Page 62 of Guardian Daddy

“Nothing.”

Ethan’s gaze narrowed, and he studied her closely. But she didn’t think he’d have been able to see her since the kitchen counter sat between them so she simply gave him a calm look back.

“I want to leave.”

“I’d rather you didn’t. I know that if you leave, you’ll retreat even further. You might start thinking that you did something wrong—something to be embarrassed about.”

“I did,” she whispered.

“No, baby. You didn’t.” He leaned forward. “I was telling you about myself so you’d know that there was nothing to be ashamed of. The more time I spent in the Littles area, the more time I wanted to spend there. It was like discovering a part of myself that had been hidden. Locked down. And it felt so right to let that piece of myself out. What I’m trying to say is that I’m a Daddy Dom, Cate.”

“Whatever happened last night . . . it’s without my consent.”

His eyes widened. “I didn’t . . . I’m sorry you feel as though I breached your consent, but I would never do that. All I did was try to keep you calm and happy until Rhodes got here. If it happens again, I’ll be sure to keep out of your way.”

What just happened?

Why was he upset with her? She didn’t want Ethan to be upset with her. He turned away, heading out of the kitchen.

A low whine escaped her. What the heck was that? She’d never made a sound like that before in her life. But she didn’t want him to go . . . not when she wasn’t sure what she’d done or how to fix it.

“I’m sorry!” she blurted out. “I apologize. It’s all my fault. If you tell me what to do to fix this, I will. Do you . . . do you wish to p-punish me?”

He whirled around so quickly that she stumbled back, tripping over her own feet and landing on her bottom.

Ouch. That hurt.

Cate rarely tripped. She was always very careful in her movements, not wanting to give people another reason to ridicule her. So, landing on her bottom like this was a shock. And she thought it was the shock more than the pain that brought tears to her eyes.

“Cate! Are you all right, sweetheart?” Ethan crouched down in front of her.

“Yes, I’m fine.”

“Baby, you’re crying. What hurts?”

“I . . . I . . .” Sweetheart and baby? She didn’t know what to do with that. How to react. “I’m sorry I upset you. I do that sometimes without meaning to. And then I don’t know how to make it better because I don’t know what I did in the first place. So I need you to tell me.”

“Whoa. Okay. I think we’ve got our wires crossed. But first, let’s make sure you’re all right. I’m going to touch you.”

Before she could reply, he’d lifted her onto the kitchen island.

“You shouldn’t keep sitting me up here. It’s unhygienic,” she told him.

“I’ll clean it after,” he promised.

“With disinfectant spray?”

“Yes.”

She nodded. That was acceptable, then. She’d forgotten to tell him last time. However, she’d returned later and done it herself.

“Now, tell me what hurts,” he urged. “I want to run my hands over you to check, but I don’t want to upset you.”

“Nothing hurts.”

He eyed her for a moment. “You were in tears.”

Cate turned her head away. “That wasn’t really about pain.”

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