My heart pounds, one hand on the steering wheel, one hand gripping Ellie’s so tightly my knuckles are white. She can’t wipe the smile off her face. She also wouldn’t drive her own car here, insisting on staying with me.

“God, I missed you,” she whispers as we fly toward the cottage.

“You have no idea how much I missed you,” I tell her, hitting the brakes and making the turn with as much care as I can in this moment.

She’s on me as soon as I step outside the car. I don’t know how she got out that fast, but she did, abandoning her camera on the front seat. Ellie wraps her legs around me and holds on tight.

And me? I’m practically bursting out of my jeans. I want her. I have to have her. And she’s mine. 

All we need to do is get into the house.

I hustle us both there as fast as I can go with this tigress wrapping her arms around my neck, kissing down the side of my jawline, licking at my earlobe.

I never want this to end.

In the house, she jerks her head toward the counter. “Kitchen?”

I shake my head. “No. You, princess, deserve a bed.”

It’s perfect, because I washed the sheets yesterday, in case things went well today. I made the bed with military precision. Ellie doesn’t notice it at all. I let her down onto her feet at the foot of the bed. At some point, I thought I might try to take things slow, but she’s not having it, and neither is my cock. Ellie has her shirt halfway over her head by the time I think to get my jeans off.

When I look up again, she’s naked and glorious, looking a little shy.

First things first.

I put one hand under her jaw, on the smooth skin of her neck, and tilt her face up toward mine. Her eyes are so gray they’re almost blue. I kiss her, slow and deep, and she presses her hips forward to meet mine. “I love you,” I whisper into her ear.

“I love you too,” she whispers back. My entire body is fire. My entire body is alive. “But Dash?”

“Yeah?”

“I need you. To fuck me,” she adds after a breath. “Just so there’s no confusion, I—”

She doesn’t get another word out before I have her spread out on the bed. Not another word, except for a moan as I drag my fingertips down from her collarbone to her clit, circling it once, twice, three times before I sink the length of me into her. Ellie lets out a hiss like she’s touched something hot and opens wider for me, her ankles locking together behind my back.

It’s a long time before she lets me go.

* * *

The dappled sunlight plays over her pink cheeks, her hair spread out on the pillow, and I hate the fact that I have to disturb her.

Only...I don’t. She can stay in my bed forever if that’s what she wants.

“Are you good?” I ask her.

A slow smile lifts her lips. “Almost.” She opens her eyes and grins at me. “Maybe if we came back to it later tonight...”

“You can fucking bet on it.” I push myself up on one elbow and grab my phone off the bedside table. “I have to pick up Rosie in half an hour. But I should shower first.”

She leans over and kisses me, her tongue darting out to lick my bottom lip. “What, you think you can shower alone now?” She shakes her head. “I don’t think so, mystery man.”

Four minutes later, she’s standing under the stream, head tilted back, and I’m admiring the way the water rushes down over her perfect breasts. “You know what?”

“What?” I say, reaching up to circle her nipples with the pads of my thumbs.

She giggles, arching toward me. “I like you better now that you’re not a mystery.”

“Oh, you think you know everything about me now?” Ellie’s giggle turns into a laugh. “I’ll show you.”

* * *

Ellie sits in the passenger seat with her camera on her lap, twisting her hair into a bun at the nape of her neck. She’s radiant, and she smells soapy and clean.

“Are you nervous?”

“To pick up your daughter?”

“Yeah.”

“No,” she says. “We’ve met before. At Medium Roast. Remember?”

I wait for the worry to come—the worry that this won’t work out, the worry that this will be too much for Ellie. It never does. “Right. You two are old pals.”

Ellie shrugs one shoulder. “We will be one day.”

When I pull into Norma’s driveway, she’s waiting at the door with Rosie in her arms. Rosie lifts a chubby baby hand and waves, her arm flying, a big smile on her face. Soon she’ll have more than four teeth, and won’t that be a party.

Ellie doesn’t hesitate. She gets out of the car at the same time I do, bringing her camera along.

“Daddy!” cries Rosie. Ellie is right by my side as we climb the porch steps.

“Hi, baby.” I take the squirming baby in my arms. She’s not going to be a baby much longer. “Norma, Rosie, this is Ellie.” I grin down at Rosie. “Can you say Ellie?”

“Lee!” she chirps, giving Ellie another charming smile.

“See you tomorrow?” Norma says to Rosie. “Hi, Ellie. I’ve seen you downtown.”

“White chocolate mocha, right?” God, Ellie is the real deal.

“You’ve got it,” says Norma, and closes the door with a wave.

I take Rosie down the steps, Ellie following close behind. We’re halfway down Norma’s walk when Ellie calls out. “Wait!”

I turn to face her. She’s got the lens cap off her camera and the camera up to her face. “Smile!” Rosie giggles in my arms and I look into the lens. For once, it’s a real smile. How could it not be? I’m looking at the love of my life.

“Perfect,” says Ellie, putting the lens cap back on. “You’re going to love this.”

“Hold on,” I say, as she gets close. “We need one more.”

“Of what?”

I take the camera in one hand, flip it around, and hold it out with my arm. “You belong in these photos, too.”

Ellie’s eyes shine. She wastes no time tucking in beside Rosie, her arm going around my waist. “Ready? Look at the camera, Rosie! Say happy! One, two, three!”