The Succubus (13 page)

He heard a soft voice and laughter from the stairwell and in a moment, she came into the room carrying Chloe. The babe waved her arms and giggled as her mother made silly faces at her.

It wasn't until she placed the babe on the bed and said, “Chloe, it's time you become acquainted with your father,” that the babe grew aware of him and her expression became somber.

As Isabel arranged herself on the bed so the two adult bodies fenced Chloe between them, Daniel said, “Is it wise to refer to me as her father?”

“Why not? If you meant last night's proposal, Chloe will be your step-daughter, and it'll be perfectly acceptable for her to call you father.”

Daniel hadn't thought of that. He smiled. “I most definitely meant last night's proposal.”

Isabel laughed. “Then let me introduce you to your daughter.” She picked Chloe up and sat her on Daniel's bare chest, so the babe's plump feet peeped out from under the loose gown she wore.

Chloe looked as startled as Daniel felt, but when he placed a hand at the side of her body to steady her, she seemed reassured and rested her hands on his chest, looking much like a large pink and white frog.

“I've never seen her without a cap before,” he said and lightly fingered her fuzzy red hair.

Isabel's smile dimmed a bit. “I don't know why her hair is red, but my mother said that sometimes happens if one parent's hair is dark and the other's light.”

Daniel nodded. “My sister had exactly this color hair when she was a babe.”

Isabel brightened. “Really?”

“Yes, and Chloe's eyes are the same color as my mother's.”

He couldn't resist lightly touching one of the babe's hands, finding the skin incredibly soft and smooth and the fingers tiny replicas of his own. When he stopped touching it, both of her hands grabbed fistfuls of his chest hair and pulled. Daniel exploded with ouches as he tried unsuccessfully to free himself.

Isabel chuckled as she leaned forward to clasp Chloe's wrists. “No, no, sweet babe, don't hurt your big, strong father.” She coaxed the child to release Daniel by luring her into a game of patty-cake.

Daniel didn't like the idea of Isabel having to rescue him from a small child. “Here, let me show her a game.”

Isabel moved aside and he lifted Chloe up above his chest and jiggled her while calling, “Fly like a bird. Fly like a bird.”

The child looked so startled that he feared she might cry but then she began to kick and flap her arms and laugh with delight. He and Isabel laughed along with her. When his arms grew tired and he lowered her, trying to once again sit her on his chest, she planted her feet and jumped up and down as though her legs had springs in them.

“I think she's trying to walk,” he said.

“It'll be a while before she's ready to do that. But soon enough we'll be chasing after her.”

Daniel suddenly felt a great interest in all things concerning his daughter. “We must marry right away, so I'll officially be her father.”

“Can I invite my family to the wedding?”

“Of course, and you can invite them to live at Tewsbarrow, if you'd like.”

Isabel grabbed one of his arms. “Are you serious?”

“Yes. I'm going to invite my mother and my sister's family. There are many empty rooms in this castle and I want to fill them with happy people.”

Isabel burrowed under Daniel's arm so she could rest her head against his shoulder. He had to bring Chloe down to a sitting position to accommodate Isabel, but the babe seemed to like the cozy threesome and rocked back and forth as she jabbered.

“I never imagined I could be this happy,” Isabel said.

With his arms encircling his woman and his child, Daniel replied, “Neither did I.”

Sarah Winn was born in Kansas, has lived in both Hawaii and California, but happily considers North Carolina her home state. She won the Eppie for the best electronically published historical romance in 2003 and was a finalist in this contest in 2007 for the best erotic historical romance.

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