Page 38 of Daddy's Princess

He rewards me with a slightly crooked smile that makes my knees weak. He’s so dang handsome. Even sitting behind his desk in a gray shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, the top two buttons loose, he looks like a king on his throne.

“I love seeing my clothes on you.” His eyes rove down to my bare legs. “And off of you.”

I blush at his open appreciation. Not sure why since he’s already seen, touched, and tasted every inch of my body. There’s something about standing here the morning after the best sex of my life in front of a man who is better than any dream guy I’ve imagined for myself that makes me feel off balance.

“The pants were too big,” I say with a slight shrug.

Oliver rises from his chair and crosses the room to me. “I’m not complaining, babygirl. Not at all. It’s taking all of my self-control to keep from mauling you like a starved beast.”

My core clenches and the lust that should’ve been sated after last night comes roaring back to the surface. “I’m not stopping you, daddy.” My words come out slightly breathless and a whole lot needy.

He groans as if in pain. “As much as I want to ravage you right here and now, you need to eat.”

At the very mention of food, my stomach rumbles hungrily. “I normally just have a smoothie for breakfast.”

“Except you slept right through breakfast, so I’ll be feeding you lunch.”

“What?!”I screech, looking wildly around the room for a clock to confirm the time. Sure enough, it’s a quarter to one in the afternoon. I slept half the day away. Which means I’m very, very late for work. “Shit! Shit, shit,” I curse in a panic. “I’m late for work.” Yeah, I know I’m stating the obvious, but it needs to be said. “How could you let me sleep so long? Nadine is going to flip out! She’ll fire me for sure. She already hates my guts, thanks to Britney. And my project!” I wail. “I had such good ideas for Fairyville!”

I’m halfway out the door. Ready to run all the way to Titan-Rose to beg Nadine for my job when Oliver’s strong arms wrap around me from behind.

“Calm down, honey. It’s taken care of. Did you think I’d let anything happen to your position in the internship program? Besides, I do own the company. If I say you’re taking a day off and working from home—that’s what you’re doing.”

“Oh, God. Everyone is going to think I’m fucking the boss!” I really am wailing now. I’m not angry, more horrified, and embarrassed at what people will say when they find out that I’m sleeping with Oliver.

“Language.” Oliver’s stern voice breaks through the deluge of inner dialogue that is telling me how awful this situation is. “I’ll let you get by with it this one time, but the next curse word out of that pretty little mouth will earn you a place over my lap and a thorough spanking.”

“Sorry, daddy,” I say, feeling properly chastened. It’s scary how quickly I’ve fallen back into the little girl role. One warning and I’m ready to do anything he asks. I try not to let myself go there because just the thought of giving up control so easily reminds me of what happened the last time that I had my control wrested away from me. I can’t go there again.

I try to refocus on the current moment, and the crisis at hand is that I’m late for work, and he’s apparently handled the situation. He’s right. He’s the boss. If he says someone is getting a day off, who is going to argue? No one at the office would dare cross Oliver Titan. He’s known as a fair boss, but he also doesn’t take kindly to being questioned and runs a really tight ship. Everyone on the staff knows their place and knows who the boss is.

“Does it really bother you for people at the office to know we are together?”

My knee-jerk answer is an irrefutable yes, but when I really think about it, do I actually care what my co-workers think? The answer is no. “I don’t, not really,” I admit. “My only worry is that they won’t take me seriously. What if they see me as a manipulative woman sleeping with the boss to get ahead?”

“Does it really matter what they think?”

I chew my lip as I consider my words carefully before answering. “Yes and no. Yes, because I want them to respect me and my work. No, because it’s none of their business. I don’t want anyone assuming any of my accomplishments were earned on my back.”

“Anyone who sees your art will know you earned your position based on merit. You’re insanely talented, Sugar. You could get hired right now at any publishing house in the country. Titan-Rose is lucky that you decided to join the internship program. My mother is a brilliant woman for recruiting you.”

I laugh at that. “It’s not like Eloise had to twist my arm. She basically talked me into accepting my dream internship with the possibility of landing my dream job after graduation. It wasn’t a painful choice.”

Oliver tugs my hair playfully. “Don’t worry about what anyone else thinks. You and I both know the truth. That’s what matters. Now, let’s go get you fed.”

16

Oliver

“Tellme again why I can’t just come pick you up,” I ask Sugar for the third time. She’s got this ridiculous idea in her head that if she and I arrive at work at the same time, everyone is going to know why we both weren’t at the office yesterday.

She lets out a little huff of frustration. “I’m taking the train, and that’s final.” It doesn’t take much imagination to visualize her standing in her kitchen with her arms crossed over her chest, stomping her foot as if that’ll get her point across.

“Okay, babygirl. Take the train. But I’m taking you to lunch. No excuses.”

“I already packed a lunch. Besides, everyone will see us leave together! What’s the point of arriving separately if we are just going to go to lunch together?”

“Exactly. What is the point? I thought we decided we don’t give a fuck what anyone else thinks.”

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