Fighting for Us Read online

  “Oh, Em. I’m so sorry, sweetheart. Can I do anything for you?”

  “Yeah, you can,” she whispers, lying back on what looks to be her bed.

  “Anything, you just name it. Tell me what to do.”

  “Can you stay on the phone with me until I fall asleep? Just talk to me about anything.”

  “Of course. So after you left my work, my brother, Caden, showed up and we…”

  As I tell her about the rest of my day, I watch her eyes grow heavy with sleep, and she moves so her phone is propped up and she can lie on her side. I watch her fall asleep, and for a few minutes I just stare, rapt with the vision in front of me. Hanging up the call, I scroll to my texts and leave her a message for the morning.

  Levi: I’m so sorry for your loss, baby. Call me when you wake up.

  Satisfied with the message, I shove my phone into my pocket and head upstairs to play with Lily for a little while before bed. But my mind doesn’t stray too far from Emmy.

  Standing in the kitchen waiting for the pancakes to be done, I absentmindedly scroll through my phone. I got a text from Emmy earlier, thanking me for last night and that she was off shift today due to the circumstances. I hate knowing that she’s home alone and grieving and there’s nothing I can do.

  Lily is sitting at the table, drinking her orange juice and babbling on about this new toy she saw on the TV this morning.

  “Yeah, baby? Maybe we should put it on your list for Santa.”

  “Yes, Daddy! Let’s do that! Will you help me?”

  “Of course. Pancakes are ready, so let’s eat up, okay. We’re gonna run an errand in a little bit.” Dropping one onto her plate, I cut it into pieces and slide it down in front of her with a kiss to her head. Lily douses her pancakes in syrup and digs in, a smile on her face.

  Ten minutes later, I’m cleaning up the sticky mess all over her face and laughing when she insists yet again on dressing herself. My little girl is four going on twenty-four, and I want her to stop growing and stay little forever. Crossing into my own bedroom, I go to my dresser and grab a pair of jeans and a shirt to get changed into. As I’m pulling a pair of socks on, Lily comes racing into the room and I can’t help laughing. Her outfit this time consists of pink leggings and a blue and purple striped T-shirt, topped off with her cowboy boots.

  “How do I look?” She holds her arms out at her sides and tosses her hair back.

  “Beautiful, baby. So beautiful.”

  “Fank you!” She runs from the room, her boots clomping down the stairs. After stuffing my wallet and cell phone in my pockets, I follow her downstairs, shove my feet into my sneakers at the front door, and grab my keys off the table.

  “Ready, Lily?”

  She comes around the corner with her bunny tucked under her arm and a juice box in her hand. “Ready, Daddy.”

  Holding the door open for her, I follow behind her to my truck. As soon as she’s strapped in, I pull out my phone to text Emmy. A few minutes later, I get the text I was waiting for and with a grin, I pull out of my driveway and head downtown. Lily claps loudly in excitement when we pull into the flower shop.

  “C’mon, Lily bug. Let’s go pick out some flowers, okay?”

  “Okay!”

  Pulling her down from the truck, I carry her inside and she wriggles to be put down a few minutes later. She’s running around going from one display to another when an older woman walks out from a back room to help us.

  “I have no idea what we’re looking for, to be honest.”

  “Well, what’s the occasion? Let’s start there.”

  With a grim smile, I run a hand over my hair. “A friend just lost someone, and we’re trying to cheer her up.”

  “Oh, the poor thing. How about something with color? Something cheerful.”

  Following behind her, Lily comes up to take my hand. Walking with her, we’re led to a display of pink and red and yellow roses. Lily runs over and points at them.

  “Daddy, let’s get these! Miss Emmy will really like these! They so pwetty!”

  “I agree. Can I get two dozen?”

  Giving me a smile, the woman starts grabbing a mixture of the colors, arranging them all together in a beautiful bouquet. Lily and I go up to the counter to pay for the flowers, and then we’re swinging back out to my truck. Looking at the address on my phone, I realize Emmy lives in a seedy part of town, and I’m instantly glad when I remember she’s moving next week.

