15. King
Watching Sparrow and the kids run around in the yard is my form of torture. Since last night, when I finally was able to kiss Sparrow, I’ve needed more. More of anything she is willing to give me. Sparrow is wearing tight black jeans and a tank top that hugs every curve.
The unhealthy breakfasts I've purposely been bringing over have been doing its job. Sparrow would kill me if she knew I've been also bringing her protein smoothies.
A smile ghosts my lips when Sparrow throws her head back and laughs at something Loch says to her. God, I could watch them for hours and not get bored.
“What are you smiling at over here?” Ace asks, interrupting me from creepily staring at my family. “Ahh. Are you staring at the kids or Sparrow?”
“Mind your own business, Ace,” I growl out. Normally, I have all the patience in the world for my brothers, but if he is going to give me shit, he can fuck off. I don’t think Ace is ever going to settle down with one person, if he does, the woman is going to need the patience of a saint.
“Hey, no need to get all growly, big brother. I was just wondering if the news I heard was correct or not,” Ace tells me with a shrug of his shoulder.
Dropping my head, I close my eyes. I should have figured the news would travel fast. Looking up, I pin Ace with my stare. “I don’t know what you heard, but she finally realized the truth.”
“The truth? What truth?”
“That’s she’s mine. She’s always been mine. And will always be mine.” That’s all there is to it. I don’t want to be in a world where Sparrow and the kids aren’t in my life—they are my life.
“Huh. And she agreed?” Ace asks me like Sparrow agreeing to be in my life is the most confusing thing he’s ever heard.
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” Now he is just pissing me off.
“I’m just saying, she hasn’t opened up about too much. She has been keeping her distance today. Doesn’t seem like she’s on board with that plan. You need to realize that she isn’t the same person.”
I want to physically hurt my brother; he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. She wants this, I know she does. And I agree with Sparrow that the kids need to be eased into this. They have accepted me as their dad, but they have been through a lot of changes.
“Are you talking about my mom? It’s not nice to talk about people.” Turning around, I find Loch staring at me and Ace. Ace hasn’t gotten as close to the kids as River has, something that hasn’t gone unnoticed. Putting my arm around my daughter so I don’t hit my brother, I turn back to Ace.
“Walk away right now, Ace,” I growl out. I never want to lose my temper in front of the kids, but Ace is tempting me today.
“I’m just—”
“Ace!” He holds my stare for a few seconds before turning and walking towards the house.
Kneeling down so Loch can look at me in the eyes easier. “I’ve loved your mom since I was a kid, did you know that?” She nods her head, so I continue. “Your uncle is looking out for me, like your brother looks out for you, because I still love your mom very much.”
Loch tilts her head from side to side, like she is trying to figure out a puzzle, and I guess this is sort of like that. We have all these pieces, some jagged, and we are trying to fit them together. The process of putting them together could be frustrating, but the finished product takes your breath away.
“She loves you too.” With that bomb, Loch runs off towards her brother. I don’t know how she knows this information, but I’m going to choose to believe her.
River just got home, and the kids are acting like they didn’t see him a couple of hours ago. Loch just thrust her portfolio in his hands, and Telle asked him to play a video game with him. While the kids are entertained, I pull Sparrow down the hall.
“King!” Sparrow whisper-shouts as I pull her into my room.
“Give me your lips, Bird,” I demand.
She doesn’t hesitate before standing on her tiptoes and wrapping her arms around my neck. I meet her halfway and devour her. Her lips still taste like the lemonade she had with dinner.
Sparrow pulls back and searches my face. “Why are you and Ace fighting?” Of course, she would notice that Ace has kept his distance.
“He asked what we were doing, he had some thoughts. Loch overheard some of what he said.”
“He doesn’t trust me.” She looks down at her feet, and I hate that I’m upsetting her.
“It’s not that—”
“Mom!” Sparrow steps out of my hold and leaves my room to go in search for Telle. I follow after her. Finding everyone back in the kitchen, I stand next to River and take in the scene.
Ace is standing at the blender making shakes, while Loch adds whip cream to the top of one before handing it to her mom. Once everyone has a glass, Ace rinses out the blender and starts to leave the room.
“Ace, don’t leave yet,” Sparrow calls out after him. Ace stops dead in his tracks and slowly turns around. Sparrow looks around the room before her gaze lands on me. I have no idea what this woman is doing, so I’ll just follow her lead in whatever this is.
“Kids, there’s something I wanted to talk to you about,” Sparrow hesitantly says.
“And Uncle River, and Uncle Ace?” Telle asks as he looks around.
“Yes. This is a family matter, and…and we are all family.” She brings her attention back to me, and she jerks her head towards her, so I immediately stand up and walk over to her. Sparrow grabs ahold of my hand before speaking again.
