I’m on the pill. We’re both safe … right?” I nodded. “But, Sydney—” “Do you trust me? You know I’m not Rebecca.” She could tell I had hesitation. She assumed where that hesitation had come from. “Yes,” I replied. “Of course I do.” “Then, get over here.” “This demanding side of you,” I growled as our lips aligned, “I like it.”
“Also, I’m trying to decide if I should start screaming in celebration or if I should drive my ass over there and slap that man for taking so long to come to his senses.” “God, I love you.” “I’m not kidding.”
“I’m not going anywhere, Ford.” I ran my fingers across his lips—a move that had previously belonged solely to him. “I’ve wanted to say this for a long time, and I finally can.” My chest pounded as I took in his eyes. My whole body tingled. “I’m yours.” He lifted me from the stool, holding me in his arms, and my legs wrapped around his waist. He held the back of my head, positioning our mouths only inches apart. “Say that again, Sydney.” “I’m yours—” He slammed our mouths together. And in that moment, I knew something else to be true. Ford Dalton was mine.
While Sydney held Everly’s head, she looked at me, her face filled with something I recognized. Something I felt as I glanced between both my girls.
“You’re the most selfless person I know, Sydney. Let me spoil you. Let me show you what life with me will be like.” His thumb rubbed across my lips. “Let me enjoy having you all to myself.”
“You’re going to get everything you want,” he told me. “But you’re going to have to beg.”
“Fuck …” I pressed our noses together, needing her to feel my words as I said, “I love you.” And then I kissed her. Harder this time. Emptying my chest. Emotionally surrendering. “I love you,” she breathed back.
“Is that how you came up with her name?” I was sure she had other questions. I was sure the conversation I’d had in the waiting room was far from over. But I nodded and replied, “When Rebecca placed her in my arms and I finally made my way inside my house and it all hit me”—I swallowed and tried to take a breath, the emotion returning—“I knew only one thing. Ever and ever—that was how long she’d be mine.”
“Syd, Daddy and I want you to be our ever and ever.” She held out her hand, and a diamond ring was on her thumb. One that had taken weeks to design.
She hadn’t realized I’d gotten on my knee. That I was holding out my hand. That I was asking, “Be my wife?” “And my mommy,” Everly chimed in. I slipped my other arm around Everly, glancing at my daughter as I added, “Be ours.” I took the ring from Everly, and I positioned it over Sydney’s finger. Waiting. It took only seconds for Sydney to reply, “Yes.” Once the ring was on her finger, she bent down and threw her arms around us. “Forever and ever.”
