Page 148 of Shattered Souls
“Blame Logan! He’s been telling her all week she can have a princess tea party.”
“And you were the idiot who caved and threw one for her?” I’m teasing and laughing, but I can’t get over how incredibly sweet it is of him.
This past week has been heaven—going to class, collecting Aurora from daycare, cooking dinner with Logan, and cuddling on the sofa before crawling into bed with the guys. Without the threat of Lydia or Bertram hanging over my head, I’ve gotten so much studying done. I still have a ways to go, but if the rest of the semester is like this, I should be able to pull my grades back up.
“Well, you’ve never looked better.” It takes every ounce of my self-control to maintain a straight face, but the second Royce’s gaze cuts to mine, those astute blue eyes narrowing, I howl with laughter. “Please let me take a picture.” I’m already pulling the phone from my pocket.
I mean, if this isn’t a prime example of what a sucker Royce is for my little girl, I don’t know what is. I swear, all she has to do is give him those puppy dog eyes of hers and pout, and he does whatever she wants. Aurora isn’t the slightest bit intimidated by his large size or tats.
“Don’t even think about it, James,” Royce growls, a thread of promise behind his words that sends shivers skating along my spine.
“Just one.” As soon as the sound of the photo being taken penetrates, he shoots out of his chair and lunges for me.
I squeal, dropping the phone as he grabs me around the waist. We crash to the couch, him twisting at the last minute so he’s beneath me.
“No!” I squeal, writhing as his fingers tickle my ribs.
“Tickle party!” Aurora yells before diving on top of me, adding her fingers to the mix.
“That’s it, Aurora. Tickle Mommy.”
“No! No! Please.” Tears stream down my face, and I can barely get the words out between heaving breaths and bursts of laughter.
“Aurora,” I attempt to chastise between gasping breaths. “There will be no dessert after dinner if you don’t stop.”
“Don’t worry, sweetheart.” Royce winks conspiratorially at my daughter. “I’ll make sure you get dessert.”
“Royce!” I squeal, twisting against him. The two of them attack me until I wheeze out, “Stop. Please. I surrender. I surrender!”
Royce falls still, Aurora following. “I dunno, Aurora, what do you think? Do we accept Mommy’s surrender?”
“You can go get a bar of chocolate from the sweetie tin if you do.”
“Bribing your daughter?” Royce tuts in my ear, causing me to shiver for an entirely different reason.
“Okay. We accept your surrender, Mommy,” Aurora says brightly. “Can I have my chocolate now?”
I huff out a laugh, shaking my head. “Yeah, okay. You know where it is; go get it.”
She’s racing from the room before I’ve even finished speaking.
“That was mean.” I smack Royce on the arm, but he just laughs.
“And you taking photos of me in pain, wasn’t?”
I twist so we’re chest to chest. “You look like you fought with a clown, and he won.”
Royce groans, his head falling back against the armrest. “That bad?”
“Have you looked in a mirror?”
“God, no. I planned to jump straight into the shower as soon as she finished. I didn’t realize what time it was.”
“Thank you for playing dress up with her.”
Lifting his head, there’s a softness in his gaze now. “You need to stop thanking us for spending time with her. We all love her; we love spending time with her. She’s exactly what each of us needed.” His fingers trail down my temple, brushing a strand of hair from my face as he stares at me with so much openness that it’s hard to believe this is the same closed-off, sharp-edged man I accidentally crashed into on campus that first day. “This house had gotten so quiet and bogged down with all our issues. Logan’s been the light that keeps Gray and I from drowning ourselves in misery, but I know carrying that task sometimes weighs on him. It’s an unfair burden for us to place on his shoulders. But Aurora emits that light so effortlessly. Having her here puts everything into perspective.” He squeezes my waist. “Having you both here feelsright.”
Leaning in, I press my lips to his, his sweet words making it easy to ignore the fact his face practically shimmers from so much blusher. One of his large, calloused palms slides to the back of my head, holding me firm as his tongue slides along the seam of my lips before dipping inside.
