Warrior Daddy

by Roberts, Laylah

  So, she ran.

  21

  Macca stared in shock as Gigi turned on her heel and raced out of the room. He spun, ready to take off after her. A hard hand grabbed his arm, stopping him.

  “You need to stay here, son. We need to talk about this. We cannot let some opportunistic whore steal our inheritance. She took advantage of your grandmother.”

  He shook off the asshole’s hand. “Gigi would never take advantage of anyone, let alone Nan. You think everyone is as corrupt as you. If Nan gave her the house, she had a good reason.”

  “Actually, I might be able to help with that,” Greg Georgeson said. He drew out an envelope. “She left a letter for you, Alexander.”

  “Call me Macca,” he said grimly as he reached over and grabbed the envelope.

  “I won’t let this stand,” his father snarled. “I’ll contest this will. She has no money for a lawyer, there’s no way she can fight me.”

  “But I can,” Macca said. “And for Gigi, I will do anything.”

  “Then best you go find her, cuz,” Everly told him. “Because that girl looked like a fast runner.”

  Shit! He turned and raced off. She might have run again. But eventually, she was going to have to learn that the only place she had to run to was his arms.

  He’d keep her safe. Always.

  * * *

  Gigi sobbed as she ran, with no idea where she was going. Eventually, she came across a park. She stumbled along until she found a bench to sit on. In the distance she could see a playground and hear children laughing. But even the sound of their joy couldn’t lighten the heaviness weighing her down.

  He knew. And now that he knew there could be no way he would want her. She hadn’t even had the chance to tell him the truth.

  Because you ran before you could tell him. Why didn’t you stay and fight? With a groan, she buried her face in her hands. The heat of the sun beat down on her, making a sheen of sweat break out along the back of her neck.

  She took a deep breath then another, trying to bring her sobs under control. Her head thumped painfully, a headache building in her temples.

  She’d lost him.

  You could try to explain. Maybe he’ll understand.

  But then there was the whole issue of Penny leaving her the house. Did he think she had manipulated the older woman? Why had Penny left her the house? She wasn’t family. Sure, she couldn’t have loved the older woman more if she was family, but that house belonged to Macca. Not her. Would Macca think the same as his father?

  “I try to always have the opposite opinion of my father,” a dry voice commented from behind her.

  With a gasp, she turned, looking to find him standing there with his hands in his pockets. She couldn’t read the expression on his face. Was he angry? Upset? Disappointed?

  “H-how did you find me?”

  “Well, funnily enough people notice a really upset little girl running through the streets and they’re only too eager to point out which direction she took when her daddy tries to find her.”

  She blushed red at the idea of him telling people he was a daddy searching for his little girl.

  “You didn’t. . .?” she whispered.

  A grin slipped over his face then disappeared just as quick. “No, I didn’t. But I ought to give you a spanking right here for running off on me. You never run away from Daddy.” He came and sat next to her on the bench, but far enough away that he didn’t touch her. Whenever he was near her, he always touched her.

  Except for these past few days. Because he’d been pulling away. What if it wasn’t due to the funeral but because he didn’t want her anymore?

  You knew this was just temporary.

  “I didn’t know if you were still my daddy,” she told him, staring down at her lap.

  “Look at me, Gigi. Now, please.” He may have added on a please, but his words were pure command. She glanced up at him nervously. Her stomach fluttered.

  “I would like to always be your daddy. If you would like that too.”

  There was a formality to the words that was so unlike him and he looked almost. . .nervous? Had she ever seen him nervous or unsure before? She didn’t think so. Was he worried that she might say no?

  “But what about what your dad said?” she whispered.

  “I have learned not to believe the vile that man spills.”

  “What if some of it is true?”

