Page 94 of More, Daddy
I shake my head. “You’re coming to live with me.”
She blinks at me, clearly confused. “I was just flirting withAustin to make you jealous…” she says, confusion spacing her words out.
I drape the end of her braid over her shoulder, and she begins nervously playing with it. “Briar, sweetheart, when you started talking to me onVeiled, what did you hope would happen?” I tip my forehead to hers in a moment of tenderness. “Don’t lie to Daddy.”
She swallows, still flicking the tips of her fingers over the end of her braid, self-soothing. “I hoped that… Well, I guess my plan was to eventually get invited to your house. To show up at night, make love to you, and then, when you were in love with making love to me, reveal myself to you.” She stops fidgeting with her braid for a moment, nibbling the inside of her cheek instead. “I knew I’d have a lot of groveling to do, but once we got past that, I envisioned us…” Her cheeks fill with a rush of ruby, and I have to smooth my hands down her bare thighs to coax the rest from her.
“Talk to me, Briar. Hold nothing back. With Daddy, never hold anything back.”
She looks up at me, dragging the end of her braid mindlessly along her collarbone now. “I envisioned my entire life with you, West. It’s part of the reason why I never slept with Austin. I was saving myself for you.”
Whatever anger and resentment I hold in my heart for Briar will be resolved in time. For now, it’s time to put that behind us. Because I can’t sleep tonight knowing she’s here, in an empty house, being failed by the man who should never fail her.
I get dressed while she watches, then drag a bag from her closet. “You’re not living here anymore.”
She gets to her feet, too. “Seriously?”
“Briar, let me take care of you.” I swallow against the hesitation and nerves in my throat. It’s been years since I putmyself on the line like this. “You deserve so much more, and I want to give it to you.”
We put the Kraft mac in the fridge, and Briar comes home with me.
Briar’s exhaustedafter getting to my place, and I end up carrying her from the truck to my bed. She never wakes. I pull covers over her legs and place cold tap water by her side of the bed. I undress and climb into bed next to her, my mind a place of a thousand thoughts.
Before drifting off, I set my alarm and navigate to a new tab in my internet browser. I glance over at her, curled into my bare chest, fair hair draped along my pillow. She smells so sweet, and she looks so fucking peaceful. So perfect, right where she is.
I fell in love with Briar onVeiled.I’ve been denying it since. I just have one last thing to do before I tell her how I feel.
It’s not enough that she chooses me. And she might be a little crazy, lowkey stalking me for a year before blackmailing IT guys to get to me. But knowing what I’m about to do to her, I kiss her head and close my eyes because…
We’re a perfect fit.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-SIX
“I don’t usually eat breakfast,”I explain to West as he plates up a waffle, scrambled eggs and fruit already on another plate.
He strokes his fingers through my hair. “You do now.”
I arch a brow. “I have no say?”
With a sigh, he takes a seat at the table across from me, and slides me a full mug of coffee. “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. You’re going to be eating it daily.”
The idea of being bossed around by anyone makes me want to vomit, but somehow, when West tells me what to do, it’s arousingand adoring.
I nod my head. “Okay.”
He cuts my waffle with his fork, leaning over the table as he does. A strand of dark hair falls over his forehead, and I take a moment to study his handsome face. Sharp jawline and enamoring eyes, he’s going to make beautiful babies.
With me.
“Let’s look at getting the rest of your things from that house today, after school.” West takes a bite of his eggs as he flips open the newspaper.
I clear my throat. “I’m—you’re really having me live here? That wasn’t just… something you said in the moment?” I’d hoped it was for real, but I know West is struggling right now. I feel his internal struggle when he kisses me—he wants me, but he’s battling demons. My lie.
My age.
“You said the other night that I was too young. That you couldn’t be with me, and now I’m living here and you’re…” I place my fork on the table and rest my hands in my lap, taking a deep breath. His eyes are on me, watching, studying, intensely dissecting my every flinch. Finally, I meet his eyes. “I don’t know what to believe.”
