She looks down at her hands in her lap. "It's a lot to take in. This apartment, your staff, May. It's so much, Nolan."
I know it is. Even though I was the one who cooked the pancakes, the chef I'd hired to prepare meals for May and I stood nearby. One of my housekeeping staff swooped in to clear the dishes even though I've asked them repeatedly not to do that. I want my daughter to take on more chores. Loading the dishes into the dishwasher is a task that May enjoys. The silverware is off limits for now, until she's old enough to understand safe handling of the forks and knives.
"It's just May and me that you need to worry about," I reassure her quietly. "You came here to see us. She's having a great time, Ellie. I want you to have fun too."
"I found some paper," May exclaims as she races around the corner from the hallway. "I'll draw you a picture of me that you can take home."
Ellie smiles as May climbs back into her lap. "That's the best gift in the world. I'll keep it forever."
***
"May will be asleep in a couple of hours, Ellie." I rest my hands on her shoulders. "I can give you the key for the shoebox and you can hang out there."
She looks over to where Dino is standing guard at his desk. "It's been a long day, Nolan. A great day but I'm exhausted. I think I should head home for the night."
I don’t want that. It's not just because I'm aching to be inside her again. I want time alone with her after what happened today. She met my daughter. She stepped willingly into my life and didn't run in the opposite direction.
She hugged May as she was leaving my apartment. May hugged her back, tightly. She kissed Ellie on the cheek and told her that she hoped they could be friends. Ellie nodded because the emotion she was feeling was too much. I saw the tears beading in the corners of her eyes. I saw her knees shake as she crouched down to hold May close.
"You can rest at the shoebox until I get there."
"Until you get there?" She grins. "What will happen when you get there?"
"I can draw you a picture on your hand." I whip a purple marker out of my back pocket. "May didn't touch your right hand, so there's plenty of room for me to draw my…"
"Dino will hear you if you say cock." She leans close, her voice no more than a whisper.
"Dino's hearing isn't what it used to be." I pull her to my chest. "Besides, you like talking about my cock."
"No," she says with a laugh. "You talk about it way more than I do."
"That might be true but you think about it more than I do."
"I thought about it this morning," she admits as she kisses my cheek. "I've come twice today already, so I'm good."
"My cock wasn't involved in either of those," I point out. "I want in, literally, Elle, I want in."
She taps her finger on her chin. "I suppose I could go over the practice interview for the NYPD I found online while I wait for you."
"There's that fucking spirit I was looking for."
"You mean fighting spirit, Nolan. The expression is fighting spirit and it doesn't apply here."
"I meant fucking spirit."
"Because we'll be fucking?"
I nod. "That's the spirit."
She glances behind me. "Dino heard that. He's looking over here."
"That's because you're stunning." I kiss her lips softly. "I'll be at the shoebox by ten, Ellie."
She takes my key fob when I offer it. "I'll go there and nude study. I might order pizza."
I love when she teases me. I hope that she's teasing me. "Don't let the pizza delivery guy see you naked."
"You're the only man who sees me naked." She pops up to her tiptoes to wrap her arms around my neck. "I like it that way."
I love it that way, and I never want it to change.
Chapter 46
Ellie
"I had no idea that nude pizza was a thing." He pushes his jeans down his legs. "We should do this every Saturday night."
"I'm game." I take a bite of the large cheese pizza I ordered thirty minutes ago. "I hope you like plain cheese. It's my favorite."
"Mine too." He sits on the edge of the bed in his boxer briefs. "It's not technically nude pizza unless we're both totally naked, right?"
I look down at my pale pink bra and panties. I had taken off everything right after the pizza was delivered, but that only lasted three minutes. I pulled my bra and panties back on as I waited for Nolan to arrive.
"I'm a messy eater and I don't want any hot sauce to burn my nipples."
His eyes fall to my bra and the outline of my nipples. "If I haven't told you yet, your nipples are incredible, Ellie. They're pink and puffy and when I suck on them, they get so hard like they're aching for more."
"You make me feel really beautiful."