Page 27 of Her Bossy Daddy

Liam

I raised an eyebrow as Lacey clomped down the stairs in her outfit but sporting a scowl on her pretty face. She came over to me, and wordlessly dropped two different hairbrushes, a spray bottle, and a handful of hair ties into my lap. I tugged her to her knees, making it easier to fix her hair. She dried her long tresses with a blow dryer already, so things should have gone smoothly, but they didn’t. Lacey turned her head out of my reach several times. I didn’t think she did it on purpose, but instead of the fun times I’d planned, we were still at her house. “Stay still, Lacey.”

“Or?”

Damn it. Why was there always a question lately? Instead of answering her with words, I got off the couch and joined her on the floor. She worried her lip, and I yanked her over my lap. “You’re not listening, sweetheart, and I don’t like being questioned.” I smacked each side of her ass, hard.

“Ouch!” She thrashed but I held her tight and landed a few more good slaps. “I’ll listen, for real. For real, Daddy, I’m sorry!”

“You promised as much earlier, and yet you’re pushing against everything I tell you to do.”

“I’m not pushing!” she protested. “My heart is doing tumbles!”

Damn it. I rubbed each side of her butt, and then turned her around and pulled her against me. “Talk to me, Lacey girl. What’s going on with your heart then?”

“No one’s ever treated me like this, like I matter,” she sniffled against my chest. “Instead of making me so happy, I’m really terrified. Please don’t let me go, Daddy.”

“I won’t.” I rocked her for a few minutes, soothing her, kissing along her head, and cuddling her. I hoped she could feel just how much she meant to me. I had lots of plans for the two of us today, and I hoped it would bring us even closer together. We’d been a bit off kilter, and spending time together while she was in a younger state of mind would hopefully show her what words couldn’t seem to convey. I loved her, deeply, and I wasn’t going anywhere.

“I’ll do a better job at staying still. Will you please make my hair look pretty?”

“Yes, love.” I returned to my previous position on the couch and to the task. “Your hair already looks beautiful, I’m just twisting it ‘round your head.”

She giggled. I hoped to give her a safe place to express herself today, but if she was having trouble staying in her headspace before we went out in public, I fretted she wouldn’t be able to fully relax. Either way, she was mine for the weekend and I was going to have fun reminding her of that.

---