CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Layla hummed a nonsensical tune with a smile plastered to her lips. The pan before her filled the room with the scent of frying bacon. Opposite that, browning pancakes needed flipping, and warming maple syrup lent a sweetness to the air. The sunlight shone through the window, sending a halo of dappled light around her. She felt amazing; this moment ranked next to seeing her daughter’s eyes for the first time as one of the happiest moments of her life.
His promise last night to increase his stamina to an hour had been met, and then some. Still it seemed like he had been holding himself back for some reason. She would confront him about that later. Unwilling to ruin this perfect morning after, she pushed her doubts to the back of her mind. It certainly helped when warm strong arms wrapped around her from behind, circling her waist. Hot lips began trailing up her throat.
Her train of thought was definitely thrown back to how his body had taken her to levels of pleasure she had never experienced before. He growled deeply against her neck, pulling her back against his hips, making it very clear he was hard as steel, and more interested in getting her back to bed than eating the breakfast being woefully neglected on the stove.
“I’m going to burn the bacon if you keep that up.” She had a huge smile on her lips, which of course, did not discourage him at all.
“Let it burn.” God, when he used that low commanding tone her body turned to putty in his hands.
Her head tilted to the side and her eyes slid closed. All she could hear was her blood rushing in her veins and the soft panting of her breath. He just took over, wrapping up all her senses so she could only think of him. So it was not her fault in the least when the soft tapping sound of little feet was not registered by her ears.
“Mommy, so does this mean Wolfie is definitely going to be my daddy?” Turns out the totally innocent voice of the libido-killer five-year-old was the world’s best braking system for any sexual situation. This had now been proven correct for a second time.
The demon froze in place. Layla was sure he had no idea what to do with himself at her child’s perfectly reasonable question. Ironically, she did not feel any shame at being caught like this with him. When she accepted him last night she had made her choice. Allowing him into her life and into the life of her family meant she would be caught on occasion.
Removing the cooking food from the burners, Layla turned around, sliding from the tense arms of the still half-frozen demon. She patted his arm with a laugh and moved toward her daughter. Leaning down she swept the small girl into her arms, filling the room with riotous giggles and flowing blond hair.
“What would you think of that, Belle?” she asked, holding her daughter to her and breathing in her sweet scent. This was the million-dollar question, wasn’t it?
Tan watched Annabelle. The little girl was quiet for a few moments as she peered at him carefully with those eyes that held far too much intelligence. It was a bit intimidating. Rolling his shoulders and finally remembering how to move his legs, he turned to fully face her. Then he walked slowly toward the pair of ladies and took in the child, almost a carbon copy of her mother—all but her eyes; he swore she could see into his very soul.
“Before you answer, child, I want you to really think about it. I don’t know the first thing about children.” His eyes met her mother’s and his chest felt tight. How could he feel so weak before these two females? How had one small child and this wondrous woman sunk into his soul so quickly?
“Neither did Mommy. She learned.” Of course Bella would come up with an answer like that. Tan nodded, a smile on his lips.
“Good point.” Grudgingly, he admitted he just got bested by a five-year-old.
He watched as Layla let her daughter down to the floor and the small child walked up to him. She looked down at her feet, her tiny toes sticking out from under her long pink nightgown. Little fingers pulled at a stray fiber on the shirt until finally she looked up at him and pointed at the floor. She waited patiently until he got the message and moved down to his knees. He was being judged, at least that was what it felt like. The girl before him crossed her arms over her chest and began to speak—and in that second, she looked very much like her aunt.
“Daddy’s have rules. Daddy’s tuck in at night, and they check for monsters. That is very important. If they find them they have to chase them away. My Daddy will play with me, anything I want, even tea party. Daddy’s give hugs, the best bear hugs. But only Mommy gives the bestest hugs.”
He blinked. He was being given rules? Seriously? And she was not done, she just kept going. Something about building a treehouse, giving her ice cream when she wanted it, which her mother quickly vetoed. Watching whatever Disney film she wanted as many times as she wanted—Layla announced that was all on him.
He was a little overwhelmed by all this. Did all potential fathers have this? Someone needed to write that damn manual for dealing with kids. Finally, she stopped and looked at him expectantly. Eyebrows raised, he stared at her and opened his mouth to speak.
