Page 29 of Off-Limits Daddy
“Don’t fight them on this,” I murmured, voice softer, meant only for him. “Not tonight.”
His throat worked like he wanted to argue again—but he didn’t.
Good boy.
ELEVEN
ARI
Getting out of the lake had been the easy part. Breathing after—thatwas harder.
Cold water clung to my clothes, dragging at my legs like I’d picked the worst possible thing to wear for a lakeside party. I’d been wearing joggers and a tee since I wasn’t in the mood to go into the water. Not as heavy as jeans—but still too heavy when soaked. The world tilted around me, headlights cutting across the water, faces blurring at the edges like they were smeared in smoke from someone’s bonfire drifting too close.
Every noise was sharp—shouts, someone’s phone going off, the rip of Velcro on the stretcher straps.
Iwantedto tell them I was fine. I had the words ready. Swear I did. But they got lost somewhere between the burning in my throat and the way my ribs squeezed tight every time I tried to breathe deep.
When the paramedic’s hand caught my arm to guide me toward the stretcher, my knees almost buckled, just for a second—enough to make it awkward, enough to make it sting. And thenDaddy’s hand was on me, steady and certain, his fingers curling over my shoulder like it was nothing. Like it was everything.
I didn’t know whether I hated him for it or loved him for it. Probably both.
His thumb brushed the side of my neck, gentle but firm, like he hadn’t even realized he was doing it—and that was somehow worse. That kind of care you give someone without even thinking. The kind of touch that saidmineeven if nobody spoke it out loud.
Then the straps clicked into place, boxing me in, making it feel like I belonged to the mess I’d created.
The cold hadn’t hit until I wasoutof the water. That’s how it always worked. Warm summer air giving way to lake water that wasn’t exactly freezing, just sharp enough to shock you when you weren’t ready.
I’d only climbed onto that dock to breathe for a minute. Shake off the weight. Clear my head. I wasn’t thinking about showing off. Wasn’t thinking aboutanyone. Wasn’t thinking at all.
And I slipped.
Should’ve known better than to climb out there in my Converse with their smooth soles, especially on those algae-slick boards. But that’s what I did—like I wasn’t already good at making things harder for myself.
One second I was upright. The next, underwater, lungs forgetting how to work, cold punching straight through my ribs until I broke the surface again, coughing like an idiot. Half the crowd staring. Someone laughing. Someone else reaching for their phone.
Now I was strapped down, dripping lake water from my hair, everyone around me already writing their own version of the story.
Of course someone said I was showing off. They always did. In a town like this, it wasn’t enough to just exist—you had toperform, whether you wanted to or not.
The paramedic worked with steady, practiced movements—this certainly wasn’t his first late-night lake rescue. His nametag read WALLACE. Early thirties maybe. Calm eyes. No judgment. He adjusted the oxygen mask, bringing it closer.
“Easy breaths through this, alright? You got some water in your lungs. Let’s get you sorted at Memorial.”
Sorted.Like I was a problem that needed to be filed somewhere.
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Daddy again—not hovering, not pushing, just...there.
I didn’t want to need him.
Didn’t want to want him.
ButGod, I did.
And it wasn’t the wet clothes or the shock or the lake water still dripping down my back that made me shiver.
It washim.
Behind him, I could hear people talking—showing off, someone muttered again. Like I hadn’t just slipped like an idiot on algae-slick boards. Like I’d asked for all of this.
