The rest of the evening flies by. Dinner, baths, reading, and bedtime routines—it's all a learning curve. But the girls are easygoing and tell Dalton how their parents used to do something, how they like their bedtime routine, and the books they want to read.

Once the girls are in bed and asleep, Dalton and I head out to the kitchen. He pours us a glass of wine, and we sit on the kitchen bar stools.

Dalton pulls out his phone. "When it came to toys, I always bought the girls a gift card so they could go and pick things out. I've never had to do the whole toy shopping thing." He looks at toys online, trying to find the ones they mentioned earlier.

Later, he walks me to my room and stops outside the door. "I've had a hard time sleeping, knowing you're right down the hall from me." His voice is gravelly, and his gaze is hot and filled with desire.

"I wasn't able to sleep either," I admit.

In the blink of an eye, his lips are on mine, and he presses me against the wall. His hands roam over my body before he grips my waist with one and cradles the back of my head with the other. Pulling me into my bedroom, he kicks the door shut behind him and pins me to the wall again.

The tingling between my legs only intensifies as our kiss grows rough and needy. Dalton eases my dress up my legs and runs his hands over the exposed skin of my hips. His hand trails across my stomach and between my legs, finding me soaked.

Without warning, he drops to his knees, his face at eye level with my pussy. He runs a finger over the soaked fabric of my panties before leaning in and taking a deep breath. Tugging my panties to my ankles, he spreads my legs and dives in. My knees almost buckle when his tongue hits my clit. The hand holding my dress snakes up my stomach and rests between my breasts, holding me to the wall as his tongue circles my clit. His other hand hooks my leg over his shoulder.

"Dalton," I sigh as goosebumps erupt over my skin.

"Do you want me to stop, little one?" he asks as he runs a finger over my dripping wet slit. He already knows the answer.

"No," I whisper. I cry out as he plunges two fingers inside me.

He freezes and looks up at me. "You have to be quiet, or I’ll stop right now and leave you aching all night. Is that what you want?"

I bite my lip and shake my head.

Dalton rips the panties from my ankles and hands them to me. "Shove those in your mouth."

His demanding tone makes me shiver, and I don't think twice. I do as he says, and the moment I obey, he continues his assault until I’m teetering on the edge. He slides his finger inside me, finding the spot that drives me crazy.

I wrap my hand over my mouth, trying to keep quiet as sensations wash over me in a delicious mix I've never felt before. He increases the pressure on my clit, and I fall over the edge, moaning his name.

He doesn't miss a beat as my leg gives out, pinning me to the wall and continuing his assault so that one orgasm flows into another. I've never orgasmed so hard, and when he's done, I'm a big puddle of goo.

He chuckles as he picks me up and carries me to bed.

"Get some rest, little one. You’re going to need it."

Then he turns and walks out the door.

Chapter 5

Dalton

Wespendthedayshopping for everything the girls could possibly need, starting with more school supplies. I never realized kids needed so many damn things just to go to school. Even Zoe has a list of things to bring for the tot school I was able to get her into.

The girls don't start school for another week, but we want to get everything ready for them. After school supplies, we look at clothes, and the girls pick out what they want to wear on their first day of school, along with several other outfits.

I don't know how my sister did it. They lived on her husband's income, and she was a stay-at-home mom to the kids. They made decent money, but these prices give me sticker shock even though money is no object to me.

After that, we get the stuff to decorate the room and some new toys. We finish at the grocery store, where they pick out some of their favorite foods and snacks with Mari.

Thankfully, Mari has taken charge of the day, and I've followed with the grocery cart and my wallet. It's allowed me to watch her with the girls. I never knew that watching her give these girls love and attention could be such a damn turn-on, and I've been hard most of the day. She has them laughing and smiling, and I can see how much they already love her. It's reaffirmed that there's no way her position can be temporary—not only because of my feelings for her but because the girls need her.

When we get home, the first thing Mari does is set up a fort in the living room for the girls to watch a movie, and they think it’s the coolest thing in the world. If I didn't have feelings for this woman before, there’s no doubt she's stolen my heart now.

"Why don't you girls enjoy the movie? I've got a few work phone calls to make, so I'll be in my office if you need me," I tell them as they giggle and bring in blankets and pillows for the floor.

"Go. We've got this." Mari winks when the girls aren't looking.

Kaci Rose's Novels