Page 34 of Demon Daddy's Hidden Daughter
"You'll warm up once you start moving." I spin her in a slow circle, her legs trailing in the water as she giggles. "Want to see if we can build a dam with those stones?"
We're just getting started on our construction project when I hear another splash behind us. I turn, expecting to see Lenny testing the water with her toes.
Instead, I see her wading in wearing nothing but a simple two piece swimming set—the kind of practical swimming attire most people wear, but on Lenny it might as well be designed specifically to drive me insane.
Everything in me short-circuits.
The fabric clings to her curves, outlining the shape of her breasts, the gentle flare of her hips, showing off the long line of her legs. My eyes drink in every detail—the expanse of pale skin, marked here and there with faint scars that tell the story of her survival. Her arms, her shoulders, the delicate curve of her collarbone where that damned burn mark sits like a brand.
She looks like something carved from moonlight and determination, beautiful and fierce and absolutely devastating.
"The water's not so bad once you're in," she says, moving deeper with careful grace, and I realize I've been staring like an idiot.
"Right." My voice comes out rougher than intended. "Not so bad."
I force myself to turn back to Ava, to focus on helping her stack stones into something resembling a barrier. It should be easy—she's chattering away about making the dam tall enough to stop all the fish, completely absorbed in her project. This is what I came here for. Quality time with her.
But my eyes keep drifting. I can't help it.
Thank the gods the water is cold enough to keep me in check.
Lenny moves through the water like she was born to it, graceful and confident in ways that contradict everything I know about her past. She ducks under briefly, surfacing with her hair slicked back and water droplets caught on her eyelashes like tiny diamonds.
When she tips her head back and laughs at something Ava says, the sound echoes off the rocks and goes straight through me. The sunlight catches the water on her skin, turning her into something that belongs in fairy tales instead of harsh reality.
"Rhyen, you're not helping," Ava accuses, tugging on my arm.
"Sorry, little one. I was distracted by..." I scramble for an excuse that doesn't involve her mother's devastating effect on my self-control. "By wondering if we should reinforce the sides of our dam."
Ava accepts this readily and launches into an elaborate explanation of her engineering plans. I nod and make appropriate sounds while fighting the urge to look at Lenny again.
I fail. Of course I fail.
She's floating on her back now, eyes closed against the sun, completely relaxed for maybe the first time since I've known her. The trust implicit in that surrender—the fact that she feels safe enough here, with me, to let her guard down so completely—hits me harder than desire.
This is what I want. Not just her body, though Christ knows I want that too. I want her peace. Her smiles. Her trust. I want to be the reason she can float in mountain pools without fear, the reason she can laugh without looking over her shoulder.
I want everything.
"Can I ride on your back across the pool?" Ava's question jerks me back to the present.
"Of course." I crouch down in the shallow water so she can climb on. "Hold tight."
She wraps her small arms around my neck, and I begin a slow circuit of the pool. Her delighted giggles echo off the rocks as I vary the speed, sometimes gliding smoothly, sometimes bouncing her gently as I navigate between submerged stones.
"Faster!" she demands.
"Careful what you wish for."
I pick up the pace, making a game of it, ducking suddenly so she squeals with mock terror, then surfacing with a dramatic gasp. She loves every second of it, and the sound of her laughter makes something in my chest feel dangerously full.
When I surface from another dive, shaking water from my hair, I find Lenny watching us with an expression so soft it nearly undoes me. There's love there, and gratitude, and something else that makes my pulse stutter.
She catches me staring and doesn't look away. Instead, she smiles—not the careful, cautious expressions I've grown used to, but something warm and teasing that goes straight to my head.
"Having fun?" she asks, moving closer until she's only a few feet away.
"Always." I adjust my grip on Ava, who's now trying to braid my wet hair. "What about you? Was I right about it being perfect weather?"
