by Kaylee Ryan
“Done.”
I hear her sniffle. “You’re a good man, Seth Jennings.” I let her words wash over me. I want to do right by both Amelia and our baby, and Mara and Finley. I feel like I’m being torn in two worrying about all of them. To hear her say this calms some of my anxiety that I’m not doing enough.
“Safe flight. Call if you need anything.” I end the call and take a deep breath—what feels like the first of the day. Quickly I explain what happened to the guys.
“Go home, get some snuggles from your daughter and loving from your fiancée,” Ridge tells me.
“Thanks, man.” I feel myself getting choked up again. “You don’t know what a relief it is to have you all in my corner, even when I’m being a dick.”
“Oh, we know,” Tyler says. “We’ve all needed to lean on the others at one point or another. That’s what friends and family are for. You call us if you need anything.”
Standing, we quickly finish packing up the tools, and I wave and beep as I pull out of the site first.
I need to see my girls.
As soon as I walk into the house, something that smells amazing greets me. After washing my hands in the utility sink in the laundry room, I make my way toward the kitchen, following the smell.
“Daddy!” Finley cheers. She’s sitting at the kitchen island coloring while Mara makes dinner. I will never get tired of her calling me that. The love that shines through her eyes, it’s for me, and I’m honored to be able to fill this spot in her life. Biologically she’s not mine, but she’s the first of my kids to make me a daddy, and it’s the best damn feeling.
“Hey, Finny.” Stopping next to her, I bend to kiss the top of her head. “Were you a good girl for Sonia today?” I ask her.
“My was.”
“I was,” I correct her with a smile. I make my way to the stove and wrap my arms around Mara and kiss her neck. “Hey, beautiful. That smells amazing.”
“Better than you,” she teases. “You’ve got about ten minutes to shower before dinner.” She turns to face me and places a kiss on my lips. “Welcome home.”
Home.
“How was your day?” I ask.
“Uneventful, now go.” She shoves at me and I laugh. Leaning in, I kiss her one more time before jogging down the hall to shower.
Five minutes later, I’m in a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt. “Just in time,” Mara says as she makes Finley a plate.
“What is this?” The smell is making my mouth water.
“Nothing special. Just homemade beef barbecue and french fries.”
“French fries.” Finley claps, making us both laugh.
“You have to eat your sandwich too, and your applesauce,” I remind her.
“I do’s, Daddy,” she sasses. It’s too damn cute to correct her.
“I will,” Mara does it for me.
All through dinner, Finley keeps us entertained. She chatters about Sonia and coloring, I think. She’ll be three in about six weeks, and she talks well, but when she gets to talking fast, it’s hard to keep up with everything she’s telling us.
“Okay, kiddo, time for a bath.” Mara stands to clear the table.
“Bath or dishes?” I ask her.
“I get a choice?”
“You can sit on the couch and I can do both, but that cuts into our family cuddle time, so….” I shrug.
“Bath.” She scoops Finley up in her arms and their laughter follows them down the hall.
Twenty minutes later, the three of us are snuggled on the couch watching the Disney channel. Finley is sitting still, which means we’re close to losing her to sleep. Her head is on my chest, my arm around her, while Mara’s head is leaning on the opposite shoulder. I don’t even remember what life was like without them.
“So I’ve been thinking. There are only two items left on Amelia’s list that we can make happen.”
“Okay.”
“Finny turns three soon. What if we took a short vacation to the beach? It’s about a seven-hour drive to Pensacola. I was thinking break it up in two days driving, giving Amelia breaks. Unless she’s doing well, then we can drive straight through?”
“Finley would love that,” Mara agrees.
“I think so too. What if we get married while we’re there?” I toss it out there. It’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately. I need her to know she’s the love of my life. That I want the future we’re building together to be everlasting.
“What?” This time she sits up and looks at me. Her eyes dart to Finley, and they soften, telling me she’s fallen asleep in my arms.
Keeping one arm around our daughter, the other reaches up and cradles her cheek in my palm. “I love you, Mara. I love Finley, and I want this to be permanent. Nights like tonight. Marry me on the beach in Florida.”
