Page 64 of Daddy's Laws

“Well, it was worth a shot. Now, get your head out of your ass and go get your girl.”

“Keep it up and I’ll make sure you don’t sit comfortably for a week when I get back.”

“What Imeantto say was, I love you and I hope everything works out. Sir.”

“That’s what I thought. Love you, too.”

Feeling steadier, he ended the call, slipping the phone in his pocket as he watched Shannon stand up from her spot on the sand and gather her things.

Good. They needed to talk.

* * *

Sitting on her towel,staring out at the ocean she loved, Shannon fought back a wave of tears. Everything in her was crying out for her Daddy, for his discipline and his love. But he’d just let her walk away like it was nothing.

Likeshewas nothing to him.

The ocean called to her, the gentle breaking of the waves beckoning her like a siren’s call. But even if Bryant had ignored her attitude, she doubted his indifference would extend to a dip in the ocean. As tempting as it was to provoke some kind of reaction from him, she wasn’t keen on another meeting with that damn bath brush.

And so she sat, watching, the wind tugging at her clothes and her hair, as if all of nature wanted her to come and play. Even the sun hadn’t yet reached its brutal peak, instead gently warming her skin until she nearly fell asleep right there on the beach.

Her mind wandered to the man inside the house. It grated on her every last nerve to admit he was basically her perfect Daddy, but there was no getting around it. She had already let her guard down to the point she’d just tumbled straight into love without even noticing.

Did he feel the same? Last night, she might have said yes. It had seemed obvious that he feltsomethingfor her. Maybe not love, not yet, but he’d been so sweet and tender. Romantic, even, which she wouldn’t have thought possible with someone’s cock in her ass, but he’d managed it. Which, damn him, just made him even more perfect for her.

Even if he did feel the same, was she willing to put her heart on the line yet again? To need someone the way she needed him now? What if she trusted him and he betrayed her?

She wasn’t sure she could survive that again.

Whatever the answer was, she apparently wasn’t going to find it sitting here on the beach. With a heavy sigh, she forced herself to her feet and gathered her towel before heading inside.

He was waiting for her on the patio, a glass of orange juice in his hand. It surprised her, and then made her wonder why she was at all shocked by it. Hadn’t he been taking care of her all week, even when she didn’t particularly want him to?

“You forgot this, princess,” he said as he handed her the glass, his tone mildly scolding but not nearly what she knew she deserved. Even though she’d been feeling rattled, she’d still walked out on him, flat out ignoring him in the process.

Accepting the glass, she sipped slowly to give herself time to figure out what she wanted to say. Bryant stood, a silent sentry between her and the house, watching her with a carefully blank expression as she drank.

No bolt of inspiration struck in the time it took her to drain the glass, so she settled for the obvious.

“We need to talk,” they said in unison, prompting Bryant to smile that sexy, lopsided grin of his. The tension faded enough for her to offer up a stilted smile of her own.

“Great minds, I guess.” Bryant pushed his hands into his pockets, rocking back on his heels. “Why don’t we go inside and sit on the couch?”

“Sure. Okay.”

Following him inside, she suddenly found herself wishing she hadn’t finished her juice so quickly. It would have given her something to focus on that wasn’t him and the intensity in those blue eyes as he watched her settle herself on the cushions at the opposite end of the couch.

“I owe you an apology,” he said before she could figure out how to begin.

Of all the things she’d expected him to say, that hadn’t been anywhere on her radar. She was the one who’d fucked up, not him. “What?”

“Last night was intense.” For the first time in her memory, he looked uncertain of himself, and it only made her fall more in love. “I should have taken better care of you when we were done and if I had, maybe…”

He trailed off, and it took a moment for the implication to sink in. “You think I had a nightmare because we didn’t cuddle enough after you fucked me in the ass?”

Annoyance flashed over his features, but only for a moment before his expression smoothed out again. “I don’t know that I would have put it so crudely, but yes. I know how emotionally vulnerable a scene like that can make someone, and sub drop can manifest in so many different ways. So, I’m sorry.”

“Bryant, I’ve been having that same nightmare pretty regularly since the… since I left the hospital. It’s not because of anything you did or didn’t do, I promise.”

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