Ada couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt this much excitement as Soleil led her down a partially concealed path toward the tree house she was dying to show her.

Maybe it was because Soleil was chattering on, practically skipping ahead that was rubbing off on her.

“It’s this way,” she said as they wound their way deeper, never actually giving any direction as to where she meant.

Ada started to wonder if she actually knew where they were going, or if they would soon find themselves lost in the middle of the forest, but she didn’t have to contemplate the thought long before they reached a clearing, and high up in the thickest and tallest tree was indeed a little house.

“See!” Soleil said excitedly, running over to the ladder. “Daddy built it for me.”

Of course he did because Keanu needed to be perfect in all ways and what easier way was there to realize how much she liked him than staring at the evidence of his having built his daughter a tree house with his own two hands.

Soleil was already halfway up the ladder before Ada even reached the base of the tree, but once she took a breath and started the climb, it didn’t take very long to catch up.

By the time she reached the top, shamefully out of breath, Ada was sure the view stole what little air was left in her lungs. Beyond the tree tops, the jungle house could even be seen from here, a mark in the distance.

“I got to pick out all the pillows,” Soleil called, drawing her attention from the view to the actual interior of the tree house.

This wasn’t a hastily built shack left neglected by the weather—Keanu had obviously taken his time building it, polishing the floors until they shined, and there were even windows inside.

An assortment of colorful pillows, where Soleil was currently standing, sat against the back wall, along with throw blankets, books, and a toy box set off to the side.

While Ada had to crouch and sit to fit inside, Soleil could easily stand and move around like her own miniature bedroom.

“They’re absolutely lovely,” she said with a smile, meaning every word.

Some were done in a Bohemian style, the same colors used in the wish catcher hanging from the back wall.

“I never got to bring my mom here,” Soleil said, the words enough to bring a pang to Ada’s chest.

She didn’t know where Soleil’s mother was—she hadn’t known enough to ask—but something about the way she said it made her think her mother was not only not in the picture, but she wasn’t around at all anymore.

Her father was lying in a hospital, fighting for his life, and there had been a great many things she hadn’t been able to say to him, or show him, so she understood the hurt and pain behind not being able to share something with a person you loved.

“I’m sure she would have loved it just as much.”

Soleil beamed at her, before going over to the chest in the corner. “Do you want to have a tea party?”

As Ada helped her remove another blanket and the teacups and kettle inside, she was sure there was no place else she’d rather be.

* * *

His eyes closed, Keanu let the shower rain over his head.

Some part of him had wanted to think that Ada wasn’t perfect for him, that it was just a matter of her needing help and he was there to provide it—maybe that was why he’d made the reckless decision to let Soleil stay despite his rule to keep business and personal separate.

He could have easily sent Soleil back with his mother, knowing she would be content for a little while longer now that she’d seen him, but when faced with the choice, he’d been thinking about Ada and how she would react to her presence.

He wasn’t blind, nor was he clueless, and it was pretty clear to him that emotions had shifted between them and it was no longer simply a job.

He liked her and it was clear that she liked him, but “like” wasn’t always enough.

There were women that liked the whole single father bit, but when it actually came down to the kid, they were hands off, or worse, didn’t really want to be bothered.

If what they had went beyond the confines of the four walls of this house, Soleil would be a part of that and she needed to know.

It probably would have been better not to just spring it on her in the middle of the night after they’d had sex for the first time, but his plan had been to gradually get up there, see where it led, but once Soleil popped in, it couldn’t wait.

And seeing her with his daughter … he didn’t know if he’d be able to walk away from her when this was over.

Keanu was drawn from his thoughts as he heard the soft swish of the glass door sliding open. Ada, he knew, since he’d put Soleil to bed a little more than an hour ago and once she went down, she wasn’t getting back up.

She’d been looking for him, it seemed, from the way she glanced around until she came further back where the shower was going.

“What’s up?”

Her gaze came up to him and as she readied to speak, he saw the moment when she realized where he was standing and just where he was.

The blush that slowly crept up her neck made him chuckle.

“I, uh, well you’re busy. I can always—”

“Get in.”

“I’m sorry?” she asked, her brows shooting up, but he was sure she’d heard him. “I couldn’t. Soleil is—”

“Dead to the world. Trust me, it would take an elephant in the room to wake her.”

She looked as if she wanted to deny him again, but he didn’t give her the chance to deny him again. He reached out and snagged her hand, pulling her forward until she had no choice but to step up and under the spray of water.

Immediately, his fingers went to the three buttons at the center of her dress, popping them open one by one, slowly revealing creamy, damp flesh he was desperate to get his mouth on.

“I wanted to talk to you,” she said breathlessly, even as she reached for him, stroking his chest with reverent passes.

“We can talk after,” he returned, distracted.

He pulled the straps of her dress down, slipping his fingers into the cup of her bra and giving it a solid yank and finally, finally, he got his hands on her.

