Page 3 of Break Me, Daddy

When he wasn’t busy turning her ass red or torturing her with more pleasure than she could bear, that was.

“You okay, little siren?” he asked, his normally stern voice dropping to a soft, soothing tone she barely recognized.

Everything inside her settled at that simple question. He was here, and he would take care of her. Guilt at having called him after everything she’d put him through warred with the relief of having him there as she forced herself to smile for him. “Yeah. Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”

A lopsided grin tugged at one corner of his mouth. “I was already awake. Do you need anything?”

“No. I’m fine. I was just… thinking.”

“About?”

“Stuff. Nothing I really want to get into right now.” It wasn’t a lie, though if she had her say, she wouldn’t get into it with him at all. Eventually she’d have to tell himsomething,but she’d be damned if she told him the whole sordid story.

It might actually kill her to see her parents’ inevitable disappointment reflected in her Daddy’s eyes.

Not that he was technically her Daddy anymore, since she’d broken things off in a childish snit several months ago and then spent the better part of a year leading him on a merry chase around the kink club they both frequented. But even though she knew he deserved better than the crumbs of submission she was capable of giving, his name was the first one that had come to mind when the nurse had asked for an emergency contact.

And he’d come. When he’d walked through the door of her hospital room, looking larger than life, his expression frantic with worry, all of the imaginary reasons she’d concocted for herself to keep him at bay had faded into the background.

Now, here he was, after several uncomfortable hours in a chair that was far too small for his wide frame, still taking care of her.

She didn’t deserve him. Butfuckwas she grateful to have him. Grateful to have someone to handle the details she couldn’t seem to get a grip on anymore. Grateful to not have to feel so fucking alone, even when she was surrounded by an entire college campus worth of people.

“I’m going to get you some water, see if I can find someone to talk to about breakfast. You need to eat.”

Breakfast. Panic gripped her, wrapping so tightly around her chest she couldn’t breathe. If they brought in food, he’d force her to eat. Or he’d try, at least, and then he’d realize how fucking broken she really was.

“Not hungry,” she mumbled, and though her stomach churned with guilt at the manipulative gesture, she let her bottom lip tremble, widened her eyes until they filled with tears. “Please don’t leave me, Daddy.”

God, she was a bitch. It was clear he was torn, unsure of the best way to care for her, but when she called him Daddy he caved with a sigh. “Alright, baby. I won’t go anywhere. Where’s that call button?”

Shit. She’d forgotten all about that. “I really don’t need anything. Honest. I’m fine, Holden.”

His eyes narrowed slightly, but he didn’t scold her for the switch up to his given name. “Francesca, you were brought into the hospital because you fainted. And from what the doctor said last night, you passed out from a number of factors, including dehydration and low iron. The IV is taking care of the dehydration, but you clearly haven’t been eating.”

The same panic that had robbed her of her ability to breathe easily now sent her heart racing. “I’m fine. I just overdid it at a party.”

Leaning over the bed, he locked his quietly furious gaze with hers. And when he spoke, there was an undercurrent to his tone that sent shivers down her spine. “What happens to little girls who lie to their Daddies, Francesca?”

“I’m not lying.” She should protest him calling himself her Daddy, but how could she when she was acting exactly like his babygirl? So she focused on the ‘lying’ accusation, though she couldn’t honestly protestthateither since she wasn’t being entirely honest. In truth, she had gotten carried away at the party last night, but she would have been fine if she’d been eating.

And apparently he wasn’t buying her denial anyway, judging by the way that muscle in his jaw jumped, the one that told her she was in very big trouble. “You are, and once you’re feeling better, we’re going to have a very long talk about what’s going on with you. For now, you need food. You can either choose what you want to eat, or Daddy will choose for you. Either way, youwillfinish what they put in front of you. Am I making myself crystal clear, little girl?”

Fuck. Here she was, about to lose control of yet one more thing in her catastrophe of a life. The terror of having him force some high-carb, high-calorie option on her overrode everything else, and she nodded. “I’ll choose.”

“Good girl. I’ll call the nurse.”

Just as he said the words, a pretty older woman with graying hair pulled up in a high ponytail stepped into the room, a bright smile on her face. “No need for that, Mr. Prescott.” Turning away from Holden in a move that seemed deliberate, the woman zeroed in on Frankie. “Good morning, Francesca. I’m Sandra, I’ll be your nurse today. What can I help you with?”

“Nothing.” Frankie shot Holden a glare when he growled, literallygrowledat her, before rolling her eyes and forcing a smile for her nurse. “The big oaf here says I need to eat.”

“I’d say the big oaf has a point.” Sandra pulled a sheet of paper from behind her clipboard and handed it over. “This is your breakfast menu. You’re not currently under any restrictions, other than your doctor wanting to make sure you get foods with plenty of iron. For breakfast that would be eggs at the very least and there’s an oatmeal option which you can add plenty of dried fruits to. You take a look at that, and I’m just going to give your vitals a quick check.”

“You’ll have the eggs, and at least one other side,” Holden said in what Frankie considered his ‘Daddy voice’. It was that voice that said there would be no arguments and she would either obey or face the consequences.

Swallowing hard, Frankie accepted the menu with hands that only trembled slightly, a fact she considered a win.

Eggs, she could probably do, but oatmeal was a hard no. Way too many carbs. Yogurt, maybe? Except she didn’t know how much sugar was in their yogurt. Was it the fat-free kind?

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