Limitless Love (Lotus House #4)(28)

I ran the pad of my thumb across her bottom lip. Her expression darkened and heated in the seconds I touched her. Then a smile brightened her pretty face.

“Monet, feeding you, being with this family… It’s what I want. Do you want me here?” I asked the question I’d been dying to ask. If she didn’t want me to be a part of all of this, I’d have to respect it, lick my wounds, and leave them be. At this point it would hurt like hell. I already felt connected and engaged in the day-to-day, and I had no desire to stop it anytime soon.

“Yes.” She winked. Winked. My chest filled with pride and a little something else I wasn’t ready to deal with. This stunning woman was burrowing into my heart and soul with every one of her smiles.

“There’s that word again, beautiful.” I smirked. “One day it’s going to get you into trouble, young lady.”

She snickered as I got a few inches closer, making my intention clear.

“I’m going to kiss you now. Is that okay?” I arched a brow, waiting, wanting, but giving her enough time to decide for herself.

Monet stared at me, myriad emotions rushing across her face as she took in my features. When her eyes landed on my lips, she bit down on hers, and I knew she wanted it. Wanted me.

“Yes.”

I laid my lips over hers, gently at first. I reached around her hip to bring her closer. With small movements, I varied the pressure of my lips against hers. She opened her mouth and sucked my bottom lip. I didn’t take the bait. Instead of taking her deep and wet, I rubbed my lips against hers, nibbling on the top lip, then the bottom. She followed my lead, running a hand from my abdomen up and over my chest to my neck, where she held me. God, I wanted her hands all over me.

“King Clay!” Lily screamed. I heard her feet pounding down the hallway coming closer.

I expected Monet to pull back as if burned, hiding our moment from prying little eyes, and was pleasantly surprised when she didn’t.

I was the one who pulled a few inches back. Her eyes were filled with delight. Not only was Monet stunning, exotic with her Asian-American features, she was breathtaking. Her lips were swollen from my kisses, reddened and succulent as a ripe berry. Not being able to hold back, I kissed her again, enjoying the pleasure of having this woman near.

Within moments a bundle of energy plowed into my legs from behind. “Stop kissing Mommy. I got a ’prize for you!” Lily hopped up and down, trying to pull me away from her mom.

I didn’t budge. I shifted away only after pecking her lips a couple more times, lost to the sensation of kissing Monet and having her so willing to kiss me back. It was a huge step in the direction I wanted us to go. “We’ll come back to this another time I hope.”

Her cheeks turned a rosy hue—which I liked seeing a fuck of a lot—before she answered. “Definitely.”

Finally, my woman was coming around. I felt like a million bucks.

“Clay!” Lily yanked at my forearm.

I turned around and kneeled. “What’s up, Your Majesty?”

She held up a big sheet of blank paper, about twelve by twelve inches in size.

“Honey, I don’t see anything.” I frowned.

She looked at me, then down at the paper. “It’s backward.” She giggled with glee and then turned the paper around.

Drawn on the page was a house with pointed rooftops and lots of trees around it. Had to be a castle in her garden.

“That’s a really cool castle. And is that your secret garden?” I asked, encouraging her.

Her entire face lit up, her smile leading the charge. “Yes! And there we are.” She pointed to three stick figures at the bottom of the page. The tallest one had yellow hair and what I think was an orange crown.

“Is that the king?”

“That’s you, King Clay!”

My heart constricted as I looked at the stick figure. A pair of black squares haphazardly colored in were his pants. He had no shirt and just a stick for a body. Most surprising was that he was in the center with his stick arms stretched out holding the hands of two other stick figures.

“And who are these two?” I knew the answer but needed to hear it anyway.

“That’s Mommy. She’s the princess. See her long hair?” She pointed at one of the figures in a triangle-shaped red dress with black hair so long it reached the hem of the dress. Then she pointed to the smallest one with a pink triangle for clothes. “That’s me. The queen.”

Again that pang knocked against my chest, and I rubbed at it. “This is awesome, sweetie. I love it. You’re an excellent artist like your Auntie Mila.”

She nodded ecstatically and said the one thing I would never have expected. “It’s our new family.”

As if my brain wasn’t in control, my head shot up and I looked at Monet. A kink speared into my neck like an icepick. Monet’s mouth opened in what I could only assume was shock. Had to be, because I felt those four words Lily said as if I’d been tazed.

“Can we put it on the fridge, Mommy?” Lily asked innocently.

Monet swallowed and stared at her daughter for a moment, and then she coughed and went into action. “Sure, honey.”

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

As much as I loved that Lily was adding me into the mix, into the family, it was too soon. Way too fucking soon. I knew I had hit the nail on the head when I saw Monet take the drawing from her daughter and put it on the fridge almost robotically, not saying a word.