Page 48 of Ruin Me, Daddy

Since they were still there when she drained her mug, she made her way back to the kitchen for a second cup of coffee. Just as she was pouring, the bedroom door opened and Ice stepped out, clad in nothing but a pair of gray sweatpants that perfectly outlined his thick cock.

“Morning.” Despite the roughness of his voice, he grinned as he crossed the distance between them. “You’re up early.”

“Mhmm. Apparently good sex and a good cry make for an excellent night’s sleep.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” His gaze shifted to the coffee pot behind her and the corners of his mouth dipped down into a frown. “How many of those have you had this morning?”

Irritation pricked at her, enough that she didn’t even bother to hide her eye roll. “This is only my second, Mr. Bossy Pants.”

“Have you had any water yet?”

Uh-oh. This was already off to a bad start. “No.”

“Water first, then coffee.”

“I don’t want water. I want coffee.”

One blond eyebrow rose. “Water, then coffee. Or it can be a spanking, then water, and no coffee the rest of the day. Your choice.”

Some incredibly perverse part of her was tempted to push for the spanking. If he’d only been threatening her with that, she might have pushed harder. But as before, he knew exactly how to gain her compliance. “I don’t understand why you’re being such a hardass about this.”

“And I don’t understand why you’re being such a brat about staying hydrated.”

Although he’d been calling her a brat on a regular basis for years, now it felt like an insult rather than something he found endearing, and she found herself blinking back tears. “I am not being a brat.”

“Aw, baby. What’s this?” Cupping her face, he brushed at the tears she hadn’t succeeded in holding at bay. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know. Nothing.” Liar. Tell him about Ace.

But if she did that, it would just piss him off. Knowing Ice, he’d be on the next flight out of South Carolina without bothering to wait for their jet to be ready. And god only knew what kind of havoc that would wreak.

So she forced herself to shrug, to smile, to pretend like her heart hadn’t been broken yet again by the man who’d once claimed to love her more than the sun and the moon. “I just feel… off, I guess. Maybe I should go back to bed.”

“Let’s get some food in your belly first, see if that helps. Though I think I’m out of just about everything but peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.”

“That sounds amazing, actually.”

“PB&J for breakfast it is, then. I think I even have some milk.”

“Does milk count as water?”

The look he sent her was filled with warning, but she didn’t miss the way his lips twitched. “You may substitute one glass of milk for water, just for today.”

“Thank you, Daddy.”

She was well aware of how cheeky she sounded, and she was a bit surprised it didn’t earn her at least a swat before she scurried out of reach.

Though she’d never considered herself a Little, she couldn’t deny there was something sweet and rather lovely about having a man take care of her like this. And it helped to ease the ache inside her, at least a little bit, to watch him move about the kitchen, preparing her breakfast.

Eating the food helped a good bit as well, as did the second cup of coffee when he finally allowed her to have it. But there was a lingering sadness inside her she couldn’t seem to shake. Which was unlike her. Ace’s text wasn’t anything he hadn’t said to her before, about various men over the years.

So why couldn’t she seem to shrug it off like she’d learned to ages ago? Was it because the man he was accusing her of spreading her legs for was Ice?

Or was it just because for once he was right?

Whatever the reason, his words had taken hold inside her, sharp little talons digging themselves into her chest and refusing to let go.

“Better?” he asked when she’d polished everything off, including that second cup of coffee.

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