Page 28 of Until Daddy

His heart swelled. She didn’t argue with him or try to defend her stance, she simply accepted his disappointment. And she’d called him daddy with no provocation from him.

“I wish you would have told me you like to go for a run. We could have found somewhere warmer for you to do it. There are a lot of gyms around here—”

“I like running outside.” A small pout made its way to her lips, and he found the sight too adorable to chastise.

“I get that, but it’s too cold outside. When it’s this cold, I want you running inside where it’s warm and well lit. I’ll get you a membership at any club you want tomorrow, but until then, no more running outside.”

She pinched her lips together, probably trying to think it through. It was no small thing he was asking of her. But submitting to her daddy wouldn’t always be easy.

“Fine.” She turned on her heel away from him, but he grabbed her arm and spun her back around.

“No.Fineisn’t an answer. I hate that word, actually. No more saying fine, understand me, Carissa-girl?”

She looked ready to rip her arm from his grasp and stomp her way out of the room.

“I get it,” she said.

He raised an eyebrow. “I’m sorry, what was that?”

She huffed. “I understand, Daddy.”

“Better. Now.” He dropped her arm. “About this run. You knew I was coming over, why didn’t you have your run earlier this morning?”

“I slept in.” She gave a carefree shrug. “I only planned to take a short run,” she answered. “It felt good so I kept going. I’ll be out of the shower in two minutes, and I’ll just throw my hair into a ponytail. Unless we’re going out, then it might take a little longer.”

“I thought we’d stay in.” He held up the small shopping bag so she could see it. “I have a present for you, but not until you’re all clean.”

She eyed the bag with a small smile playing on her lips. She wanted to grab it, he could tell, but she managed to control herself. Even went so far as to put a bored look on her face. But he wasn’t buying it, she wanted to know what was in his bag.

“All clean, and I’ll be right there to be sure you didn’t miss any soap suds in your hair, Carissa-girl.”

“Yes, Daddy.” She hopped around and ran off down the hall to the bathroom. He couldn’t help but smile at the sound of the door slamming and the water starting up right away. His little girl had no patience, which was fine for him at that moment—he couldn’t wait to get his hands on her, either.

After following the aroma of burnt coffee to the kitchen, he turned off the machine that had begun to burn the remnants of coffee in the pot and headed to the bathroom.

She was humming a tune he didn’t recognize when he entered. Carissa wasn’t much for fancy decorations, which was just one more thing he adored about her. Simplicity ran through her entire apartment. A small basket sat on top of the toilet tank with some washroom essentials, there were two bathroom rugs, and a soft lavender shower curtain to match. A hair dryer hung off the side of the sink, and a flat iron lay on the sink—unplugged, he was relieved to see.

“You all washed up?” he asked, closing the door to keep the warmth in.

“Yep.” She pulled the shower curtain to the side and peeked out, her hair slick against her head and her wide eyes meeting his. The girl looked downright angelic.

“Let me see.” He put the bag down on the counter and grabbed the curtain from her, pulling it open even further. “Yep, all wet.” He smiled at her. “Are you wet everywhere?” he asked, shooting a pointed look at her sex.

She nibbled on her lip and nodded.

“Hair is all washed, good. Turn off the water for me,” he directed and waited until she complied before giving her further instructions. “Now put one foot up on the edge of the tub.”

Giving him a confused look, she went about obeying him, placing her hands on his arm to keep her balance. Her skin was wrinkly already from the short time she’d been in the shower, but the rest of her looked like silk.

“Now, let’s see if you washed everywhere.” He reached lower and slid his fingers through her folds, delighting in the little gasp she gave. “Good girl, you’re all wet.” He continued to stroke her, taking care to only brush across her clit and not put any real pressure on the swollen nub. She arched her hips, trying to get the little bit of release, but he wasn’t ready to give it to her yet. They had a whole afternoon of fun to get through before she dove into that oblivion.

“No, don’t stop.” She grabbed at his arm when he pulled away. One look from him, though, and she bowed her head with something that looked like contrition, though he doubted she felt it truly.

“You’ll come when I say, and not a second before.” He eased her foot off the edge of the tub and reached for a towel. “Let’s get you dried off so you can try on your present.”

“You got me clothes?” The way she scrunched up her nose when she asked the question made him laugh. Such honesty with her reactions.

“One piece in particular. Come on.” He wrapped the towel around her and tucked in the end. He took a smaller towel and squeezed out her hair but left it mostly wet.

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