I give her a look. “I like you hot and bothered.”
She giggles, the sound shooting straight to my cock. “I know you do, but you have to go to work, and if you send me home like this, I’ll have no choice but to touch myself.”
Thoughts, meet brick fucking wall.
Pulling her body impossibly close to mine, I kiss her.
Hard.
I throw every emotion, every thought, every need into this one kiss, and afterward her eyes are hooded and her chest is heaving.
“Don’t touch yourself unless I’m with you, understand?” My words pull her heavy lids up, and her eyes lock tight with mine. “I want your pleasure to be mine, Lennon.”
I’ll never get tired of saying things that make her cheeks flush. Lennon buries her face in my chest and mumbles something, but I can’t make it out.
I close the top of the grill, hesitating at the sound of Nova’s tinkling laughter. Quietly, I slip through the patio doors into the kitchen and watch Lennon and Nova, something I’m finding I enjoy immensely.
Seeing the two of them interact makes me hope for things I probably shouldn’t, but I can’t help it. Everything Lennon does makes me fall a little bit more. It’s the way she fits right in with my family, and the way she is with my daughter. It’s how comfortable she looks moving around my house, as though she’s always belonged here.
When Lennon showed up tonight, at five o’clock on the dot, she handed me a bottle of wine and walked right on past me and straight to Nova. They’ve been inseparable ever since.
“Okay!” Lennon rubs her hands together, way too excited about the cookies she’s about to make. “Dump that in.”
Nova, standing on a chair, picks up the cup of flour and dumps it in. “Now what?”
“Now we stir.” Lennon offers Nova a giant spoon, but she doesn’t immediately take it. “Here,” Lennon says, motioning for her to do the honors.
“But Daddy doesn’t let me stir. He says I make a mess.”
Smiling to myself, I wait to see what Lennon will do.
Bending down to Nova’s level, Lennon puts the spoon in Nova’s hand. “Practice makes perfect, and if you make a mess, I’ll help you clean it up.”
I’m so proud of Nova, my little rule follower. She looks up at Lennon, still unsure. “Are you sure?”
“I’m sure,” Lennon says, patting her on the back.
With a look of determination, Nova grips the spoon and gets right down to business spinning and whipping the utensil around like it’s her job. Lennon reaches into the bag of chocolate chips, grabs a few, and pops them into her mouth. Then she grabs a few more and pops them into Nova’s, as if it’s the most natural thing in the world.
“Does your daddy let you eat the chocolate chips?” Lennon asks, licking chocolate off of one of her fingers.
Nova shakes her head, dark curls bouncing around. “No. He says we have to save them for the cookies.”
Lennon drops her jaw dramatically, making Nova giggle. “Well, where’s the fun in that?”
“I don’t know.” Nova shrugs, continuing to stir the dough, her little arm going slower with each pass.
Lennon gives them each one more helping of chocolate chips before reaching for the spoon. “Here, want me to help?”
Nodding, Nova pulls the spoon from the bowl, and a chunk of dough goes flying, smacking Lennon right in the face.
Nova’s eyes widen, and Lennon freezes, her hands in midair. Ever so slowly, Lennon wipes the dough off her face with her finger and pops it into her mouth.
“You did that on purpose, didn’t you?” Lennon asks, as she dips a different finger into the bowl. She scoops some out.
Shaking her head, Nova laughs. “What’re you gonna do with that?” she asks, pointing to the dough on Lennon’s finger.
“This?” Lennon asks, twirling her finger around. Nova nods and Lennon puts the dough into her mouth. She grabs the spoon, sticks it back into the bowl, and gets another scoop. “What you should be asking is what am I going to do with this?”