Having a kid was all new to him and took some getting used to. Especially a girl child who was chatty as fuck, unlike her mother. Syn tended to save her voice for the stage.
Maya liked to share every thought that popped into her head, whether it should be shared or not.
“Tell your mom to come in here right away,” he yelled right before the door slammed shut.
Jesus. Kids didn’t know how to close fucking doors like normal people, either.
He grinned.
In truth, Maya was a good kid.
Things were slowly falling into place.
How the fuck did he go from a bachelor living above a bar a couple of months ago, to now having a woman and a kid?
He didn’t know. But here they were.
Truthfully, he wouldn’t change a damn thing.
Well, he would… And things were about to change. Again.
For the better.
Syn appeared in the bedroom doorway, her face scrubbed clean of her stage makeup and her hair pulled up and out of her face into a ponytail. She was a picture of innocence and, makeup-free, looked way too fucking young for him.
But he was done caring about that. Age didn’t matter. What they had between them did.
“How’d it go?”
She shrugged, crossed her arms over her chest and leaned a hip against the door frame. “It went all right.”
“The manager paid you, right?”
She nodded. “Six hundred. In cash, too.”
“Good.”
She had told him the story of the bar owner in Scranton stiffing them. He and a couple of his brothers gave that bar owner a visit in the early hours one morning and collected what the band was owed. Dodge would also make sure that never happened again. Syn now knew to call him if anyone ever tried that bullshit with her again.
Nobody but him would ever tell his woman to get on her knees. Not if they wanted to keep breathing.
He dropped his voice an octave lower and ordered, “Close the door.”
After a quick glance over her shoulder, she whispered, “We don’t have time for that right now.”
“Know it. Just close the damn door.”
Heat flamed in her cheeks and he could see the tips of her nipples harden through the Eurythmics long-sleeved T-shirt she wore, making it very obvious she wasn’t wearing a damn bra. In reality she didn’t need the support, but he preferred she wear one in public for the exact reason he was staring at.
They’d had that discussion. Apparently, he’d have to have it with her again.
Just not right now.
Syn rolled her eyes, stepped into the bedroom and closed the door. “Am I in trouble?”
Dodge cocked an eyebrow at the game they had started playing on a regular basis. It was a fucking fun one. “You do somethin’ to deserve me markin’ up that perfect ass of yours?” He tipped his head toward her chest.
“I don’t know.”
She knew. She definitely fucking knew. “You don’t know or you don’t wanna say?”
She pursed her lips and donned a mask of innocence. She brushed both of her palms over her peaked nipples. “I might have forgotten something.”
“Yeah, you did. C’mere.”
Her eyes sparkled and her lips parted as she stepped closer. As soon as he’d heard the bus pull up, he had moved to sit on the hardback chair he kept in their room. They got a lot of use out of it when Maya wasn’t around.
Syn’s dark eyes flicked to the belt he purposely kept draped over the back of it. Dodge shook his head slightly.
He spread his thighs wider, pointed to the floor between his feet and ordered, “On your knees.”
Dodge watched her throat slowly roll. No, not her throat. His.
He owned every piece of her.
In turn, she owned every piece of him. Every fucking piece. Including the heart that beat in his chest.
His dick was throbbing in his jeans as she licked her lips and slowly lowered to her knees.
This wasn’t playtime, though.
This was serious.
She tipped her head down, as well as her eyes, and waited.
He could see her tremble slightly in anticipation and excitement. That made his dick turn to steel.
Ain’t playtime. Focus.
He reached behind his back, grabbed the small box he’d tucked there and held it above his lap in line with her lowered gaze.
“Look,” he said, giving her permission to raise her eyes.
“What’s that?” she asked when her face lifted to his.
“A gift.”
Confusion filled her eyes. “For what?”
He shook his head.
“For me?”
“Anybody else in this room?”
She narrowed her eyes on him, but smiled. “No.”
“Then, guess it’s for you. So, you better open it. Otherwise, Maya will find it and think it’s for her.”
“I don’t need any gifts, Dodge. You’ve already given me so much.”
“Open it up first. Then you can decide if you wanna refuse it.”
She took the box from his fingers and lifted the hinged lid. Inside were two keys.
A tiny brass one and a larger metal alloy one.