Page 33 of Her Gentle Daddy

He couldn’t believe that she would think he might not want her after telling him everything. If anything, it made him love and want her even more so he could show her how wonderful she was and give her the life that she so deserved.

Until she asked him to kiss her, he had only kissed her on the forehead because he didn’t want to push her too far or frighten her. But when she asked so sweetly, there was no way he would turn her down. Lowering his face to hers, he gently kissed her lips, once, twice, and then, the third time, he didn’t pull away. Instead, he kissed her so deeply that he didn’t know where his mouth ended and hers began.

When he pulled away, she let out a soft whine that made him smile. He could have kissed her all night, but he also knew he needed to move slowly, and a man could only kiss for so long before he exploded.

“You are amazing, Gabby girl.”

She smiled up at him, her sparkling eyes nearly making him forget about moving slowly, and her pouty lips making him think the most naughty thoughts of what they would look like wrapped around him. He needed to get it together. She wasn’t ready for that.

“I love you, Daddy. Thank you for making me feel so safe.”

“Always. Daddy will always keep you safe.”

The next couple of weeks were exhausting for Gabby. Sean had encouraged her to share her past with Savannah and had even offered to sit in on the sessions with her. Gabby took him up on that, and for much of her therapy appointments, she sat on his lap while Gabby and Savannah talked. He liked supporting her however he could, but the result of her working through the memories of her past left him with one tired little girl.

For the most part, she was well-behaved and sweet toward him. However, every once in a while, she would refuse to eat her dinner or have a complete meltdown. As silly as it sounded, he was thrilled when she acted that way around him because it meant she was feeling safe, knowing he wouldn’t hurt her if she wasn’t always perfect. Not that he told her he was thrilled. Usually, he plastered on a stern look, and she got the message that she was treading on thin ice. Keyword, “usually”.

“Gabby, it’s time to put your toys away and come take a bath. I’m not going to ask again.”

Her tongue was sticking out as she tried to fit a different dress on one of her dolls while completely ignoring him.

“Gabrielle.”

“I don’t need a bath, Daddy! I’m playin’ right now. Go away.”

Oh no, she did not. Sean strode into her room and snatched her up off the floor, carrying her into the bathroom. Gabby let out a screech and kicked her feet, trying to break free.

“Don’t wanna take a bath! Let me go, mean Daddy! Bad, Daddy, bad!”

He was thankful that she couldn’t see his face because he couldn’t stop the grin spreading across his lips as she had her first big tantrum. He couldn’t help but notice how much younger she seemed to have become.

“It’s your bath time. You work tomorrow, so you need to get clean and go to bed. You know the drill, little girl.”

She made a loud noise of protest before kicking her legs some more until she nailed him right in the shin. He groaned but didn’t let her go.

“Little girl, you’re getting yourself into trouble.”

“I didn’t mean to kick you, Daddy; I’m sorry.”

She was scowling at him, and he raised his eyebrow at her.

“Whether you meant to or not, if you hadn’t been having a fit, it wouldn’t have happened.”

“I just wanted to play, and you were being a big dumb meanie head.”

“Okay, that’s it. You’ve just earned a spanking.”

Her eyes widened, and she looked at him like he had told her that her puppy had died.

“I’ll take a bath, Daddy! No spanking. No, no, no!”

“Too late.”

He sat down on the closed toilet lid and adjusted her, so she was face down on his lap, though she didn’t make it easy on him as she fought and clawed at him.

“No spank Gabby! I be good!”

He landed his hand on her legging-covered bottom, making her squeal.

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