Page 134 of Daddy, Sir

Dagger takes both my hands in his and lifts them to his lips. “I didn’t get a chance to make sure you didn’t play with your pussy.”

My eyes pop wide as I remember that last conversation we had. “I was asleep. I didn’t have a chance.”

He chuckles. “I know you were, babygirl. I’m teasing you.” He gives my hands a tug. “Come. I made dinner.”

I realize I’m hungry. So far, the only thing I’ve eaten today was the smoothie he made me. My stomach growls.

There’s something so easy about being with Dagger. He makes it that way. I should hardly know him after not seeing him for a few years, but instead, I feel like he’s the same man I always knew. Nothing has changed. He was always a Daddy. Somewhere inside me, I knew that. I just didn’t know he could ever bemyDaddy.

Any concerns I had about our relationship being physical have flown out the window. The sexual tension and banter between us is palpable. This man is definitely into me that way.

I stare at him throughout dinner, smiling the entire time. He’s so overbearing and kind. He pushes me up to the table and does everything for me. He serves me chicken nuggets and mac and cheese, which makes me giggle.

After dinner we move to the couch, where I curl up in the corner, tucking my bare feet under my dress. Somehow, we manage to reminisce about old times. I’ve known this man my entire life. He was meant to be my guardian if anything ever happened to my father.

Something did happen to my father, and here Dagger is. He has stepped up to the plate to make things better. We laugh about camping trips and amusement parks. We cry a bit as we talk about my father.

He sits on the other end of the couch, not touching me, but he never looks away. He holds my gaze as though he’s mesmerized.

Eventually, there is a lull in the conversation, and I clear my throat. “Why did you stop visiting?”

Dagger is sitting sideways on the end of the sofa. His elbow rests on the back, and he leans his cheek on his palm as he stares at me. “Are you sure you want to hear the answer to that, babygirl?”

I nod slowly. “Did you have a fight with my father?” It’s the only logical explanation I can come up with other than my romantic heart wishing it was because he was madly in love with me.

His brow furrows. “Oh, god, no, babygirl. Never. Your father was my oldest and dearest friend. I felt like an ass staying away for so long, and I’ll never forgive myself for not getting to see him one last time. It kills me that he passed away while I was being stubborn.”

“What were you being stubborn about?” I ask gently.

He licks his lips. “You, Naomi.”

I inhale sharply. Is it possible? “You’re going to have to be clearer than that, Dagger.”

He rubs his lips absentmindedly as he looks at me. “It was you,” he repeats. “You… grew up. Suddenly, you weren’t the young girl I knew, and I…” He looks away for a few moments.

My heart races. I can’t believe this is happening. “You what?” I encourage. I need him to be specific, so there is no doubt. When he doesn’t respond quickly, I continue. “I missed you,” I whisper. “I thought about you all the time. I fantasized about you,” I admit, hoping I’m not saying the wrong things.

He looks back at me. “If I had known, it would have only strengthened my resolve to stay away from you. You were my best friend’s daughter. Off limits. So young. You were only twenty when I realized I wouldn’t be able to keep my distance from you.”

A lump forms in my throat. He has no idea how happy I am, and how could he given the tears pooling in my eyes. “I was sixteen when I knew.”

He groans. “That would have been illegal, Naomi.”

“It wouldn’t have been illegal when I was eighteen,” I point out.

He chuckles. “Barely, babygirl. And your father would have had me murdered.”

I roll my eyes. “That’s so dramatic. He wasn’t a judgmental man. I bet he would have gotten over it eventually.”

Dagger shrugs. “We’ll never know.”

“I’m not sixteen or eighteen now. I’m twenty-three.”

“Still so young… I’m forty-five, Naomi. Doesn’t that bother you?”

I shake my head. “No. Never. I don’t care. You’ll just have to promise to live to be one hundred and twenty. I refuse to let you leave me.”

His smile spreads as he continues to stare at me. It’s so intense.

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