Page 42 of Until Daddy

He nodded. “Yes, we did, and you needed a good dose of hot sauce to cool that mouth of yours, but you still have a consequence coming for being so naughty. I expect you to take your punishment like a good girl, so we can move on to fun things afterward.”

She shifted in her seat and looked out the window. His little girl gave him so many signs of her arousal and pleasure that he wondered how no man before him had picked up on them before.

“You aren’t working tomorrow, right?” he asked.

“No, I’m off ’til Monday and then my new shifts start. Monday through Friday, morning shifts, seven thirty to three thirty. It’s going to be awesome. And I get to work with all those babies.”

Her excitement bubbled up through her voice and he couldn’t help but smile.

“You like babies?”

She cleared her throat and fidgeted in her seat again. “Yeah.”

“So, you want kids then?” He’d never really pictured kids in his future. After having such a cold upbringing by his father, he didn’t want to continue that cycle, but talking about the subject with Carissa didn’t send an intense chill down his spine.

“I don’t know. I never really thought too much about it, I guess.”

Except her hands were rolling and unrolling the hem of her shirt.

“I’ve never really thought much about it either,” he said, pulling into the parking garage of his building. “We don’t have to talk about it if you’d rather not.” He had fun plans for them when they got inside and he wanted her relaxed, not all twisted up with anxiety.

The overhead lights of the garage played across the cabin of his car, throwing her into a shadow before illuminating her beauty. She smiled with genuine relief.

“Yes, please, let’s talk about something else.”

Pulling his car into an empty slot, he threw the transmission into park and turned to face her. The leather seat squeaked with his movement. “I need you to know that you can tell me anything. Nothing you say is going to make me think less of you, or see you in some dark shroud.”

A few strands of hair fell in front of her face and he brushed them away. The soft warmth of her skin beneath his fingers was enough to ignite his desire for her. Hell, her being in the same city as him sent his cock into steel-rod mode.

She didn’t speak, only looked at him with wide eyes. Whatever her past had been, it hadn’t been easy. No, this girl staring back at him with a mixture of confusion and surprise had never been held just for the sake of being held. She’d never known a man she could lean on without falling flat on her face. But he’d fix that.

“I do. I do know that,” she said, turning her gaze down to her lap. “I’m just not used to it yet.”

“I know, but you will be. Now let’s get inside.”

He helped her from the car and held her hand as they walked through the parking garage to the elevator. As the car rode up the building to his floor, he wrapped his arms around her from behind and rested his chin on her head, enjoying the sweet smell of her shampoo.

Carissa kept quiet the entire ride up to his condo, and even after they had stepped inside, she did little else but look around in amazement.

“Let me have your coat and purse. I’ll put them away.” He brushed her hands aside and went about unbuttoning her winter coat and pulling it free of her arms.

“Does your condo take up the whole floor?” she asked finally.

“Yes. It’s actually the top two floors of the building.” He closed the closet door and picked up her hand again, lacing their fingers together. “I have an office down there.” He pointed down a small corridor as he walked them to the stairs. “The kitchen is here, the dining is off the other side, and this is the living room.” He pointed out the rooms of the very open layout.

“Two floors?” She looked up the length of the cherry wood staircase that led up to the second floor.

“There are three bedrooms, but I never use the other two.”

“Is this one of your father’s buildings?” she asked as he led her up the stairs. He felt her hand stiffen in his when she asked the question and it became clear they would need to settle the issue of his father before he could get her to relax enough for what he had planned.

He didn’t answer the question, letting the sound of her shoes clicking on each stair be the only noise. Leading her into his bedroom, he released her hand and went over to his dresser.

Home decorating wasn’t his thing. He couldn’t care less if the dresser matched the bed or the vanity. Or if he even had a damn vanity. His decorator had bought one and said it was part of the set and a complete necessity, and since he’d been too busy and too bored, he’d just let it go.

“Holy shit,” she exclaimed and ran past him to his windows. The bedroom overlooked the lake, which at night wasn’t that impressive, but Navy Pier could also be seen, especially during the winter months, when they were having their Winter Festival.

“Language!” he chastised and marched over to her, slapping her rear end hard, twice.

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