  Turning into her apartment complex fifteen minutes later, I spot her vehicle, so I know she’s still home. Getting Lily down, I hold her hand tightly as I grab the flowers and lock the doors. Keeping Lily close, we start up the stairs.

  When we reach the second floor, I look for Emerson’s apartment number and am unhappy to see it located at the back corner, with no type of security around it. Picking Lily up, I settle her on my hip and let her hold the flowers. Knocking loudly, I wait a few moments, and then I hear noise coming from behind the door. A second later, a lock flips and the door opens slowly. Emmy is dressed in a baggy sweatshirt and a pair of tight black pants. She has on no makeup and her eyes are red, hair up in a messy bun on top of her head.

  She looks beautiful.

  “Miss Emmy! I brought these for you!” Lily yells, thrusting the flowers at Emmy, who catches them before they hit the floor, a look of surprise on her face.

  “Oh, thank you so much, Lily.” Emmy reaches out with one arm to grab Lily from me and hugs her tight. I shove my hands in my front pockets and rock back on my heels, unsure of what to say to her.

  After a moment, she releases Lily and invites us both inside.

  “What are you guys doing here, Levi? I thought you needed my address for Saturday.”

  “Yeah, well I wanted to do something nice for you.”

  “Thank you.” Her voice is quiet as she pads into the tiny kitchen to place the flowers in water. I follow behind her, careful to keep some space between us.

  “Lily, would you like to watch a movie?” Emmy calls to her. After placing the vase down on the counter, Emmy brushes past me to help her with Netflix, and I soon hear the beginning sounds of Trolls.

  Leaning my back against the counter, I wait for her to walk back over. When she reaches me, her hands come to her hips as she stands in front of me.

  “What are you doing here, Levi?” Emmy asks. I see the tears in her eyes, and quite frankly, she looks exhausted.

  “I don’t have a good answer for that.”

  “Well, I really don’t mean to be rude. I’m looking forward to this weekend, but now isn’t a very good time. I’m not up for laughing and going out.”

  “I understand.”

  “I’m sorry,” she says quietly, hanging her head down.

  Pushing away from the counter, I step forward until only a few inches separate us.

  “Actually, I do know why I’m here,” I tell her, cupping her face gently.

  “Why?”

  “Because you need this.”

  Bending down, I pull Emmy into my arms, resting my cheek on top of her head. She goes willingly and buries her face into my neck, and I soon feel tears sliding down. Emmy clutches the back of my shirt tightly as I hold her, rocking her gently from side to side.

  “I’m so sorry,” I whisper, kissing her head.

  “Thank you for being here.”

  “Always.”

  Standing in her kitchen, with my daughter watching a movie a mere ten feet away, I let Emmy collapse and use me for her comfort. I know she’s going to get through this, but I think what she needed was someone to be there for her. She needed to be held.

  She needed me.

  After a few minutes, she’s calming down and her tears have stopped. Sniffling, she pulls away from me, and I use my thumbs to brush the remaining tears from her face. “You okay, Em?”

  “Yeah. Sorry, it’s just really good to see you guys. And the flowers are beautiful.”

  “They don’t hold a candle to you, sweetheart.”

&nbs
p; Leaning over to the counter, Emmy grabs a box of tissues and uses a couple to blow her nose. She skirts around me to throw them away and then comes back to me. Standing on her tiptoes, she leans up to place a kiss to my jaw, and I take the opportunity to steer her lips to mine. Emmy’s arms move up to my forearms, and she uses the leverage to deepen the kiss. I immediately harden when I feel her tongue brushing against mine, and I reach down to grip the top of her legs and pick her up, spinning around to place her on the counter.

  Emmy opens her legs so I can position myself between them. One of her hands comes up to pull the beanie off my head, running her fingers through my hair. Groaning into her mouth, I press myself against her, and she breaks the kiss to throw her head back. Leaning toward the column of her neck, I start kissing my way down it. I’ve just reached the base when I hear Lily start laughing loudly, causing me to jolt backward.

  Breathing heavily, we both stare at each other, trying to control ourselves. Jesus, I’m such an asshole. She’s mourning the loss of someone, and my goddamn daughter is in the next room, and I was three seconds from ripping those tight-ass pants off her and fucking her into tomorrow.

