Chapter 24
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
LILITH
I smile seeing the delight on Dominic’s face as we walk past each animal. He is loving it here. When Jack said that we were having a day out, a visit to a zoo, I clapped like a toddler getting a snack.
The club is keeping a close eye on Christopher, and so far, he is behaving; he has not sent any more kids to vandalize anything linked to me. The kids that Maverick tracked down for shooting up Jack’s house with paintballs were all made to clean up the house and do some community work as punishment.
“This place is amazing; the animals are great. Dominic is loving it.” I smile, leaning against Jack’s hard body.
He is watching his son laugh with the other kids who are watching a sloth slowly move along a climbing structure. The love that shines from him makes my heart happy for the future, and if we have any children together. That is a long way off, but I have high hopes that it will happen.
I look up at Jack, watching him watching Dominic and I can’t help but think about whether he would want more kids. He was so young when Dominic was born, he was thrown into parenthood at the drop of a hat, and even with the club at his back, it must have been a huge adjustment to his life.
Children have always been a dream of mine, one maybe two. I am not settled on a number, but I would love to carry a child, to bring them into the world to be loved and cherished. Something that my own mother was never good at, unless you met her expectations.
“Do you want more kids?” I blurt out before I can stop myself.
Jack’s gaze snaps down to mine, a frown in place on his handsome face, and my stomach tightens a little. He looks at me, his gaze shifting between mine as the minutes tick by, and with each passing second, I feel sicker for asking such a stupid question.
We are new, so why would he suddenly think of having a child with me? I am so stupid.
I hear Christopher’s voice in my head.
“No one will want a child with you, Lilith. No one likes a kid with ginger hair and pale sickly-looking skin.”
He would berate me and say mean things, then say that he was sorry and show me that he was loving and caring; I am stupid for falling for it for so long. He knows how to handle women; he knows the right thing to say.
Stepping back out of Jack’s hold, I wave and laugh it off, albeit awkwardly.
“Sorry. Forget I said anything. I am going to the restroom.” I dash off before he can say anything.
My nose burns with emotion and my vision blurs as I make it to the building that houses the restrooms. A woman frowns as I pass her, but I slip into a stall and lock the door, and putting the toilet seat down, I sit and let the tears fall.
I have ruined the day, and for what? To see if Jack would have children with me, or would like more? Maybe with someone else.
My stomach tightens as the rush of irrational thoughts run through my head. Jack has never given any hint that he doesn’t want a future with me. He told me that he loves me, yet here I am, crying in a public restroom, thinking that he would want kids with someone else.
Shit. I can’t stop the pathetic thoughts rushing around in my head.
No one will want a kid with red hair and pale skin. My own mother always made nasty comments about my appearance, because her and my sister are blonde with blue eyes. I took the half Irish blood that my father has in his veins.
Pulling in a deep breath, I dry my face and leave the stall. The woman who was frowning at me as I passed is leaning against the wall looking at me with concern on her face.
“Are you okay, honey?”
I sniffle and step forward, forcing a smile on my face.
“Yeah, just feeling a little emotional. I do that sometimes,” I explain.
Washing my hands, even though I did not use the toilet, I feel her gaze on me, and I shift nervously the longer she looks at me.
“Are you sure? You look like you are ready to puke. Could you be pregnant?”
I gasp, and my gaze snaps to hers.
“No, I am not pregnant.” Tears well up again and I turn from her, leaning my hands on the basin, and dropping my head.
“Listen, honey, something is clearly bothering you; are you here with anyone? Do you need me to go and get them?”
I clear my throat and yet again dry my face, then turn to face her.
“I am here with my boyfriend and his son. It is our first day out together and I got a little overwhelmed, but I am okay. I appreciate you checking on me, but I am okay.”
Walking past her, she touches my arm and offers me a warm smile.
“I have been where you are right now. I met my husband, and he already had two children by his ex-wife. It is very overwhelming but remember that he would not let you around his son if he didn’t think you were worth it. Unless he is a shitty father.”
Shaking my head, I reply, “No, he is a great father. His son is his world. Just, this is new between us, and I just blurted out a stupid question and I got spooked.”
“Talk to him. Communication is the way forward.”
“Thank you.” We walk out of the restroom together and I see Jack leaning against the wall with Dominic at his side, both looking at me with concerned looks.
“That him?” the woman asks, and I nod in reply to her question. “Oh, he is a hot one, isn’t he?” I giggle when she winks at me. “Speak to him.”
With that, she walks over to a man with three children sitting next to him on a bench. She looks over her shoulder at me, and sees my mouth hanging open and grins, like she knows that she has a hot one herself.
“Baby.”
I turn to look at Jack before walking toward him. The look of concern on his face is because of me and I hate it.
“I’m sorry, Jack. It was a silly question and the wrong timing.” Stepping closer to him, I rest my hands on his chest as his settle on my hips. “Can we forget what I said and just enjoy the rest of the day?” I plead.
He must see the worry on my face, because he does, kissing my lips softly, before leaning in further until his lips brush my ear.
“I will let it go for now, but we are returning to this conversation later.”
With a slight nod, I plaster a smile on my face and pull Dominic to his feet.
“Come on, let’s go and get something to eat. I am starving, and I have no doubt that you and your dad are too. Growing boy that you are.” I smile down at him.
“I saw a place that was selling corn dogs, but they had different toppings on them, can we try there?”
“Sounds like a plan. What do you say, Daddy?” I look at Jack, whose eyes darken.
I realize what I said, and it must have held a different meaning for him. He steps closer, his hand touching my hip, as he smiles down at his son.
