Page 28 of Guardian Daddy

Fuck. She was even more beautiful up close. He wished he dared run a finger down her cheek. He bet her skin was softer than it looked.

“With who?” she asked.

“Me.”

Cate gave him a startled look. “With you?”

“That’s right. You’re going to be in trouble with me.”

“You are quite bossy. And I think you’re under the delusion that you’re in charge of me.”

“It’s no delusion. I am in charge of you.”

“No, you’re in charge of safety, nothing else. Including what I say about myself.” She gave him a superior look.

Oh, she thought she had him, didn’t she?

“We need to spend more time together,” he told her.

A small frown created lines on her forehead. “Why would we need to spend time together?”

“Because you need to learn to trust me.”

“I don’t think that is going to happen.”

“It will. Once you spend some time with me.”

“Why do I need to trust you?” she asked.

“Because if there is a situation, I need to know that you will follow my orders. And for you to follow my orders, you need to trust me. As you said, I’m in charge of safety.” Ethan knew he was pushing his luck. But there was some truth to what he said. It was better if a client trusted him.

Ethan could tell that Cate didn’t trust easily. If something were to happen and she didn’t obey him . . . things could end badly.

And that wouldn’t be happening on his watch.

“That’s some very strange logic.”

“But it makes sense, doesn’t it?” he said as he finished cleaning up the mess. “We can start today. What are your plans?”

“I’m going to work.”

“It’s Saturday,” he pointed out.

“Yes, I know.”

“You can’t work on a Saturday,” he informed her.

“Yes, I can. I work every Saturday.”

“Oh, excuse me for interrupting, I just wanted to grab a drink of water.”

Cate stiffened. Anyone else might not have noticed her reaction, but he was watching her closely. As Samantha stepped into the kitchen, it was like a protective shield came down over her face.

“There’s a mini-fridge with water in the outdoor kitchen,” Cate informed her.

“Oh, silly me. I forgot.” Samantha smiled at them both. “This looks cozy. What are you doing?”

“Talking,” Ethan replied.

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