Page 13 of Break Me, Daddy

“Wait!” Clinging to him, she buried her face in his neck, yet another wave of embarrassment washing over her. “I need a shower. I got all sweaty at the party last night and I feel gross.”

“I could use one myself,” he said with a low, rumbling laugh. “Might as well preserve water and take one together.”

Heat pulsed between her thighs. “Yes, Daddy.”

Holden

With Frankiestill clinging to him, Holden shifted gears and headed for the bathroom. Placing her on her feet in the middle of the room, he opened the glass shower door and turned on both showerheads, one at either end of the large, tiled space.

When he turned back to face her, she already had her shirt off and was reaching for the button on her jeans.

“That’s Daddy’s job,” he growled, swatting lightly at her hands.

“I can dress and undress myself, Holden.”

Pausing with his hands at her button, he pinned her with a stern look. “You can also spend the afternoon standing in the corner and then sitting on your bare bottom to write lines if you keep forgetting how to address me. Who am I, Francesca?”

An adorable pink blush stole across her cheeks. “Daddy.”

“Damn straight. I know I’m being a hardass, but if you’re going to be staying here with me, you’ll just have to get used to it.”

“What happened to negotiations?” she asked, her tone dry as he helped her out of her jeans and underwear.

“Is that something you want to negotiate?” Last went her bra, leaving her wonderfully, gloriously naked in front of him.

“I dunno. Like, am Ineverallowed to call you by your name? Ever?”

It was a fair enough question. If he had it his way, she wouldn’t, but he knew that wasn’t realistic. “In public, yes. At home my preference is Daddy, though I will allow for some leeway. If it becomes a pattern of disrespect, however, you will be punished. Sound fair?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

Good enough, at least for now. They could sit down and hammer things out more concretely later.

For now, he just wanted,neededto taste her.

Stripping his own clothes off, he tossed everything in the hamper and stuck a hand under the water to test it. Warm, but not scalding. Perfect.

“In you go, little siren.”

Frankie stepped under the stream and immediately shivered. “Too cold,” she declared, reaching for the controls.

He watched, slightly horrified as she pressed a button, bumping the temperature up several degrees.

“Jesus, woman, are you trying to boil us alive?”

“Mmm.” Tilting her head back under the falling water, she smiled, and despite feeling like his skin was being burned off his bones, his heart constricted at the sight of her looking so… content. “It’s perfect.”

Biting back a sigh, he reached for the bodywash he’d kept in his shower since their too-short affair nearly a year ago, and squirted a large dollop onto a fresh washcloth.

The scent of vanilla and almond filled the steamy space and Frankie pried open her eyes to stare at the bottle in his hand. “Have you really kept that same bottle this entire time?”

“No. I replaced it after the first couple months in case it had gone bad. Kept it on hand, waiting for you to come to your senses.” He was well aware of how pathetic that probably sounded to her, but to him it was simply a matter of being prepared. There hadn’t been a single day where he’d doubted she would eventually return to him, and he’d wanted to be ready for her when she did.

Of course, he’d never imagined thatthiswould be how he got her back in his bed. But now he was grateful to the past versions of himself for not simply tossing everything that reminded him of her.

“You’re so sure of yourself,” she murmured as he ran the washcloth down her arm. “You make it sound like you always knew I’d come back.”

“Because I did. Was just waiting for you to figure it out.”

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