The pucker of one stiffening nipple tented the front of her shirt. He saw it only because Lily rolled her head the other way, stuck her thumb into her mouth and dropped the other hand off Stace’s white shirt onto her stomach.
She didn’t move, but he could tell she wasn’t refusing because she didn’t want to go. Rather, she was embarrassed, and uncertain, and probably still thinking about all the things they’d said in the car earlier tonight. Or perhaps even, all the things they’d said to one another from the moment she’d parked in front of his house.
Moving from his spot near the arm of the couch to sit in the middle, Brock adjusted the decorative pillows all around the left arm, and then laid down. He took up the entire thing. Cushioning his head on his arm, he beckoned to her again. “Come on, baby. Come lay with Daddy.”
That she wanted was etched into every uncertain line on her face. “Do you really want me to?”
He nodded once, then shook his head. “I do, but that’s not the right question you need to be asking. The question you should be asking, is doyouwant to?”
He could feel the desire driving her next shiver all the way from the couch. It was good that he was paying attention, because when she nodded it was such a slight wiggle of her head that he might just as easily have missed it altogether, with nothing but a blink.
He adjusted himself, backing all the way up to the back of the couch cushions, making as much room as possible for her to lie down. She’d be very close to the edge, but that was okay, he’d make sure she didn’t fall. He patted the expanse of cushion in front of him.
Lily in her arms, she stood up, making her way to him in uncertain steps, and yet with such longing on her face. “You want me to lie down?”
He’d answered that question multiple times. The Big part of Stace already knew that was exactly what he wanted, and maybe her Little part knew that too. Or was that just wishful thinking on his part. Maybe it wasn’t him at all that she wanted to be close to. Maybe all she really longed for was just to be held, hugged in strong arms while she made believe that everything would be all right.
Brock didn’t care. He held out his arms, motioning for her to hand the sleeping baby down to him. That longing he could see darkened in her eyes as she looked from him, to the baby, to the stretch of couch waiting for her.
“We’ll fit,” he assured and motioned for her to hand him the baby again.
Carefully, she shifted Lily in her arms and then lowered the baby to lie face down on his chest. He had no idea how closely she was watching him until he wrapped his arm around Lily, holding her close while he turned partway onto his side, making as much room for her as he could. The yearning grew in her eyes, but instead of lying down, she backed up and sat back down in the recliner again. And that’s where she stayed. He let her, giving her time to get used to the idea.
It wasn’t until the movie was almost over, and she was still across the room, wistfully watching him with Lily.
“Stace,” he called. “Come on, come here. Don’t you want cuddles from Daddy?”
More than anything, her eyes said, but she didn’t get up or go to him.
“Do I need to come over there and get you?” he asked.
She shook her head, then gestured to the couch. “There’s no room.”
“There’s always room for you, both on this couch and in my arms. Come here, baby girl. I’ll show you.”
“I’ll wake her,” she said, but at least she stood up.
“So what if you do?” he countered. “She’ll go back to sleep.”
He leaned all the way against the very back of the couch, pressing his bigger body into the cushions to exaggerate what little room there was. A tiny flush lighting up her cheeks, she sat down at his hip, then gingerly lowered herself to lie on her back. Her head came to rest in the crook of his shoulder and arm, and he felt the shiver that wracked her when he wrapped his arm around her, holding her securely against him.
She rolled a little, getting comfortable partway beneath him. He would have expected her to roll her back to his chest, but Stace rolled the other way, settling herself face-to-face with him, lying underneath him more than she was beside him. God, she smelled good like this. She felt even better, a soft, warm, embarrassed bundle of feminine curves, willingly opening her arms when he lay Lily on her chest. She was definitely still nursing. He could smell it and the combination of baby, milk, and Stace was almost more than he could resist.
“Feel good?” he softly asked, his hand coming down to rest on her stomach. He splayed his fingers, liking how she felt, but unwilling to spread them too far. She was tiny, and he was country born and bred. Even his hands looked huge compared to her.
“Yes,” Stace said softly, tracing those tiny nervous patterns on Lily’s tiny back.
Smiling, he picked up her hand, admiring the tininess of Stace’s fingers, the raggedness of fingernails that looked as if she hadn’t seen a nail parlor in years. They were clean, but there was a roughness to her fingers and palms that made it clear she was no stranger to working for a living.
“Have you given any more thought to being Pops’ companion?” he asked, letting go of her hand to cup her hip instead. The heat of her burned into his palm. He so badly wanted to caress her, to trace a few mindless circles and heartsof his own, just to see if she would wriggle and squirm while he did it. See if he could arouse the Big within the Little until she wanted him every bit as much as he longed to make her his.
She both nodded, and shook her head. “It would be good for me, if you really did offer me the job,” she admitted, “but I’m not sure it’s a good idea.”
“All right,” he accepted. “May I ask what your reservations are?”
“What if the attraction doesn’t last?” Dropping her gaze to his collar, she stared at his chin while she worked through her worries. “What if the more you get to know me, the more you don’t like me? What if—”
“That’s not going to happen, Stace.” His tone held enough confidence for them both.
