Chapter Five #3
“Nick, this isn’t a good idea.” But I can’t bring myself to move away. He smells so good. A musky scent teases my senses and tempts me to turn around and bury my face in his neck, breathing it in deep.
“Relax,” he says in a gruff voice. “I just want to be close to you.”
Dammit. How can that come out so sweet when my entire body is on fire ?
“How did your family take the news about me?” he asks. “Am I going to be dealing with barely-veiled brotherly threats all day?” His hands slide onto my hips.
“Probably.” I let out a laugh. “But Dash and Cassidy are home with their newborn.”
“No worries. I came prepared to ease their concerns.” He reaches around me and picks an M Xander, the former Marine and current bestselling author and screenwriter, Chloe, the other sister in the Kingston family, and most politely, by Melly Kingston, Aurora’s surrogate mother.
Chloe and her husband, Beck, have a two-year-old daughter, Whitney, who clings to her father’s legs, while Jordan and Linc’s son, Jasper, who is almost six, joins the kids.
Leah seems to look up to her cousin and follows him around, causing me to grin.
Meanwhile, I patiently answer their questions, all of them leading up to what my intentions are when it comes to both Leah and Aurora.
I tell them my relationship with Aurora is between us, but as for Leah?
Well, I plan to be in my daughter’s life.
They all seem satisfied with my answers, but I know they are watching me.
I can feel their gazes on the back of my neck.
As I meet Aurora’s family, I keep an eye on my daughter, watching her run around with her friends and enjoy the playhouse I had built. The structure takes up a massive amount of space, and something about making my mark on the place where Aurora and our daughter live pleases me.
Though I want to catch Aurora and talk, she is busy making the rounds between the parents she obviously knows, checking on the kids, and making sure there is enough food and drink. That doesn’t stop Mark from sniffing after her all day, though, pissing me off and keeping me on edge.
Especially since I have the distinct feeling Aurora is avoiding me .
I have no doubt our short time together before Leah walked into the kitchen threw her.
Hell, I knew we still have chemistry, but even I was shocked at the way I felt when I was with her.
The sensation is unlike anything I’ve ever felt before, with any of the other women in my life.
And after the emotional reveal of her past, I can’t blame her if she is shoring up her defenses.
I’ll let her try. But I intend, slowly but surely, to break down each one.
Leah, wearing a purple and teal princess dress, runs towards me, and before she can rush by, I snagged her under her arms and swing her up so she sits in my arms.
“Having fun, princess?”
She smiles wide. “Today is the best! I love my house.”
“I’m glad. What did you eat for lunch?” I ask.
“Pizza!”
“Did you save room for cake?”
She nods. “Hi, Uncle Linc!” Leah cries out, waving excitedly.
“Hey, pretty girl.” Aurora’s brother reaches out and tugs on her long curls.
Linc is the only one who hasn’t yet confronted me, and I know the oldest brother will be the most difficult. After all, he was the one to find his sister in the first place. It makes sense that he is the most protective of them all.
“Leah, do you want to go back to your friends so Uncle Linc and I can talk?” I ask.
Linc raises an eyebrow. Obviously, he didn’t expect me to man up and deal with him directly.
“Okay, but will you be here when Ariel comes?” she asks.
I laugh. Little does Leah know that I arranged for Ariel to have a ‘plus one’. “I wouldn’t miss it.” I set her down on her feet, and she races off again.
I turn to Linc. “Let’s have it,” I say, ready for this final inquisition to be over with.
“She’s a great kid,” Linc says, arms folded across his chest.
I nod. “I agree. I can’t wait to get to know her better.”
Linc, obviously the master of long silences, studies me. “My sister’s done a great job raising her alone,” he says at last.
His wife, Jordan, a pretty woman with long, dark hair, walks over in time to hear his comment. “Really, Linc?” She grabs his arm and snuggles into his side. “You’re going to try and intimidate the man who couldn’t possibly have known about Leah?”
I grin. I like Jordan already.
“Not the point,” Linc says through gritted teeth. “He’s got a reputation, just like his brothers. And from what I’ve heard Harrison say, this one’s motto is three dates and he’s out.”
Fucking swell . Harrison didn’t realize joking about my dating history would come back to haunt me one day.
“I’ll tell you the same thing I told my brothers, and the women I’ve asked out. I think it’s better to be honest, up front, than drag something out when I know it won’t work. That said…you’re talking about my past.” I glance at Aurora, who is smiling at something Leah said. “She’s my future.”
I didn’t plan on admitting that to anyone in her family, but I have a feeling that if I don’t stake my claim, Linc will make my life damned hard. And I already have my hands full dealing with Aurora’s insecurities. I don’t need her big brother interfering.
Linc eyes me warily but nods, as if he accepts the pronouncement. Not that his disapproval would stop me at all, but my pursuit will be easier if Linc doesn’t interfere. “Goes without saying, you hurt them, you answer to me.”
Jordan grins and rolls her eyes, patting her husband’s shoulder.
“If I hurt them, I’ll slit my own wrists,” I mutter.
“I like you,” Jordan says.
I grin. “Gotta say, I like you, too.”
“That’s enough.” Linc pulls his wife tighter against him.
Still smiling, I glance across the lawn in time to see Aurora at the gated edge of the property, talking to a Disney princess. “I take it that’s Ariel and Prince What’s His Name?” I ask.
“Prince Eric,” Jordan laughs. “You need to learn your princesses, daddy.”
She might be amused, but I take my role seriously. “Damn, I have a lot to learn.”
“I thought Aurora said she’d only arranged for Ariel to come today.” Jordan tips her head to the side, watching the couple enter the yard.
I shrug. “I might have asked Harrison to talk to Cassidy and find out which company Aurora called. Leah’s got a thing for princes, too.”
“It’s Ariel and Prince Eric!” As if on cue, Leah shrieks and runs across the lawn, a group of girls following behind her.
“Interesting.” Linc assesses me some more. Then, without warning, he slaps me on the back, and taking Jordan’s hand, he walks away.
I start across the lawn, wanting to catch up with Aurora. I only hope she has a weakness for princes, too.