  Shit, get yourself under control, Jackson.

  “I’m sorry, Levi. That was so inappropriate.”

  “Trust me, Em,” I scoff. “There was nothing wrong with that. Hot as hell, but not wrong.”

  Her cheeks darken and she bites her lip, which I lean toward and pull on with my teeth. Emmy moans and wraps an arm around my neck.

  “Fuck, you’re making me so hard. But we can’t do this right now.”

  Emmy laughs but doesn’t stop kissing me, one of her hands roaming over my chest. I have to bury my face in her neck when that hand moves down to rub against my erection.

  “Seriously, baby, we gotta stop.” But she just rubs me harder. Before I come in my pants, I have to grab her wrist, pulling it away from my rock-hard dick. “Baby.”

  Giggling, Emmy gives me one more gentle kiss, then pushes me back so she can hop off the counter. Walking toward the living room, she looks over her shoulder and winks at me.

  “C’mon, let’s go watch the movie with Lily.”

  “I’ll be there in a second, Em. I need a minute.”

  “I bet you do.” Sticking out her tongue, Emmy hurries over to my daughter, and I have to stand there thinking of anything to make my dick go down.

  When I’ve calmed myself down, I head into the living room, plopping down next to Emmy. It doesn’t surprise me when she cuddles up next to me, but it does when Lily crawls into her lap, snuggling against Emmy. But I love that my little girl is so taken with this beautiful woman.

  God knows I am.

  Four hours later, Lily has fallen asleep. After moving her to Emmy’s bed and shutting the door, Emmy and I are sitting at her small kitchen table deciding on what to do for lunch, since I figure Lily will probably sleep for another hour or so.

  “There’s actually this new diner a couple blocks over I’ve been meaning to try. We could go out when Lily wakes up. I’d just have to shower really quick.”

  “Sounds good to me, Em.”

  Smiling, she stands to put our coffee mugs in the sink, and I can’t help watching the way her hips sway while she walks, or the way her ass looks in her pants. Turning on the water, she starts washing the dishes and I can’t take it anymore. Standing up, I slowly walk up behind her, my dick already responding to her. But this isn’t about me.

  I rest my hands on her waist, placing a gentle kiss to her neck.

  “Levi,” she begins quietly, goose bumps breaking out over her skin.

  “Yeah, baby?”

  “What are you doing?” she whispers, shutting off the water. But she can’t move away from me, I have her completely blocked in.

  I don’t bother answering. Instead, I continue my torture on her neck and move one of my hands from her waist, trailing it up to the side of her breast. Her breathing speeds up when I run it under her sweatshirt and find her completely bare.

  “Fuck, baby.”

  “Levi.”

  My rough fingertips find her hardened nipple, and she moans out my name when I pinch it hard, my cock completely ready to go. Her ass presses against me as she arches her back, and I remove my hand from the bud, running it back down to her waist.

  “You want me, baby?” I croon into her ear, biting down on the lobe.

  “Mmm.”

  “I bet you’re ready for me, aren’t you?”

  Emmy doesn’t respond, but when I run my hand down over the material of her leggings, she’s completely soaked through. “Jesus.”

  I give her a chance to stop me, but when she doesn’t, I slip my hand under the band of her pants and slide inside, down to where she needs me. My fingers slip through her wetness and I find her clit, running my thumb over it.

  “Oh my God,” she moans, head dropping back onto my shoulder.

  “So wet for me, baby. God damn.” Teasing her gently, I continue to rub circles over her clit, my middle finger finding her opening and carefully pushing inside. She’s so fucking tight, I almost blow my load, but I just want this to be about her.

  Emmy starts thrusting her hips against my hand, and I can tell how close she already is.

  “That’s right, fuck my hand, Em. Take what you need. Come, baby.”

  I press down roughly on her clit and her mouth opens on a silent scream, her entire body convulsing, her juices soaking my hand. I wrap my free arm around her waist to hold her up as I continue to finger her through her orgasm. Her entire body trembles as she comes down and I gently remove my finger, pulling my hand from her pants. Emmy turns around with hooded eyes and watches as I suck her release from my fingers.

