Page 25 of Daddy's Heart

“I’ll tell him. But let me do it.” She nodded firmly. “I mean, we don’t need to give him any details, right?

“Nope.”

She smiled. “Okay then.”

He captured her face between his hands and pulled her closer, pinning his lips against hers. Her hands wrapped around his neck, and her mouth opened slightly, enough for him to take the kiss deeper—to claim the moment. She would be his. If only for a short time, if only for this moment, she belonged to him.

When he broke the kiss and pulled back to look down at her, he grinned. Her lips were swollen, her cheeks red, and her pupils dilated.

He could sweep her up in his arms and take her to his bedroom right then. The devil knew he wanted to—his cock wasn’t going to get any harder—but it wasn’t going to be like that. Not with Samantha. He wasn’t jumping into bed. He’d wait, give her more time. He promised they’d go slow. Carrying her off to his bed didn’t exactly back that up.

“Now, tell me about the interview,” he said, sinking back into the cushions. He reached over and lifted her onto his lap.

She snuggled into the crook of his neck and played with the collar of his t-shirt.

“I really wanted that job. I had it in my head they’d offer it to me right on the spot. I answered all the questions right. I have the experience, the degree, I would be perfect for it.”

“What makes you think you aren’t going to get it? Sounds like they lined up a bunch of interviews and after they hold them all, they’ll make a decision. That’s what I do when I have spot open on my crew.” He ran his hand over her head, stroking her hair away from her face.

She huffed.

Sammy was back.

“I just wanted it so bad.”

“You have two more interviews this week. Put your energy into those for right now and see what happens. You aren’t counted out yet, you have to be patient.”

She blew out a breath and looked up at him.

“I don’t like waiting.”

He laughed. “I noticed.”

Her stomach growled, and he put his hand on her belly. “Let’s get you something to eat.”

Chapter 10

“You gonna eat that?” Ryder pointed to the tuna sandwich on the paper plate sitting in her lap.

“Sorry. I’m not that hungry.” She leaned forward and put the plate on the coffee table. “You feeling okay?” he asked, his eyes narrowed. The TV was set to the evening news, but Samantha wasn’t listening to it.

“Yeah, perfect.” She hugged her knees to her chest. The day had crept by at a snail’s pace as she’d waited for Ryder to get home from work. She’d gone to another interview at a small branch of the Chicago Public Library but wasn’t hopeful of the position. When she walked out of the interviewer’s office, she’d seen three other candidates waiting for their turns. All of them looked older and more confident than she felt.

“How’d your interview go?” He wiped his napkin across his mouth and dropped it crumpled up onto his empty plate.

“Fine.”

He pushed his plate beside hers and hit the power button on the remote, turning off the television. Scooting back into the corner of the couch, he patted his thighs.

“Come here, Sammy,” he said when she kept right where she was.

She eyed him for a long moment. Was he just being nice to her? He knew about the other side of her. Was he playing into it for her benefit?

She’d been thinking about what he’d said the night before—about wanting more and wanting to help her when she needed it. Is that what she really wanted? Or did she want something even deeper?

He’d said while she stayed with him…nothing about afterward. Shouldn’t she get as much out of it as she could with the time she had? It had been so long since she had a real Daddy in her life—someone who saw past the grown woman to the soft, delicate side of her.

“Sammy.” His dark voice drew her out of her own thoughts. She’d been staring at him for too long. She’d made it weird.

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