Once Upon a Daddy: A Romance Anthology

by Kelli Callahan

  “Of course.” He looked at me and grinned.

  “Okay, Daddy—here I am.” I smiled and walked towards him, doing my best to imitate the models I saw walk down the runways on television.

  “Interesting choice of attire.” He tilted his head slightly. “I didn’t realize you were going to strip for me.”

  “I’m modeling my clothes…” I flashed him a smile and did a twirl.

  “I want to see what you’re hiding underneath that.” He motioned to me. “Take it off slow—I’m going to enjoy this.”

  I had no idea what I was doing, but I tried to give him a bit of a show. His hand drifted to his cock a couple of times—once when my shirt came off—and again when I pulled my jeans down. I could tell he was hard. I decided not to push things too much. I was promised a date and if I went too far, I might end up getting my pussy slowly fucked for another hour. The orgasms that followed were amazing, but it was agonizing torture before they finally came. I didn’t play any games as I modeled the rest of the stuff, I bought for him, but I could already tell that we weren’t going to dinner until he took me to the bedroom. Watching me was just too much of a turn on for him. I never thought of myself as being the kind of girl that could tempt a guy like Walker, but it gave me more confidence in my body than I had ever had before when I watched it happen before my eyes.

  “I hope you’re not planning to change into anything else.” He narrowed his eyes at me after I finished showing off my last set of sexy underwear.

  “No, I was thinking that I would just go to the bedroom—and take it all off.” I looked down at him and grinned.

  It’s going to happen anyway—I might as well ask for it.

  A few hours later

  My legs were still shaking from the passion that had devoured my body when I started getting dressed for the evening. A shower gave me a little energy and the cup of coffee that followed was working its magic, but I wasn’t there yet. The dress Walker bought me was gorgeous—it put the one I wore the previous evening to shame. I didn’t let him buy me a new set of heels because the ones I had matched, but the dress made them look like something that belonged on the discount rack at a thrift store. At least they were mine—one piece of myself that lingered after I caved and let Walker dress me up in fancy things.

  “You look beautiful.” Walker walked into the room in a suit and tie—which seemed to be the only thing he owned.

  “I wish I had all my makeup.” I looked down at the table and sighed. “I don’t keep that much in my purse.”

  “You don’t need it.” He extended his hand. “You’re perfect just the way you are.”

  There’s that charm I keep falling for…

  If I had realized I was going to be spending more than one night with Walker, I don’t know that I would have gone home with him after our first date. I was chasing a fantasy and satisfying a burning need that wouldn’t go away. That had blossomed into something unexpected. I still didn’t understand what he saw in me. I could understand desire. I had plenty of that myself, but there was more than just desire simmering in his mesmerizing eyes. I got the sense that I was seeing a side of him that most people didn’t get to see. Maybe it was because they approached it like I had—with lust for the character they saw on television—and never wanted to see what was beyond that. I might have fallen into that trap too if he just took me straight to his place instead of taking me out on a date so that I could get to know him a little better first.

  “So, where are you taking me?” Walker led me outside, and I saw a car waiting for us.

  “It’s a surprise.” He gave me a wink and opened the back door of the car once we got to it. “Although, you might want to tell me now if you’re afraid of heights.”

  “I don’t think I am.” I blinked in surprise and climbed into the car.

  “We’ll find out soon enough.” He chuckled under his breath as he climbed in beside me and took my hand.

  I was intrigued, to say the least. The questions tumbling around in my head were answered when the car turned into an airstrip and the car pulled up to a hot air balloon. I had never been in one before, but it seemed that was about to change. A nervous knot formed in my stomach when I stepped out of the car and he started leading me towards it. I didn’t know if I was scared of heights or not because I had never flown before—much less in a wicker basket underneath a balloon powered by fire. Thankfully, the basket had a door that opened and served as a ramp. I would have hated to have been forced to straddle it in my dress and heels. Walker pulled the door closed once we were inside and started fiddling with the controls.

  “Don’t we need a pilot?” I looked at him with concern.

  “You have one—me.” He smiled, and I saw fire shoot up from the two cylinders above my head.

  “Wait, you know how to fly this thing?” The knot in my stomach returned when I felt the basket lifting off the ground.

  “Yes, I’ve got a license and everything.” He chuckled under his breath. “I might be out of practice because it’s been a while—so hold on to something.”

  “Oh god.” I grabbed the side of the basket.

  “I’m kidding.” He leaned over and nudged me.

  The knot in my stomach settled down some once we were in the air. We were past the point where a crash was going to hurt us—we were just going to die if it suddenly fell out of the sky. I don’t know why that was more comforting than suffering from a traumatic injury, but it was for some reason. The scenery was truly remarkable once we were in the air. I had never seen so much of the city at once. Based on the landmarks that were passing underneath us, it appeared that we were heading north.

  “Is this just a tour or are you actually taking me somewhere?” I looked back at him.

  “I’ve got a friend who owns a vineyard north of the city. Actually, you probably know him—from the movies at least. Manuel Rosario?” Walker tilted his head slightly.