Her eyes well with tears, and I start to worry that I’m pushing this too fast when a slow smile graces her lips. “You really want to do this?”
“Yes.” Simple answer, no hesitation.
She nods. “Okay.”
“Yeah?”
Another nod. “Yes.”
“Pick a date. You tell me when and I’ll take care of everything.”
“Are the others going to join us?”
“They’re family so they’re invited. I don’t know if they’ll be able to make it work with jobs and kids, but I’ll try like hell to get them all there. My parents too.”
She glances down at Finley. “I want you both to have my last name, Mara.”
“I love you, Seth Jennings.”
“Oh, baby.” Sliding my hand behind her neck, I bring her closer. “You have no idea how much I love you.”
“I think you should show me.”
“I’m going to put our daughter to bed, and come find you.” The words are barely out of my mouth before she scrambles from the couch and races down the hall. Carefully, trying not to wake her, I lift Finley into my arms and carry her to her room. Once I have her in her bed, I cover her with her princess blanket and turn on her stars nightlight before closing the door. I leave it cracked so we can hear her. Just in case.
Across the hall, I push open our bedroom door, closing it and turning the lock. It’s time to show Mara with my body what my mind sometimes can’t find the words to say. I’m going to cherish her, love her with all that I am.
Chapter Twenty
Mara 20
* * *
I left the small bedside lamp on because I want to see him. Seth’s eyes are so expressive. He can tell me everything he’s feeling with just one look. And tonight, I don’t want to miss it. These past few months have taken us by storm, but we’re fighting our way through it.
When the bedroom door opens, then closes, and I hear the tick of the lock, I know he’s taking his job of “showing” me seriously.
“Fuck,” he murmurs when he sees me lying naked on our bed. Lifting his arms, he reaches behind his head, grabbing the neck of his T-shirt, pulling it off before dropping it on the floor.
He’s standing before me in low-hung gray sweatpants. They hang at the V of his hips, exposing the intricate work of his dragon tattoo. It starts at his hip and ends on his thigh. It’s sexy, and I’m ready for him to drop his pants and show me the goods.
“Mara.” My name is a growl from deep in his throat.
My eyes snap up to his. “Keep going,” I encourage.
“You keep looking at me like that, it’s going to be over before it starts.”
“Like what?”
“Like you want to trace every inch of my skin with your tongue.”
“Mmm,” I agree. “That tattoo, and well…” I drop my eyes to his hard length, lick my lips, and then give him my full attention once again. “Among other things.”
“Your eyes look like emeralds.” On either side of his hips, he slides an index finger under the waistband of his sweats and tugs. I watch as he pulls the elastic out and around his dick. He’s hard and ready, and if I had known he wasn’t wearing under
wear… well, it would have been torture.
Beautiful torture.
I watch him as he steps out of his sweatpants that are pooled at his ankles. I’m riveted on the show before me as he fists his dick and begins to stroke. “Seth,” I choke out. I want to be the one touching him.
“I can’t right now, baby.” He makes his way to the side of the bed and reaches for a strip of condoms, only to find an empty box. “Fuck,” he says under his breath.
“Seth,” I moan, my eyes are back on his fist and each gentle glide from root to tip. I can’t take it, watching him has me more turned on than I’ve ever been in my entire life. Cupping my left breast and tweaking my nipple, my right hand travels over my navel, and I don’t stop until I reach my clit. Two fingers repeating a circular pattern has me arching off the bed.
“Mara, baby, you can’t do that. I— Fuck.” He drops his hand and marches to the bathroom. I hear drawers being opened and doors being slammed on the vanity. His grumbling comes next, but I can’t make out what he’s saying. My mind is clogged with the pleasure I’m giving myself. “Fuck me.” His deep rasp has me turning to look at him.
He’s standing in the doorway of the attached bathroom, his hands above his head gripping the doorframe. His dick is hard and ready, and his eyes looked pained. “No condoms,” he rasps.