“Go join the line, we will catch up.”
“Got it.” Dominic dashes away, and I have to force my gaze from Jack to watch him run off.
His fingers touch my face, turning me so we are eye to eye. The look he is giving me makes my knees weak and my panties damp. I bite my lip, dropping my gaze to the floor because he is staring at me with such intensity.
“Look at me, baby. I need to see those pretty eyes of yours. Because I bet that they are showing just as much arousal as I am feeling right now.”
I gasp a little, feeling his hand reach my ribs, while his thumb brushes over the underside of my breast. My gaze darts around, making sure that no one is watching us, or seeing what he is doing.
When our gazes connect, I see his eyes are filled with lust as he looks down at me.
“We do not have time right now because we need to feed our boy. So I will keep this short and sweet, baby. The word ‘daddy’ coming from those pretty lips makes me feral with the need to slam my dick into you so hard that every man here will know that you are mine. I have seen the way that men have looked at you today, and l bet they have been walking around with hard dicks thinking of you and those.” He runs a finger across the top of my breast, making my nipples harden with need.
He smirks at me, before leaning in and kissing me hard, nipping at my bottom lip.
Breaking the kiss, leaving me breathless and panting for him, Jack winks and takes my hand. I feel giddy and a hot mess as we walk over to join Dominic to get some food.
How can one man make such sweet words sound sexy?
“Are you okay, Lil? You are looking a little hot. Do you need some water?” Dominic’s question is innocent enough, but it has Jack sniggering next to me.
I elbow him in the stomach, making him laugh harder, then look to Domnic and explain to him.
“I am okay. I got a little hot back there, and your dad was checking on me. Some food and drinks will help.” He nods and we shuffle forward when it is our turn to order our food.
Once we have placed our order and collected our food, we walk over to get a table and sit down to dive in. Dominic is like a starving boy, as he devours his corn dog that has been dipped in crushed chips, and then some sort of green sauce.
Jack ordered an extra-large corndog that had a layer of bacon and cheese, then it was dipped in BBQ sauce. I am not as adventurous as my boys, I just got a classic corndog, with some ranch dip.
Dominic pays full attention to his food, while Jack has his heated gaze on me as I wrap my lips around the tip of my corndog and bite.
Jack licks his lips, before he mouths, “You will pay for that later.”
I nod and smirk, before taking more of the food into my mouth. He grins, shaking his head at what I am doing. If I am being honest, I am shocking myself with this behavior. This is not me; I am usually shy and more than happy to stay in the background, but being with Jack, who has shown me that sex can be good, and knowing that I please him, is helping my confidence grow.
“Wow, I am full,” Dominic whines leaning into me, his head on my arm.
“Dude, you packed away that large corndog, the side of mac and cheese, and the brownie. Are you sure you are not going to puke?” Jack jokes.
“I am a growing boy, like you said.” He smiles at his father. “I am not going to puke, that would be a waste of food.” He shrugs.
“Good point.” I kiss the top of his head, while looking at Jack.
His gaze softens looking at me with his son.
Being here with them feels right; I feel like we are a family. It is still early days, but when you know you know, that is what my grandmother always used to say. She was always full of wise words when she was alive, pushing me to follow my dreams and not do what my mother wanted me to.
It was our time together that had me falling in love with baking and then into playing with sugar. My grandmother would always have candies in her pocket; she told me that a friend of hers made them in a mini factory. After the day he took me there to see candies being made, I fell in love even more.
One side of my kitchen at Wicked Sugar is for making candies only, simply because the sugar liquid is very, very hot and can scald you, if it is not handled the correct way.
“Will you be living with us when we can move back home?” Dominic asks, looking up at me.
My gaze shifts to Jack, silently asking for help because I do not have the answer. We have not spoken about what we will do when all of this is over and it is safe for me to return home.
“We will see what happens when the time comes, alright?” Jack replies. “There are some adult things going on right now, so Lilith will be with us until it is sorted.”
Dominic nods his head, looking between the two of us, but when his gaze settles on me, he sits up, looking me in the eyes, and I see the worry lingering there.
“I do not want you to get hurt, Lilith. I love you, and I know that my dad does too. He may not say anything yet, because he is a biker and they have no clue about women, but we want you to live with us.”
A giggle slips from my lips and Jack laughs loudly, shaking his head at his son. When he looks at me, he winks, and I feel a flood of happiness through my body. Everything about today feels right. There are no worries about what will happen when we leave here, it is just the three of us.
I am not na?ve enough to believe that Christopher will just leave me or the club alone, he never likes to lose, but for now, I have to take each day as it comes and enjoy every second of it.
Pulling Dominic against my body, with my arm around his shoulders, I kiss his head again.
“I love you too, Domnic. And I love your father also. As for me moving in with you both, we will see, okay. That is the answer I cannot give right now, but I want you to know that if, and I mean if, your dad and I do not work out, I will still be in your life.”
“We will never end, baby. You are mine until my last breath, Lilith Cullen,” Jack states firmly, taking my hand in his on the table.
“Well, I think that Lilith Masters sounds better.” With that, Dominic jumps up and runs over to an activity wall, laughing.
“That fucking kid.” Jack chuckles, taking Dominic’s empty seat.
“You did so good with him, Jack.”
“We all did, babe. I may be his father, and for years I took that role seriously, but the club had my back. I got to finish school and get shit done so I could be the best dad he needed, because his mother was a cunt.” He kisses my cheek, and whispers words that make my heart melt right in this spot.
“But now he also has you.”