“Before I agree… I want you to know, I really like your mother—”
“Like as in, like-like?” Her little eyebrow rose, her eyes bright. She had a brilliant smile on her face, and he was pretty sure she was talking to him in English. How was he supposed to do this when he couldn’t even understand half the stuff that came out of her mouth?
He looked imploringly at Layla. The damned woman was laughing at him, her hand covering her mouth to hide the sound, her eyes shimmering with the tears of laughter. Clearly, she knew what the child was talking about. She must have felt pity on him; moving to kneel beside her daughter, she stroked down her child’s sunlight hair with a smile.
“Be gentle with him, Belle. I don’t think he speaks little girl.” Her eyes glittered as she held back the laugh by pressing her lips together tightly. Annabelle looked at her mother and nodded. She turned her eyes back to him and reached out, patting his arm.
“It’s okay. I can teach you.”
Tan felt like he had just stepped into some kind of hidden world with new rules and a new language, and he was totally lost. These two females looked at him with smiles that made his heart ache, and the fact his mind was a thousand-piece puzzle scattered to the wind suddenly didn’t matter so much to him.
“I think I can work with that, Bella. Are you okay with me liking your mother? With me being in your family?” Something told him it was important to ask for the child’s permission. She was, of course, the most important thing in Layla’s life.
“Yes. You make Mommy happy. She needs to be happy. She needs you, I always knew that. Grammy Annie told me so when you first arrived. She said I just had to wait for you to catch up with everyone else.”
He wasn’t sure how he felt about “everyone else” knowing about this fate of his before him. But clearly something bigger than just his life was happening here. Had all this been planned? Someone somewhere was weaving his future like some twisted macabre rug with the odd amazing gift thrown in. That gift happened to be watching him carefully, her eyes wide at her daughter’s words. She seemed as shocked as he did.
“Mommy, breakfast went cold again. I’m going to get dressed and feed the animals. Wolfie can help me.” Her smile lit the room and she threw herself at the demon, wrapping her little arms around his neck. “I think I will like having a daddy.”
She let him go and bolted from the kitchen, taking the stairs two at a time back to her room. Tan watched her go, blinking at the impromptu hug. His memory might be like Swiss cheese, but he knew for a fact no child had ever hugged him before.
Layla watched as Annabelle dragged the large male from the house. His hand looked huge in hers, but she was a determined little beast when she wanted to be. She almost felt sorry for him; the look on his face when Annabelle hugged him had been precious. He had been so lost it was totally endearing to watch.
This would be tough for him. She was not naïve enough to think he would just step into the role of father figure without issue. He looked utterly stumped, but he was adamant this was going to work, that he would do this no matter what. So when the overly excited child came bounding down the stairs dressed in bright pink winter clothes, grabbing him and yanking on him until he moved, he let her drag him away.
Layla felt her heart jump into her chest. She had seen this man in the throes of rage and madness. Seen the beast he could become, and felt his teeth tear into her hand. Yet watching him with her daughter he was someone else, someone she could clearly see even he did not recognize. Even as his memory returned to him in bits and pieces, she could see within him this new calm that he did not understand.
“So you fucked him then?” Turning around quickly at the bitter sound of her sister’s voice, Layla sighed and dropped her drying cloth on the counter.
“Don’t be so crude, Lexi.” She did not want to get into this with her sister right now.
“Crude? You did fuck him though, right? I figured when I came home last night and he wasn’t on the couch. Who am I kidding, not like I couldn’t hear you two this morning. Seriously? With Annabelle in the house?” Layla gritted her teeth and lifted her head, locking her gaze to her sister’s.
“I would watch your tone, Lexi. I’m an adult. If I want to sleep with him I damn well will. Understand? I don’t need your permission.” Layla could feel her heartbeat hardening in her chest. The wind began picking up outside the house. She needed to calm her anger now or something bad might happen on the mountain.
Her sister’s eyes flicked to the window behind her, then she walked toward the counter that separated them. Layla stared at her sister. The usual blue of her sister’s eyes was now grey and angry, like a gathering storm. Layla knew why. Her sister had developed trust issues to rival an international spy when Richard ran off. Layla never fully understood why, considering she was the one Richard left while pregnant. Lexi had shut herself off from everyone but her family, and trusted no man from that day on. Now one had come into her family, and swept her sister from her feet. Layla suspected Lexi was more than a little jealous.