  “Know him? You’ve got to be kidding me. He’s been in like a million movies!” My eyes nearly bulged out of my head.

  “Not quite that many, but he’s definitely on his way to becoming the biggest box office draw of the year.” Walker nodded. “You won’t get to meet him, I’m afraid. He’s off filming Spark 6 or are they on Spark 7 now?”

  “I—think the last one was six.” I raised my eyebrow in contemplation. “Yeah, they had those commercials where they kept trying to make six sound like sex.”

  Walker guided the hot air balloon towards the edge of the city where it actually opened up a little bit. There was still evidence of the droughts that had plagued California, so it wasn’t very green—it was also starting to get dark, so I couldn’t see much. There was one lush spot once we went further north—a gated vineyard that was apparently where we were going to have our date. I had to give Walker points for creativity—he blew my expectations out of the water. I would have been happy with dinner and conversation—I wouldn’t have even minded if he took me to the observatory again. I just wanted to spend time with him outside of the bedroom. The sex was certainly amazing enough to make the alternative very attractive, but if there was a chance for it to blossom into something more than that, we couldn’t spend all of our time there.

  “The landing might be a little rough.” He guided the hot air balloon towards the ground. “I really do recommend that you hold onto something.”

  “I’ll hold onto you.” I took a step towards him and wrapped my arms around his waist.

  “Okay, here we go.” Walker’s landing was a lot gentler than he warned that it could be.

  I wasn’t sure what we were going to do at the vineyard other than the obvious—drink wine. I was a little surprised when Walker led me to a blanket in an open field that had a bottle of wine and a picnic basket. It was so clear out there—especially outside of the city where the moon and stars weren’t drowned out by light pollution. There was no need for light because the natural ambiance was good enough. It was peaceful and quiet—I couldn’t even hear
a car in the distance. I hadn’t heard that kind of tranquility since I stepped foot in Los Angeles.

  “How did you arrange all of this?” I sat down on the blanket and looked up at Walker. “I was with you all day.”

  “You took a shower.” He chuckled under his breath. “It’s easy enough to get it done in one phone call if you know the right people.”

  “I’d ask how many girls you’ve brought here—but you told me to stop comparing myself to them…” I reached over and picked up a wine glass.

  “I’ll answer the question anyway.” He narrowed his eyes at me. “You’re the first. I’ve never been very good with—romance.”

  “You were married—three times.” I blinked in surprise.

  “Divorced three times too.” He nodded. “Obviously, I’m not very good at it.”

  “Then…” I looked down at the glass as he poured the wine. “Why me? What makes me different? You could have done something like this for—any of them.”

  “Truthfully?” He exhaled sharply and poured wine into his glass. “I let myself get consumed with my career. I put Dangerous Thorns above everything else. That won’t be a problem with you though.”

  “Why?” I lifted my glass to my lips. “Are they going to kill off Jamison Thorn or something?”

  “Yes…” He sighed.

  “What!?” I nearly spit out my wine. “I was just kidding! Are you serious?”

  “I’m afraid so.” He took a drink of his wine. “When I go to work tomorrow, I’ll step into that role for the final time.”

  “You don’t sound very happy about it.” I studied the expression on his face, which had shifted to one that looked rather pained.

  “I wasn’t at first. I lost my shit when the writer told me what they were planning.” He put down his glass and reached for the picnic basket. “But, this may actually be for the best. When I look back at my life—all those lonely nights—all of those failed relationships I never had time for—they have one thing in common. I never made time for the people I cared about because fiction was more important than real life.”

  “I’m sorry.” I reached out and took his hand. “I know how much that role means to you, even if it has dominated your life. You are Jamison Thorn.”

  “No.” He shook his head back and forth. “That’s the problem—I didn’t realize that soon enough. I have now though, and when it mattered most—because I’m going to have all the time in the world to spend with you after I shoot my final scene.”

  “I like spending time with you too.” I forced a smile, but I was still getting over the shock of Jamison Thorn’s death.

  Walker pulled me into his arms, and his lips crashed into mine with a passionate kiss. I was overwhelmed by emotion—but in the turmoil that was changing Walker’s life was a glimmer—a glimmer that suggested there was a future for us. I had been scared to believe it. There were so many things wrong with the possibility of a relationship forming between us, but I didn’t care. He understood why things hadn’t worked out with other women he had held in his arms, and he wanted it to be different with me. That meant something. That was the kind of understanding that could blossom into something truly special. He was my first—and there was a chance he would be my last. The thought of that filled me with an intense desire for him. I wasn’t hungry for the food in the picnic basket or the wine that he poured. My hunger and thirst could only be satiated by Walker. His kiss—his touch—his everything.

  I don’t think I’m going to be able to fight this feeling—I’m not sure I want to.

