Page 5 of Guardian Daddy's Girl
I need to control myself better. Hailey isn’t in the right state of mind. She wouldn’t be thinking and saying these things if she were. And what kind of monster am I for playing along with it? Feeding on her vulnerability for my own benefit.
But I can’t stop myself. She’s become myeverything. She’s the first thing I think about when I wake up, and the last thought to cross my mind before I drift off to sleep. Hailey Kimble has consumed me whole, so, there’s no wonder why I can’t keep myself in check.
And you might be thinking that some light flirting isn’t all that bad. You’d be wrong.
It’s a fucking gateway to the promised land. Starting with some compliments and cheesy lines here and there, soon enough we’ll be talking about how I want to drown in her soaking cunt. What a way to go out. Any man would be lucky to have the opportunity.
After our hasty escape from the restaurant, I drive Hailey straight home. Two drinks is hardly enough to get a party started, but I won’t be able to behave myself if I have anymore.
Her place is the typical American dream house. White walls, double story house, surrounded by a white picket fence, manicured green garden with a sprinkling of colorful flowers around the front. No gate in front makes pulling onto the brick driveway easy.
I stop in front of the garage and before I can even switch my car off, Hailey sighs deeply.
Fuck. I must be the biggest asshole on the planet. Putting my wants above her needs when she’s in such a bad way. Time to start thinking with my head instead of my cock if I want this to be anything more than a terrible mistake on the day she buried her dad.
I switch off the car and reach for the door handle but Hailey throws her hand over mine to stop me from opening it. Turning to face her, I see tears welling in her eyes. She’s on the verge of breaking, and my heart’s in the very same position.
“What’s wrong?” I reach out and cup her cheek, brushing away a tear that hasn’t fallen yet.
“Can we sit here for a while?” She asks, voice quivering and blue puppy dog eyes staring straight into mine. “I don’t think I’m ready to go back in there yet.”
“Of course,” I slip an arm around her shoulder to pull her into a gentle hug, inadvertently getting a lungful of her coconut scented hair. God, she’s fucking perfect. “We’ll stay here as long as you need to.”
We sit in silence at first before Hailey flicks on my radio and Tom Waits starts blaring out.
“Thank you for today, Rex. I needed it,” she whispers. “I don’t know what I would’ve done if you weren’t here.”
“I’ll always be here for you, Hailey. You don’t have to worry about that.” It was true before Josef gave me his letter, too. She’s as much my family as my own damned father, and if the future holds what I want it to, that will be made true with a ring on her finger.
“Even when I’m a mess?” She forces out a chuckle, but it sounds more like a whimper.
“Especially then.”
She nods appreciatively, and rests her head on my chest. We fall back to silence for a bit, listening to the radio and staring at the big house ahead of us.
“Y’know, it’s funny,” she speaks again, and I can hear that this time I’m meant to listen and not interrupt. No jokes, no figuring out solutions, she just needs someone to hear what she’s saying. “All week I’ve been a mess. Sitting alone in my room, crying my eyes out, and praying that he’d somehow magically walk through the door again. Call my name and say he brought tacos for dinner. Hell, even shout at me for the most meaningless thing … ” She sniffles and buries her face against my pectoral. “I didn’t feel that way today. For the first time since it happened, you took my mind off things. I almost forgot it was real until we got back here.”
“I’m glad I could help.” This isn’t my domain. I’m not a soothsayer.
I’m the guy back at the restaurant. Cold, calculated, violent. It got beaten into me during my first few weeks of military training and stuck ever since. But I want to be better for her. Dig deep and find the guy who can be a pillar when she needs something to lean on.
Not every war can be won with your fists.
“I don’t want to go back in there, Rex.”
“But it’s your home.” I stroke the back of her head. Her soft hair against my fingertips makes every muscle in my body scream for more. Another touch, slipping lower to feel skin, a kiss … fucking anything.
“I can’t face it alone.” She shakes her head against me.
Don’t do it, Rex. Don’t say it.
“Want me to spend the night? Might make things a little easier if you have someone around?”
Her head snaps up to me, eyes burning bright. “Would you?”
“Like I said, Kitten,” to hell with it. Why run and hide from my feelings when it’s what we both want? And just because I’m staying a night, doesn’t mean anything has to happen. We can lie on the couch, watch movies and pretend life is normal for a while. “I’ll always be here for you.”
We head inside, Hailey leading with a new pep in her step. The front door opens to a hall way with a staircase on the lefthand side. To the right, the living room. A closed door on the left was a downstairs bedroom Josef converted into his office. And at the end of the hall is the kitchen.
