Chapter 8
8
NIKO
A dad . Again.
I’m going to be a dad for a second time.
I hadn’t expected to have Travis. Young and stupid were the only two adjectives in my vocabulary back then. I didn’t have a damn clue where life was taking me during those nine months with his mother, but the only destination was him. And as time moved forward and I grew up alongside him through the trials I faced as not only a father but as a man, I knew that if I got this chance again, I’d take it with open arms.
I am who I am today because of what I went through. Sure, I don’t have a heavy savings or a big fancy house. My relationship with Travis’s mother ceased to exist early on in his childhood, and I’ve never been father of the year. But I am proud of the way I grew and the battles I won. Of my small three-bedroom bungalow in a quiet cul-de-sac and this bar.
I made mistakes that I know how to avoid this time around. I’m calm when I was short-tempered and focused when I was distracted.
There were a fuck ton of things I thought Ivy and I would speak about today, but this? This wasn’t even close to what I expected.
Our emails the past three weeks have been short and to the point, regardless of how many times I tried to hint at seeing her again. She never fell for my traps, and maybe I should have taken that as a sign, but I refused to because not having Ivy Bell as mine is simply not an option any longer.
And now, I’m only surer about my decision. It’s the right one, without a doubt.
This woman was put into my life for a reason, and we’ve been granted a chance for a do-over. An opportunity for me not to let her slip into another man’s arms and to take her into mine instead. I’m not letting her go again. Not going to torture myself with watching her with my son at every holiday and family event, knowing that if things had been just a little different, she’d be with me instead.
The fallout that could come with Travis learning of all this and hating me is always there in the back of my mind. The news of a baby may very well destroy our relationship.
A better man would heed the warning. That’s not me.
We’re all adults. And I know my son. If he wanted Ivy as badly as I do, we wouldn’t be in this position right now. He didn’t treat her right, and if he weren’t my son, I’d have buried my knuckles in his teeth for what he did to her.
There’s a discussion to be had soon, but today isn’t the day for it. The only plan I have for the rest of my afternoon is to take care of the woman who’s carrying my baby while trying to convince her that I’m worth a spot in her life.
“I didn’t know there was a kitchen in here,” Ivy says, now perched on the kitchen counter, legs dangling off the edge.
“Doesn’t get used much.”
The sizzle of the scrambled eggs I’m cooking on the skillet fills the space as I use a spatula to mix the chopped peppers around.
“Do you ever sell burgers here or anything like that?”
“Just fries.”
“Why not more? You could bring in more customers if they could grab a bite to eat as well as a drink.”
“I tried. There were no cooks to hire. Got lucky that Matty is handy with the fryer.”
The few who applied for a serious position were better-qualified scrubbing floors. It was more hassle than it was worth. Now, the kitchen sits mostly empty until I find myself cooking something at the end of a late night.
At least it was stocked for today. There are plenty of other meals to cook if the eggs are no good for her stomach.
“You wouldn’t want to be the one doing the cooking, then, I take it?”
I turn the burner off and spread out the cooked eggs before sprinkling some shredded cheese and pepper over them.
“No. I’m a cook out of necessity. Not out of passion,” I answer.
“That’s fair. I’m not bad in the kitchen, but I’m no chef.”
“What do you like to cook the most?”
“What do I like to cook the most, or what do I like to eat?”
“Both.”
She leans back on her hands, chest to the ceiling, and hums. “I love to bake. I’m not good enough to do it without a recipe or anything, but if I had the choice, I’d bake something before cooking a meal. And eating-wise . . . I really, really love mozzarella sticks. Or a thick piece of lasagne. Ooh , or maybe some tamales. I wouldn’t mind a heaping bowl of buffalo chicken dip, either, though.”
Her eyes nearly cross as she speaks, tongue swiping her lips like she can taste the food she’s describing.
I grab a plate from the shelf along the wall and slide her eggs onto the centre of it. She watches my movements with interest, and when I pass the plate to her, she pounces on it. Her stomach growls loudly, so I move quickly to find her a fork and hand it over.
Stabbing the prongs of the fork into the fluffy eggs, she says, “Oh, my god, I’m so hungry.”
“Eat, angel.”
She shoves the bite into her mouth and moans before starting to chew, already spearing more onto the fork. I move between her legs and settle my hands on her knees as she devours the food. My chest tightens as I watch, my primal instincts pleased that I’ve taken care of her. She deserves it.
“These are the best eggs I’ve ever had,” she says between bites.
“You’re just really hungry.”
“Can’t I be hungry and honest at the same time?”
I trace the curves of her knees. “Yeah, you can.”
She focuses back on her eggs, and I don’t move from my spot, too content exactly where I am. I’ve always made sure to eat breakfast every morning, and apparently, I need to help Ivy get into the habit as well. Especially now that she’s eating for two.
“What have you been doin’ for the last three weeks?” I ask bluntly.
She slows her chewing and swallows. “Working, mostly.”
“On the event?”
“You’ve been getting the emails, so you know the answer to that already.”