  Eleven

  Walker

  I had never fallen for someone so quickly before in my life. It was like the cosmos were aligning and fate itself was intervening to give me one more chance at everything I thought I pissed away. Jamison Thorn was going to die, and I was okay with that. His death was going to breathe new life into me, and I had someone that was worth living that new life for. It wasn’t my second chance—it was the only chance I had left. My relationship with Lauren had a long way to go, but it was off to an explosive start. Yes, she was much too young for me—she deserved someone so much better than I could ever be, but I didn’t give a fuck. I was going to fight to keep her in my arms and water those roots until we could say the three words that mattered more than everything else—the three words that would be true when they passed across our lips.

  Maybe love doesn’t have to be an emotional complexity after all—maybe it just seems that way because I’ve never seen what it could become when it was still nothing more than roots that could grow into something beautiful.

  Lauren and I made love underneath the light of the moon and the stars. It wasn’t sex. There was no teasing or punishment. We were two people bonding on a level that combined passion with what was already starting to grow between us. It was better than the first time because so much emotion went into it. We had already chased lust—what we had in that vineyard was something better than primal desire. It was the moment my eyes opened for the first time—and saw the same reflection of longing in hers as well. I would never forget that moment because it was the best one of my life.

  The next morning

  “I don’t know if it takes you this long to get ready normally…” I looked at my watch. “But I’m going to be late if you don’t hurry up.”

  “I’m hurrying!” Lauren dashed out of the bathroom. “Okay, let’s go!”

  “Come on; we still have to stop by your apartment before I can drop you off at school.” I took her hand and started walking towards the door.

  Lauren and I woke up tangled in an embrace that I didn’t want to leave, but reality wouldn’t allow us to hold onto each other for the entire day. I had to film my final scene on Dangerous Thorns. Lauren needed to get to class. Our late start was partially my fault. I was the one who wanted to keep kissing her when it was time for her to get into the shower—and damn if I wasn’t tempted to join her—but that would have made us later than we already were. We weaved through traffic faster than normal, especially since it was starting to get heavy. If we had left ten minutes later, there would have been no weaving—we would have just been stuck behind all the other people going to work. I wasn’t even going to have time to go to the gym before I had to be on set—not that I really needed it after a weekend with her.

  “Okay, let me grab my books, and I’ll be right back.” Lauren hopped out of the car the second it pulled to a stop in front of her apartment.

  I kept the car running and watched as she disappeared into her apartment building. Lauren called her roommate ahead of time and asked her to gather everything so she wouldn’t have to spend any time getting it together herself. I hoped that would save us a few minutes. I couldn’t afford to be late, because I had barely taken any time to look at the script or prepare to learn my lines. I normally did that on the weekend, but I had obviously been occupied with something much better than that—it was the first time any woman had pulled me away from my normal schedule, but I didn’t mind. Lauren was a welcome distraction and she showed me that there was a future that wasn’t defined by the end of my career.

  “Madeleine did what I asked.” Lauren opened the passenger door and hopped in my car. “See, that didn’t take long.”

  “Traffic might not agree with that assessment.” I sighed and hit the accelerator.

  I was able to get Lauren to school on time, but I was definitely going to be later than I wanted to be—the rest of the crew would probably be ready to start, and I still needed to figure out my lines. It was worth it though—because I had the taste of Lauren’s lips on mine after I dropped her off, and I would get to see her after I was done filming my scenes. After that, I wouldn’t have to worry about anything except spending time with her. The complexities of my life weren’t as complex as I thought. They were just distractions that kept me from dealing with what really mattered—a distraction that I didn’t regret because if I had realized how I had let them rule my life before I met Lauren, I wouldn’t have t
hat sweet taste on my lips that I treasured so much. Normally, I would have been getting in character long before I turned into the parking lot of the studio, but my mind was somewhere else—I was already living out the future—ready for my last day of filming to be over so I could hold Lauren in my arms again.

  Alright, let’s get this shit over with.

  “Why the long face?” I saw Jasmine standing outside of the studio with a cigarette in her hand. “Someone going to die today or something?”

  “Don’t joke about that.” She narrowed her eyes at me. “Why didn’t you call me? I tried to call you twice yesterday and you didn’t pick up your fucking phone. I almost stopped by…”

  “Probably a good thing you didn’t…” I looked down at the ground, but I couldn’t keep the smile from forming on my lips.

  “Oh god, Walker—really? What Hollywood slut have you fallen in love with this week? How did you even have time? You were a mess when I left you on Friday!” She only paused her questions to take a long drag from her cigarette.

  “It’s not like that.” I shook my head back and forth. “I met someone—I like her.”

  “Great, what movie did you get her a part in?” Jasmine chuckled and a stream of smoke rolled across her lips.

  “She’s not after that—she’s different.” I exhaled sharply.

  “Oh, so she’s a woman your age with five kids and shit ton of baggage?” Jasmine tilted her head slightly.

  “No…” I sighed. “She’s young, but that doesn’t matter.”

  “You’re a fucking idiot.” Jasmine took another quick drag. “I thought you were smarter than that. These young girls always break your heart—even if you marry them.”

  “Jasmine, you just don’t understand.” I shook my head back and forth. “It’s hard to explain.”

  Hollywood has made you far too cynical to believe in love—that was one thing that made us such good friends—except my eyes have been opened to something new now.