Page 79 of Sweet Deception

"I'm not leaving Kylie. No disrespect, sir, but your daughter means something to me. You and your wife have raised a rare beauty who's also one of the kindest and most caring individuals I've ever met. Her love for you and your wife is evident in how she speaks of you. And I know that she's the kind of woman who will sacrifice herself to protect the ones she loves. She'll make an amazing wife and mother someday, and I would be a fool to let her go."

He goes pale again. "You can't be talking about marriage already? You've only been dating for a couple of months." He stands to pace my office.

"Rest assured, we haven't talked about marriage. It's too soon for that. What I'm saying is as a man, I can see what kind of woman she is and I want to explore where things can go with her."

And then my words hit me. I really do want to see where things go. Everything I said to her dad is true.

Fuck me.

Curses being shouted breaks me out of my internal thoughts and I snap my gaze to Kurt. He's no longer pacing and now leans on his hands on the back of his chair. He's shaking his head, then points at my face.

"You just realized you've fallen in love with my daughter, haven't you? I can see it on your face." He accuses.

At a loss for words, I just stare back at him.

"I need a drink." He moves to the sidebar next to the conference table and helps himself to a bottle of whiskey. "I'm not ready for this shit." He pours a shot and downs it, then pours another.

Well, this is unexpected.

I move to his side, eyeing his glass. "Should you be drinking that?" I frown, pointing at his third pour.

He sighs, his shoulders dropping. "You sound just like her." He shoves the drink into my hand.

I set it off to the side, away from him.

Mr. Davis turns to me, defeated. "Just promise me you'll take good care of her and protect her with your life."

"I will, Mr. Davis. I take care of my own."

He eyes me a moment before nodding, then heads to the door. I follow, sedately.

"Her mother wants to meet you. She'll schedule a dinner with Kylie soon. Make sure you're there." He stops and turns to look at me, brows dipped in concern. "Her mother doesn't know about your connections, does Kylie?"

"Not that I'm aware of, but it is something I will need to tell her in the future." I cross my arms, daring him to disagree.

"Good. She has a level head. Don't keep secrets from her if you know what's good for you." He grabs the door handle, but pauses again. "If anything ever happens to her and I find out you're the cause … cop or not, I'll kill you."

And by the look in his eyes, I believe him.

I clasp his shoulder, smiling at him. "You're a good father, Mr. Davis."

Clearly surprised, he raises his eyebrow, searching my face. Seeing my sincerity, he nods before turning and walking out.

Later that night, I walk into my bedroom to find Kylie passed out. Fuck. I've been looking forward to reconnecting with her tonight, but I don't have the heart to wake her when she has early classes tomorrow. Resigned, I'm quiet as I move around the room to undress.

When I slide in beside her, I take in the beauty of this woman. It's good that her dad left my office resigned to our relationship because now that I truly understand what I have in Kylie, I'd be a fool to let her go. I don't care if it's too soon for these feelings.

I smooth the hair out of her face and her eyes open to half mast.

Her "Hi" comes out groggily.

"Hi, Angel."

She shifts to her side and slides in close to me. I wrap my arms around her and pull her in tight. "Your dad stopped by my office today." It takes a moment for that to register, but when it does, Kylie jerks back.

"What?" she yells.

I chuckle. "Relax. I'm glad he did. We had a nice chat." I try to pull her back in, but she resists with a hand on my chest.

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