“I’ve gotten plenty’a emails, Ivy. From everyone but you.”
Her neck grows pink as she slides the fork along the plate to collect the small pieces of egg still left. “You were the one who was so concerned about the event. I thought you’d have been happy that I was keeping the focus there.”
“You’re what I wanted to talk about,” I reveal.
She snares my eyes as her mouth tips at the corner. “Really?”
With a tight exhale, I grip the edge of the countertop on either side of her legs and lean into her space. The air shakes around us, but I only push closer, letting my connection to her draw me in.
Ivy tips her head back, keeping our eyes locked even as I bring my mouth to her cheek.
“I missed you, Ivy. You weren’t supposed to run off that day. I had so many more plans for you that I had to let die. And now, you’re back with my fuckin’ baby in your stomach?”
I lift a cautious hand to rest against her lower belly. It’s naturally rounded, but not with a baby yet. There won’t be a bump there for a while. Still, the knowledge that there’s something growing beneath my palm intensifies my possessiveness.
“I wanted you back here with me. But this is beyond my wildest dreams. You’ve given me the best Christmas gift, angel, and I’m goin’ to be here for the both of you. Don’t care that this is sudden or that we’re still gettin’ to know each other. I’ve got all the time in the world when it comes to you,” I vow, offering my heart to her on a silver platter.
Ivy’s eyes glisten while staring right into my soul. She discards the plate beside her and smooths her hands up my arms to hold my shoulders.
“Do you really mean that? All of it? Because there’s a lot to me that you don’t know. You might learn something that has you ready to run out the door.”
“Won’t happen. I’ll prove myself to you.”
Her smile is more stiff than usual. “If you say so.”
“This is ’cause of Travis, yeah? The things he spewed about you to his friends? You’re expectin’ the worst of me because of it.”
“Why is he the way that he is, Niko? Why didn’t he respect me? I gave him everything I had, but I was too imperfect to please him. Too loud but not enthusiastic enough. High-maintenance but boring. Too fat for him to get hard without me putting in the work, and even when I did, I wasn’t sexy enough for him to enjoy himself. I learned all those things when I went through his texts, and he never once had the balls to tell me to my face. I’m not trying to be hard to please, Niko. I’m just . . . I’m scared.”
Anger burns my blood, turns it to lava in my veins.
I glide my hand from her belly to the curve of her waist, holding her firm. “I had Travis when me and his mother were fifteen. It was a reckless hookup that cost me everythin’ at the time, and I’m still payin’ the price of it. Did what I could to raise him right and show him how to treat those around him with kindness and respect, but clearly, I failed. The way he treated you, Ivy—fuck. I never saw it. Not once when you were together did I think he was acting like his old man did back in the day. Like the world and the people around him were steppin’ stones. That’s my fault. I should’a done a better job of showin’ him how to treat a woman.”
She shakes her head, brows knitting together. “You’re not responsible for his actions. I’m not trying to put the blame on you for the person he became. I just, I don’t understand why or how someone can be so cruel. For as long as I’ve known you, I’ve never seen you treat him poorly. You’ve been a good dad to him. I’m not usually an insecure person, but these past few months . . . yeah.”
“I’m real fuckin’ sorry, angel. You were always too good for him. Too good for the likes of me, too, but I’m not lettin’ you get away the way he did. And this baby is a gift. I’m ready to love the both of you the way you deserve to be loved,” I vow, dipping my head to brush my mouth across hers. “I’ve had a lifetime to prepare for you, Ivy. I’m not the same person I was when I had Travis. There isn’t anythin’ I’m not willin’ to give up to keep you. No lines I wouldn’t cross or deals I wouldn’t make. You got that?”
“Yeah, Niko. I got that,” she whispers before slanting her lips over mine in a kiss that hits like lightning.
I take her cheek in my palm and stroke her blush. It’s impossible to get close enough to her. Every inch of my body wants to feel the press of her soft, warm skin. If I had it my way, I’d walk around every day with her glued to my front.
Pulling her lip into my mouth, I suck on it gently, teasingly. Ivy grips me tighter, her tiny hands clawing at my shoulders as she tugs me against her. Surprise has me leaning back enough to stare down at her.
Flushed cheeks and pupil-blown eyes greet me. I push her hair out of her face and try to hide a smirk.
“Are you needing more than a few kisses, angel?”
She wets her lips excitedly and tries to yank me against her again. “I’ve been so sensitive, Niko. I’m—I just need you to keep touching me.”
I nip at her mouth and grip her thigh, using it to lift her leg onto the counter. “Where?”
She showed up here in a fucking blizzard with a baggy, ankle-length dress on and clunky winter boots. I was planning on scolding her for the lack of pants, but considering the ease of access I’ve been given to her pussy, I’ll let it go this time.
With her leg up, I pull the laces on her boot and start easing her foot out of it. She watches me with drooping eyelids over the vibrant blue eyes that have visited me in my dreams every night these past few weeks.
