Daddy's Stepstalker (Daddy's Little Deviants)

“All right, then, let’s go.”

“Daddy, I—” I swallowed the words and dropped my gaze to the floor, hating to ask. What if he disliked this clingy side of me? “Never mind.”

“No, tell me.” Shaw shoved his newspaper beneath his arm so he used his free hand to cup my face. “What’s on your mind?”

“It’s okay.”

“Ari, it’s too late for me to effectively punish you for keeping things from me. Now tell me.”

“I-I wanted a hug.”

“That’s it? A hug?”

I never second-guessed myself like this. My father showed up, and now I couldn’t trust my emotions or needs.

“I know it was stupid.”

“You wanting a hug isn’t stupid, Ari. I’m just concerned you thought you couldn’t ask me.”

He wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me into his big frame. His arms were my comfort.

“I don’t know what I’m doing,” I confessed. “I feel so out of place. Everything’s a mess since he showed up.”

“I know, babe, but he’ll get tired and leave us alone soon enough.”

I had high doubts about that, but I nodded. I knew my father better than Shaw did.

“And don’t ever hide it from me if you need a hug. Understand?”

I nodded.

“Words.”

“I promise, Daddy.”

He kissed my forehead. “Good boy. Now we really need to go.”

We took Shaw’s car, and the simple drive to the school, which was closer now to our new home, left me feeling better. Almost like my old self, but not quite.

“Today should be a light day unless we have an incident.” He led me toward the entrance of the administrative block. “You’ll remain inside my office at all times unless I require privacy to deal with any issue.”

“Okay.”

I didn’t care. As long as I was away from the house.

Spending the day with Shaw wasn’t like last time I’d visited him. That had been for fun, but now he was focused on his work. I didn’t mind, though, as it gave me the chance to watch him doing his job. He was commanding and firm but also nice. Seeing him in action made me feel like the luckiest boy alive to have a Daddy who was so capable at life.

Seeing Shaw being so productive inspired me, and I opened my laptop to work on the designs that were due. Soon I was so immersed in what I was doing, I lost track of time. Hands on my shoulders startled me, but I recognized them immediately. I glanced up at his smiling face.

“How’s it going?”

“Great.” I felt better than I had since I got back to town. “I’ve made progress.”

“Can I see?”

I minimized the screen. “Nope. When I’m finished. The mockup is bad, but I know how to refine it for the first design, so it’s a great start.”

“Okay, that’s good.” Shaw checked his watch and frowned. “Listen, I have a private meeting in about half an hour. Do you think you could make yourself busy for a few?”