“You don’t know what you’re doing, Layla. You know nothing about that man. For the love of god, he is not even human! How can you let that thing into your bed?” Lexi spoke with such a vile tongue that Layla took a step back.
“Neither are we, in case you forgot, and neither is Annabelle.” She had never heard Lexi speak like this before. Who was this woman before her, spitting such hate?
“Layla, I didn’t mean it like that.” She watched her sister shake her head and step back from the counter. “He’s dangerous, Layla. If the people looking for him come here they could hurt Annabelle to get to him.”
“He is no more dangerous than I am. I trust him not to harm her, and I know he would never allow anyone else to harm her either. Why can’t you see the good in him? Why do you only look for the bad?”
“Because he will bring ruin to this family. I won’t stay in this house as long as he is here.” Layla watched as her sister turned to head up to her room.
“So you’re going to leave? You want me to tell Annabelle why her Auntie Lexi has run off to stay in the old cabin, or will you grow a pair and do it before you take off in a tantrum?” Layla took a breath, looking down at her hands now gripping the counter. The wind outside had picked up again. Closing her eyes, she took a slow breath in and out to calm her raging emotions.
“You can say what you like. She has a new daddy after all, right?” Layla growled—actually growled—as her sister vanished up the stairs. The tell-tale sound of drawers being opened and closed signified that, yes, her sister was following through with her threat.
It seemed to only take moments for her twin to pack and then she was back downstairs. She carried a large pack on her back, along with her camera equipment and sleeping gear for the old hunting cabin farther up the mountain. Lexi looked at her but did not say anything. They’d had arguments before, but nothing like this. Lexi had never actually packed to leave; she always threatened. They were twins after all. Eternally linked together, two halves of one whole—they could be miles from one another and never really be apart.
“Lexi, stop being a bitch. Yesterday you seemed to be getting along with him. What the hell happened?” Her sister just shrugged the bag onto her shoulders and turned her eyes away from her twin. She had never been like this before—not this cold, this distant.
“I hope you know what you’re doing, Layla. I have a feeling when they come for him, they will not be gentle with the ones who harbored him.” What in the hell was that supposed to mean?
“Lexi!” Her sister ignored her and left the cabin. Layla watched the door close, her heart tight, like someone had a fist around it and they just kept squeezing. Something was terribly wrong with her sister. She should go after her, but her daughter was outside with the demon and she couldn’t just leave her.
Fine. If her sister wanted to act like a child, she would let her cool off. Layla would gather everyone and head into town. She needed to get Tan some winter clothes so they could follow Lexi to the hunting cabin. That would be the best plan. Her soul told her something had happened to her sister, and she needed to find out what She needed to fix it.
Her mind made up, she headed toward the stairs, a sudden knock at the door pulling her up short. Swearing low under her breath, she turned and moved quickly. She needed to get to Lexi, and could not be distracted by visitors right now. She pulled the door open and spoke without even looking at who stood there.
“Yes, how can I help you?”
“Hello, gorgeous.”
Layla felt her stomach drop out and her heart stop beating. That voice chilled her very blood Her brain went offline. It couldn’t be him—this was some terrible nightmare or something. The argument with her sister and now this, it was all a horrible nightmare.
Lifting her head, she turned and swallowed hard. Her throat had stopped working—either that or she could not remember how to swallow. He was real. He stood at her door dressed in a thousand-dollar suit, still looking every inch the quarterback he had been in school.
He still had the chocolate brown hair, yet a few strands of grey already peppered the depths. And those hazel eyes that every girl in school had fawned over; the ones she had hoped to never see again. That strong jawline had been in many girls’ dreams more than once, and she had been the one to bag him and date him. The only other change she could see was the extra thirty pounds he now carried around his waist.
The shock gave way to anger, giving her mind the kickstart it needed. She narrowed her eyes at him and his cocky smile faltered. Somewhere in his caveman brain he could sense danger.
“What the fuck are you doing here, Richard?”