by B. B. Hamel
She doesn’t need my protection anymore. I don’t have to be her Daddy. Karl is gone and the threat is over. We can go back to work and be normal again if we want to.
But I don’t want that. I don’t want it at all. The more I’m around her, the more I know this is real. It’s not just a fun little thing from the past we both decided to revisit. It’s dirty and fun and maybe a little taboo, but it’s the best thing I’ve ever had.
“Sofia…” I say softly. She looks at me, her eyes wide. “I’m in love with you. I need you to know that.”
She doesn’t answer right away and I can’t read the look on her face until she kisses me again, deep and full. “I love you too,” she whispers. “I don’t want this to end.”
“It won’t,” I say to her, and I pull her tight against me.
This is what I’ve needed, what I’ve always been looking for. I thought Quest satisfied me, gave me purpose, but that was nothing compared to how I feel around Sofia. She gives me meaning again, makes me look forward to every single second I have with her.
She’s my girl, she’s mine forever. I’m never going to let her go. I’ll always be her Daddy, always be her protector and her Dom. I’ll make her feel things she’s never even imagined before, and in return she’ll make my life so much better.
I never want this moment to end. And I realize that it never will.
29
Sofia
Two Years Later
I cross my legs and frown. “And you think that’s acceptable?”
Mike looks like he’s shaking with fear, and I do feel a little bad for him. But he fucked up the North Pike accounts beyond recognition, and I can’t let that slide. He’s just a kid, barely graduated college, and I think he has potential. But he needs to try harder.
“I’m sorry,” he says to me. “Really, Sofia. I didn’t mean to—“
“No excuses,” I interrupt. “You messed up big time. But I’m not firing you. I’m giving you another chance, because that’s what we do here.” I lean toward him and speak louder. “But if you screw up this bad again, you’re gone. Try harder, do you understand?”
“Yes, I get it,” he says. “Thank you so much.”
“Get to work.”
He stands and hurries out of my office. I can’t help but smile to myself a little bit. It’s been a little under two years since I was promoted into Karl’s old job, but it still feels a little weird.
As Mike leaves my office, Jacob steps past him and comes inside. He grins at me, glancing at the door. “He was in a hurry,” he says.
“That’s the kid that pissed off North Pike,” I say.
He laughs. “No wonder he’s shitting himself. Did you tear him a new one?”
“No,” I say. “I gave him a second chance and told him that it’s his last.”
“That’s my girl.” Jacob walks over to me and kisses me softly on the lips. “You’re running the hell out of this department, you know that?”
“Thanks, boss,” I say, grinning.
There were some strange looks and comments when I was promoted two years ago. But after what happened with Karl, and the way things went down with Jacob, everyone basically gave Jacob a pass to do anything he wanted for a little bit. He made some changes in the company, many of them based on the proposal this team wrote up, and ever since then Quest has been growing like crazy.
Which means my department has been growing like crazy. I’ve already brought on six new people this year, and we’re interviewing four more. We opened a new office in Japan, and Darlene was tapped to run it. Overall, things have been good.
“How is he today?” Jacob asks me, putting his hand on my pregnant belly.
“Good,” I say, grinning. “Kicking like crazy.”
The company isn’t the only thing growing. My family with Jacob is about to get bigger. For a little while, we liked just being the two of us, but soon we both wanted to start making a family. Jacob’s nearly forty, after all. We can’t wait all that much longer. Which is why I’m now seven months pregnant with a little baby boy.
“I hope the maternity benefits are good here,” I say to him, sighing. “I hear the boss is a real hard-ass.”
“You know he is,” he says, grinning at me. He kisses me again, this time slow and deep.
In the first year of our new relationship, we did nothing but explore our limits together. Jacob taught me things about myself that I never knew before. He opened up wide new worlds of bondage and domination.
He’s still my Daddy, although he’ll be the father of my child, too. No matter what, he’ll always be my Daddy. That was part of the vows we took when we got married a year ago.
Now here we are. I’m moving up in the company, and he’s steering it forward. We’re doing this together, building a family and an empire. Jacob’s my Daddy, the center of my world, my husband, the father of my child. He’s everything I ever dreamed about, handsome and gorgeous.
It’s funny how life can go sometimes. What was meant to be an innocent flirtation almost turned into something more. And then years later, it turned into a family. Things happen and then they happen again, the same motifs recurring again and again. That’s the way the world happens: cyclical, patterned. Jacob is my cycle, my pattern, the center of my universe.
“What are you thinking?” he asks me, head cocked.
“Nothing,” I say, standing. “You hungry?”
“Sure am,” he says. “Let’s do it.”
We walk out of my office, hand in hand. I feel blessed, joyous, that I’m a part of this man’s life. I never want to leave. I’m never going to walk away.
He’s my everything, and I’m his. Soon we’ll have a baby together, and our family will just keep growing. Who knows, maybe I’ll have a bunch of babies for him, and we’ll make a huge family together.
