He cleans up the plates, rinsing them, but instead of turning back around when he’s done he grips the edge of the counter on locked elbows and I hear his pained sigh. The pleasure of just being near him chills and the humongous man I’ve fallen in love with feels like he’s pulling away.
“Jack…is something wrong?”
He shakes his head, finally shifting, leaning on the counter. His eyes are low and there’s a new tension in the room like a storm is coming, and I have no shelter for protection.
“Then, what is it?” I ask, then throw out my trump card. “Daddy, tell me…”
His wild eyes snap to mine as he releases a long, low, desperate breath. “I said I loved you. Earlier. I’d give ten of my lives and a king’s fortune if you’d wanted to say it back.”
Shit. Shit. Shit.
He looks wounded and I want to be the one to always be there to heal him, not to cause his pain.
“It’s too soon,” he says, nodding. “I know. I’m sorry, baby, if I made you uncomfortable. But I wasn’t lying. I had to say it. It’s been inside me for so long, like a volcano ready to erupt. I had to get it out. Had to see what you’d say. It’s okay. I understand. Look at me… I’m old, ugly… I’m not a hard-bodied boy, Layla. I’m a man, full and thick and flawed, and broken and you are stunning and youthful, smart and sexy as hell, with your life in front of you but I do love you. I’ll never take that back even if you don’t feel the same.”
The words feel like thorns in my throat. He’s hurting and I need to ease his pain, but I’m too stunned by what he’s said. How he feels. This brutal outpouring of honesty.
I open my mouth but my vocal cords clench, holding my words hostage as Jack heaves out another painful breath and starts to turn away.
I launch myself out of my chair and across the marble top of the kitchen island, trying to get to him as quickly as possible like some action hero coming to save the day.
“Ooooop!” I slide a little too far, too fast, but just before I go headlong into the floor, Jack spins, catching me around the waist and mounting me onto his chest.
“What the fuck, Prima? What are you—”
“I love you!” I blurt it out. “I do, I do love you. I wasn’t sure if you even meant to say it, but I do. I do, I do, I do!”
“Fuck yes.” He fist pumps the air with one hand, the other holding me under the ass. “Daddy’s going to show you just what it means to be his big girl. Hold on tight. This ride might get a little rough.”
Chapter 8
Jack
She broke my heart when she talked about feeling like her selfish shit of a mother threw her away.
But, at the same time, I’m a selfish fucker when it comes to her and if her mother hadn’t done what she did, I wouldn’t have her here right now. So, I’m not sure which one of us is the bigger monster.
That’s not important. I pick Layla up, spinning her around, and I’ve got her in my bedroom before the haze clears from my lust-addled brain. My pulse pumps in my cock so hard the pain makes me wince, but there’s nothing more important than her right now. I’m claiming what’s mine. Bring on the consequences. The people that love me will have to just get over it because I’m not losing Layla. Now that I’ve tasted her, I’d destroy worlds to have her next to me.
I love my daughter, of course. Arianna will be pissed, maybe even not talk to me for awhile, but I’m going to take that risk. I’ll win her back. When she sees how much I love her best friend, she will eventually understand. I’ll never give up on bringing us all into a family, no matter what I have to do.
Carter may be another story, but right now, sorry friend, Layla’s the trump card and I’m playing to win.
I’m through the bedroom door and throwing her on the bed, because this is where she sleeps now. She will never wake up without me again. Never go to bed without knowing I’m here for her in every way a man can be.
And then some.
“Daddy…” She purrs, working the single button on my shirt open, letting the fabric fall away, exposing her perfect pink virgin cunt.
“Yes, baby.” I lunge forward, spreading her legs with my hips and threading her fingers into mine, holding them above her head as I grind and hump into her pussy. The damp heat of her pussy pressing against the iron pole under my jeans makes the pain of my thick erection spike through my center.