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After I talked her down, she explained what upset her, and it all made sense. Unfortunately, I don’t have a solution, and that’s probably one of the most challenging parts of being a mom—knowing your child’s needs and being unable to meet them.
Once she was okay enough to leave her room, we found Pierce in the kitchen, finishing up the dinner I started. We ate quietly, and then I bathed her. Instead of begging me to stay awake late, she shocked me when she said she was tired and wanted to go to bed. I think she had exhausted herself between school, playing outside, and her emotional outburst. With Cinder in her cage by her bed, and Dots tucked under her arm, she passed out before I could even turn off her light.
“I overheard,” Pierce says.
I tilt my head slightly, unsure of what he’s referring to since a lot happened tonight.
He grabs my hand and tugs me into his lap, where he’s lounging on the couch. “She wants me to be her dad.”
“Oh, that.” I sigh and situate myself in his lap. My legs are thrown over the side and my head rests comfortably against his shoulder. “Apparently, eavesdropping is a trend tonight because she overheard you too, telling Trent’s parents that you would never be her dad.”
“That’s not how I meant it,” he murmurs.
“I know. I tried to explain that to her the best I could, but there was more to it than that. She showed me a flier in her backpack from school. There’s a father/daughter dance in February before Valentine’s Day, and she wants her dad to take her.”
“Fuck.” Pierce lifts my chin, and our eyes meet. “I meant what I said, Kels. I can’t replace Trent, but I’d love to adopt her and make her mine if you let me. We can hyphenate her last name so she has his and mine. Of course, we don’t have to do it now. Whenever you want, the offer is there. I would love nothing more than to officially make us a family.”
His words make my heart squeeze inside my chest. Since the day I found out I was pregnant with Jordan, she and I were seen as a burden to everyone. My parents disowned me. Trent’s parents looked at us like we ruined his life. Trent did the right thing and tried his hardest to be a good boyfriend and dad, and I have no doubt that he loved us, but I could see the stress in his features on a daily basis.
But when Pierce looks at us and spends time with us, he doesn’t see us as a burden, as something he has to deal with. He looks at us with love and adoration. He isn’t being forced to do the right thing. He genuinely wants us in his life. And I didn’t know until this moment how much I needed that—for Jordan and me to be loved unconditionally.
“How did I get so lucky to meet a man like you?” I whisper, leaning up and kissing the corner of his mouth.
“It’s not luck, sweetheart. You deserve to be loved and taken care of. Both of you do. And I feel so fucking blessed to get to be the man to do that.”
“So do you.” I trail kisses along his jaw as I reach out and rub his cock through the material of his pants. “You deserve to be loved and taken care of as well.”
“Oh yeah?” he rasps.
“Yeah.” I continue to rub my hand back and forth across his shaft, hardening it up. “You’re always taking care of Jordan and me.” I glance up and find him looking down at me, eyes heated with desire. “How about you let me take care of you tonight?”
The words are barely out of my mouth before Pierce is lifting me into his arms and stalking down the hall to my bedroom. He locks the door behind us then drops me onto the bed. And I can see it in his eyes, he has every intention of taking charge and taking care of me again, despite me telling him I want to take care of him.
So, before he can do that, I shuffle onto my knees and back up out of his reach. “Come lie down.” I pat the mattress, not taking my eyes off him. “I want you to lie down and let me take care of you.”
Clearly not used to being taken care of, he furrows his brow. But when I don’t relent, he does as I said. Coming around to the other side of the bed, he lies down and crosses his arms behind his head.
I take a moment to admire how handsome he is. His eyes are so bright, they remind me of caramel apples: warm, sweet, and addicting. His hair is messy in that sexy way that only guys can pull off. His nose is broad and angular, and his jaw is sharp and masculine. He hasn’t shaved in a few days, so his scruff is turning into a full beard. Even though I love him clean-shaven because it shows off his dimple, I equally love this look on him.