Her audible sigh only made him hungrier as he licked the water droplets from her skin before sucking her nipple into his mouth.

She arched into him, offering more, her hands squeezing where they clutched at him.

She was delicate, light in his arms as he lifted her clear off the floor, waiting for the second he felt her legs close around him to press her back against the wall.

Eyes wide, pupils blown she looked as into this as he felt. He was drunk on that look.

And once he got his hand between her legs, an involuntary smile curled his lips. “This is what you came for, isn’t it?”

She wasn’t wearing anything under the dress, making it far too easy to get between her thighs.

His thumb found her clit, rubbing tight fast circles, working her until she was moaning his name, putty in his hands.

He wanted to drag this out, see how long they could go, but just the thought of getting inside her was too good to ignore.

Spreading her wider, he fisted his cock, angled it down and slowly thrust inside her. Heat engulfed him, a tremor working its way down his spine as he gave an involuntary flex of his hips, a low curse spilling from his mouth as he tried to wrap his brain around how fucking good she felt wrapped around him.

Reality topped fantasy in every way imaginable, and though he’d spent the better part of three hours exploring her body the night before, it still wasn’t enough.

Even now, he wasn’t sure if it would ever be.

Her head tipped back, the arch of her neck tempting him to lean in and take a bite. She shuddered as soon as his teeth closed around her

“I’m close,” she moaned in his ear.

But she didn’t have to say it for him to know—he felt it in the way she tightened around him.

He tugged her face back to his, smashing his mouth against hers and in the next breath, she grew impossibly tight then broke, coming so fast and so hard he had no choice but to give in to the feeling.

Taking a second to catch his breath, he held her tight against him.

They rinsed off, Ada losing her dress entirely before he walked her back through the door that led directly into his bedroom and grabbed her a shirt to wear.

“You were looking for me?” he asked again, dragging on clothes of his own before joining her in the bed, feeling far too content.

She looked thoughtful a moment before she chewed on her lip, seeming to wrestle with what she wanted to say. “I don’t mean to pry …”

“Ask.”

“Soleil’s mother …”

Yeah, he figured that was what this would be about. She might have known that she wasn’t in the picture anymore, but Ada didn’t know why.

And if he planned on keeping her around, she would need to.

“Her name was Charlotte,” he said, casting his mind back in time, remembering the day they’d met.

It was rare Uilleam had business in Paris—at that time, he’d seemed to avoid the city altogether for reasons he was pretty sure stemmed from his relationship with Karina, but it hadn’t been his business to pry so he never bothered to ask.

“She worked for a man who was doing business with the Kingmaker.”

“So, she’s always known what you are … or were?”

Charlotte hadn’t batted an eye knowing what he did and who he did it for. If anything, it only made her want him more. She’d thought it had all been exciting—she’d craved the danger his life presented, even when he didn’t.

“Why?” he asked, wanting to get off the subject of Charlotte. “Does what I do scare you?”

“Not necessarily. I don’t think anything about you could truly scare me. I was just … do mercenaries have families? I know worked for him before and were his personal guard or something, but if his enemies have to go through you to get to him …”

“Some choose not to have a family at all. My buddy Red just had twins and Celt is off in Ireland getting married. If you’re asking whether there’s a threat to our families, I won’t lie and say there aren’t any, but always remember that there’s a reason we work for the Kingmaker and passed his tests. If we’re willing to do it for him, we’d do a hell of a lot worse to someone that threatened family.”

“Then what happened to—”

She seemed surprised by her own question, or maybe she wondered whether she’d upset him by asking, but she deserved an answer.

“Me and Charlotte … we were a thing when I was in town. When I wasn’t, she was free to do whatever she wanted, I didn’t mind.”

So long as she was ready and available for him when he wanted. Which was part of the problem he’d learned in later years.

She’d wanted him to take her away from her life in Paris, though she still hadn’t wanted to let go of her vices. Maybe, though he’d never be able to say for sure, if she had, he would have.

“She was working for a guy, he was into some bad shit with worse people. It had everything to do with her and the choices she made.”

His life hadn’t had a chance to fully impact her yet.

“Soleil was …” He cut himself off, trying to decide whether to confess a truth he rarely, if ever, told another. “She was Charlotte’s daughter. Don’t know who the father was. When Charlotte … died, I brought her back here. I didn’t like the idea of letting her go into a system and who the fuck knows how that would have ended.”

“And you loved her,” Ada said knowingly, lifting her shoulder in a shrug when he smiled at her. “It’s hard not to.”

“She’s been mine ever since.”

“You’re a good person, Keanu.”

“Anyone would have done the same.”

“Maybe,” she hedged, “but it’s beyond that, isn’t it? You saved her and you’ve been saving me since the day I met you.”

The words struck him, and combined with the soft expression on her face made him feel a pang in his chest.

“Don’t get soft on me, Ada.”

She sighed, even as she crawled up the bed toward him, laying her head on his chest. “I’m afraid I already am.”

Yeah, he understood the feeling well.