When the dishes are drying, I toss the towel on the counter and head to the doorway between the living room and the kitchen. Both of them are balanced on their left foot, their right leg drawn up like a flamingo, and their arms poised over their heads.
“Daddy, look. I can balance good.”
“You’re doing wonderful, sweetheart, but it’s probably time to relax and get in the tub. You have half the backyard on your legs still,” I tell her, referring to the mixture of dirt, grass, and chalk on her little legs.
“Do I gots to?”
“Yes, Chloe, you gots to.”
My daughter turns and looks up at her ballet teacher. “Will you be here when I get done?”
She opens her mouth, not really sure how to respond. “I can stay for a little bit longer.”
“I’ll take a really fast bath!” she responds, darting down the hall like a bullet.
I chuckle. “That means she’s not going to wash her hair.” I point in the direction my daughter just went. “I’m going to get her bath started and I’ll be right out. Make yourself comfortable.”
I dart down the hall and into the bathroom. I turn on the water to the temperature Chloe likes and add a few bubbles. I grab a towel and a washcloth from the cabinet and set them on the toilet. Chloe comes in, already stripped down, and jumps in the water. I soap-up the washcloth and set it aside. “I’ll be back in ten minutes. You can play for a little bit and then we’ll wash your hair.”
“Okay,” she sings, covering herself in bubbles.
I shut off the water before slipping out, making sure to leave the door open so I can hear her. Haven is still in the living room, taking in a small grouping of picture frames on the wall. There’s a photo of me holding Chloe for the first time in the hospital, one of her first day of preschool, a few of us at football games last fall, and a handful of candids from activities we’ve done together.
“She seems like a happy little girl,” Haven says the moment I step into the room.
“She is. Admittedly, in the beginning, it wasn’t always easy between Trina and me, but we’ve always strived to do what is needed for Chloe. She’s always first.”
Those sexy green eyes turn and lock on me. “You’re an amazing dad, Bash.”
I actually feel a blush creep up my neck. “Thanks,” I reply, trying to avert my eyes. Only, when I do, they land on her lips. Her very plump, perfectly ripe lips. The ones I used to get lost in for hours at a time, kissing her until they were chapped, and I was so fucking horny, I couldn’t even see straight.
She turns until we’re facing each other. I take a step closer, her familiar scent drawing me in like a moth to a flame. I don’t know who moves first, her or me, but her arms go to my shoulders, while mine wrap around her waist. We’re a breath apart when she licks her lips in invitation. My mind tries to tell me this probably isn’t the brightest idea, but my body strongly disagrees.
“Why haven’t you kissed me yet?” she whispers, gazing up at me with a mix of desire and challenge.
“I was trying to be polite.” Why is it so hard to breathe when she’s in my arms?
A coy grin slips across those very lips. “Personally, I really like it when your manners are thrown out the window.” She’s like gasoline to an already burning blaze.
I chuckle. “I’d really like nothing more than to kiss you right now, Have, but I’m afraid I won’t be able to stop. I want you so badly.” My words come out a whisper.
“I want you too,” she replies, her fingers tightening into my shoulders as she presses her chest to my own, as if daring me to do it anyway.
“I can’t do anything more than kiss you tonight, Have. Not with my daughter here.”
“I understand,” Haven responds, her chin jutting up in dare. “You know,” she says, running her hand down the front of my chest, “your daughter isn’t here right now.”
And that’s all it takes. My lips crash into hers in a frenzy of pent-up lust and age-old desire. It’s like a homecoming as she opens her mouth and my tongue delves inside, tasting her for the first time. Her nails bite into my shirt as she presses herself further into my chest, as if she can’t get close enough. My cock is pulsing in my shorts, begging to be let out to play, and as much as I try to ignore him, he still lets his presence be known the moment Haven presses her body into it.
This.
This is what life’s been missing.
This wild, crazy, can’t-be-contained desire.