Chapter 7 Mark
Mark
The guys smile at Lily as we walk in and I glare at them, annoyed beyond belief. I sit her in one of the booths and carefully hand her a menu.
“Here, princess. You take your time and pick something out. Whatever it is, I’ll bring it to you.” Because if one of those other assholes tries to get near her I just might rip their damn arms off and beat them to death with them.
Nobody’s touching my woman but me. Or there will be hell to pay.
I turn back to the kitchen and growl at the barricade of dumbasses standing around staring at her.
“Don’t you guys have something better to do than stare at a pretty girl?”
Chris grins at me. “Nope. I’m not busy at all. I like to look at pretty girls.”
Growling under my breath, I glare at his pretty face and try to decide if it’s worth it to break his nose. We might have to redo all the food if there’s a spray of blood on it.
Pointing a finger at him, I grunt. “Do not make me rearrange your face, buddy. Stay the hell away from her.”
“She seems nice,” Elias says, wiping down the counters even as he checks out Lily.
“Her name is Lily and she’s mine. Don’t make me prove it. Stay away.”
“What are you going to do? Piss a circle around her?”
Shooting Chris another smoldering glare, I grumble under my breath when he laughs at me.
“Relax. Nobody’s going to mess with your girl. None of us would ever touch another man’s woman. We’ve all seen what happens with that.”
Leave it to Liam to touch on just what’s got me worried and diffuse it. The guy’s a great manager.
“Hey, how about we keep the kids tonight so you can go out with your girl?”
“What do you mean?”
“Bring Casey over to my place and we’ll throw a surprise slumber party for all the kids. It’s been a while since all the kids got to see each other. I’m sure they’ll have a ball and you can enjoy an adult night out for once.”
“I’d appreciate that, man.” Liam is amazing with the kids. I’ve got no qualms about leaving my kid with him.
“You can return the favor sometime.”
“Right. Well, let me go see what Lily wants to try and I’ll ask her. She wasn’t feeling too well last night.”
Liam’s brow scrunches. “Is she sick?”
“Ummm. I don’t want to tell you something she told me in confidence. But you can’t catch it so don’t worry about it.”
“Oh my god,” Chris grunts, wide-eyed. “Does she have cancer?”
“No. Jesus! Watch your mouth and find some damn wood to knock on! I don’t need you jinxing me.”
Call me superstitious, I don’t care. I don’t walk under ladders or walk behind black cats either.
And this feels so delicate. I don’t want to fuck it up. I intend to marry this woman. And have babies if she wants to or can.
But if she doesn’t. I don’t give a shit. If I have Casey and her, I’ve got everything I need in this world.
I shuffle back to the table and smile down at her. “Well, what sounds good?”
“Okay, I’m a simple woman. I’d love to try a chocolate cupcake. It sounds amazing.”
“Sure. I’ve got one that I add a little bit of chili powder to really give it a kick. I use a cream cheese icing on that one. How does that sound?”
She smiles wide and rubs her delicate hands. “You had me at chili powder. Bring it on, baker man!”
Groaning, I bustle over and grab her a plate and her cupcake and then a mocha latte to drink. “Here you go, princess.”
I sit down and watch her peel the paper and hold it up to that perfect mouth. Her pink tongue flicks out and runs along her lips to catch some crumbs and I’m so hard that it feels like that fucker is gonna pound right out of my pants.
Groaning, I shift on the bench. “Hey, princess. Would you like to go to the festival with me tonight?”
“I’d love to. I’ve never been to it.”
“Good lord, woman. You’ve been missing out. I can’t wait to introduce you to the town.”
Rolling her cinnamon eyes glowing with golden fire, she takes another big bite and moans out loud.
“Those noises should be illegal, princess. Are you trying to kill me?”
Her smile widens and she winks playfully. My heart pounds in my chest and I’m breathless with desire.
Everything about her is perfect for me.
I sit there quietly and listen to her munch that cupcake, my dick so hard it should be a fucking medical emergency.
And I hope to God that I get a chance to taste those lips tonight. A chance to claim my woman forever.
I smile at her and stand up when one of the guys waves me over to the back. “Hey, we need some more of those cupcakes your queen over there is eating.”
Chris grins over at me and moves towards the counter, ignoring my growl. “I can keep Lily company for a while.”
“If you touch her, I’ll break your fingers. It would be hell to decorate a cake with no fingers to use.”
“I’m good with my mouth too.”
Scrunching his nose, Liam mumbles, “Ewww. Shut it down, man.”
“I bet I could get a woman to kiss me before you get her to kiss you.”
“I think you should shut up while you’re ahead. Go decorate something.”
And I walk back to the kitchen, throwing on an apron over my clothes as I go.
I can see her chestnut hair shining in the bakery’s bright lights. The way her bright brown eyes study everything.
She’s so smart. So beautiful. So perfect.
And I’ll be damned if I miss my chance to claim her tonight. She’s mine. And good lord willing, she’ll let me show her how much I want and need her tonight.
Turning to the ovens, I preheat the one I’m going to use and my hips start swaying back and forth to the upbeat music playing back here.
I can hear some of the women out front chatting but they don’t mean anything.
The only thing that matters is my girl, my little girl and our business. That’s my whole world. For now and forever.