I drop the boot to the floor before taking the opposite foot in my hands and bringing it to the countertop. She’s splayed wide open for me now, but I keep my attention fixed to the boot I’m beginning to unlace.
“What a gentleman,” she muses, the corners of her eyes crinkling.
I hum and slide the boot off. It falls to the floor beside the first, and then I’m pinching the edge of her dress, claiming her eyes.
“We’ll need two pairs of slippers here from now on.”
“Matching ones?”
I start lowering myself to my knees before her. “Whatever you want.”
Ivy flutters her lashes, staring down at where I kneel. Her knees are bent, and the skirt of her dress is pulled tight over the V between them. It’s a pretty sight, but not nearly as beautiful as the one I’ll have in a minute.
Hooking my hands around her ankles, I tug her toward me, forcing her legs to spread to the point of discomfort. Her ass hovers over the edge of the counter, and I groan at the close-up view of her cotton-covered pussy.
I click my tongue. “You’re wet, Ivy.”
“I’m always wet around you.”
Fuck. My jeans grow tight as I lean forward and run a knuckle over the seam of her slit.
“You’ve got such a needy cunt. I’ll have to work overtime to keep it pleased, hmm?”
Her swallow is audible. “I guess so.”
Pulling her panties to the side, I bare her to me. So slick and puffy, her pussy draws a groan from my chest. I spread her open and slide a hand beneath her ass to gain leverage.
“Let me start now.”
I drag my tongue between her lips and suck at her clit for only a moment before releasing it. She snaps a hand down to grab my hair, and I repeat my motions once more.
“That’s so good,” she whines, jerking her hips up.
Finding her clit with my thumb, I start rubbing it softly before spitting on her hole and sinking my tongue inside. She cries out, and I remove my thumb, sinking it into her cunt instead.
“Have you been like this for three weeks, Ivy?”
She tightens her hold on my hair, and I wish her skirt was out of the way so I could see her eyes rolling backward. “Yes!”
I pull my thumb free and sink two fingers in instead, stretching her. Her arousal drips down my knuckles, and I lean back in to lick them clean.
“This is my pussy now, Ivy. I’m the one it gushes for and the only one who can kneel before it. I’ll take good care of it and keep it real fuckin’ satisfied. Best cunt I’ve ever tasted.”
I lick at her clit, stroking it with a pressure that has her kicking her leg out and yanking on my scalp. My fingers brush the soft spot inside of her with every curl and thrust, drawing her pleasure out second by second.
She’s already on the edge, and I keep her there until I hear the words I need.
“Tell me it’s mine, angel. Not just this pretty pussy but the woman. You’re mine from now till the sun dies,” I demand.
A moan scrapes up her throat. “It’s yours. I’m yours. We’re yours.”
I rock forward as the words blast through me. Throbbing in my jeans, my cock aches with the need to sink deep inside of the walls rippling around my fingers, but it’s not the time.
Right now, this is what I need.
“Then come on my face, baby,” I murmur before pressing into her pussy and speeding up my movements.
It only takes a few moments of my flicking tongue and pistoning fingers to get her there, and when she comes, I drop a hand to my crotch and squeeze, desperate for some sort of relief.
Pleasure coils and ripples through me so fiercely I’m forced to release myself. Wetness blooms through my briefs as I choke on a groan and turn my cheek to rest against her inner thigh, panting like I’ve just run a marathon.
Ivy lets loose a low, gentle sound and massages my scalp. With her skirt stretched above me, we can’t see each other. I don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing, considering what’s just happened.
“Is that something you like to do often?” she asks a beat later.
“Are you askin’ about eatin’ pussy, Ivy?”
“Yes.”
Slowly pulling back from between her legs, I sit back on my heels and take a long look at her expression, reading it for any sign that she didn’t enjoy herself. All I find is a blissed-out smile and a soft stare that punches through my chest.
I stroke her thigh, cautious of the burn my beard has left behind. “Could eat your pussy for every meal of the day. It tastes as good as it looks.”
“Now you’re just trying to embarrass me,” she says, looking away from me.
“You don’t believe me?”
“I’ve never been told that before,” she admits.
My chest puffs up. “Good. I should be the only one sayin’ that shit to you.”
“Only if it’s the truth, Niko.”
“Angel, I just came in my fuckin’ pants.”
A long, tense pause. Ivy releases my hair and brings her hand to her mouth. “What?”
“I loved licking your cunt so much I came when I squeezed my dick. Never in my entire fuckin’ life have I done that.”
“That’s . . . that’s—wow. I’m flattered,” she rambles, cheeks fire engine red.
I chuckle, unable to help myself, and her attention snaps back to me. Wonder lines her eyes, and I freeze.
“What’s that look for?”
She smiles so wide she might as well be the only guiding light in a dark cave. “You laughed.”
“I’ve laughed before.”
“No, you haven’t.”
Then I’m an even bigger idiot than I thought. If chuckling makes her look at me like she is right now . . . then I’d be stupid not to do it again.
As many times as I can get away with.