Fuck. The woman drives me insane. She's always wearing skimpy clothing, flaunting her body in front of me. I'm fucking losing it. There's only so much a man can take before he snaps, and Daisy Marcs is pushing me to my limit.

I sit with a glass of whisky, swirling the amber liquid in the glass as I wait for her to come home. I heard her engine and saw the headlights flash in the window as she drove into the driveway. Living with Daisy is insane, the way I'm feeling, I know that I'm going to have to move out. The feelings I have, they're not fatherly in any way shape or form.

I'm forty-three, and Daisy is twenty-two. I'm far too old for her, but lately, my every waking thought is of her. I can't evade her, she's even in my dreams. It's driving me damn crazy. I just can't escape it. Every fucking morning, I wake up with a raging hard on, not to mention the dreams that I'm having are X-rated. Nothing I do seems to work in getting her off my mind.

Marrying her mom was one of the best decisions I ever made. I met Donna almost seven years ago when Daisy was fifteen, ittook Donna almost eight months of us dating exclusively for her to introduce me to Daisy, and although Daisy was standoffish with me, she adored my family and they her. Marrying Donna was what I wanted, but she died not even eighteen months into our marriage in a car accident. I loved Donna, and I was devastated when she passed, but my focus switched to ensuring that Daisy was cared for and that she was coping with her mom's passing. I've been a part of her life for the past six years, and I shouldn't be feeling the way I do about her.

I started viewing her as a woman around a year ago, and it's only intensified since. It's getting harder to ignore as each day passes. I'm a sick bastard, who shouldn't be thinking of Daisy in such a way.

The front door opens, and Daisy walks in, I glance at the clock on the wall, seeing that it's just past nine in the evening. "You're late ," I say, my voice deeper than it should be.

She turns and glares at me. "Yeah well some asshole gave me a week's worth of work to do in one day. Don't worry, boss," she sneers at me. "I'll be ensuring I actually put in for overtime. I'm beyond exhausted, and I need a shower." She moves toward the stairs.

Anger whips through me at the dismissive way she's talking to me. "Didn't you have plans tonight?"

She spins on her heel and pins me with a glare. "I did, but I had to cancel due to my boss being an asshole,” she spits, her eyes flashing with anger.

“I apologize for the extra work, Daisy, but filing paperwork and doing administrative duties is your job. If you don’t like it, you know what to do.”

She gapes at me. “You’re an asshole, Knox, you know that? A huge asshole, and you can go to hell.” She rushes up the stairs, not giving me a chance to reply. The door slams upstairs, and I grit my teeth, I’ve pissed her off, I don’t think I’ve ever seen herso angry before. But what I said was correct, it is part of her job, and it’s what she’s getting paid to do.

My cell rings, and I glance at the screen and sigh. It’s my mom. “Ma,” I answer.

“What is wrong with you?” she hisses at me. “Seriously Knox, what the hell is your problem?”

I pinch the bridge of my nose and take a deep breath. “Let me guess, Daisy called you?”

“She did, and so did your brothers. Again, what the hell is your problem? I didn’t raise you to be an asshole, Knox.”

“Ma, leave it, yeah? This is business.”

“I will not leave it. That poor girl has been through hell and back, and as we all know it’s coming to her birthday, and she’s missing her mom and what do you do? Instead of being supportive, you’re acting like an ass and pushing her away. Do you know that she thinks that you no longer want her to stay in the house? That she believes that you’re doing this to make her leave?”

I sit up. The fuck? “Ma, come on, you know that’s not true.” The thought of Daisy leaving has my stomach in knots. That’s not what I want at all.

"What is the poor girl to think, Knox? You're making her believe that you no longer want her there or at work. There's only so much that she can take, and if you continue with this bullshit, you're going to push her away from you for good."

My family has a tight bond with Daisy, and I know that if she did leave, they'd blame me and hate me for pushing her away. That's not what I want, Daisy means a fuck of a lot to me, and those feelings have changed so much in the past year that I'm struggling to focus.

"Son, what's going on?" Ma asks softly. "This isn't like you, what's happened?"

I grit my teeth. "Ma, I don't want to talk about it."

"Your father and I have had many lengthy discussions about you and Daisy?—"

My body goes solid. "What do you mean Daisy and I?"

She tisks. "Son, I am your mother, do you really think that I don't know these things? Hmm. I am not blind, nor is your father. While many would argue that it's not right, you can't help your feelings, and from what I have seen, you have fallen for the girl. But you have to tread carefully, if you try to pursue her, she could run and leave, none of us want that."

I close my eyes. Christ. I'm not having this conversation with my mom. "Ma?—"

"I know, I know," she says. "Look, your father wants to talk with you. I'll speak to you later. I love you."

"Knox," Dad says and I breathe a sigh of relief, he's a logical man, one that doesn't listen to ma's ramblings—well, usually he doesn't. "Don't be an asshole to the girl, okay? That's just going to have her running away, and then you'll lose her forever. Is that what you want?"

"Dad, I'm not talking about this."

"Just answer this. If she came home and introduced a man to you, how would you feel?"