That’s the beauty of the future. You never know what’s going to happen, but the possibilities are so amazing. I just can’t stop smiling, thinking about my life with Jacob. Nothing could be better, nothing could be more real. He’s my Daddy, always will be.
Your Daddy: A Dark Romance
Prologue: Kylie
I’m stripped down to my bra and panties and I can see snow stretching in every direction all around me. But the cold doesn’t bite my skin, it doesn’t even touch me. I’m distanced away from it all, melting on the inside, breathing deep but trying to hide it.
He smiles at me and steps across the room, forcing me to move back, closer to the snow. Eventually I’m pressed up against the enormous glass window, back suddenly cold despite the heat still radiating through me. My smooth skin slides against the perfectly spotless glass and he stops, watching me.
I know what he wants. It’s clear. He hasn’t pretended otherwise.
“Say it,” he commands.
I shake my head, afraid of what it would mean.
He saved me. He picked me up and offered me a life line when I needed it the most. I thought I might die, actually freeze to death out on the street, but he made sure I was safe.
He gave me a home. He gave me protection. He made me feel things I never imagined were even possible.
All he asks for in return is one simple thing. One easy thing, something I should want.
He’s so handsome. He’s much older than me, over ten years older, but that only adds to his rugged charm. The slight scruff along his chin, the piercing seriousness in his snow blue eyes, and his gorgeous full lips all make me want to drop to my knees and give in to his demands.
But I can’t. I’m too afraid.
“Say it,” he commands again, coming closer, that smile so wicked. I can’t believe I’m standing here in his living room, surrounded by snow on all sides and yet not feeling it at all. The only chill is from the glass against my back but I’m quickly warming up to that.
“I can’t,” I say finally, looking away.
“You can and you will.” He stops inches in front of me and touches my cheek. “I know you want this. I know y
ou want me to take care of you.”
I nod slightly, avoiding his gaze. If I look into those eyes, I know I’m doomed.
“I want to take care of you,” he says into my ear, whispering so deliciously. A chill runs down my spine, but it’s not because of the glass.
We’re alone out here in the wilderness. He owns everything I can see for miles. He could give me the kind of life I never imagined.
All I need to do is call him daddy.
“Let me protect you,” he says, hands on my hips. “Let me spoil you, take care of you. Let me be your daddy and you’ll never have to worry again.”
I turn my head toward him. I feel his breath on my neck.
Just open my mouth and say the words. Then it’ll be over, and he can have me however he wants.
“Let me be your daddy,” he says again, commanding me, urging me to take that step.
I feel his lips press against mine and I know I’m going to say the words.
1
Carson
One Week Earlier
I glance at the clock on the dashboard and sigh before leaning back in my seat. The driver doesn’t seem to notice how late it is, easily past midnight, and I feel a little guilty. He’s been waiting for me since four, eight hours spent in this town car while the snow piles up all around him. He has a family, two little girls, and a pretty young wife. I met them at the company party two years ago.
Doesn’t matter, though. He’ll sacrifice anything for the Price family, just like I will. If I asked him to pull over and buy me crack cocaine, he probably would and wouldn’t ask questions.
That’s the power of the Price family. Being the richest family in Alaska has its perks, but it’s all smoke and mirrors.
Underneath it all, we’re as fucked up as any other family. We just happen to own the most profitable oil wells in the state and have thousands of people reliant on us for their livelihoods.
I glance out the window as we pull slowly through downtown. We’re heading out to my house, which is normally a half-hour drive, but will probably take an hour tonight in the snow. I was stuck all night in a meeting with my father, Jason Price, and my younger brother, Elliot Price.
My father is not a well man. He’s in his mid-eighties and was recently diagnosed with lung cancer, probably from his years of smoking. The doctors aren’t optimistic, and Jason Price is nothing if not practical, and so we’re beginning the process of transferring the family’s power away from my father and into my hands.
I knew this day would come sooner or later. I’ve been groomed for it my entire life, told that one day I’d take over, and I played my part. I took leadership roles in our company, Price Oil, and thrived under the pressure. I’m thirty-eight years old now, and am beginning to realize that I’ve already spent the bulk of my life doing nothing but sacrificing for my family.
That’s what’s expected of a Price man. I live and breathe oil and Alaska, and I don’t know anything else. I don’t have time to form relationships, and the women I’ve had all lasted one single night. I’ve been pressured to marry for the last fifteen years, but I have no interest in it.
Why bother? I don’t need that stress in my life. I’ve never met a woman that I believe could keep up with me, let alone keep my attention. Maybe I have a bad reputation because of it, but that doesn’t matter.
All that matters is the company, and if I keep performing as I’ve always performed, then the CEO position will be mine.
I glance out the window, trying to get my mind off work, at least for a little while. We pull through a cross street and up ahead I spot the old train station.
Something catches my eye. Huddled in the doorway of a closed hunting store is a girl, young as far as I can tell. Juneau has its share of homeless people, though not all that many, but what catches my attention is the fact that she’s not wearing a jacket.
