Page 32 of My Fantasy Daddies

Enthralled, I listened as Esme downplayed how she’d started volunteering at a soup kitchen when she was eight.Because Lia wanted to and the other girl’s grandmother wouldn’t let her.So Esme had convinced her own parents to allow her to start volunteering, and when Lia would come over for sleepovers, they would spend their Saturdays at homeless shelters.Starting in their fourth-grade year, the two best friends began organizing a food bank and a coat drive for the holiday season, and they then donated what they collected to the shelters where they volunteered.It was so successful, they did it every year afterward, setting and beating their goals for each previous year.

Esme kept bringing up Lia, as if it were only because of her friend that she had done those amazing things, but she wasn’t fooling anyone.We could all see that the girl in front of us was just as personally invested in helping others as Lia.

Someone caught Victoria’s attention, and she reluctantly nodded to let them know she was coming before giving Esme a hug.“It was a pleasure meeting you, Esme.Let’s have brunch at my home on Sunday to get better acquainted.Parker, you aren’t invited.Girls only.”

Esme returned her squeeze.“Thank you, I would love that.Send me the details.You can get my information from Parker.”

As they walked away, I urged my girl to the small dance floor that was near the live band.They were playing a slower tune, and I wasn’t going to turn down any opportunity to hold Esme against me.

Her arms went around my neck as we swayed slowly to the music.As pretty as her mask was, it annoyed the fuck out of me.I wanted to see all of her face.Touch my forehead to hers as we danced.Connect to her.

She stroked her nails up and down my neck as we swayed.When she smiled up at me, I felt like the luckiest motherfucker in the room—the world.

“So, why is this particular charity so important to you?From what little I learned talking to the others, you are the only man on the board.They seemed to make an exception for you, and I got the impression that it wasn’t just because you’re rich.”

I curved one hand over her hip, baring my teeth at a man when his gaze lingered too long on her ass.He jerked back and shifted his dance partner so they were going the opposite direction.Once other couples were between us and I spotted Astro out of the corner of my eye, I relaxed again and focused solely on Esme.“Being on the board doesn’t require someone to have the most money, little one.Think of it along the lines of those of us who have more passion for the cause.The fact that we are all billionaires is just a coincidence.”

Surprise filled her eyes, and she studied me for a few moments before she asked, “And why do you have so much passion, Parker?”

A lump filled my throat, but I cleared it away and gave her the truth.“They were trying to help my sister escape an abusive relationship while I was on my first deployment.He killed her when she was attempting to leave him.”

Tears instantly filled her blue eyes, causing the bottom to fall out of my stomach.“I’m so sorry.”

“It was a long time ago.Over twenty years now.I didn’t…” Blowing out a breath, I shook my head at the memory.“I was on a mission, so I didn’t get the news of her death until about two weeks after her funeral.By the time I got stateside, he was out on bail.That’s how I met Victoria and the others.They had tried to help Alora leave him.Got her into a safe house.But somehow, he found her.Followed her.They were going to transfer her to a different house in another state, but he found her and…”

“Parker.”A soft sob bubbled out of her, and she squeezed her arms around me.She pulled my head down to her shoulder.

For several long moments, we stood there simply holding each other, not caring that there were so many people around us.All that mattered to me was holding Esme.I buried my face in her hair, absorbing her strength and goodness, my heart seeming to heal a little for the first time in over twenty years.After so long, it finally felt like I was sharing the pain of Alora’s loss instead of carrying it on my own.

Malcolm and Benson knew about my sister.They were the ones who’d helped me track down the piece of shit who’d killed her.We ended his life together.But we never spoke of it again.And we never would.It made it a little easier to get through the days.As did reaching out to Victoria and the charity to contribute.Keeping my sister’s memory alive gave me a reason to keep going.

Telling Esme about Alora, though, that was different.Cathartic in a way that relieved a pressure I wasn’t even fully aware was there until she unburdened me of it.

Esme

Leaving Parker’s bed was too much of a task.I couldn’t and wouldn’t do it for anyone.Not even Amelia.With Elsa officially gone to some French prison for the foreseeable future, my friend would be free of her biggest bully at school.And because Elsa was the one who led the charge on Amelia so often, the others would leave her alone without their leader to initiate.

But even if that weren’t a factor, I didn’t think it would have mattered.Not after the night I’d spent with Parker.His “my love” was something I’d echoed without much thought to our audience at the time.It was an automatic response simply because that was how I felt.And fighting my emotions never went well for anyone, myself included.The timing wasn’t ideal, and maybe my delivery wasn’t as pretty as how it was when I told Malcolm I loved him, but Parker wasn’t Malcolm and Mal was very much not Parker.

We were going to have different experiences together.And the emotion that clouded Parker’s eyes when I whispered “mylove” nearly caused my knees to buckle.His kiss had been full of a hundred different things, all of them telling me how happy he was, how much he loved me, and if we hadn’t been surrounded by hundreds of people, I would have been naked on the nearest flat surface.

But we were surrounded by all those people, two of whom were his fellow board members who had been watching us with amused but interest-filled eyes.I knew of both women.Rich or poor, few people in the world didn’t know who they were and not just because of their charity to help women and children escape abusive homes.Just as I knew there was a third member of the group, but she was back in Northern California because she tended to stay out of the spotlight to keep the shelter she had built as a sanctuary for abused women on her own dime as the focus.

Parker probably had no idea how informed I was about his fellow board members.But I’d never known about his sister, Alora.My heart still burned, experiencing his loss like it was my own.From the moment he’d said her name, I’d felt all his pain.The grief and guilt were crushing.

And yet, when he shared that huge burden with me, it seemed to free him a little.I gladly took on the weight if it meant he didn’t have to carry it.I couldn’t remember how long we stayed on that dance floor the night before, barely moving, simply holding on to each other while the world around us continued to exist.Everything but Parker was a blur until we were home.

Home.

It was crazy how I’d only walked through the doors to the house a few times, but already, I thought of it as my home.But my daddies kept referring to it asourhome, and that made it hard not to consider it mine as well.

“I love you, little one,” Parker groaned as he sank deep into me for the first time.

Hearing the emotions choking him, I couldn’t fight the sob that erupted from me even as my orgasm climbed higher.“Parker, I love you.”

Kissing away my tears, he thrust into me harder.“My sweet, perfect, beautiful girl.”His entire body shuddered, but he didn’t rush, drawing out every moment until it was too much and I was trembling and begging for release.

When I woke up in bed with him the next morning, I refused to let him leave for work.If I was going to skip school and leave Amelia alone for an entire day, then he was going to blow off work and stay with me.I didn’t have to urge him too much.A few kisses, a single pout, and he was rolling me over, promising me anything I wanted.And I didn’t think he wanted to be away from me any more than I wanted to be away from him.

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