“I just pulled it out of the oven,” she says, blinking up at me as though she wants to bury herself against my chest.
Fuck, I want that more than anything.I want her whole fucking soul against me all night long for the rest of my days. How the hell do I make that happen? Maybe I shouldn’t have built the cabin in Rugged Mountain. I should’ve built it in some far-off place where no one could ever find us. Somewhere too far to drive, too high to climb. Somewhere with seasonal roads and no formal address.
“Dad,” she kneads her fingers together as she stares at him, “I can have breakfast with Mulligan. It’s no problem.”
Something that feels like rage boils through me, poking at my ribs, taunting me to flip her up onto my shoulder, slam the door, and reinforce it with military strength locks only I can open.
“Like fucking hell you will,” I growl without thought. “Did you hear the part about the breakfast being alone in his cabin? Besides, isn’t Troy coming into town tomorrow?”
“Troy?” Pete says, his brows narrowed.
“He’s buying Reed’s houseboat.”
“Gotcha.” Her father tips his head back. “So, this is about sellingyourplace. I can put another agent on the—”
“No! Nikki sells my place, and she gets a fair split of the profit. Not this 10 percent bullshit you’re handing out. If you don’t like it, I’ll sell the fucking place myself.”
I’m not usually this aggressive with Pete, but this is the laid-back version of what I really want to do, which is throw him off the fucking porch.
He draws a deep breath as a crow calls in the distance, then lets it out slowly. “Nikki, it’s time you leave.”
“What?”
“I was wrong letting Reed have so much influence over you the last few years. He’s not steering you right. He’s fucking with your future and putting ideas in your head. Get in the truck. We’re leaving.”
Oh, so we’re doing this!
My fists clench instinctively. “Fuckin’ with her future? You’re—"
“Okay, stop!” Nikki steps between us. “I don’t want everyone fighting.” She glances toward me. “I… I have a job to do, Reed. Tomorrow is going to be really busy, so I should go home and get some rest.”
“If you go home, I’ll follow you to Mulligan’s place. You’re not going to lock yourself into some cabin with this asshole. I mean, he’s clearly a fucking weirdo. Who comes back over and over again like this? He wants something from you, kitten.”
“It’s weird you’re still calling her kitten,” her father grunts. “She’s a grown woman, Reed. If she wants to do her job, let her.”
My jaw clicks and my biceps flex innately as I scoop my girl up from the ground, carry her into the house, and slam the door closed.
The crickets go silent with the slam, though I have a feeling Nikki is going to be louder.
“What are you doing?” She squirms against my touch as I carry her down the hall toward my bedroom where I toss her on the bed and stare down at her.
“Maybe I wasn’t clear earlier. I’m your Daddy, and when Daddy tells you to do something, you do it.”
“Ugh,” she grins disobediently, “no. That’s not what this is. You don’t own me because we played a little game earlier.”
“A game? Is that what that was to you?” I lean in, my hand on her throat, my cock hard and pressing against her thigh as her father pounds on the door. “Because that sounds like naughty girl talk.”
“Reed,” she sighs and pushes my hand away, “I love you. YouknowI love you, but we both know this would never work. My father would ruin you and your business. He knows everyone. Plus, I’m an independent person. I like working. You can’t just lock me up and make me your sex slave. That’s a ridiculous thought. It’s not real life.”
“It could be,” I groan. “I’d let you out to do what you love, as long as it doesn’t involve whoring yourself out to old men to appease your father.”
“That’s enough.” She springs up from the bed and straightens my T-shirt before turning back toward me. “I’m not whoring myself out, Reed. I’m doing what families do. My father has owned this realty company for thirty years, and he needs help. I lost my mother, but he lost his wife too. I don’t think he ever got over it, and—”
“You’re making excuses for him. You were a kid. It was his responsibility to be there for you.”
“He should have been, but I had you.” A tear jerks onto her cheek, and I fear the worst is coming. “I can’t lose you, Reed. I mean look how complicated this whole thing is already.” Shewipes away a tear with the neckline hem of my T-shirt. “This was a mistake.”
“Bullshit.” I stand from the bed and pull her close, terrified suddenly of losing her for good.Jesus, what the hell was I thinking?“What happened between us wasn’t a mistake. It was perfect.”
