Page 52 of Jasper

The kind I never thought I’d find. The kind I never thought I’d deserve.

I could stay like this forever.

My hand tightens on her hip without thinking as the thought strikes me.

Would she even want that? Forever?

Would she ever settle somewhere? Instead of drifting from town to town, camper to camper? Ariana is a free spirit. She might love traveling from place to place.

The thought claws at me, cold and invasive.

“Rainbow?” I ask into the soft cloud of her hair.

“Yeah, Daddy?” she mumbles sleepily without thinking.

Daddy.

Fuck.

I have to clear my throat to focus. “Why haven’t you ever had a Daddy before?”

Her cheeks turn red. “I don’t know. No one’s ever wanted me like that, I guess.”

The snarl that builds low in my gut almost escapes unchecked. I bury my face into the top of her head and breathe her in before answering.

“Idiots,” I growl. “Every last one of them.”

She giggles faintly.

Feeling suddenly, fiercely protective over every inch of her, I press my lips to her hair, my mind racing.

I’m a greedy bastard, and I’m going to hell for thinking this, but I was already going there anyway.

I want to be her first.

Heronly.

I squeeze her a little tighter. “I have an idea, Little one.”

She squirms to look up at me, her eyes big and curious. “What?”

“What if,” I say, deliberate and slow, “while you’re here, you and I agree on something... temporary. A Daddy and Little relationship, just for the time you’re staying. That way, you can experience everything you deserve. Care, rules, structure. Without any pressure. A trial run.”

Her mouth drops open, and before the words are fully out of my mouth, she blurts, “Yes. Yes, please!”

I chuckle softly, cradling her closer. “No thinking about it?”

“Nope. I kind of already talked it through with the girls anyway because they thought, for sure, you would ask,” she says, grinning up at me, her cheeks glowing pink.

Brats.

I don’t even want to know what kind of shit Rowie and Ember told Ariana. I’m going to have to have a talk with them. I have a feeling they wouldn’t think twice about trying to play matchmaker for any of us guys.

“Of course they did,” I grumble.

She glares at me. “You can’t be a grumpy Daddy all the time, or else.”

I bark out a rough laugh, pressing another kiss to her hair. “I’ll try to be the least grumpy Daddy I can, rainbow. But there will be rules. And you will be getting your bottomreallyspanked if you’re naughty.”

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