Page 47 of Her Gentle Daddy

Sean immediately backed up, pain and confusion etched across his face and then nothing but concern as she got up from the bed and ran from the bedroom to her nursery. She collapsed onto the carpet and sobbed, trying to catch her breath, feeling as though her world was going dark around her, and she couldn’t stop it.

The sound of footsteps nearby made her open her eyes, and she expected Sean to come stomping in angrily, screaming or hitting her for what she’d done. It didn’t matter, though, because she couldn’t even breathe, and she was pretty sure that she was going to pass out.

Instead of being angry, he had Olly in his arms, and he immediately came down to the floor and sat at her side, putting the puppy into her arms.

“Breathe, Gabby. Pet Olly and feel his fur. Let him soothe you, and let’s breathe together, baby girl.”

Running her hands down his fluffy fur, she instantly felt herself calm, just slightly, but enough that she was able to breathe in and out as Sean prompted her.

“Deep breath in, hold it for a second, and push it out, baby. Do it again. Look at your surroundings. You’re safe, Olly and Daddy are with you, and you are taking deep breaths. That’s it, baby.”

Sean didn’t touch her. Instead, he sat close enough that she could touch him if she wanted, and she could see in his face that he was hurting, but he was also concerned about her. She didn’t know what to think, and she couldn’t have even thought if she wanted to.

“I’m sorry, Daddy. I’m so sorry. I can’t do this, I just can’t.”

The words were heavy as they came out of her mouth because as she said them, her heart was breaking. She couldn’t handle being intimate with him, which meant she couldn’t be his. He needed someone who could give themselves to him wholly, and she couldn’t do that.

“Baby, stop talking, just pet Olly and breathe. We will talk about it later.”

Burying her face into the dog’s fur, Gabby focused on her breathing and listened to Sean talking softly to her, telling her that everything would be okay and that she was safe.

“I don’t know if I can do… that… with you,” she said softly.

Warm hands touched her arms, and she looked up to meet her Daddy’s caring gaze.

“Gabby, I don’t care if we can never have sex or be intimate. I love you, and I want to be with you. I understand why it’s something that scares you, and I would never pressure you to do something that scared you or could potentially harm you, mentally or physically.”

Nibbling on her bottom lip, Gabby thought about his words, but she knew it would be selfish of her to be with him yet not give him what most people needed to be happy. She loved kissing and snuggling him, but that wouldn’t satisfy him forever.

“You have needs that I can’t fulfill.”

Sean reached out and scooped her up, pulling her into his lap.

“Baby girl, you have fulfilled so much that was missing from my life. If I have physical needs, I can take care of those myself in the shower. As long as I can snuggle, kiss, hug, do all the things that we have already been doing, I don’t need anything else.”

In the back of her mind, Gabby knew that it wasn’t fair for him to not be able to have everything with her. She wondered if he would end up finding someone else to satisfy his physical needs, and she knew that she wouldn’t be able to handle that.

You’re being selfish. You won’t give him you, but you don’t want him to get it somewhere else.

“It’s not fair to you,” she whispered.

Turning her, so she was facing him, Sean cupped her chin, tilting her head back until she looked up at him.

“Gabby, I don’t need fair. I need you, I want you, and I love you. If you don’t want me as your Daddy, though, I will never force you to be mine. If you want me as your Daddy but just can’t have sex with me, then you will stay my little girl.”

Staring down at her hands, she let out a deep breath. It wasn’t fair to him, and he would change his mind eventually. He would decide that he needed a woman who could give him everything and not want someone who was a complete and utter disaster. Why did she have to grow up so broken? Why did she have to go through everything she had? Was life really that unfair?

And now, because she couldn’t have sex with the one person who had shown her that not all people were monsters, she would eventually lose him. For now, though, she was still his little girl for as long as he would have her. When the time came that he wanted to move on, she would break into a million pieces - but at least she would have the memories to hold onto for the rest of her miserable life.

19

SEAN

Damn, being rejected by Gabby hurt. It wasn’t even her fault that she couldn’t have sex with him. Her past was still haunting her, but it didn’t make it hurt any less. He wanted to love his baby girl in every way possible and show her just how incredible sex could be with someone you love.

Loving her was as easy as breathing for him, and if that meant loving her in every way except physically, then he would do that and take care of his own needs when he was alone. It wasn’t ideal, but Sean wouldn’t let that change anything between them.

Gabby still fulfilled him in so many ways, and he had never felt so alive as he had when he was taking care of her. Sex was off the table, and it didn’t make him feel any different about her or about wanting a relationship with her. If anything, it made him want to love her even more because of the scary things she went through growing up. He still wanted to find out if her abuser was alive or not because he was really considering making sure that he didn’t take another fucking breath.

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