In my room now, with a little more privacy, I crossed my arms. “You better start explaining to me why you think it’s ok the say that? We aren’t together, Kylian. We just fucked once---twice. That doesn’t mean we are a fucking thing.”

“I can protect you from Alexi, Nikki. Just say the word.” Kylian said.

“I don’t need anyone to save me from Alexi. I am quite capable myself.” I hissed.

“I know you can, per se, Nikki. But you can’t protect yourself like I can protect you.” Kylian pushed, like he knew Alexi would for sure back off if he got involved.

“Just how the fuck do you know he will back off? Are you just as much involved in this shit as he is?” I screamed at him, and he took a large step closer, pressing our bodies together and clamped his entire hand over my mouth.

“I’ll remove my hand when you settle down, Nikki. Until then, just listen to what I have to say,” he said rather sternly. I mumbled against the hand over my mouth, and brought my hand up to move his, but he grabbed my wrist. I watched his tongue flick out over his lips as he added moisture to them, and our eyes met. Swallowing down the dryness in my mouth, he removed his hand and continued to speak. “Now, I’ll admit your brother asked me to get involved with you, but not like this. He wanted me to make sure you didn’t sleep around. Never in the conversation did he ask me to sleep with you. I made that choice on my own. Both times.”

Letting my shoulders drop, I ran my hand through my hair. “Kylian… I…” I let out a deep sigh. “I’ve always feared losing my daughter to Alexi and Creed. They were the best choice for her, but the moment I saw her, I fell in love with her. I wanted them to take her, and I was set on that choice. But like I said, I saw her and fell in love with her. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for her. Alexi knows that. But he also knows his situation is better for a child than mine.”

“Nikki, you need to take back that power from Alexi, then.” Kylian said.

“I know that. I’m handling it.”

Kylian opened the door and spoke. “Let’s go check on her. She’s too quiet.”

One step into the kitchen, I looked at the baby blue paint all over my floor, and the footprints she was making while she tracked it all over. “Meadow. I have questions. First, why is there paint all over?”

“It was an accident.” She said, her smile fading and tears prickling at the corners of her eyes.

“You’re not in trouble, my love. I just want to know what happened.” I said softly, coming over and picking her up.

“I tried to open the paint, and it splashed, and I hit it over when I went to reach for the napkin. After it hit the floor, I wasn’t sure how to clean it anymore.”

“So, you played in it?” I asked.

“No! Daddy wait, listen.” She said and wiggled out of my arms to grab a piece of paper, and she made a heart with her footprints before pressing the paper on top and peeling it up. “Art!”

I nodded a few times, before looking at Kylian who was taking off his socks. “If you can’t beat them, join them,” he said, before joining my daughter in the paint. Part of me wanted to chew him out, but my Meadow looked happy to have him here and playing with her. In defeat, I joined them in the paint mess, too.

Kylian leaned over and whispered in my ear. “I’ll help you clean this up when we’re finished.”

“Thank you.”

Kylian helped Meadow make a flower with her feet, by lifting her and setting her back down. He helped her lay the paper down and for all his work; she let him have the artwork.

The paint was cold under my feet, and I wasn’t too thrilled about it. But again, her smile was worth it. She called me over to make a footprint alongside Kylian and her feet.

She looked up at me, and smiled, her innocence hiding the dirty meaning behind her words as she turned away to look at Kylian before looking back at me and asking if Kylian was ‘daddy’s special friend’.

Resisting every urge in my body to snatch her up and demand she tell me where she heard that, I didn’t even get the words thought out about how to ask before Kylian spoke. “Where did you hear your daddy has special friends?”

“Uncle Alexi. He said that daddy couldn’t come home some nights because he needed to help his special friends. I just wanted to know if you were daddy’s special friend.” She said, and I was seething inside with anger. How could he use those words with her? How dare he.

“You could say that. You see, your daddy has been helping me with sleeping at night, and he promised he would be there when the need came. So that’s why your daddy has been helping me.”

“Daddy helps me sleep when I can’t, too. He is a good daddy.” She said and smiled at Kylian again.

Kylian moved closer to me, and his ears brushed mine. “I’ll handle this matter with Alexi. Don’t worry about it.”

I wanted nothing more than to rip into Alexi on my own, but I needed to let Kylian handle this. I knew I had to. If I did, things would not end peacefully, and I would just push him into actions. I needed to buy my time until I could get some kind of medication from Alessio to kill my sex drive, and then there was no reason left to fight with Alexi.

Kylian cleaned the kitchen while he pushed me to help Meadow get cleaned up. Cleaning blue paint from between her toes, behind her ears and in her hair was easier said than done.

Wrapped in a towel, she clung to my leg and continued to talk about Kylian. She talked and talked about him until we got to her room, and I removed her from my leg and set her on her bed.

“What pjs do you want tonight?” I asked, opening the second drawer on her blue and pink dresser.

“Foxes?” She asked and looked through the drawer for them until I found the exact pair she was looking for. Setting them on the bed, I pulled out a pair of underwear, setting them beside her.

“Do you need my help?” I asked, confident that she could dress herself.

“No. I got it.” She spoke.

“Call me if you need me, ok?” I said and left her room. Kylian had finished the kitchen when I got there and was getting a drink of water. He had blue paint smeared on his cheek and some in his hair, too.

Smiling at him. “If I didn’t know any better, I would say you also need my help to clean up. You have blue paint on your check and in your hair.” Letting my fingers brush the paint on his cheek, he flicked his eyes closed, and I listened to see if Meadow was coming but heard nothing. Leaning in, I pressed my lips to his after removing my fingers from his cheek.

His eyes flicked open, and he grabbed me, his hands gripping my hips as he lifted me up on the counter and slipped my fingers into my hair.

“My daughter…Let me check on her.” I said, pushing him back a little.

“Go check on her. I’ll wait.” Kylian said and lifted me off the counter and set me back on the floor. Walking down the hall quietly, I opened her door, and the light was off, and she was curled up on the bed under the blanket, asleep.

Heading back to the kitchen, Kylian was leaned against the counter and had his head hung back like he might have been exhausted too. Knowing my daughter was asleep just down the hall made me hesitate slightly, but not enough to drag this man to my bathroom and strip him down.

Naked, standing under the spray of hot water, he looked delectable, and I wanted him. He clearly wanted me to. He ran his hand down his torso and looked at me at his grabbed his cock. “Join me.”

I knew I should resist the urge, but I peeled my clothing off and stepped under the spray with him. His hands roamed my body as his lips captured mine, devouring me. Kissing turned into humping and humping into fucking. My hands on the shower wall, and Kylian’s cock slamming into me full force. My legs shook underneath me. I was positive his hands were the only things holding me up now.

If love was fleeting, this was pleasure pure and needy. The deep need to get lost in the feeling of his hands on skin and his cock filling me deeply.

“Let go, Nikki. Got lost in the feelings I’m giving you.” Kylian whispered against my throat as he planted kiss after kiss there. Shamelessly, I gave into the feeling of him pressed against me. I would most likely find regret in this later, but right now, I did not.