“You made Gwen bleed.”
Oh, for fuck’s sake.“He deserved it.”
“Why?”
Zeke pursed his lips. He needed to handle this carefully because this conversation could be shared with Kyra. He didn’t need his woman more pissed at him than she already was. “He’s tryin’ to take sh— stuff that don’t belong to him.”
“Mommy said not to touch stuff that don’t belong to me. She makes me ask first,” he huffed, like having to ask first was the most annoying shit on Earth.
Zeke kind of agreed. “Yeah. He tried to take stuff that ain’t his without askin’.”
“What stuff?”
Pussy, kid. Pussy. You’ll get it when you’re older.“He wants you”—and your mother—“and you ain’t his to have.”
Ledger’s face scrunched up. “Dunno what that means.”
“Means he wants to be your daddy, but you already got one.”
His face lit up. “I got a daddy?”
Oh shit.“Yeah, lil dude, everyone’s got a daddy. You wouldn’t be here if you didn’t.”
Ledger bounced in his seat, spilling more popcorn onto the carpet. Thunder quickly disappeared the snack like a magician. “Where’s my daddy?”
Sitting right the fuck next to you.
Goddamn it, he hated this secret bullshit. It really was time to tell Ledger the truth. He knew he should at least wait for Kyra to be present when he spilled the beans, but…
He ground his teeth.
But she made the decision to keep his son from himwithout consulting with him first. Why the fuck shouldn’t he make this decision without consulting her first?
After last night, he probably wouldn’t get to fuck her again, anyway. What did he have to lose?
“Ledger…” How the fuck was he supposed to drop this news to a three-year-old? “We’ve been waitin’ to tell you ’til you get to know me better, but…” He pulled in a deep breath.
Ledger scooped up another handful of popcorn and stuffed one piece at a time into his mouth without chewing or swallowing. Eventually, with his cheeks so full, he looked like a chipmunk hoarding nuts.
“Gotta chew that sh—stuff, my man. You choke and your mom’s gonna kill me.”
Instead of eating the popcorn, he spit it all back into his palm. Of course, most of it didn’t stick the landing and Thunder ended up eating the saliva-covered snack.
Zeke took the bowl from him and set it on the coffee table. “‘Kay. That’s enough of that for now. Look at me, Ledger.”
He turned his blue eyes from the popcorn bowl to Zeke. “Huh?”
“You want a daddy?”
“Yeah! Mommy’s got a daddy. He’s my gwandpaw!”
“He sure as f—” Zeke grimaced. “Is.” The whole not cursing shit sucked. In no way would he be able to curb his language for the next ten years or so. “You now got one.”
A wrinkle creased Ledger’s forehead. “I do?”
“Yeah, lil dude, it’s me.”
When confusion filled Ledger’s eyes, Zeke waited for it to sink in.