  He raised an eyebrow. She clenched her hands tight. “I used to be a stripper,” she blurted out. “When I left home, I moved into my boyfriend’s flat. He shared it with three other people and I had to pay my way. Jeff couldn’t cover my share even if he’d wanted to. So I got a job at a strip bar as a cleaner. It was a pretty gross job, but not many people would take a chance on a seventeen-year-old with no work experience. But when I turned eighteen, the owner offered me another job. Stripping.” She licked her dry lips. “It was a lot more money, and Jeff, he liked the idea of that, I guess. He pointed out how we could get a better apartment, maybe save for a car and that it would only be for a short while.”

  She stared out into the distance, lost in her memories. “I was really naïve. I thought Jeff had my best interests at heart. So I said yes. In the beginning it was awful. I was so self-conscious. But some of the other girls helped me. And the money was a lot better than what I’d been earning cleaning. Unfortunately, Jeff insisted on coming with me. Said that he was protecting me. Without my knowledge, he racked up a huge tab under my name at the bar.”

  “Jesus, why the fuck did the owner let him do that?”

  “Because it turns out he wanted something to hold over me. He told me about the tab one night. I was so shocked. I was in tears, wondering how I would pay it. I told him I’d work extra shifts to pay it off, but he wanted it all at once. It was thousands of dollars.”

  She wiped at her cheeks. “I was so scared. And angry. I went back to the apartment to find Jeff, but he’d cleared out. Taken all his stuff and the cash I’d had hidden under the bed. He left me with nothing. Not only that, but he was behind in the rent even though I’d given him the money for that and our flatmates wanted us gone.” She stared down at her lap. “I was such an idiot to trust him.”

  “You were young and naïve,” he said gently, placing his larger hand over hers.

  “Well, I was even more stupid than you think,” she replied bitterly. “I went back to my boss to tell him what had happened, thinking he’d surely let me pay off my debt. He offered me a different sort of proposition. That I could. . .I could work upstairs to repay him. That’s where some of the dancers took men for extra benefits. That’s what he called them. He told me it was that or he’d have to call the cops. Of course, I didn’t think about the fact that calling the police would be the last thing he’d want to do. Pretty sure his dirty strip joint wasn’t a registered brothel.”

  “What did you do?”

  “I didn’t think I had a choice. The next night, one of the men requested some time upstairs with me,” she spat out bitterly, growing tense at the memory, “only when we got upstairs, I couldn’t do it. I said no. I tried to get away. This guy, he was big and he was mean. He got angry, he started hitting me. My face, my stomach, I remember falling and he kicked me in the ribs. It was so agonizingly painful. The people in the room next door must have heard me screaming and came in. I was taken to the hospital by one of the bouncers and practically dumped outside the doors. The bouncer warned me that if I said a word about what happened to me that I’d suffer a worse fate.”

  “So you never told anyone?”

  “No one except. . .except Penny.”

  His hand tightened on hers. “So how did you meet her?”

  “I didn’t lie about that. I did meet her at my doctor’s office. And we did eat McDonalds together. But I didn’t see her again until I was recovering in hospital. She was volunteering and she recognized me. She was so nice to me. She saw that I. . .that no one visited me. She’d bring me magazines and puzzles. When she le
arned that I liked to read, she even bought me books. It was the kindest thing anyone had ever done for me. I had complications with my Lupus that meant I was in hospital for a while. One of my flat mates packed up my stuff and brought it to me in the hospital because they needed to rent the room. Luckily I didn’t have much.”

  “Baby girl, I’m so sorry.” He placed his arm around her shoulders, bringing her close to his body. She leaned her face against his chest.

  “The day before I was meant to be discharged, your nan asked me what I was planning on doing. I had no idea. I had no home, no job, I was so scared. That’s when she offered me the job as her companion. I wasn’t sure at first, I mean, it sounded too good to be true and how could someone as strong as your nan need someone to help her? That’s when she told me about the cancer. How the doctor had given her less than a year to live and she didn’t want to be on her own. I said yes, and it was the best decision I ever made. But I promise, I never knew she was going to leave me the house. I don’t want it. It’s not mine,” she said frantically.