“Come here.” My voice is not my own. It’s deep and husky. Sexy. His eyes flash to mine, then to where my hand is taking control of my pending orgasm. Slowly, he sits beside me on the bed, and his hand lands over mine, mimicking my movements.
“Let me,” he croons.
Reluctantly, I pull my hand away and let him have control. His thumb takes over as he slides two long digits inside me. I squeeze my legs together on instinct. “That won’t do,” he says, standing from the bed. His hand is suddenly gone, and so is he, but not for long. His calloused hands clamp around my ankles and pulls me to the edge of the bed. Before my brain can catch up to what’s happening, he drops to his knees, throws my legs over his shoulders, and his mouth is attached to my clit.
“Seth.” I cry out his name because his tongue… it’s worlds apart from his hands or mine. Burying my hands in his hair, all I can do is hang on for the ride as he devours me, his fingers working in tandem with his tongue as he wrings every ounce of pleasure from my body.
Slowly, I feel it. The fire that builds. The hot liquid desire coursing through my veins. My legs clamp around his head, my back arches off the bed, and I pull him closer with my hands gripping his hair. My body is stiff as I feel it racing faster and faster and faster. The fire flames until complete euphoria crashes into me. I cry out as my body convulses underneath him.
When I finally fall back to the mattress, my grip on his hair long forgotten, and my legs limp over his shoulders, he kisses my inner thigh and works his way from under my legs and stands. With extreme effort, I force myself to open my eyes, and I will be forever grateful that I did. Standing at the end of the bed is Seth standing, feet apart, eyes closed, head tilted back as he strokes his cock. Not the slow languid strokes from earlier. No, these are hard and fast and the absolute sexiest thing I’ve ever seen in my life.
His legs begin to quiver as his strokes become faster, harder, and suddenly, I need him. Regardless of the epic orgasm I had just moments ago, I need him. I’m greedy when it comes to Seth.
“Seth,” I manage to croak when a low moan from somewhere deep inside him tumbles from his lips. He doesn’t stop, chasing that sweet oblivion he just gifted me. “Seth,” I say again, louder this time. Slowly, his eyes peel open, and he lifts his head. He doesn’t stop stroking. His eyes, dark molten chocolate, lock onto mine, and I can see everything he’s feeling.
Lust.
Desire.
Love.
So much love in the depths of his gaze.
“I need you.”
“Mara,” he chokes.
“We’re getting married. You promised to love me forever. We don’t need condoms.”
Finally, I have his attention and his stroking stops. His eyes are laser-focused on mine as he steps forward. “What are you telling me, Mara?”
“I’m saying I’m on the pill, have been for a while. It regulates my cycle, which I know you don’t care about and I can’t believe I’m saying this right now.” Stopping, I close my eyes and take a deep breath. Slowly, I open them. “I’m saying that I love you, and I trust you. I don’t want anything between us.”
“Baby.” He caresses my cheek, tracing it with his thumb. Bending, he presses his lips to mine and I can taste myself on him. I always thought that would gross me out, but not when it’s Seth. I’ll take him any way I can have him, and to be honest, it’s a turn on. To know he just gave me pleasure, and now I get to taste mine and his.
He pulls back from the kiss and I see the indecision on his face. He’s a good man. One who will always put mine and my daughter’s needs before his own. I know this, and it’s with that knowledge, I voice the one thing that can sway things my way. “Fuck me, Seth. I need to feel you inside me. Nothing but you and me.”
He growls, gently pushes me back on the bed, and lifts my legs to rest on his shoulders. Stepping between us, he grips his cock and aligns himself at my entrance. “I’m so close already, and you had to bring out that sexy fucking mouth of yours.” He traces my pussy with the head of his cock, coating himself in me. “Say it again.” His hand falls away as just the tip is poised.
Ready.
Waiting.
“Fuck me, Seth.” The words are barely out of my mouth when he presses forward and gives us what we both want. He places a hand on each of my legs and pushes them back, leaning in close, his lips a breath from mine.
