Page 7 of Cowboy Daddies

As he suspected, she wasn’t afraid of him at all. Still, he couldn’t let her comment stand. “And I’m not your Daddy.”

She shrugged off his reprimand. “I’m just trying to bond with Rose. I won’t try… if you say so.”

Just how much did she want to feel his hand blistering her ass? Probably not as much as he did. He glared at her. “Stop saying that.”

“Saying what?”

“If you say so.”

“If you say…”

But before she could finish and trigger the reaction she seemed to be aiming for, he strode back to the kitchen. He had to get away from the maddening woman because, God help him, some deep, buried part of him liked hearing “Daddy” on her lips far too much. For god’s sake, he’d just met the girl.

Hearing that word shouldn’t feel like a betrayal of his wife’s memory, but it did. It cut like a damn knife. Like someone else was stepping into a space that should stay empty.

Fuck.

If this was going to work, he needed to set some boundaries.

He’d been right about her. “Wildfire,” he grumbled under his breath as he refilled his googly mug and carried it back into the living room. Standing in front of Sage, he lifted the mug slightly. “Something you’d like to explain, Wildfire?”

Sage tilted her head. “I’m Wildfire now?” She batted her eyes at him in an overblown display of innocence.

Grady nodded. “Yep,” he said, as gruffly as possible. “Explain,” he repeated, pointing to the googly eye on the side of his cup.

That sunshine grin of hers returned. “Googly eyes make everything better,” she said. “Your mug looks extra cheerful today.” She held up her hands as if to stop him. “You’re welcome, by the way.”

He glanced at Rose and then back to Sage. Was there an ointment for the itch a sassy Little gave a Daddy’s palm? If there were, he should probably buy stock. “Funny you should say that. I was just considering thanking you. Long and hard.”

She stared at him for a second before he saw the realization of what he meant dawn on her. She crossed her arms over her chest, but not fast enough for him to miss the way her nipples hardened at his words.

Jutting out her chin, she said, “Just wait till you see the eggs.”

“Oh, I saw them,” he said. “I’m thinkin’ I’ll thank you for those later, too.”

Rose let out a small giggle, then quickly covered her mouth.

Grady’s gaze immediately shifted to his daughter. He’d never take that sound for granted again. Until a few days ago, he hadn’t heard it in two years. Not once. Now, in the space of those few days, he’d heard it several times. All thanks to Sage.

“Just… watch it,” he said, turning his attention back to Sage. “Trust me when I say you don’t want me thanking you any time soon.”

Oh, he was definitely spanking her bottom soon. He knew it as well as he knew his own name. It was good to have something to look forward to for a change.

“Yes, Sir,” she said, and accompanied it with a salute.

Rose popped up and saluted, too.

He narrowed his eyes and tried to make it clear he was addressing Sage. “Actions have consequences, you know.”

She wiggled her brows at him. “Don’t threaten me with a good time.”

It had been an empty threat, and they both knew it. She was Rose’s nanny, and that was all. No matter how much something pulled at him to invite her to be more. She was a nanny who was good with kids. A nanny who would be moving on to her next student at the end of the summer. A nanny he couldn’t help but imagine bending over the couch, and spanking her ass red.

Fuck!

Setting down the mug, he took a breath. “There are some things I’ve been meaning to go over with you.”

“But you⁠—”