Page 80 of Buckin' Around

Riley leans back, lifting a blanket. Ivy is snuggled against her side, sound asleep as her pacifier bobs in her little mouth.

“Was all tuckered out showing her daddy she can almost crawl.”

“Damn. I’ll take her to bed.”

I step around the sofa and lean into Riley. “Thank you, Riles.”

Her face moves with a soft, slow smile. “What for?”

“For everything. For loving Ivy as much as I do.”

She scrunches up her face, and her lips press to my cheek. “Anytime, Spence.”

My jaw feathers.

I have no idea how much longer I can hold in the way she makes me feel. This close... it takes every single thing I have to not palm that beautiful face of hers and kiss her fucking stupid.

Sweats stretching again, I track my attention to the sleeping baby before I?—

Ivy whines.

I lift her and huddle her to my chest and head for her room. Her snuffly little noises are damn adorable as I lay her down in her crib, and hover, looking at her.

She’s damn perfect.

She’s mine.

And I don’t even know her birthday. I wasn’t there the day she was born.

I grind my molars as heat prickles the back of my eyes.

Fuck.

I make a mental note to talk to Stace about where I stand with custody and finding Ivy’s birth certificate.

Out in the living room, I make it back to the sofa to find Riley scrolling on her phone, the movie she chose paused. She waited for me.

“You could have started, Riles.” I sink onto the sofa next to her.

Probably too close, but too bad. I need to feel her beside me. I just need to.

“It’s okay, I can wait.”

That makes one of us, Riley.

My gaze drops to hers, and I study her face as I revisit the idea of kissing her thoroughly.

“Press play, Spence,” she whispers, pushing the remote into my hand.

On the movie or on us, Riles?

Thirty minutes later, she’s asleep up against my side. The soft little moans falling from her damn lips have me second-guessing doing the right thing or taking what I want.

Good triumphs over evil, the little devil on my shoulder sobbing in his cereal as I forfeit to good. Scooping her up, I stand, letting my focus wander over the woman in my arms.

The most fiery, stubborn, fucking loyal and loving person I’ve ever met...

That I don’t get to keep.