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Just a year. Unfuckingbelievable.
And the kicker in all this? The judge thought Kenny had “suffered enough” because he’d lost his job over the allegations of revenge porn and had decided not to sentence him to any time in prison.
Kenny still lived in our hometown and seemed to be doing just fine. He’d lost his job as a teacher, but he was now working for his uncle in construction.
Me? I hadn’t been able to cope with the constant stares, snide remarks, and the fact that so many of my friends and family had turned their backs on me. Even my own parents.
The hurtful things both my family and friends had said to me in the aftermath of the pictures being posted rang in my head.
Disgusting! Why would you take a picture like that?
What were you thinking? Are you an idiot?
Do you have any idea how your sleazy behavior reflects on me and your mother?
Sorry, Gemma, I just don’t want to be seen in public with you anymore.
Ten fucking naked pictures. In the course of my two-year relationship with Kenny, I’d texted him ten naked pictures at his request. And the asshole had saved them all and decided to share them after our breakup. For no good reason, either, that I could tell. Just because he could. Just because he was a jerk. Just because he thought my daddy dom fantasies were “gross and unnatural” and I deserved to be publicly shamed in some way.
At least I hadn’t married him. At least I hadn’t told him about my needs after he’d given me his grandmother’s ring and we’d exchanged vows. Bullet dodged there.
Should I assume that Derek/Daddy would Google my name? Maybe I should just confess my reasons for moving here before he found out on his own.
What if he saw the articles about the revenge porn case and thought badly of me? What if he thought I was stupid for having sent the pictures in the first place? That was a word many people had thrown in my face after the fact. Stupid.
I sighed and moved back to the window, wishing I could find the answer to my predicament in the gorgeous sunset.
This place is my fresh start.
Everything will work out. It must.
I hoped I wasn’t lying to myself.
CHAPTER16
DEREK
I rushedup the steps of Gemma’s house and knocked on the door. It was just after nine in the morning, and I hoped she was awake. If she hadn’t eaten yet, I planned to take her to breakfast again. In any case, I wanted to spend more time with her today. Maybe I could help her start getting her art studio set up. Didn’t matter what we did, I just wanted to be in her presence. Her inherent sweetness and innocence shined light on the dark loneliness that had been my life for far too long.
It was time for a new beginning. Time to take a chance on love again.
Yes, I knew the average person would worry I was looney for thinking about love so soon in a relationship. But I didn’t give a damn. I was so fiercely drawn to Gemma that logic didn’t matter.
I knew one thing for certain: I wanted to be her Daddy.
I wanted her as both my woman and my baby girl.
The sound of footsteps rushing down the stairs inside the house brought a smile to my face. Though my smile quickly faded, and I held my breath as I listened to make sure she didn’t slip on the stairs. She shouldn’t be running in the house like that.
When she flung the door open, her look of joy upon seeing me warmed my heart, despite my displeasure with her for running on the stairs.
“Baby girl,” I said in a strict tone, “you should know better than to run on the stairs.”
Her eyes widened and a blush stained her cheeks. “Um, what?” Her look of feigned innocence made my cock go instantly hard.
Jesus. If we were going to keep spending time together, I might have to buy some jeans with a little more room in the crotch.
“Don’t play innocent with me, young lady. I heard you running in the house.” I lifted one eyebrow at her and gave her my best scowl. It was the sort of stern look that would make my ranch hands quake in their boots.
