Chapter 38 Mine

Nico

My heart was pounding as I tried to focus my watery gaze on Allie. I wanted this so damned much. I wanted to hear my sweet little princess call me 'Daddy', but I needed to make sure Allie was OK with it.

I reached for her hand, squeezing it a little harderthan I meant to, and closed my eyes briefly when she returned the squeeze. I felt a tear slide down the side of my face as Allie nodded at me, letting me know that she was on board.

I dropped her hand and jumped out of my chair, rounding the table to scoop up a squealing Gracie in my arms. I held her tightly as she flung her arms around my neck, giggling at me like this was a fun new game.

I smacked a kiss on her cheek and pulled back to look at her. I knew I was grinning ear to ear when I said, "I would love to be your Daddy, princess."

Gracie squealed loudly and clung to me like a spider monkey as I twirled her around. Allie got up and walked over to us, and I shifted Gracie to one side as I pulled Allie close in a three-way hug. Gracie wrapped an arm around Allie's neck, and Allie's arms went around both of us, as far as she could reach.

We stood there for several long moments, until Gracie started wriggling around.

"Can we eat now? I'm hungwy." she said with a small whine in her voice. She clearly wasn't nearly as overcome with emotion as Allie and I were.

I set her back down in her chair and she grabbed her fork while I grabbed her mother again. I pulled Allie tight against me and buried my face in her shoulder. I could feel her trembling, and I knew I was, too.

"Thank you, Sunshine," I whispered, unable to come up with anything more eloquent than that at that very moment.

Allie tightened her arms around my waist for a moment. "I love you so much, honey. You're going to be an incredible father."

Her voice broke just a little on that last word, and I wanted so badly for us to be alone so we could talk about this. It would have to wait until Gracie was out of earshot though, so with a quick kiss to the side of her neck, I released my grip on Allie and helped her back to her seat at the table.

Gracie hadn't paid any attention to us as she ate her fried chicken. In between bites, she continued chattering about her friends, the new story that Miss Rosa had read to them, and the field trip they were taking to the fire station the next day to learn all about fire safety.

I barely touched my dinner, even though Allie's fried chicken was one of my favorite meals. I was too busy staring at my daughter and her beautiful mother. Allie listened attentively to her, asking questions about each of her friends and exclaiming over how interesting the field trip was going to be. Allie wasn't chaperoning this one since she and Liam had gone on the zoo trip.

Liam. He wasn't a beanie-wearing hipster like I'd envisioned, but I still didn't like the asshole for the simple fact that he'd had his hands, and his goddamned mouth, on my girl. I was pretty fucking pleased that Allie had told him she was in love with me, though. It made me not want to punch him quite as much, anyway. Not that I would have done it in front of the children, but maybe out in the parking lot wouldn't have been so bad.

I wasn't sure what I would do if my daughter pushed the issue of Grayson and his daddy coming over for a pool party, but I was pretty sure I would just have to suck it up, for my little girl's sake. My daughter. Damn, that sounded so right.

As soon as dinner was over, Allie told Gracie that she could watch TV for just a little bit before it was time for her bath. Allie and I cleared the table and put away the leftovers. I offered to load the dishwasher and finish cleaning the kitchen, so after giving me a sweet kiss on the cheek and a pat on my ass, Allie went upstairs to get Gracie's pajamas out and get the bathtub filled. I heard her call down for Gracie to come upstairs a few minutes later, as I was wiping down the stove.

Once I was finished with the kitchen, I made my way upstairs to check on my girls. I could hear the soft murmur of their voices as I walked toward the bathroom, followed by the sound of Gracie's giggles. I heard Allie laugh and popped my head around the bathroom doorway to see Gracie making a beard on her face out of the bath bubbles.

"Look, Daddy, I look like Santa Claus," she shouted when she saw me. She was busy scooping up another handful of bubbles and patting them into place on her chin, so she didn't notice my sharp intake of breath or see the sudden tears her words caused. God, I felt like such a pussy, crying like this, but it felt so damned good to hearher call me 'Daddy' so easily.

I blinked away the tears and looked at Allie, who was openly crying. She turned away to grab a towel, trying to hide her emotional reaction from Gracie. I turned toward her, shielding her even further, as I rubbed a soothing hand on her back. I glanced back over my shoulder to where Gracie's head was sticking out of the mound of bubbles in the tub. She was too busy swirling the water around and plopping more bubbles on the top of her head to pay any attention to us.

"You're going to disappear in all of those bubbles, princess," I said with a shaky laugh. I cleared my throat, trying to get control of my emotions.

Gracie scooped up another handful of bubbles and blew on them, giggling when the bubbles flew around in front of her.

