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I helped Gemma fold the now empty reusable grocery bags and place them in a drawer. She leaned against the counter and crossed her arms over her chest as she gazed around the kitchen with an air of satisfaction.
“Thanks for helping me shop,” she said. “It was nice having a big, tall strapping cowboy to reach the top shelves in the grocery store.” She shot me a playful look as I walked closer. “I, um, I’ve enjoyed spending the day with you, Derek-er-Daddy.” A blush suffused her cheeks and her lips parted slightly, drawing my eyes to her mouth. My cock stiffened at the thought of kissing her again.
I placed my hands on the counter on either side of her and leaned in close to take a deep inhale of her sweet, feminine scent. I didn’t know what kind of shampoo she used, but it was officially my new favorite scent. Lavender and vanilla and something else I couldn’t quite place.
“I was happy to help, darlin’,” I said, my lips hovering just before hers.
She took in a shaky breath. “So, uh, what happens now? Are we going to see one another again? Or should I go ahead and join one of those dating apps?” she asked in a teasing tone. A small giggle bubbled up from her chest—no doubt she found my sudden frown amusing.
Raw, savagely possessive urges assailed me. I wanted to grasp her shoulders hard, shake her, and matter-of-factly inform her that she now belonged to me. I wanted to threaten to tan her hide if she even thought about downloading one of those apps to her phone. And yes, I still wanted to take her home with me to the ranch.
“Of course we’re going to see one another again, baby girl.” I pressed a soft, brief kiss to her lips. “I plan on seeing you tomorrow and the next day, and the day after that too, and so on. I daresay you’re going to have a difficult time getting rid of me.”
Her eyes filled with hope. “This is going to sound incredibly awkward, but does this mean we’re like boyfriend and girlfriend? Or, um, Daddy and little girl? Or do you have other women or littles you play with sometimes? Or do you—”
“There’s no one else but you, Gemma,” I said, cutting her off. “I already told you I haven’t been on a date in years. Remember?”
“Well, a date is one thing and playing with someone, you know, role play or whatever you want to call it, is different. Just because you’ve never gone out in public with a woman in years doesn’t mean you haven’t been having any fun.” She flushed an even deeper shade of pink.
I grasped her chin between two fingers and lifted her face upward. “You and I are officially exclusive. Starting now. Do you understand me?”
The hopefulness in her eyes increased. “Yes, Daddy.”
“Good. And to answer your question, you’re the first woman I’ve spent any romantic time with in years.”
“What about kinky time?”
I almost coughed. “That includes kinky time. First woman, period, in a long, long time.” I hoped she wouldn’t ask why I’d spent so long celibate and alone. “I guess you could say I’ve been waiting on the right girl to come along,” I added, and it wasn’t a lie.
She gave me a curious look that put a knot in my stomach. “You’re a lot older than me. Have you ever been… married?”
Coldness washed over me and I released her chin. I took two steps back and leaned against the kitchen island. What should I tell her? Before I could decide what to do, the phone in my pocket buzzed for the tenth time in the last couple of minutes. I hadn’t answered it the first nine times, but maybe I ought to answer it now. Someone clearly needed to reach me, and I happened to need a distraction.
I made a show of looking concerned as I pulled the phone from my pocket and stared at the screen. “It’s my foreman and he’s been calling me repeatedly. I should probably take this.”
“Oh, of course! No worries. I’ll just finish tidying the kitchen. If you need some privacy, feel free to go downstairs or step outside.” She offered me a polite smile that looked a little forced. There was an undeniable awkwardness between us now, but I wasn’t yet ready to tell her about Trisha.
“Thanks for understanding,” I said. “I’ll just step outside quickly.”
I rushed downstairs, feeling somewhat like a coward. I’d had no problem flirting with Gemma, kissing her, spanking her, and telling her that we were now exclusively seeing one another.
Why had I hesitated to tell her about Trisha?
Once I reached the front porch, I swiped the answer button and put the phone to my ear. “Hello, Burt. What can I do for you?”
“Derek. We might have a problem. Two of the guests staying on the ranch apparently went out hiking early this morning and they haven’t returned yet. They didn’t tell our staff where they were going, but two other guests saw them headed for the northern trail just after breakfast.”
I growled. “The northern trail? That’s supposed to be closed. Did someone remove the warning signs?” Only four days ago, several bears had been spotted feasting on the carcass of a moose just a quarter of a mile from a section of this trail.
“Nope, the signs are still there, as are the logs I dragged across the beginning of the trail. They stepped over the logs and walked right by the “trail closed/bears in the area” signs. Fucking idiot tourists. No doubt they deliberately went that way hoping for a glimpse of a bear and some photos for social media. I’ve had the boys out with me looking for them all afternoon. We’ve ridden the trail five times and haven’t spotted them. So, wherever they are, they walked off the main path.”
Shit. I rubbed a hand over my face in frustration and turned to face the door. Gemma. I’d hoped to spend the rest of the day with her. But Burt had an emergency on his hands, and I couldn’t in good conscience not help him look for the missing guests. As annoyed as I was at the guests for ignoring the ‘trail closed’ signs, I didn’t wish any harm to come upon them. Guests getting mauled by bears would also be incredibly bad for business.
“All right, Burt,” I said with a groan, “I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”
CHAPTER15
GEMMA
