"cash," she says again, then shakes her head, "i need to help."

"lil, you have done more than your fair share over the last few years."

"you can't just come in and take over, cash."

"i'm not taking over, but if there is a way that i can make things easier for you and ashlyn, then i'm going to do it." i watch as she rolls her eyes before taking a sip of coffee. "that's one."

"what?" she asks, looking confused.

"one spanking for rolling your eyes."

"you do know that i'm a grown woman, right?"

"and?"

"and you can't threaten me with spankings."

"first, it's not a threat. second, i can see that you want it. every time i tell you that i'm going to spank you, your eyes light up and you wiggle around."

"i do not," she huffs out, wiggling on the counter, making me laugh as she glares.

"breakfast is ready," i yell down the hall a few seconds later. i hear the kids' feet pounding down the wooden floor before coming around the corner into the kitchen.

"yay, pancakes!" jax yells.

"yippieee! can i have chocolate chips in mine?" ashlyn asks, and jax looks at her like she's a genius.

"and mine," he says, climbing up onto one of the stools.

"sorry, guys, we don't have any, but we can get some for next weekend," i say, putting pancakes on plates for both of the kids. lilly jumps down from the counter, goes to the fridge, and pulls out orange juice, pouring it into two plastic cups and setting it in front of each of them. then she takes a banana and cuts it in half, putting a section on each of their plates before doing the same with an orange.

"what?" she asks when she catches me watching her closely. she is such a good mom. last night in the shower, when she brought up the fact that we had used a condom when she got pregnant with ashlyn, got me thinking. what are the chances that i could have used protection with two different women and gotten them both pregnant? that shit is as unlikely as winning the lottery. and as much as it pisses me off that it happened, and that jules is most likely behind that shit, i have a hard time being pissed about it. or at least being pissed at the situation. if lil didn't get pregnant, ashlyn wouldn't be here. lil would probably be married to some dude, having his kids, and i would have never heard from her again. she would have been the one who got away.

"nothing." i pull my eyes off her, adding more pancakes to the griddle before pulling down a plate for the two of us.

"can we go to the zoo?" ashlyn asks, and i throw my head back laughing; she always wants to go to the zoo.

"not today. today we're going shopping for a new car for your mom."

"oh." she pouts before shoving more food into her mouth. just then, the doorbell starts to go off. i look over at lilly and she shrugs. i'm not expecting anyone. even before i make it to the door, i can hear kids yelling and people talking. "shit," i mutter to myself, unlocking the door.

"took you long enough," trevor complains, shoving his way inside.

"what the hell are y'all doing here?" i watch as every person in my family files into my house.

"put a damn shirt on." asher shoves past me, covering november's eyes, making her and i laugh.

"you know this is my house, right? and it's a saturday," i tell him, locking the door behind nico after he comes inside.

"yeah, but we thought that we could all plan something to do for the day," trevor explains, going into the kitchen. i see lilly's eyes get big; she's standing behind the counter, pulling at the hem of my shirt.

"i'm sorry, you guys. i'll be right back," she says, running off. i groan; i don't want this. i want to have a relaxing day with my woman and kids.

"can ya'll watch the little ones while i go get dressed?" i don't even look at my brothers; i look at liz and november when i ask my question.

"sure," november says, and liz nods. i make my way into my bedroom just in time to see lilly taking my shirt off and a bra in her hand. she jumps when she hears the door close behind me.

"do you think you may have gone a wee bit overboard?" she asks, holding her arms out to the side but gesturing with her hands to all the marks i left on her.

"nope." i bite my lip, looking her over. yeah, okay, it may have been overkill, but f**k if i care. if anyone were to get her clothes off, they would know that she is taken.

"it's a good thing it's cold and i can wear sweaters and jeans," she mumbles under her breath, putting on her bra. when she pulls down her shorts, her eyes meet mine. "it looks like i got attacked even between-" she starts to say between her legs, but points instead.

"i would say i'm sorry, but i would be lying." i walk over to the dresser, grabbing a shirt and a pair of jeans. i toss the shirt on the bed, kick off my sweats, and step into my jeans, making sure to tuck myself in so i don't zip my dick-that shit is never fun. when my head comes up, lilly is watching me closely. "are you okay?"

"you're not going to wear underwear?"

"no, for what?"

"i don't know." she shrugs, looking at the piece of satin in her hand.

"don't even think about it," i groan, seeing her intentions.

"what?"

"put them on."

"why? if you can-" i cut her off, pulling her close and putting my mouth on hers.

"as it stands right now, i'm going to have a hard enough time being around you today. if i know you're not wearing underwear, that is going to do me in. and you're likely to end up bent over in every small room with a little bit of privacy that we come across," i tell her, biting down on her bottom lip before licking it. her mouth forms an o before she gets a small devious smile on her face. "shit." i press my now-hard c**k into her belly. "don't f**k with me, baby." i wrap my arms around her, hugging her before kissing the top of her head. "let's go see what everyone is up to, then figure out a way to ditch them," i say, kissing her once more on the mouth before stepping away and putting on my shirt.

i make my way out of the bedroom after feeling lilly up and helping her put on her panties. i smile thinking about the way i got her to put them on. i fix my face into a firm mask before walking into the kitchen. asher is now standing in the kitchen in front of the griddle, flipping pancakes.