“Thank you,” Amanda says, grabbing the diaper bag and following me into the house.
“I’m going to take her up to Coral’s room,” I tell her. She nods, setting the diaper bag on the kitchen counter before trailing behind me up the stairs. In Coral’s room, I keep two beds. Her old baby bed and her big-girl bed that sits low to the floor with a little fence around it. It’s not really a fence, even though that’s what it looks like. It’s more like a gate. I figured Bellamy and Reid might end up having more kids, so I kept it. That’s where I lay Mia down. She lets out a soft, contented sigh and thankfully doesn’t wake.
I switch on the baby monitor, then lace my fingers with Amanda’s and guide her across the hall to my room. Once inside, I set the monitor on my nightstand and turn on the feed. Out of the corner of my eye, I catch the small tilt of Amanda’s lips.
“Come here,” I say, pulling her into my arms. I wrap her up in a fierce hug. “It’s hell not being able to touch you when we’re all together,” I confess.
“Thank you for coming today, and for Mia’s gifts. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to be the one to extend the invitation. I mean, I could have told Bellamy to, but then I worried she’d catch on, and yeah.” Amanda sighs.
“It’s fine, babe. I knew we had plans together after, but when Bellamy called, no way was I turning down the opportunity to be there.”
“I’m glad you were there,” she says, snuggling into my chest.
Closing my eyes, I breathe her in and just feel. Feel her arms around me, the way her body fits perfectly next to mine. I forget about how we’re hiding this from my daughter—a very important person in both of our lives—and I’m just here in this moment with her.
When I feel her hands slip underneath the back of my T-shirt, my eyes pop open, and I stare down at her. She’s already peering up at me under those long, gorgeous lashes. “Are you waiting for me to tell you to stop?” I smirk. “Baby, you know that’s not happening.”
“No?” she asks, her tone light. “What about if I did this?” She moves her hands beneath my shirt, around to my abs, and lifts the material. I don’t hesitate to grab the fabric and pull it over my head.
“It doesn’t matter what you do, I won’t stop you. This is how I see it. You’re mine, and I’m yours. The moment I made love to you, everything changed. We might not be telling the world about us yet,” I add, giving her a look that says we will be telling the world, “but right now, it’s just me and you, and your hands are on me, baby, that’s a win no matter what.”
“No matter what I do, huh?” she asks.
I spread my feet, hold my arms out to my sides, and meet her gaze, willing her to see in my eyes and hear it in my voice when I tell her, “Do your worst, beautiful.” There isn’t a single thing she could do to me that I wouldn’t like.
“What if I tell you that no matter what I do, you’re not allowed to touch me?”
“I would never do anything you didn’t want.”
“Oh, that doesn’t mean I don’t want your touch, Coach,” she says, and this time she’s the one who’s smirking. “But I could tell you not to. Would you listen?”
“Yes.”
“Let’s test that theory. No touching,” she says as she drops to her knees.
“Oh, fuck,” I mutter, and her laughter fills the room. It’s light and musical, and fuck me, I’d do anything to make her laugh like that every single day for the rest of my life.
“You doing okay?” she asks as she makes quick work of unbuttoning my shorts and pulling them over my hips, letting them fall to the floor. I kick them away, not giving a single fuck where they land.
“I’m perfect,” I tell her as she grips my cock through my boxer briefs. “Yep.” I nod, my eyes glued to her, anxiously awaiting her next move. She doesn’t make me wait long when she slides her hands beneath the waistband and gently tugs, careful of my hard length. My underwear hits the floor, but I can’t worry about them when my girl wraps her fist around my cock and strokes.
“You doing okay, Coach?” she teases, smiling up at me. Those big green eyes of hers are bright with happiness. Seeing her like this, my cock in her hand, her eyes smiling as big as her lips, has my knees weakening.
“Perfect,” I croak.
“Hmm, I guess I need to try harder.”
“What are you trying to do exactly?” I ask. My brain is foggy.
“Get you to go back on your word that you won’t touch me.”
“I’ll never break a promise to you, Mandy. Never.” I gaze into her eyes, willing her to trust me. I hate that she lost her ability to trust because of her asshole ex, but I’ll keep showing, keep proving to her every day of fucking forever if she lets me, that she can trust me.
She doesn’t say anything, but her hand never stops moving as she strokes my cock. My arms fall to my sides, and I fist my hands to keep from reaching for her. I’m a man of my word, and she needs this. She needs to know she matters, that I will always respect her choice.
“Do you want me to stop?”
I huff out a laugh. “No, baby, I don’t want you to stop. Let’s just clear this up now. You can touch me anytime you want, in any way that you want. Your hands on me, that’s not something I will ever refuse,” I tell her.