  He lifted her onto his lap, rocking her back and forth as her breath came in harsh, frantic gasps.

  “Sh, baby girl. You’ll make yourself ill. It’s all right. I know you didn’t coerce my nan into doing that.”

  “But-but your d-dad. . .”

  “I think you know my opinion of my sperm donor by now,” he said harshly. “He thinks everyone is like him. Greedy and corrupt. Whatever Nan’s reasons for doing what she did, I know she did it because she wanted to. My father is conveniently forgetting how strong Nan was, how she’d never let anyone push her to do something she didn’t want to.”

  “But why did she do it?” She slid back to look up at him.

  “I don’t know. The lawyer gave me a letter that might explain it. But whatever the reason, I don’t care. All I care about is that you are going to agree to be mine. Forever.”

  “You really want me?”

  “I really want you,” he said firmly.

  “But how will that work when I live here and you live in the US? Can I even move there?”

  “We’ll work it out,” he promised her. “As long as you’re mine, I’ll do whatever needs to be done to keep you. You’re mine, baby girl. Tell me that I’m yours too.”

  “I’ve been so upset, thinking you were pulling back because you didn’t want me anymore—”

  “What? No, baby.” He sighed. “I’ve had a lot on my mind. Even though it was expected, saying goodbye to Nan was hard. Then the realization that our time together was coming to an end and that I really didn’t want that. . .I’m sorry if I made you think I didn’t want you. I want you more than anything. You are my everything.”

  “You’re my everything too. I love you, Alexander McKenzie.”

  “Good, because I love you more than anything, Gigi Raymond.”

  He leaned in and kissed her. “Now, let’s get you out of this sun. You should know better than to run off like that and without a sun hat.” He set her on her feet. “Although at least you’re wearing shoes for once.” He stood then he gave her a sharp smack on her ass that made her jump.

  She rubbed the sore spot. “Macca!” She looked around, flushing in embarrassment.

  He just grinned unrepentantly. “Come on, baby. Let’s go home.”

  Home. That sounded perfect.

  22

  Macca walked back out onto the shaded porch. He was carrying two bottles of beer. She raised her eyebrows as she saw them. She wasn’t much of a drinker, which was just as well because alcohol didn’t always react well with her body. But every so often she liked a beer or a glass of wine.

  “You look surprised,” he said, handing her one bottle.

  “You’re usually handing me bottles of water,” she pointed out to him. “So yeah, I’m surprised.”

  He sighed and sat beside her. She turned her head to study him, seeing the signs of stress on his face. Not only had his beloved nan died but now he had to deal with his father and the fall-out from Nan’s will.

  “I really don’t know why she left me this place,” she told him. The last thing she wanted him to think was that she’d somehow manipulated his nan into leaving her this house. “I’ll give it back to you.”

  He half-turned to face him. His eyebrows rose. “You’d do that?”

  She nodded enthusiastically. “Yep. Have you got that lawyer’s number? I’ll go call him now. I should just have to sign some papers, right? Or I could just tell him I don’t want it. Oh, but then this beautiful house might go to your dad and I don’t want him to have it. I think he’s got some nefarious plan for this place.” She stood, ready to go find Mr. Georgeson’s number and get the ball rolling on reversing this wrong.

  “Nefarious plan?”

  She swore she heard amusement in his voice. But that couldn’t be right, could it? However, when she turned back to look at him, he was smiling. She scowled. “Are you laughing at me?”

  “Yes,” he answered honestly.

  “Macca,” she snapped.

  “Georgina,” he drawled but with a hint of warning in his tone.

  She glared down at him, her hands on her hips, her toe tapping against the porch. “This is not a smiling matter.”

  “I disagree. You using the word nefarious in a sentence is very much a reason to smile.”

  “Will you please take this seriously! I need to find a way to make this right!” Her voice broke on the last word and he immediately frowned. Then he held out his hand.

