“Oops,” she squeaked.
Tanner blinked slowly, sugar drifting from his lashes. His expression shifted from stunned to something deliciously dangerous in the space of a second.
“Oops is right, little girl.” His voice dropped into that Daddy tone that always turned her knees to jelly. He pointed one finger at her. “You, babygirl, are in so much trouble.”
Junie let out a squeal and tried to bolt for the back door. She didn’t even make it two steps before his arm snaked around her waist, hauling her back against his hard chest with effortless strength. Powdered sugar puffed into the air between them as he turned her to face him.
“Where do you think you’re going?” he asked, the corner of his mouth twitching.
“It was an accident!” she squeaked, half-laughing and half-panicking as she wiggled in his hold. “You were teasing me, and I just… reacted!”
He captured her hands and pinned them behind her back, pressing her body flush against his. “Reacted, huh?” Leaning down, he brushed his sugar-dusted cheek against her ear. His morning beard scraped over her skin and sent shivers of pleasure through her. “Well then, you’d better start cleaning up your mess.”
Before she could protest, he dipped his head and kissed her. Deep, demanding, and full of hunger. When he finally pulled back, his eyes burned with raw need.
“Start with my face,” he ordered, his voice like gravel. “Use that pretty mouth.”
Junie’s breath hitched. The command sent heat rushing through, tightening her nipples and causing her clit to pulse. She rose up on her toes and began licking and kissing the sugar from his jaw, then his cheeks, tasting the sweet powder mixed with the warm salt of his skin. Tanner groaned low in his throat. His hand slid down to squeeze her ass possessively.
“That’s my good girl. Keep going.”
Groping on the counter, she found the dusting bag and grabbed a small handful of spiced sugar. While she kept licking his face, she tugged the waistband of his lounge pants open just enough to drop the sugar inside.
“Oops. Clumsy me,” she muttered against his skin.
“Very clumsy,” he agreed, voice dark with amusement and desire.
By the time she reached the corner of his mouth, they were both breathing hard. Tanner’s eyes had gone heavy-lidded and dark. He captured her lips again in a searing kiss, then lifted her clean off her feet. Her legs wrapped around his waist instinctively as he carried her back to the bedroom.
He laid her on the bed and stripped off his clothes, then guided her down his body until she knelt between his thighs. Holding the top of her head gently, he guided her toward his sugar-coated cock.
“You’re not going to leave a job half done, are you?”
Junie looked up at him, heart racing.
“No, Daddy,” she whispered, and took him into her mouth. She wanted to please him, wanted to taste every inch of him, wanted to feel him lose control.
But Tanner had other plans. After a few minutes of her eager worship, licking and sucking until every last speck of sugar was gone from his cock and balls, he groaned and pulled her up. He rolled her underneath him, settled his face between her thighs, and returned the favor with slow, devastating patience. He tasted every inch of her pussy until she writhed beneath him and cried out his name, fingers tangled tight in his hair as pleasure crashed over her in wave after wave.
While she was still trembling from her release, Tanner moved up and over her. He lined himself up with her entrance and pushed inside slowly, inch by inch, filling her completely. This time, there was no rush. He made love to her gently, sweetly, with deep, rolling strokes that drew out every sensation. His eyes never left hers as he moved inside her. One hand cupped her face, the other laced with hers above her head.
Junie wrapped her legs around him, holding him as close as she could. Every thrust, every whispered word of love against her lips, every slow grind of his hips pushed her higher. When they finally came together, the pleasure rolled through her in long, powerful swells that left her breathless and clinging to him.
In that moment, wrapped in his arms with their hearts beating against each other, Junie knew with absolute certainty she wanted to spend forever with this man.
She wanted every morning, every night, every rule, every punishment, every tender aftercare moment, and every single “I love you” for the rest of her life.
Tanner hadn’t built her a home. Hewasher home.
Her Daddy.
Her everything.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Tanner took the last swallow of his coffee, the rich, dark brew still warm as it slid down his throat. The quiet morning had felt damn near perfect until the sound of hooves outside broke the peace. He set his mug down and looked up just as Javier Rodriguez, foreman of Wild River Ranch, rode up to the cabin on his big bay gelding. Javi led Halo alongside him, and the grim set of the man’s jaw told Tanner everything he needed to know before a single word left his mouth.
He stepped out onto the porch, footsteps heavy on the wood. Junie followed close behind, still soft and sleepy and still in nothing but one of his big t-shirts. Her apricot hair tumbled loose around her shoulders. She looked so damn gorgeous, she nearly stole the breath from his body.
