Page 19 of Obsessed Daddy
“Of course. I thought it was really interesting that you use the lake water for your watercolor pictures.”
She pauses for a long moment, her gaze steady on me. “You’re perfect. How are you not with someone else?”
“Now I know you’ve lost your mind. I’m far from perfect.”
“You are though,” she whispers, “to me. The fact that no one wanted to hold on to you forever is shocking. I can’t believe that someone so amazing is simply available. I guess their loss is my gain.”
I shake my head and brush my thumb against the back of her hand. “It’s never that simple. You were right when you said I wanted control. In my past relationships, that’s been a huge problem. I spent my time in the service steeped in a‘take charge’role because it was the only way I could make sure people were safe, but that just reinforced what was already there. Since getting out, I learned that control and intensity is who I am underneath it all, but with you it doesn’t feel like it’s something I have to fight.”
There’s a beat where I look at her, expecting everything to fall apart, but it doesn’t.
“I like who you are,” she whispers. “I like that you’re this big, tough guy. I mean, I have so much trouble sticking up for myself, and I get so emotionally invested in every conversation that I struggle to set boundaries. It’s kind of nice to think you’d be there to help me.”
I lean in, my hand cradling the side of her face as I kiss her forehead. “Will you still feel that way when Daddy tells you to stay away from toxic people?”
“You’re talking about my sister, aren’t you?”
“She’s manipulative, and you’re an innocent target.”
Bella shrugs. “I know what she’s doing. I just… I don’t know… I guess I feel bad for her. I mean, something must be wrong with her if she’s this cruel for no reason. Why else would she have me trying to sabotage your builds?”
Bella readjusts in her seat, seemingly calculating the weight of what she just said. “She’s the reason I was at the beach spying on you. She’s been on me for weeks, convincing me that I needed to get inside the lake house. She thinks you’re using her designs for the remodel, and she sent me to get pictures of everything you were doing.” Bella stares toward me as though she expects me to be angry. “She even said you have some kind of assault charge she’s going to tell everyone about if you don’t give her a cut of your rentals. I didn’t want to ask you because part of me thinks she’s full of it, but there’s another part that thinks it might be true.”
I scrub my hand down over my face and stare toward my girl, my chest tight. June is a real piece of fucking work. “This is what I’m talking about. June twists everything, and she’ll take advantage of your kindness. It’s just like your job. Anyone with a fucking brain could see you would’ve gotten that on your own, but she holds it over your head like you owe her for the rest of your life.”
I clear my throat, attempting to shift my focus back to Bella’s concerns as I say, “The assault charge your sister’s talking about is from a bar fight I got into when I was in my twenties. I was drunk, the other guy was drunk, and we were both acting like assholes. Since he walked away with a bruise bigger than mine, I got slapped with charges.” I shake my head. “It’s nothing. Even the military looked the other way.”
I run my fingers gently through my girl’s hair, my tone softer as I say, “You have nothing to worry about. Daddy would never hurt you.” I bite back the clawing urge to hold her next to me for eternity and never let her go. “You belong to Daddy now, and I’ll take care of you. Understood?”
She blinks up at me, her gaze soft and sweet. “What, ugh, what makes you so…this?”
“What’sthis?”
“This Daddy thing? What made you want to be Daddy? Have you done this before?”
“No,” I shake my head and narrow my gaze, “never. It surprised me too. There’s just… something about you. You’re so innocent, so sweet, so vulnerable. Every part of me is wired to protect that.” I push my hand over my eye as I talk, the burn worse today than it has been in weeks. This fucking thing better not start acting up.
“You okay?”
“Yeah,” I lie, not ready to tell her about the most broken parts of me. Not sure I ever will be. How the hell do I explain to this young, gorgeous, tight, sweet, little girl that her Daddy is breaking down? I need to change the subject. “Is your phone’s location on?”
“Shoot!” She pulls it out of her purse and swipes at the screen. “Yeah, it’s been on all night. Turning it off now. By the way, my sister is the one that set me up with that guy at the bar, so he’s for sure going to tell her that a man matching your description hauled me into the back office. They’ve worked together at the bank for a while now.”
Of course June would set Bella up with a guy that looks like he lives in a bubble. Something tells me that was his first trip to the bar.
I give my girl a reassuring smile. “I’m sure his ego is bruised right now. Chances are he’ll sulk over the weekend and tell her on Monday.”
“So… I should go back to my mom’s tonight and act normal? My sister usually stops by Saturday mornings to take her out to the market. I should be there to counter any questions.”
“No,” I snap, a breeze blowing the creaking pines, “you’re not doing that alone. We’ll tell her together in the morning after everyone’s had a proper night’s sleep.”
“In case you didn’t already know this, June is insane. You being there is only going to make things worse. I mean, in her defense, I’d be pissed too. You’re the one man I shouldn’t want. Plus, she thinks you want her back.”
“What?” I bite back a laugh.
“Big time. She said you were looking at her like you wanted her the other night when she pulled in.”
“June thinks everyone is looking at her like they want her. She’s got an ego bigger than that fucking Deepling you’re worried about.” I lean into my little girl, kissing her forehead gently. “You’re the only one I want, and you’re mine. So you stay next to Daddy, and everything will be taken care of.” I hold my hand steady on her creamy thigh. “I told you, we’re going home for cocoa, and I’m going to watch you paint. Daddy likes watching you relax.”
