Page 54 of Primal Urges

Lucas smiled. He grabbed three bobby pins from his magic bag—because you must always come prepared—and began maneuvering the scarf around the little girl’s hair.

Once he had finished helping the little girl, he glanced at Cade, who was leaning back on his elbows and smiling up at him.

God, the man looked stunning. He wore a tight white shirt under a checkered button-up that hung open loosely at his sides. In addition, he wore a pair of tight blue jeans that hugged his thick thighs and seemed to cradle his bulge as if the material were trying to snuggle up against his junk.

It wasn’t that long ago that Lucas had been cradling that junk as well. Talk about a fantasy come true.

“Care to join us?” Lucas asked, reaching out toward the hunky piece of man-bait.

A pair of bright-blue sapphires stared back at him, looking entertained.

“Nah, I think I’ll sit out the opening number. See how you professionals do it.”

“Yeah, it’s probably best that you watch Lizzy and me first. We wouldn’t want you to pull a hip.”

Lizzy giggled as she took Lucas’s hand. “Come, let’s go dance by the screen!”

The next thing Lucas knew, he was being pulled through a maze of blankets and bodies, collecting children and kidnapped parents as he and Lizzy made their way down to the front.

Once they reached their destination, a crowd of screaming kiddies and dancers unleashed havoc on the park, rocking and laughing and screaming.

Lucas loved it.

Glancing back over his shoulder, he couldn’t help but notice the huge smile plastered on Caden’s face as he watched the chaos—or should he say “kiddy talent show”—begin.

17

CADEN

Watching Lucas interact with Lizzy was the cutest thing in the world. Lizzy had really taken a shine to Lucas, mimicking his every dance move and doing her best to sing along with the characters on-screen.

They had seen the movie once before, but Caden doubted if Lizzy remembered much of it. She had spent so much of the movie asking who each character was and why they had such funny-looking hair and outfits. Try explaining to a six-year-old about the evolution of fashion and hairstyles.

It was around the first twenty-minute mark of the movie when Lucas sent Lizzy to retrieve her daddy and convince him that it was her Christmas wish that her daddy would dance with her like the other girls and boys in the movie.

Lucas, the conniving little…

The man just smirked when Caden joined him and the collection of children, who were now all dancing and screaming like a bunch of hopped-up kittens having their first taste of catnip.

At some point during the movie, Caden convinced the dancing devils to take a break and join him back on the blanket for some popcorn and sodas.

“Can we have candy too?” Lizzy’s eyes lit up at the thought of all that sugar just waiting to be ingested.

Caden felt a bit guilty returning his daughter to her mom, all hopped up on sugar—a.k.a kiddie crack. But hey, he was the fun dad. Lizzy could stay up a little later, telling her mother about how much fun she had with her amazingly cool dad.

Once the movie was over, Cade waited in the parking lot for Lizzy’s mother to pick her up. She was coming from a date with a new guy she was seeing, so she offered to swing by the park and grab their daughter on her way back.

Lucas sat on a bench a few feet away, hoping to go unnoticed by Caden’s ex and the woman who had given birth to Lizzy. Caden didn’t resist. He understood the importance of giving people their space and private moments with family.

He wondered if Lucas had any family. He never mentioned any siblings or parents.

“Mommy!” Lizzy screamed as her mother pulled into the lot, driving a beat-up minivan.

The van was at least fifteen years old and had belonged to Amber’s neighbor before he sold it to Lizzy’s mom six years ago.

Caden took his daughter’s hand and led her to her mom’s van. He popped open the side door and helped his little princess into the seat. He fastened her seatbelt and made sure that the strap was nice and snug.

“Did you have a good time?” Amber asked her daughter with a huge smile.

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