Allie straightened her shoulders and turned to look at me with a smile. She raised up to plant a soft kiss on my jaw, then scooted around me with the towel in her hand.

"OK, Gracie-girl, let's finish up and get you rinsed off." She reached into the water to pull the plug from the drain. I watched as she grabbed the hand-held faucet attachment and turned it on, carefully using it to rinse the bubbles from Gracie's hair.

"Will you read me a story tonight, Daddy?" my sweet girl asked, and I couldn't help the huge grin that spread across my face.

"Of course I will, princess. How about I read one, then Mommy can read you one?"

She clapped her hands and bounced around, which sent water flying everywhere since Allie was trying to rinse the bubbles from her body by that point.

I laughed and grabbed the hand towel from the towel bar so I could dab at the droplets on Allie's face. She gave me a wry grin as she thanked me, then told Gracie to quit trying to dance around in the bathtub before she fell and busted her backside.

I held out the towel Allie helped Gracie step out of the tub, wrapping it around her snuggly as Allie used a second towel on her hair.

Twenty minutes later, Grace was finally ready to be tucked into bed. I read the first book she selected - a princess story that I'd read to her many times before. Allie followed that up with a book about a talking dog, which prompted Gracie to ask for a dog - again. Her mother said no - again.

My sweet little girl turned her pleading blue eyes on me, and it was all I could do not to cave in and agree to get her a dog. Only the death rays shooting out of Allie's green eyes stopped me. She wanted to wait another year or so to get a dog, to make sure Gracie would be old enough to share the responsibility of caring for it.

Luckily, Allie was able to divert her attention with a reminder about the field trip to the fire station tomorrow. I leaned down to give Gracie a hug, and she wrapped her arms around my neck. I breathed in the familiar smell of the strawberry-scented baby shampoo that Allie still used on her and kissed her cheek.

"G'night, Daddy. I love you," my sweet little girl said. I tightened my hold on her for a second and closed my eyes as it hit me. This was my daughter. I'd thought of her as mine for so long now, I hadn't realized what a difference it would make to actually hear the word "Daddy" coming from her.

"Goodnight, princess. I love you so much," I said huskily, my voice tight with the emotions I was trying to keep under control. "Now, let's get you tucked in so you can get some sleep. You're going to need your energy for your big day tomorrow."

I glanced at the picture of Alex holding Gracie when she was a few months old, which sat in a frame on her nightstand. I'd set it there after finding it in one of the boxes of things we'd brought from Allie's old house. He still looked vital and healthy, although I knew the picture had been taken shortly after his diagnosis. I said a silent 'thank you' that he had trusted me to help look after his daughter, and I hoped that if he could see us now, that he would understand and be happy for us.

Allie bent down to give her a hug and kissed her forehead. "Goodnight, Gracie-girl. Sweet dreams."

I walked out of the room as Allie turned on the nightlight and flipped the overhead light off. I sagged against the wall in the hallway, leaning my head back to stare up at the ceiling. Allie softly closed the bedroom door behind her and turned to me with a smile on her face.

"Are you OK, honey?" she asked.

I reached for her hand and led her to our bedroom. In the doorway, I pulled her into my arms and gave her a gentle kiss, not able to resist the urge to drop my hand down to her ass to give it a little squeeze.

"I'm going to make sure everything is locked up downstairs and set the alarm, then I'll be right back. Why don't you go ahead and get ready for bed?" I murmured to her, kissing the side of her neck as she tilted her head in invitation.

"That sounds like a good idea," she said playfully. "I am awfully tired. As a matter of fact, I can barely keep my eyes open."

"That's OK, love. I can fuck you with your eyes closed," I offered helpfully.

Allie snorted then giggled, hiding her face in her hands in embarrassment. "Just trying to accommodate your needs, Sunshine," I said with a laugh, grabbing a handful of her ass again and grinding against her. Yeah, I'd fuck her any way I could get her.

She shoved me away and rolled her eyes at me. "Yeah, you're helpful like that, aren't you?" She moved off toward the bathroom, and I watched her walk away. I always enjoyed the view of that plump, juicy ass bouncing with each step she took.

I ran downstairs and made a quick loop of the house, grabbing a couple of bottles of water from the refrigerator before checking the locks and turning out the lights. Once everything was secure, I keyed in the alarm code to set it for the night and hustled my ass back up the stairs. I walked into the bedroom to find Allie in bed already. I quickly closed the door, remembering to lock the door behind me in case Gracie got up in the next little while. I would unlock it before we went to sleep, but I didn't want any interruptions for the time being. I shed my clothes, tossing them onto the chair in the corner of the bedroom before slipping under the covers to join her.