“Sparrow, you don’t have to do this,” I softly tell her. She is only doing this because Ace went ahead and opened his big mouth.
“Kids, you know that your dad and I were together when we were younger; we grew up together. We loved each other very much, and now that we found each other again, him and I are going to be together.”
“Like a boyfriend and girlfriend?” Loch asks.
“Yes, just like that,” Sparrow responds while nodding her head.
I don’t bother to add that I hope she is just my girlfriend for a short amount of time. I want my ring on her finger as soon as I can convince her. There’s no second thinking if Sparrow is it for me, she is. I don’t see waiting making her mine in all ways, but for her sake, I’ll go as slow as I can.
“Does that mean we are moving in here?” Tell asks.
Sparrow glances up at me before looking back at the kids. “Umm…not yet. But we’ll discuss staying here a couple nights a week. But we need to make sure that it’s okay with your uncles, because they live here too.”
“Okay, but they won’t mind.” Everyone laughs at Telle’s response, and we get back to our shakes that are starting to melt.
Bending down so no one can hear me, I whisper, “I love you, Bird. So fucking much.” Sparrow looks up at me, biting the corner of her lower lip. I wonder if she knows that she is driving me crazy.
I just carried Loch to her room; the girl cannot make it through a movie to save her life. Sparrow is already in bed, and dammit, she looks good there. She belongs in my bed every night, but we’ll get there.
“Our daughter has your sleeping habits,” I tell Sparrow as I climb into bed next to her.
“She’s always been a good sleeper. The only time she fought her sleep was when she was teething,” Sparrow responds with a yawn.
God, I wish I was there for that. I’m a dad but I’ve never changed a diaper. I’ve never had a sleepless night with a sick baby. I feel like a fraud to say I’m a dad, like I haven’t earned the right to have the title.
Deciding to push those thoughts from my head for the time being, I reach over to Sparrow and pull her closer to me. Now that she’s giving me the green light, all I want to do is touch her. We have a lot of time to make up for.
Trailing my fingers down her body, I don’t miss the shiver that just ran through. I won’t push her, but I’ll enjoy watching her squirm. Getting to the gap between her tank top and pajama shorts, I pause before continuing my exploration.
“Why did you stop?” Sparrow pants out. I haven’t even gotten to the main event; this is going to be fun.
Slowly pulling her shorts down, I start kissing up her toned legs. Sparrow slowly opens her legs, wordlessly giving me the okay to continue.
I want to savor this, but the need to make her feel good is overriding the need to go slow. “Oh, Bird. I’ve dreamt of this.”
Slowly, I begin circling her clit, watching for any signs of discomfort. I’m not an ass; well, I am, but I’ll stop if Sparrow needs me to.
“More. I need more, King,” Sparrow pants out as she grips the sheets.
Adding more pressure, I bring up my other hand and plunge two fingers into her. She's breathing heavily, soft moans escaping her pretty lips, as she starts rocking her hips.
“King, please.”
“What do you need, Bird?” I ask before lightly biting the inside of her thigh, making Sparrow arch off the bed.
“You. I need you.”
Don’t need to tell me twice.
Moving up her body, I hold her stare. “You sure, Bird? Once I sink into my home, there’s no flying away from me.”
There isn’t a version of this that I would let Sparrow get away from me, but I just want to reiterate to her that I mean the words coming out of my mouth.
“I’m not going anywhere, King,” Sparrow says as reaches up and slowly unbuttons my jeans. Once I pull them off, she hooks her leg around my waist.
Rolling my hips, I slowly sink inside her. “Fuck. Fuck, you feel so good.” I won’t be lasting long.
“So good,” Sparrow says before a moan escapes her.
“Goddamn,” I pant out as I pick up the pace on my thrusts. I don’t want this to end, but my need to devour Sparrow is taking over.
“Ki…King!” Sparrow shouts as her body tenses and as she digs her nails into my shoulders. I would bet that her marks will be indented on my body, and I’m obsessed enough that I’m tempted to have River tattoo them on my body.
“Come for me, Bird,” I demand before I take her lips and devour them.
A moment later, Sparrow screams out unintelligible words, with me following right behind her. Our bodies are slick with sweat, I slowly pull out of her and climb out of bed, walking to the bathroom.
Walking back to the bed, Sparrow watches me as I wipe her off before throwing the rag to the corner of my room. Climbing back into bed, she lays her head on my chest, tracing circles on my stomach.
Running my hands through her hair, I whisper, “I love you, Bird. I’m never letting you go again.” When she doesn’t respond, I look down and find her asleep. I’ll do anything to keep my family safe, we will never be apart again.