Page 10 of The Captain's Little Girl

“Wait until I’ve had over six hours of sleep in a week,” he advised her with a devilish smile that made her cheeks heat in reaction to the promise of intimacy.

As she tried to calm her fluttering heart, Mark gently pulled away to work on the batter. He set it aside to rest before pulling out a battered, well-used griddle from the drawer under the stove. Warming it across two burners, he walked to the refrigerator for a stick of butter. His hand stroked over her hair upon his return.

A comfortable silence fell over the kitchen as he worked. Cricket loved that Mark didn’t chatter. He silently and efficiently took care of everything. Soon the table was set with a giant bottle of syrup. Within a short time, Mark placed two golden brown pancakes on her plate and buttered them.

“I can do it,” she protested before falling quiet as he gave her a look that she was learning said ‘Daddy’s job.’

“Say when,” he directed as he lifted the syrup.

“Just pour a puddle there,” Cricket said quickly as she pointed to a spot to the side of her pancakes.

“You don’t like syrup?” Mark asked as he followed her request before dousing his own tall stack with a river of the sweet liquid.

“I do. I don’t like soggy pancakes. I usually just add a bit at a time,” she explained, cutting off a bite of the fluffy pancakes and dipping them into the syrup.

“Mmm! This is wonderful!” she complimented as she wiggled happily in her chair. They really were the best pancakes she’d ever eaten, and they’d come from a box.

“I’m glad you’re enjoying them, little girl,” he said before taking a huge bite.

“Is there some special ingredient in here?” she asked, sure she’d missed something as he’d mixed them up.

“Love,” he answered easily as he took another bite.

Cricket didn’t know how to answer that. She and Mark had known each other for so long, but it didn’t feel right to say ‘I love you’ now. Looking down at her plate, Cricket dipped another piece of pancake in the sticky syrup to cover her inability to comment on that.

When Mark added a bit more syrup to her dwindling supply, she looked up at him. The tender expression on the honed military man’s face melted her apprehensions. “We have all the time in the world, baby girl.”

After they’d eaten a few bites, Cricket asked, “Are there any more rules? We’re honest with each other. Is that enough?”

“That’s a good start. I need to be the only man in your life,” he said, capturing her gaze.

Cricket nodded. “I don’t want to be with anyone else. That’s reciprocal, right? I’m the only one for you?”

“You’ve been the only one for me since I met you.”

“That was a long time ago,” she protested, not believing that such a virile man had been celibate for that amount of time. Cricket had been on a few dates, trying to forget Mark. All had flopped.

Mark didn’t reply; he simply ate another bite.

“Really?”

“Yes. There has been no one in my life since I met you,” Mark assured her.

Before she could dwell on that too long, he added, “I’m going to rebuild your trust in me, little girl. As your daddy, I need to care for you completely.”

“Like the other daddies?” she questioned. “Are you going to spank me?”

“Yes. I have no doubt that you’ll earn a punishment. That might be a spanking or something else.”

“Maybe I’ll just always be good,” she suggested.

“Maybe. Would you like more syrup?”

Cricket nodded. Breakfast was a safe topic that didn’t make her stomach do flip-flops. She shouldn’t be so turned on by the thought of Mark taking such a dominant role. Quickly, she dipped another bite and popped it into her mouth. After she swallowed, Cricket asked, “Can I have a cup of coffee?”

“No.”

“No?” she asked, bewildered. “You don’t have any or I can’t have any?”

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