Marissa only shifted but he sensed a giggle in her.Encouraged, he picked up the riding crop he’d stowed in the corner.“I’d been planning on having you wear your new school girl outfit to try this out,” he said, swishing it through the air, “but it seems you have need of it now.”
Her shoulders stiffened at the sound.He smoothed back the hair covering her face so he could watch her expression.Tapping the crop on her vulnerable backside, he said, “Last chance.Tell me what’s bothering you.”
She said nothing.
He brought the crop down smartly.
She yelped, starting to erect herself.
He pushed her torso back down and made a tsking sound.“Sorry, sweetheart.There’s only one way to get yourself out of this position, and it’s to tell me what’s going on in that beautiful head of yours.”He waited a few beats for her to reply and when she didn’t, he brought the crop down again, making a red weal directly below the first one.
She whimpered.
He tapped.“Ready to talk?”
“No,” she said sullenly.
Well, at least she said something.He whipped her with the crop again.
She sucked in her breath, her face screwing up in pain.
“All you have to do is talk, baby.”He kept his voice warm and loving—no stern daddy tonight.
“I can’t,” she whined.
He sliced the crop through the air again.
She cried out, squeezing her buns together, then let out a low moan as she released them.
He ran his hand lightly over the raised welts.“What upset you tonight, love?”he asked.
“I just?—”
She squeezed her eyes closed, a tear rolling out of the corner and across the bridge of her nose.
He caught it with his thumb and wiped it away.
“Yes, baby?”
“I just want to know what happens when this is all over.”
His heart contracted.He dropped the crop and pulled up Marissa’s panties.Helping Marissa to stand, he enveloped her in his arms.“I don’t want it to end, sweet girl.I don’t want it ever to end.Do you?”
She buried her face in his neck, pressing her body tightly against his.“No,” she exclaimed, as if offended he’d asked.
He chuckled into her hair, stroking her back.“Are you upset about what I told the reporter?I will go back and tell them everything if you like.How I tamed you, how I take you back here…” He wiggled a finger between her buttcheeks.
She lifted her head and slapped his chest.“Shut up,” she said, laughing through her tears.“You big jerk.”
“I’m sorry,” he said, serious again.“Honestly, sweet girl, I wasn’t sure if you wanted more.I mean, I blackmailed you into this arrangement, which was unfortunate, because then I never knew if you really wanted to be with me or if you were just going along for the ride.”
She narrowed her eyes, the smudge from her wet lashes only making her look more beautiful to him.“How could you not know?You always know how I’m feeling.”
He kissed along the curve of her cheekbone to her temple, then he bit her ear.“Even daddies get nervous about the things that matter most to them.”
She pulled back, her eyes glittering with unshed tears.She laughed with a sob and wrapped her arms around his neck, squeezing tight.“I need you,” she said.“My whole life I’ve felt lost, like I was just drifting from one influence to the next.With you...I remember who I am.The real me.The silly, stupid me.”
“Hey,” he chided.“You’re talking about the girl I love.”
