I tuck my head into the crook of Brian’s neck, sensing the tension in his chest as he waits for a response from me. All I can muster is, “Oh...”
“Unless you’d prefer an alternative arrangement?” His throat shifts as he swallows. For the first time since I met him, he actually sounds nervous. I straddle his lap so that I can study his face. Sure enough, there’s a glint of concern in his eye, underlying his composure. “Ruby, you’re starting to scare me, and trust me when I tell you I don’t scare easily. Are you saying you don’t want this?”
“No, I do want this.” I rest my hands on his chest. "I want it all. But I also want a real job and a sense of purpose." I fiddle with the buttons on his shirt. "I’m still not a hundred percent sure what my purpose is yet though."
Relief washes over his features. He cradles my cheek in his big, warm hand, his gaze catching mine and holding it hostage. "I think the reason you find it so difficult to know what you want is because you’re stuck. In your mind—” He taps my forehead. “—and your heart—” He taps my chest. “—you’re still that same sad little girl, waiting for Daddy to come home.”
The truth in his words pierce me like an arrow. He must be able to read the pain on my face because he’s already pulling me closer.
“But, Ruby, I think if you let yourself return to that place, and allow yourself to enjoy all the things you missed, you'll naturally figure out exactly what you were meant to do with your life. What I’m offering is unconventional, to say the least, but I'm not asking you to give up anything. You can have it all. A job you love, a big family, and a partner who worships the ground you walk on."
I might not know what I want to be when I grow up, but I know in my heart that I want all of the things he just listed. And what’s more, I want them with Brian. I just don't understand why he would want to give them to me.
"What's in this for you?" I ask, my voice cracking.
He stares at me in disbelief. "You’re seriously asking me that?"
"You can have anyone you want. You can buy anything you need. What's so special about all of this? About...me?"
My big, strong daddy takes a ragged breath like he’s fighting back a flood of tears and fury. He pets my cheek. “Your father’s lucky he left when he did, because I could kill that fucking weasel for making you doubt how precious you are."
He folds himself around me. We’re as close as two people can get, and I’m positive I can feel his heart beating through his clothes. I breathe in the scent of him, taking him into my lungs. I want him to fill me up and surround me so that I never have to remember how it felt to go without.
"Listen to me, Ruby, because you need to hear this. I've lived my whole life hyper-focused on professional success. But the moment you rolled your suitcase into my fi
rm, something shifted. Work isn't enough anymore, and wealth means nothing if I don't have someone to spoil. I've never wanted to take care of anyone the way I want—no, need—to take care of you.”
He smooths the hair back from my face. If I wasn’t fresh out of tears, I’d be crying from the overload of tenderness he’s pouring over me, on this princess bed, in front of an audience of fuzzy white bears and fluffy pink kittens.
“I told myself I wouldn't say this today because I don't want to scare you,” he says. “But you have to know that this isn't a game to me. I want you in my bed, but I also want you in my life. I love you, Ruby. Before I met you, I didn't believe in love at first sight. Frankly, I didn't believe in love at all."
My heart swells like a balloon. I press a kiss to Brian’s lips, which he deepens, stealing control of my tongue. Before I met Brian, I didn’t know what real love felt like. My mom will always love me, I know, but not like this. It’s hard to explain, because love isn’t something you can quantify. You can’t add it up like seconds, or tally it on a spreadsheet. It’s a feeling, stronger than a flutter in your gut, or a spring in your step. As crazy as it sounds, I know it’s possible to fall for someone you’ve only just met.
I know because I’ve fallen for Brian, head over bunny-slippered heels.
His kiss turns savage as the tips of his fingers bite into the flesh of my hip. I don’t have to wonder if he’s turned on; the hard bulge wedged against my pussy tells me he’s dying to get inside me, just like I’m dying to pick up where we left off at my dad’s house. But as I start to dance my pussy over Brian’s cock, he backs off.
“Fuck, please, baby.” His body tenses, like a runner struggling to hold himself back before the crack of the starter pistol. “I just have to say one more thing before I rip your dress off.”
As impossible as it feels, I manage to stop grinding on him.
“Don’t think of this as me hiring you,” he says. “Think of it as you hiring me to be your daddy. I want to help you realize what an incredible person you are, because loving you makes me want to be a better man. That’s what’s in this for me."
There’s a vulnerability to his gaze that wasn’t there a moment ago. I’m willing to bet he’s never been this open with anyone. Brian might command the boardroom and rule this firm with an iron fist, but here in my office, he’s stripped down and laid bare, for my eyes only.
His trust is a gift that I can only hope I’m capable of treasuring.
“Say something, sweetheart.” He smiles warily. “I need to hear your voice.”
I take his face in my hands, tracing the small, thin lines that tell the story of his life before me. A story I can’t wait to hear in detail. I can’t believe that less than twenty-four hours ago, I was planning to leave this country. Now I can’t imagine anywhere I’d rather be.
“How soon can you start, Daddy?" I ask with a smile on my lips.
His hand slides under my dress. “How soon can you take off these panties?”
Chapter Six
Brian undresses me like a porcelain doll, his hands shaking with the effort of remaining in control. With each lost layer, I feel myself sliding back in time, until I’m sweeter, smaller, and ripe for corruption. He runs his fingers through my hair, then down my chest and belly. I gasp as he wraps his arms around my hips and lifts me. He plants a kiss between my breasts and then stands me up on the bed.