“He’s fine. Yeesh. You sound like Daddy!” Addy said, and I didn’t know what to do with that information, but I was happy she dragged herself out of the pond. She ran a muddy hand through her short hair, and I winced.
The afternoon was far more stressful than I would have thought as both girls put me through the wringer while I tried to dream up games for us to play—anything not to be told they were bored. We went through tag, hide-and-go-seek, Simon Says, and a game Eloise made up that mainly involved jumping in one spot and hooting like an owl, and then, sucking air and clutching at a stitch in my side, I’d officially had enough.
“Have either of you girls ever seenSteven Universe?” I asked between deep pants of air. The sun beat down on me and my face stung. It was likely I was getting a sunburn.
Addy glanced at me suspiciously. There was mud on her face, in her hair, and something that looked strangely like an oil stain on the left side of her shirt. Cam would never leave me with his kids again. “What’s that?”
Eloise glanced up from where she was drawing with chalk on the sidewalk. Somehow she’d managed to coat her shorts in pink dust. “Yeah! What’s that?”
“You don’t know?”
“Nope,” they chimed together.
“Well, maybe you aren’t old enough.” I tapped my chin and pretended to think, and nearly gave the game away when Addy howled in outrage.
“I am too! I’m old enough for anything. Except Daddy says I can’t watchAliensand it isn’t fair. I want to!”
“Well, this is about aliens,” I said, pathetically grateful I could twist Cam’s rule to my advantage. “They’re crystal gems from outer space. As a special treat I’ll let you watch this show about aliens, but we have to do itquietly.”
Addy squealed in delight, grabbed Eloise’s hand, and dragged her into the house. I nearly wept with joy. After the morning with Cam and then running around after his kids—who must have inherited his energy—I was beat. I turned on the TV in the family room before I rifled through the freezer for chicken nuggets and fries, which I was assured by Addy both girls were allowed to eat without a single vegetable. Eloise nodded along with a stoic expression as Addy said they were also allowed to eat in front of the TV every single meal.
“Well, if you’re sure,” I said, giving up the fight easily.
“We are!” they chirped, innocent as baby birds. I had to admit, they were good. Neither girl even cracked a smile. I put the food on tray tables I found in the pantry, plopped one on the floor in front of each girl, and then collapsed on the long end of the L-shaped couch with theSteven Universetheme song playing a touch too loudly. I closed my eyes—only for a second.
And then someone was patting my face in an annoying way. I grumbled. There was an amused chuckle followed by giggles. “You broke him!” Cam accused. I startled and opened my eyes.
“No, Daddy, no, we didn’t.” Eloise appeared horrified as she slapped her hands to her chubby cheeks.
“I’m alive,” I croaked and peeked up into Cam’s face. The girls were both clean and in pajamas. I stared at them for a second, then jerked upright and glanced over at the dark windows.
“Oh.”
Cam laughed. “Yeah, they can do that to you. I thought maybe you’d want to go get ready for bed.” He pressed a gentle kiss to my cheek that had the girls giggling and me flushing worse than ever.
“Yes.”
Cam read to the girls, and I caught snatches of the story as I brushed my teeth. He was still going strong when I slipped into his bed. I was stunned. Normally days off dragged and seemed like they would never end. I would spend the afternoon quietly wishing something would happen somewhere in the city that would require me to work. Today had flown by in a flash. Cam slid into bed at my side, and a strange warmth crashed through me.
“Is this what it’s like?” I asked, feeling drowsy and stupid.
“What?”
“Being with someone. It’s so busy.”
He cupped my cheek and kissed me softly. “It’s not always. I was going to take you into the den and tie you down, but… would you be okay if I didn’t do that?” He pressed a demanding kiss to my mouth that curled my toes.
I chuckled. “You know, I never thought I’d be in the position to say sure, I don’t mind not being locked in a cage and fucked.”
“Oh, I’m still going to have you,” he said and rolled over on top of me. His lips were firm on mine as he licked into my mouth. He shifted between my thighs, and I wrapped my legs around his waist.
“The door.”
“Locked.” He took his time exploring my mouth, and even though we weren’t playing roughly, there was something feral about the way he slowly worked down my neck to lick and suck kisses. He peeled my shirt up and off to toss it over the edge of the bed, and he stopped at my nipples. I found myself straining my chest toward him even though I’d never been the biggest fan of having my nipples played with in the past. Anything he wanted to do to my body drove me crazier than it should.
Cam didn’t cause any pain, only licked and sucked on my nipples in a lazy pattern, which had me squirming and rubbing against him. Every now and then, he sniffed and set his teeth against my skin before he went back to sucking so softly it was nearly a tickle. He had me strung out. Then he kissed up my chest and over to my armpit. I wasn’t ready when he buried his nose in there, and I yanked my arm back and laughed.
“What are you doing?”
