“Fine. I will.”

“Whee!” she cried, raising her hands up into the air as she skated past. “Look at me, Daddy! I’m so fast I’m nearly flying.”

“Well, perhaps slow down a bit,” Salem called out. “I don’t want you going too fast.”

“Don’t be such a worry wart, Daddy!” she cried.

Roman cleared his throat. “Aren’t you going to tell her to stop skating?”

“She’s enjoying herself,” Salem said.

And then she attempted to spin. They all yelled out, rushing toward her as her feet slipped out from under her and she landed on a thick mat.

Shit!

What had he been thinking? He shouldn’t have let her come out here in the first place. This is why he would never make a good Daddy.

But as he approached her, he could hear her giggling.

“TWE! That Was Epic!” she yelled as she sat up, pumping the air.

Relief filled him even as he felt the urge to give her a few hard slaps on the ass as punishment.

Wait.

Where had that come from? That wasn’t him. He was still feeling a bit in shock over that thought as Salem and Alexei got her onto her feet and started fussing over her.

Salem was patting her down, while Alexei grumbled at her.

“I’m fine, really,” she said. “You guys have got to stop fussing. First, I’m not allowed to use the stairs on my own, or the gym, and now you guys are getting all worried about me roller skating. You don’t have to be. I’m really good at it. Plus, Rome put out all these mats for my safety because he’s such a sweetie.”

And, yep, he was blushing. “She’s getting a lot better and the mat did keep her from injuring herself.”

Both Salem and Alexei kept fussing over her as they led her inside. But as they turned away, she looked back at him and mouthed the words,thank you.

Which kind of made everything worth it.

31

“Where are we going?” she asked as Salem led her into the house. He’d taken off her roller skates.

Too bad.

She’d been having a fun time.

“I want to have a bit of Sir and Pet time with you,” he explained. “Not a long session, but I have some afternoon tea for you. Would that be okay?”

“Oh. Okay.”

He led her into his office and she glanced around. She really liked this room with its dark leather sofa in front of the fireplace and oversized wooden desk. There were bookshelves behind the desk.

They stopped by the desk. Where was the food?

He took hold of her hands and squeezed them. “Listen to me, Pet.”

“Yes, Sir?”

“What is your safeword?”