“How many tattoos do you have?” Jax asks between mouthfuls of bacon.
“Loads,” Phantom says.
“Do you have a favorite?” Jax asks. “One that means a lot to you?”
I rub the ring finger where a tiny heart has faded so much it’s almost tough to tell what it is anymore.
I study Phantom as he nods at his daughters. “The ones I got for my girls,” he says, without even hesitating. “Those mean the most to me. They all have stories. They all mean something to me, but these two mean more than anything.”
Jax’s eyes are wide as he looks from Holly and Daisy then back at Phantom. “What are they?”
“Can I tell him, Dad?” Daisy chugs the last of her mock-mosa and gets out of her chair.
“Mm-hm.” Phantom sort of grunts, and Daisy gets out of her chair and stands next to her dad.
“Right here,” Daisy says, pointing to Phantom’s chest. “He has a holly leaf with berries that are heart-shaped instead of round. There’s a cool daisy right next to it over his heart for me.” She shrugs one shoulder. “If Dad ever has any more kids, he’s going to need to name them something small because there’s not a lot of room left there.”
Phantom nearly spits his coffee, then swats his daughter’s shoulder. “Hilarious,” he says. “Maybe I’ll get a dog and cover up your tattoos with a picture of his face.”
“You would never.” Daisy wraps her arms around her dad’s neck and says, “Just wait, Dad. In three years, I can get a tattoo.”
“Try five,” he snaps. “You’re thirteen, Dais, and I’m not consenting.”
“You have them.” Daisy points at her dad. “I want a full sleeve of art.”
“That’d be sick,” Jax says.
“I’m going to be sick,” Phantom chimes in. “Before you go inking yourself with pictures of plushie toys and shit, at least be old enough to order a drink. You can order one for me while you’re at it, so I don’t break the fingers of whoever is stupid enough to put art on my baby.”
I can just imagine Phantom losing his mind, seeing a cute little kitten on Daisy’s arm or ankle.
When my fork scrapes an entirely empty plate, I look down and realize I’ve eaten all my pancakes and three whole slices of bacon. I choke down a little of the mock-mosa, but the acid in the orange juice reminds me that I’m still not back to normal after the drinks from last night.
“That was absolute heaven,” I say. I walk to the sink with my empty plate in hand. “Thank you, girls. Now, if you’ll tell me where everything goes, I’m going to do these dishes.”
“Like hell you will.” Phantom comes up behind me and takes the dirty plate right from my hand. He turns to Jax. “You and your mom are off duty today. Why don’t you go find something to watch on television. I’ll do these dishes.”
Holly and Daisy squeal and race out of there so fast, my son looks from me to them with a mixture of regret and worry on his face.
“Mom, should I…”
I shake my head and smile. “Go on,” I tell him. “Go with the girls.”
Once we’re alone, Phantom leans forward, lightly pinning me between the sink and his hips. My breath catches, and I lean back against him instinctively, my rear end pressing against the firmness behind the zipper of his jeans.
“Phantom,” I murmur, “you…”
“Arouse you?” His whisper against my hair is warm and rich, his voice sending shivers of electricity through my body. “Make you want to do filthy, filthy things to me?”
I turn to face him, and he rests his hands on the edge of the sink, caging me between his hips and the counter. “That’s exactly what I was thinking,” I say, daring myself to meet his eyes.
“Back atcha, babe,” he says, then taps the side of my butt firmly with a hand. “Now, go hang with the kids while I clean. You can damn well bet I’m going to take you up on that the first chance we get.”
The next thingI feel is a strong hand against my forehead. “Poppy?”
My eyes fly open, and I see Phantom above me, looking worried.
“What is it? What happened?”