  She ignored it.

  “Gigi, come here.”

  She reached out and clasped her hand in his, unable to resist him for long. He drew her over and settled her in his lap, surrounding her in his heat and scent. He pushed the swinging chair so it gently rocked back and forth.

  He held his beer to her lips since she hadn’t opened hers yet. She took a drink, letting the yeasty taste settle on her tongue.

  “Baby girl, you’re not giving the house back or telling Mr. Georgeson that you don’t want it,” he told her finally.

  “I don’t deserve it,” she whispered, finally saying what was plaguing her mind. “I don’t deserve this beautiful house. I’m no one.”

  He stilled the chair. “Come again?”

  “My own father didn’t want me. My boyfriend didn’t care. Nobody has ever wanted me.”

  “I want you. I think someone is angling for a spanking,” he mused.

  “What? No! Why would you say that? I don’t want a spanking.”

  “You just told me that you’re nothing. That you don’t deserve this house. That’s against the rules, is it not?”

  She wiggled against him and he set the beer down on the porch before turning her over his lap.

  “Macca! Stop! I don’t want a spanking.”

  “Well, it wouldn’t be punishment if you wanted it.”

  “We need to talk!”

  “Yes, we do. And I think this is a very good position for us to have a little chat. Because then every time you say something I don’t agree with, I’m in prime position to teach you a lesson.”

  Teach her a lesson? Could he hear himself?

  He pushed up the skirt she’d worn to the lawyer’s office and then pulled down her panties.

  “Fucking put me down!” she demanded.

  “You know I never thought the meek little angel I met that first day in Nan’s room could have such a temper. Or a naughty mouth. Little girls shouldn’t say such bad words. You’re just racking up the spanks, little one. There’s gonna be a few entries in your naughty girl book. We might have to spread this over several days.”

  His hand landed with a sharp staccato and she let out a loud cry. She couldn’t believe he was spanking her. And he was doing it outside. What if someone came to the house and came around the back to find them?

  “Macca! What if your dad comes here?”

  “What? Why would that jerk come here?”

  “To kick the whore out,” she said bitterly.

  �
��Okay, that’s enough.” All hint of playfulness was gone from his voice. There was a frigid coldness to his voice that told her she’d gone too far. “I do not ever, ever want to hear you call yourself a whore again.”

  Smack! Smack! Smack!

  “I do not ever want to hear you say you’re not good enough.”

  His hand rained down spank after powerful spank. Her voice was stolen. Her breath caught in her throat. She couldn’t scream. Couldn’t yell. Not until he paused and then she let out a loud cry that probably the neighbors could hear.

  “And you will not ever say you do not deserve this. You deserve everything.”

  By now tears dripped down her face and she was sobbing as her ass burned. Holy shit.

  “And if you ever say anything like that again about my girl,” he moved his hand lower to concentrate on her thighs, “then I will be getting you a bad girl paddle and use it on your ass until my arm tires.”

  She wailed at the thought and collapsed against him, completely spent. He placed his hand down on her hot ass, it throbbed, it burned and she didn’t think she was ever going to sit comfortably again.

  “Do you know why I don’t want to hear you speak badly about yourself?”

  “Because you love me?” she sniffled, wiping at her tears.

  “Because I damn well love you, baby.”

  “Could you be happy if you didn’t live here, Gigi?” he asked her solemnly as he rolled her over in his lap. She settled her legs on either side of his, facing him. Which allowed her to keep her weight off her sore bum.

  “I’d be happy anywhere as long as I was with you,” she told him.

  He smiled, his happiness dancing in his eyes. “Good. Then you’re coming home with me.”

  “Yes. Yes. Yes.” She peppered his face with kisses until he laughed.

  Then he clasped her face between his hands and kissed her lips. The kiss went from sweet to spice almost instantly. He ran his tongue over the seam of her lips, then deepened it, claiming her mouth with his.