I frown as we pull level with her and suddenly she looks up. Deep green eyes and beautiful full lips make my breath catch in my chest. Her lips are slightly blue and she’s clearly shivering. It’s maybe twenty-five degrees out, and there’s no way she’ll get through the night with just a backpack, a sweatshirt, and a pair of dark jeans.
“Albert,” I say, “pull over.”
He looks in the rearview mirror. “What’s that, sir?”
“Pull over,” I say again.
“Yes, sir.” He pulls the car over to the side of the road. “Sir, we might get stuck here.”
“I’ll be back in a second.” I open the door.
“Sir?” he calls after me, but I just ignore him.
The girl watches me as I approach her. I pull my jacket off and carry it over, holding it out.
“Here,” I say. “Take this.”
She looks suspicious and eyes me strangely. “Why?” she asks.
“Because you’re going to die tonight if you don’t get warm.”
She frowns, but there’s no surprise in her expression. She knows it as well as I do.
“That jacket won’t help,” she says, looking away.
I sigh. “Put the jacket on and come with me.”
“I don’t need your help.”
I crouch down in front of her. “Listen, I don’t know you, but you’ll die out here in the cold if you don’t come with me. Understand? Nobody else is going to help you.”
She looks at me again and her expression softens. I can see the scared girl behind her eyes, despite her desire to seem tough. I stand up, still holding out the jacket. Slowly, she unfurls herself and stands up too, taking the jacket.
Before she wraps herself up, I catch a glimpse of her beautiful body. She’s absolutely stunning, with long dark hair, bright green eyes, and hips that make my fucking cock hard. I don’t know what the fuck a girl like her is doing outside on a cold night like this without a jacket.
“Come on,” I say.
She follows me wordlessly. I’m starting to get fucking cold in just a suit, and so we hurry into the back of the waiting car. Albert already has the heat blasting and he looks back at me, his face carefully composed.
“Where to, sir?” he asks.
The girl glances at me.
“My place,” I say.
“Right away.” He puts up the divider and starts driving again. I can’t help but smile slightly before I glance back at the girl.
She’s staring at me wordlessly, a slightly angry expression on her face. I sigh and hold out my hand.
“Carson,” I say.
She pauses before taking it. Her skin is smooth but freezing. “Kylie,” she says.
“You’re welcome.” I grin at her.
She pauses then sighs. “Thanks.”
I release her hand and lean back to get a better look at her. She’s still shivering slightly, but the color is coming back into her cheeks and I’m pretty sure she doesn’t have frostbite or anything, but we’ll have to make sure when we get back to my cabin.
I want to ask her what the hell she was doing out in the snow without a heavy coat on a night like this, but I decide not to press. Not now at least. She’s looking out the window, trying to ignore me, which is fine for now. I don’t mind riding in silence with her. For some reason, I feel very protective of her, but also very comfortable. Normally I’d be annoyed that she’s not talking to me, but right now I don’t mind. I’m just glad she’s out of the cold.
I’ll get her to open up back home, when she’s warmed up. Maybe I’ll let her stay at my place for a day or two before she figures out what she needs to do. I don’t know her story, but she’s clearly down on her luck and needs a hand.
I’ll be that helping hand. It doesn’t hurt that she’s absolutely beautiful.
I’ll get to the bottom of her sooner than she thinks.
2
Kylie
Several hours earlier
I step off the plane, surprised at how freaking cold it is.
I shouldn’t be surprised, but I am. It’s Alaska, after all. People talk about how cold it is in
Alaska, and the light lasts longer than it does down south, although in the winter it’s the opposite. But even knowing it’ll be cold, I just had no clue how to prepare.
I’m from Los Angeles. The sweater and sweatshirt I’m wearing are the heaviest articles of clothing I own. I’ve basically never experienced a cold day like this in my entire life, and it’s actually pretty surprising.
I’ve never left the city before. I’ve always wanted to, though I never pictured the first place I’d go would be Alaska. I always pictured Paris or London, not the frozen tundra, but here I am.
I head inside, following the crowd. Most people go toward baggage claim, but I have nothing to claim. I follow signs toward the busses and get in a queue of people waiting for a ride into the city, or at least that’s what I assume.
I don’t know anything about Alaska. I don’t have any money and I don’t know anyone here, but it’s far from home and it was the best I could afford with the money I had.
All that matters is that I’m not at home anymore.
It was a long trip. First we flew into Seattle, and from there we flew up to Juneau’s airport. As I climb up onto a bus and give the driver my last two dollars, I’m suddenly overwhelmed with exhaustion.
But it’s not time for me to sleep, not yet at least. I need to get into the city and figure out what I’m going to do next.
I feel like a little girl as the bus heads down the road. There are so many trees, and there’s so much snow. I shiver slightly but fortunately the bus is heated. I know I need to get a heavier jacket, but I can’t afford one, not yet. I stuff my hands into my pockets and watch the trees flash by.
I’ve never seen so much wilderness in my whole life. It’s amazing, and it only gets more incredible. Soon the road bends its way toward the main city which sits on either side of a large river.
