she know that you won’t take her out anywhere because you’re consumed with characters that don’t exist? Should I tell her now before she’s smitten? Or did you already dickmatize her?”
“You done?” I yawned and stretched my hands over my head.
“Fuck you, Van.”
“No thanks. I already have someone to keep my dick warm.” I winked at her then closed the door. She yelled muffled obscenities at me that I refused to acknowledge. Instead, I went into the kitchen and watched Frankie and Xari. She wasn’t wearing my shirt anymore. Now, she had on footless one-piece pajamas with angel wings and halos all over.
Frankie was busy tasting food while Xari detailed the recipes to her. I watched Frankie record every word and take notes in her mind. My baby girl was growing fond of cooking.
“Did you have fun at your mother’s?” I asked, finally letting my presence be known.
“It was cool,” she said with a shrug.
“You didn’t call me so everything must have been okay.”
“Yeah,” she nodded, tugging on Xari’s hand. “Come on. We have an appointment in my room, remember?”
“Right. Let’s go.” My heart thumped at the sight of Xari’s dimples. She glanced at me and I tried to apologize through my stare. I didn’t know if it translated but I hoped she knew I wasn’t trying to give her the cold shoulder.
After they disappeared upstairs, I went into the den and started writing again. Page after page flew from me with ease. I should have been editing my finished book, Riley’s Song but I couldn’t stop myself from writing once I started.
“Daddy,” Frankie’s voice pulled me from the six-foot hole I’d been unearthing inside myself. Whatever was at the bottom glowed bright and hot.
“Hey, sweetheart.” I saved my document and looked at her. Her makeup was done so well she didn’t look like my little girl anymore. She looked like a young woman. “Wow,” I chuckled, standing to my feet. “Xari did a number on you.” I squeezed her shoulders.
“You hate it.”
“No, no, no…” I stammered, realizing I’d shoved my foot directly down my throat.
Xari came down the hall and stood behind Frankie. My eyes roved over her angel pajamas briefly. I almost snorted at the irony. Xari was the opposite of angel wings and halos. She was still a goddess. Albeit a goddess of sin and danger, she still had ichor running through her veins.
The thin white cotton hugged her waist, hips, and ass. The buttons, meant to be closed up to her neck, stopped being buttoned halfway up her cleavage. I refused to look below her waist. I shouldn’t have allowed myself the trip to her tits.
“I think you look beautiful, Frankie. You just…you don’t look like my baby girl anymore. You look grown.” A pang of sadness echoed in my chest.
I remembered Frankie as a tiny thing. A bundle of baby powder and soft ebony curls. A chubby-cheeked blessing that fit in my hand. Now, she was before me with makeup and mascara-coated eyelashes and it was too much.
“You think I look grown?” It was like a compliment dipped in gold to a twelve-year-old.
“Yeah, kiddo. I do.”
“Oh my god, I need to take pictures. Be right back.” She hurried out of the room and I looked at Xari, taking in her mile-long lashes and glossy lips.
“Can I talk to you?” I asked, stepping closer. Her jasmine petal skin drew me in like the tide to the shore.
“Why? So you can hide more stuff then blow me off?” She rolled her eyes and turned on her heel to follow Frankie. She wasn’t getting away that easy. I reached out and grabbed her hips, pulling her against me. I placed my forearm across her throat like a bar and leaned down to her ear.
“So I can apologize for being short with you.” I couldn’t be that close to her skin and not steal a few kisses on the spot behind her ear that made her squirm.
“Stop, Evander,” she sighed.
“Make me,” I smirked, tossing her own words at her. If Frankie was taking pictures, I knew she’d be up there for a while, so I had Xari to myself. My hands roamed over her dips and curves, settling on her tits. She didn’t have on a bra. Her nipples tightened under my touch.
“Now, tell me why you care so much about what I’m hiding.” I pushed my hand between her thighs and cupped her pussy. Heat poured from her core. I was obsessed with exploring her body and finding