She rolled toward me as I reached for her, and I was fucking thrilled to feel nothing but warm, smooth, bare skin. I felt my cock jerk in response to the feel of her body as I pulled her close to me. God, this woman turned me on like no one ever had before.

I felt Allie's hands roaming over my shoulders as I pulled her under me. The next several minutes were spent kissing her and running my hands over every inch of skin I could reach. I took hold of one of her legs and pulled it up to curl around my hip as I thrust against her.

"I need you, honey," she whispered as she rubbed against me. She lifted her other leg to wrap around my waist, her foot digging into the cheek of my ass to spur me into action.

I let go of her leg so I could grab hold of my cock and drive him home. I rubbed the head up and down along her slick folds, nudging up against her clit with every upward stroke. Allie tilted her hips slightly, thrusting up to try to capture my cock on the next pass, and fuck if I didn't let her do just that.

We both groaned as the head slipped just barely into her tight, hot core. I pulled back out, then immediately thrust balls-deep inside her. She cried out and begged for more, and I was gone. I powered into her over and over, barely registering anything except the feel of her tight pussy pulling me in, and the sound of skin on skin as our bodies slammed together. My mind was focused on one word...mine. She was mine. In every way, this woman was mine and I was hers. Forever.

I felt the tell-tale signs of Allie's orgasm just a second before my own hit, stealing the breath from my lungs and the thoughts from my head. I collapsed on top of her, only just having the presence of mind to shift my weight to the side just enough to keep from squashing her. I could barely hear the sound of Allie's heavy breathing over the pounding of my heartbeat.

"Hmmmm, that was so good, Nico. I'm not sure I can move just yet," she said in a lazy, very pleased tone.

I smiled against her neck and lifted my head to look at her. "That's OK, I wasn't planning on letting you move quite yet anyway." She opened one eye to look at me, and I smiled widely before dropping a kiss on the tip of her nose. I rolled over onto my back, taking her with me so that she was draped half over me. We laid there for a few minutes until our breathing returned to normal, then I felt Allie shift and pull away.

"Be right back," she whispered as she headed toward the bathroom. A few minutes later, I heard the toilet flush and then the water turn on at the sink. I got out of bed and wandered in there, finding Allie beginning her nighttime routine. We both brushed out teeth, then she washed her face and put on her moisturizer. When she picked up her hairbrush, I moved up behind her and took it from her. I had never brushed Allie's hair, although I had brushed Gracie's many times. I carefully brushed through the long wavy strands, thinking about how damned soft her hair was, and how much I loved to run my hands through it when we kissed.

I put the brush back down on the counter and wrapped my arms around her from behind. I bent my head and placed gentle kisses all along her shoulder, before moving up to her neck. Allie giggled and squirmed against me. Her neck was very ticklish, and I loved that.

"Come on, Sunshine. Let's go back to bed. I want to hold you for a while before we go to sleep." Allie turned and kissed my cheek before walking out of the bathroom. I made a quick detour to unlock the bedroom door now that Gracie wouldn't walk in on an intimate moment, then joined Allie in bed.

As she slid into place in my arms, I pulled her close and gave a deep sigh. I kissed the top of her head and thought about the evening we'd just had.

"Are you sure you're OK with Gracie calling me Daddy?" I asked softly. I didn't want to upset Allie, but I really knew we needed to have this conversation. "I don't want you to think I'm trying to make her forget about Alex."

I heard Allie's breath catch in her throat, and then the arm she had over my waist tightened. "I'm very happy that she's calling you Daddy now," she whispered. Her voice was tight, and I could tell she was trying not to cry. "And I'm absolutely certain that Alex is happy about it too. He thought the world of you, and I'm sure he's glad to know that his little girl is loved and has a Daddy here to help him watch over her."

I felt a burning sensation at the back of my eyes. Fuck, I felt like such a pussy right now, but that was too damned bad. It wasn't every day that a man gets a daughter.

"I couldn't love her more if she was my own flesh and blood. I hope you know that. I will never treat her any differently than any children we have together, I promise you. She's mine, Sunshine, in every way that matters. She is my daughter."

"I do know that, and I love you for it." Allie tilted her head up and kissed my neck before snuggling into my side again.

"I want to adopt her. I don't want to erase Alex from her life, but I think it's important that she has my last name, just as you and any of our other children will."

Allie tightened her arm around my waist again, then ran her hand softly up and down my side and hip.

"That sounds perfect, honey," she said softly.

I tightened my arm around her shoulder, and draped the other one over her hip, resting my hand on the delicious curve of her her ass.My last thought before we fell asleep is that I wanted to spend the next fifty years just like this.