Page 1 of The Daddy Claus

"Yo, Ass Face McGee."

"Stop fucking calling me that," I growl at my brother, Roman. I’m almost forty years old, and he's been calling me the same damn thing since we were kids. "And stop bugging me. I've got shit to do."

As the owner of an AHL team in its inception season, my job is never done. I don't mind the work, though. It beats the hell out of the tedium that comes with most of what I do. When making money comes easy, eventually, the shit gets old.

"Well, drop whatever you're doing and get to the club."

"Fuck no," I say automatically. Roman owns The Sterling Rope, an exclusive BDSM club in Silver Spoon Falls. He's been trying to get me to join since he opened the doors, but I'm not interested. The only time I ever make an appearance is when I'm there to see him. Doesn't matter if he promises his exclusive clientele complete privacy and anything their hearts desire. He can't offer what interests me.

There's only one woman who can do that. Hollie Janara, my baby sister's best friend… and the team's physical therapist. From the moment Gabbi brought her home five years ago, I was obsessed. I've never wanted anything like I want her screaming for Daddy to fuck her harder.

She's the sweetest little thing I've ever seen. Her brown eyes and impish smile make my dick throb every time she looks at me. Unfortunately for me, she's over a dozen years younger than I am… the same age as the sister I raised. I feel like a bastard for even thinking about her the way I do. And yet, I do it anyway. When I stroke my cock, it's to thoughts of her on her knees, staring up at me. It's to fantasies of her pleading for Daddy to take what belongs to him.

It's to memories of her curvy body in a bikini, lounging in my backyard.

If she knew, she'd never look at me the same.

If Gabbi knew, she wouldn't either.

Hollie doesn’t like me much as it is. She spends most of her time avoiding me. I can count on one hand the number of times we’ve been in a room alone together since she joined the Falcons as the team’s physical therapist. Shit. I don’t need all twenty fingers and toes to count the number of times we’ve been in a room alone together in the past five years.

"Fine," Roman says. "But Hollie's here."

I fumble the phone, nearly dropping it on my desk. "What the fuck did you just say?"

"Hollie is here."

"You let her in?"

"I'm not the one working the door. Bronx is. He says she had an invitation."

A growl rumbles in my throat. Who the fuck invited her? And why the fuck is she there? She's too goddamn young to see anything that goes on in that club.

"It's the Masquerade Party," Roman says.

I frown. "Then how do you know it's Hollie?"

"Her tattoo."

Christ. On her twenty-first birthday, she got ink… a watercolor dreamcatcher held aloft by an infinity symbol. It's unmistakable and on the back of her neck. I wanted to spank her for marking her beautiful body. But I've wanted to run my lips over it a thousand times since. It fascinates me. Perhaps because I don't understand the meaning behind it. Perhaps because it's on her body. I don't know.

"Get her out of there."

"No can do."

"What the fuck do you mean,no can do? It’s your club."

"I mean, if you want her out of here, get your ass over here and remove her yourself. I'm not kicking her out because you're hung up on her, brother," Roman says bluntly. "Sooner or later, she's going to find someone. Maybe it'll be tonight. Maybe it won't. But if you don't make a move, I can guarantee it won't be you."

I growl wordlessly, my knuckles white around the phone. He's right, damn him. It's my biggest nightmare… watching her fall in love with someone who isn't me. But she's never shown any interest in dating, let alone in Rome's club. I thought I had time before I had to deal with the possibility.

Looks like my time is running out. One day soon, my little princess is going to find someone. Some motherfucker will have his hands on her body. His tongue down her throat. She'll be crying out for someone who isn't me.

No. Hell no.

"Don't let anyone touch her," I snarl, shoving the paperwork Grayson Marrow needed me to sign to the side. It joins an ever-growing stack slowly taking over the left side of my desk. "If anyone has their goddamn hands on her when I get there, I'll burn the entire fucking club to the ground."

I'm already on my feet, striding toward the door.

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