“Hold on.” Two words in his low sexy growl are the only warning I get before he’s pounding into me. Over and over and over again. Thrust after thrust, he chases his orgasm while my second of the night builds.
“So fucking hot and wet.” He grinds his hips into mine. “So tight.”
I grip the bedsheets as I take everything he’s willing to give. I want it all.
“Mara, I’m c-close,” he pants. “Where do you want me, baby? Where do you want me to come?” he grits out.
There is no decision here. “Inside. I want to feel you lose control.” As if my words are a trigger for his orgasm, he stills, and I feel him releasing inside me. Something about the act, the intimacy has me following him over the edge.
Carefully, he releases my legs and lets them fall to the bed. His hands hold his weight on either side of my head so he doesn’t crush me. “I love you.”
“I love you too.” He kisses me, long and slow, a complete contrast to the way our bodies just came together. This is us together, slow and sweet, fast and hard, dirty talk or sweet nothings. I have it all with Seth, and I can’t imagine a day in this world without him.
Two days later, Seth and I are sitting at the dining room table booking rooms for early June for our wedding in Pensacola, Florida. Between the two of us, we’ve talked to everyone, and they’re making it happen. Everyone is coming with us, including my future in-laws.
“You excited?” Seth asks.
“I am actually. I can’t wait to be your wife.” He leans over and presses a kiss to my temple. “Oh, I almost forgot. I have something for you.” Reaching down into the bag that I carry back and forth to work, I pull out a manila envelope. I slide it to him.
“What’s this?”
“Open it.” I smile, letting him know it’s not bad news. We’ve had enough of that to last a lifetime.
Cautiously, he removes the packet of paperwork inside and begins to read. I watch him carefully, and I see it. The moment it dawns on him what it is he’s reading. His head pops up, and his jaw is slack. “Mara?”
“I called Kendall the day after you proposed. I was nervous to ask her, but I wanted a good attorney. She gave me the name and number of the man they used, who is also the same attorney that Mark and Dawn used to adopt Daisy. There is no contes
t because I didn’t list a father on her birth certificate. All you have to do is sign. He’ll file the petition with the court.”
He’s frozen still. The only part of his body moving is the rise and fall of his chest as his eyes scan the papers in his hands. “This is real?” he asks again.
“Hey.” I place my hand on his arm, pulling his attention back to me. “You don’t have to sign them. I just thought—”
He cuts me off by kissing me hard.
“I’m signing them. Hell, I might frame them. You’re really doing this? You’re going to share your daughter with me?” The awe in his voice warms my heart.
“In her heart, she’s already just as much your daughter as she is mine.” Speaking of said daughter, she comes rushing into the dining room and climbs up on Seth’s lap.
“Daddy, I’m firsty.”
Seth swallows hard, his eyes wet with unshed tears. He wraps her in a hug, then sets her on the table in front of him. Carefully, he takes her two tiny hands in his larger ones. “Finley, I love you. I love being your daddy.”
“Do you wuv getting me juice?” she asks, making us both laugh.
“Daddy will get you some juice, but I need you to sit in my lap for a minute. Can you do that?”
“Otay,” she says, letting him place her back in his lap.
Reaching for a pen, he flips to each page he needs to sign and initial and makes quick work of it. Once he’s done, he slides the packet back into the envelope and hands it to me. “I’ll always love you,” he whispers in her ear.
“I wuv you too, Daddy. Now juice?”
He smiles at her. “Yeah, Finny, now we can get you some juice.” She climbs off his lap and races to the kitchen. “Wait for me,” he calls out, then reaches over and takes my hands in his. “Mara, I will never forget this moment as long as I live. Thank you for loving me, for sharing that perfect piece of you with me. I promise I will love you both until the end of time.” His words have tears welling in my eyes, but he’s not there to see it. No, he’s already off and heading to the kitchen to grab our girl some juice. I sit and listen to him talk to her, and in that interaction, I can hear how much they love each other. Their bond was fast and it’s strong. I love that I’m no longer the only person she can rely on. The only one she trusts to get her juice or read her bedtime stories. I love our family.