  “Levi, what the—”

  Cutting her off with a rough kiss, I lick my way into her mouth and leave her panting.

  “You’re fucking mine, Emmy. Got that? I have no idea what this is, and I plan to explore everything with you. I don’t give a fuck if it’s fast, but you’re claiming every part of me that I swore I would never give someone. I need you, okay?”

  “Okay,” she whispers, a huge smile on her face.

  “Now go take a shower. I want to take my girls out for lunch.”

  Swatting her on the ass, I quickly wash my hands at the sink, then walk over to the couch and sit down, smiling when I hear her laugh. A moment later I hear the bathroom door shut, and I settle down to wait for her.

  CHAPTER 6

  Emerson

  “MISS EMMY! COME SEE! It’s my favwiiiite!” Lily shrieks, running ahead of us. After lunch at the diner, we decided to go to the huge aquarium in the city. Lily has been dragging us from one exhibit to another, a smile never leaving her face. It’s not too busy, so we’ve been able to let her run ahead, Levi holding tight to my hand the whole time.

  After our encounter in the kitchen, I hurried off to shower, but mostly to gain control of myself. Nobody has ever made me feel the way I do right now. Levi is this complete enigma: he’s so quiet and respectful, yet he also knows exactly what he wants, and he doesn’t bother holding back. He’s absolutely amazing with Lily, and she’s completely head over heels in love with her daddy. I’m finding myself becoming attached to Lily as well, so I’m nervous.

  What if Levi and I become a thing and we don’t work out? I’d hate to hurt that sweet girl. And if I’m being honest, I’d hate to lose her too. Being twenty-seven, I constantly find myself imagining being a mother, getting married. And the more time I spend with these two, the more it becomes clear that it’s what I really want. Whether it’s with Levi and Lily, I don’t know, but I want that one day for sure.

  “Coming, baby girl.” Releasing Levi’s hand, I jog ahead to catch up with Lily, sweeping her up into my arms as we go. Rotating her around until she’s piggyback on me, I turn to Levi shouting my name. Holding his cell up, Levi motions to us that he wants a picture, so I smile brightly and hear her giggling behind me. He snaps the picture and gives a thumbs-up, and I turn back
to where Lily wanted to go.

  “Penguins!” Lily wriggles to get down when we reach the display, and she goes racing over to the edge, leaning over the railing. I stand behind her and keep a tight hold on her, making sure she doesn’t lean over too far. While she’s pointing out her favorites, Levi comes up behind me, his large hands resting on my shoulders. I lean back into him a little and he kisses the top of my head.

  “You’re so good with her, Em,” he murmurs, and I smile, turning my head to meet his eyes. That scruff on his face, that dimple, and fuck, that smile. This man is perfection, and for the moment he’s all mine.

  “She’s an amazing little girl, Levi. You’re such a good dad.”

  “Thank you. I try my hardest. From the second she was mine, I’ve done nothing but try to be the best thing in her life. I worry that not having her mother is bad for her upbringing, but I know what happened and I know deep down it was the best decision for her.”

  “What happened?”

  Levi looks down at Lily with a tight smile, and then turns back to me.

  “Dana gave her up just over two years ago. She’s an addict.”

  He doesn’t elaborate but he doesn’t need to. Tears fill my eyes and I look back down at Lily, completely unaware and laughing over the animals in front of her.

  “Emmy...”

  “Sorry, wasn’t expecting that.”

  “Why are you crying?” Levi wipes my tear with his thumb and leans forward to kiss my cheek gently.

  “How do you give up a blessing like that little girl? My heart hurts for you guys.”

  “Don’t be sad, baby. We’re doing just fine without her. And now we have you.”

  “Levi.”

  “I told you, Emmy. I don’t know what this is, but it’s happening.” Gently placing a quick kiss to my lips, he moves to kneel next to Lily, pulling her toward his chest.

  “Okay,” I whisper, my lips turning up into a smile that widens as Levi laughs over Lily’s excitement.

  This freaking guy.