Page 22 of Daddy's Oath
It wasn’t a second before he was sitting next to her, his arm draped around her shoulders.
“It’s okay. I bet you’ll get to keep that job yet. Let the Daddy Guard work its magic.”
Her sadness temporarily subsided as he pulled her closer and rested his cheek atop her head.
Mmm. Being so close to him—being held by him—felt wonderful.
“I love my life. I thought all this stuff with the gang was finally behind me,” she told him with a sniffle. “But then everything just caught up to me.”
“I’m sure this is very scary. And chaotic. But I promise you, Lana. I’m going to help you. You have my word.”
She wanted to tell him her real name, just so he’d know, but then stopped short of doing so. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust him. For some reason, she trusted Ace more than any man she’d ever met.
But that old name wasn’t her anymore. Her parents had given it to her. The same parents who were mixed up in so much crime and ugliness and evil.
No, she was Lana now. That old existence from Boston was gone. Those people weren’t in her life anymore.
“You p-promise me?” she asked, ashamed that she was forcing him to commit. This man owed her nothing. Yet here she was, being held by him, crying her eyes out in the guest bedroom of the mansion he called home.
“I swear an oath,” he said solemnly.
He left it at that. What else was there to say? She could tell he wasn’t being dramatic or simply placating her.
Ace was swearing that he would help her.
She believed him.
Despite the reassurance, she was still fighting back more tears.
“I’m scared,” she admitted. “It’s not that I doubt you. It’s just…”
Now his other arm came across her as he held her tight. “Would you like me to sleep on the floor, honey?”
Lana’s stomach muscles clenched tightly. What she really wanted was for Ace to sleep in the bed with her. There was no way she was going to admit that to him.
Though she hadn’t seen any indication that he had a Little around.
“It’s okay,” she told him.
“I don’t mind.”
“That would be so uncomfortable,” she argued.
“Nah. I can make a nice, cozy bed right there on the floor. We have plenty of blankets and pillows.”
She nodded but didn’t commit to it yet. A moment later, she said, “I could sleep onyourfloor.”
“Nope.”
“Why not?”
“Because you’ve been through a rough night. I want you to get plenty of rest and a nice big bed is the best way to accomplish that.”
She pulled away enough to flash him a sly smile. “So you admit the floor isn’t very comfortable.”
He laughed, holding up his hands in surrender. “Man, I’m really going to have to keep my eyes on you. You’re smart. Maybe too smart for your own good.”
She laughed, too.
