Page 130 of Big Daddy Christmas
“Mushrooms, but I don’t think that's a concern.”
“Let’s hope not.” Gathering supplies, he turned back to the bed and laid everything out in front of her. “Water first, at least half the bottle, then you can let me know which chocolate you’d prefer.”
“What if I want chocolate first?”
“Then you’re going to be very disappointed.” Picking up one of the bottles, he handed it to her. “Water, then chocolate.”
“Bossypants,” she grumbled, twisting the cap off the water and bringing it to her lips.
But she couldn’t be too mad at him, since she downed half the bottle without taking a breath. Apparently her body agreed with him that it needed the water more than the food. Which meant she wasn’t really letting him boss her around, it just so happened that what he wanted her to do aligned perfectly with what she would have done without his interference anyway.
Or something like that.
“I am very bossy, in fact,” he said with a low laugh that sent the butterflies in her stomach dancing. “Comes with the territory. Which chocolate would you like?”
“Umm… the one with almonds.” Taking the offered candy bar, she broke off a section, letting her gaze slide to him as he sipped at his own bottle of water. “What do you mean by it comes with the territory?”
“Business. Family. Naughty little princesses who want to argue about letting me take care of them.”
Now that the high of being pleasured and fucked into oblivion had faded a bit, curiosity rose to fill the void. “What kind of business?”
They were sitting so close, she felt him tense. Only for a moment before he relaxed again, but that moment was enough to have her stomach twisting into a knot. “A few different kinds. My family has been in the shipping business for a while, and we branched out from there. We own a few bars, a couple restaurants. A little bit of this, a little bit of that.”
“That’s all delightfully vague.”
His gaze slid to her, his brow raising. “If you’d like, I could take you out tomorrow night, show you around and point out some of my holdings.”
The offer was enough to have the knot in her stomach loosening. “Not necessary. But I wouldn’t say no to a date.”
Plucking the water and the chocolate from her hands, he set them aside as he rolled, pinning her to the bed beneath him. “You should know, I don’t date casually. If you’re with me, you’re mine, and that comes with rules. Expectations.”
With how thoroughly he’d wrung her out, she hadn’t expected to feel need welling inside her again, but here they were. “Punishments?” she asked, her voice breathless.
“Yes, princess. If you disobey me, I will put you over my knee and spank your naughty bottom until I’m very sure you won’t break that particular rule ever again. Is that going to be a problem for you?”
Her stomach tied itself into a knot again, but for a completely different reason this time. If her mother knew she was even discussing the concept of rules and punishments with a man, she’d have a fit.
But her mother wasn’t here, and this was all just hypothetical. A fantasy. So she gave herself to the fantasy and grinned up at him. “Maybe. I’m a bit of a brat.”
As she’d hoped, her cheeky response earned her a chuckle. “That you are. But I don’t mind. I’m rather partial to brats.”
“Good.” Lifting her hand, she brushed a stray lock of hair from his forehead. “It seems I might be rather partial to bossy men who make me call them Daddy and give me so many orgasms I feel like I’m going to black out.”
“Then it appears we’re in agreement.”
“We are.”
Dipping his head, he brushed a kiss over her lips, so soft and sweet it made her throat ache with it. “Finish your chocolate and then we should get you back to your friends.”
Disappointment stabbed at her chest, followed swiftly by guilt. How long had they been locked in this room? Long enough for the others to notice she was gone, to be worrying about her? “We should. I hope they haven’t been looking for me.”
“If they were, I have no doubt they would have been banging the door down,” he assured her with another of those quiet laughs.
Rolling off her again, he handed her the chocolate and water back. They sipped and ate in silence, but not the awkward kind. The kind that left her feeling as though they’d known each other for years. The kind that made a woman feel as if she could trust the man beside her with things she’d been told to never trust anyone with.
A dangerous kind of silence.
Setting those worries aside for later, she focused on the treat in her hand. When the chocolate and water were finished, they climbed out of bed, the weight of their reluctance hanging heavy in the air as he helped her back into her dress.
