“The question is, I suppose, do you still want to be my little girl?”
She met his gaze at the question. “No, that’s not the question.” Daddy. She exhaled, rather than cede to the word which burned at her lips.
“No?” That dark, alluring brow rose at her contradiction. “So, what is then? Enlighten me.”
Sophie swallowed. “I already know how alluring your darkness is. I already know how you make me feel.” She glanced down at her sandwich again, uncertain if she had the appetite for it anymore.
“The question is, what is that sweet intoxication worth?” She paused, ensuring he was listening because this—this was the crux of everything to Sophie. “I have a good life now. I have children I adore. I am not giving those things up for you, Jared. So, can this desire be interwoven into that? The real question is… can you share me?”
Jared pressed his lips into a firm line, his expression hardening, though his fingers never let go of hers.
“That sounds like two questions, little girl.”
“Yes.” She was nervous all of a sudden. “Yes, I suppose you’re right.”
“To the first, let me assure you, for me, it is worth a lot. Maybe everything.” He paused, meeting her eyes with a smirk. “As to the second, well… I was an only child, so it has never been my forte, but perhaps it’s time Daddy learned to share.”
Chapter Seven
Jared
He was nervous. Actually nervous!
Chuckling, he leaned back against the doorframe while he waited for his little girl to arrive. The lunch in town had turned out to be the first of many in the last week. It appeared once they had a taste of this new spirit of openness, neither Sophie nor he could get enough. Each day, she was cuter than the last, blushing on cue whenever he pressed an area of her susceptibility, though Jared’s favorite remained the scarlet hue she created when he pursued the concept of humiliation.
Sophie loved to be demeaned, and they both knew it, but evidently, it was still difficult for her to articulate, and he found that trait unbelievably desirable.
Not that he didn’t adore her enough already.
His mind cast back to lunch the prior day when she had agreed to drive and meet him.
“You’re sure?” He stroked the back of her hand. “I mean it, little girl. I won’t have you pushed too fast into this.”
Sophie nodded slowly. “I’m sure, but don’t get me wrong. I am not proposing to come and give myself to you.”
He chuckled at that. “More’s the pity.”
She shook her head. “My friend, Karen, will know precisely where I’m going, and if I don’t check in on time, she’ll be calling the police.”
Jared didn’t know to what extent that was true. He didn’t know who Karen was, if she understood Sophie’s desire, or even if she knew Sophie had been kidnapped, but he understood the concept. Karen was a safety net—one Sophie hadn’t had before.
“My, my, my. You truly have thought of everything.”
“Experience has taught me it’s better to be safe than sorry.”
“Indeed,” he laughed.
“Though I’ll admit, it is nice to finally know where the place is. I had a rough idea from Jason, but it wasn’t something we ever discussed.”
“It was never a secret.” He ignored the reference to her ex-husband. “You never asked.”
Sophie turned her head to shoot him an accusing look. “How can you say that?” Her mouth fell open with what he’d hoped was feigned shock. “I was hardly in a position to ask anything!”
“True.” He smiled in response. “It will be good to officially extend a proper invitation to you, Sophie.”
And it was.
Standing there at the open front door, his eyes were fixed on the long drive, which led away to the main road behind the house. Sophie had never found that drive the night she’d fled into the gardens and the woods, but she’d managed just fine the next day when she’d finally got her own way and left him.
This was to be her first visit since then, and even as he awaited her arrival, apprehensive tension clawed at his insides. Jared had been surprised when Sophie had initially suggested it, though her reasoning was sound. They had nowhere else to meet in private to explore the new boundaries that had been discussed. Her house was hardly suitable with two children in residence—it seemed they spent little time with their father—so that wasn’t an option, and a hotel seemed too seedy.
Jared wanted this to be right—for them both—and while he didn’t necessarily understand her desire to come back to the place he had brought and degraded her, he could accept it. Perhaps it would help create closure in her mind if she could visit here and not end up his captive, though as her car finally came into sight, Jared would have been lying if he’d said the thought of not taking her for himself again hadn’t crossed his mind.
His heart sped up at the premise, his palms sweating as she drove the wandering gravel toward his door. They were past the point of if or when—this was happening—and he needed to get a hold on himself. And his urges.
That isn’t going to happen, Jared. He admonished himself mentally. You haven’t worked this hard to win back her trust by fucking it up at this late juncture.
He watched as she cut the engine and glanced in his direction. He lifted his hand in a wave but resisted the urge to go to her. Sophie had to come to him—that was the point. Nothing would be gained if he had to bundle her into the house. All Jared could do was invite her in and wait to see if she was still willing.
The car door opened, and he held his breath as she walked toward him. Sophie was stunning, as usual, her little black dress accentuating her hips as she approached.
“Hi.”
There was a pause, and Jared imagined the word she’d considered putting there in the void.
Daddy.
His cock roused at only the thought.
Would he ever hear that word from her lips again?
After everything—did he even deserve to?
“Hello, gorgeous.” He flashed her a smile, reaching for her cheek and stroking the skin as it heated under his touch. “You found it okay?”
“It was a lot easier this time—now I was conscious.”
“Ouch.” His brow rose theatrically at her cutting quip. “I guess I earned that one.”
She chuckled, leaning into his palm. “I’m sorry,” she murmured. “I need to let it go. I will let it go.” Her glance wandered passed his shoulder, her eyes widening. “Perhaps being back here again will help.”
Jared turned at the change in her expression. “I hope so. Want to come inside?”
She bit her lip. “I guess.” She sounded nervous. “There’s not much point in coming all this way to stand on your doorstep.”
“Right.” He stepped aside and gestured for her to enter. “But this time, it’s your call.”
Sophie nodded as she brushed passed him, and Jared followed, closing the door, though he didn’t engage any of the locks.
“Wow.” The word echoed around the hall. “It’s strange being back here.”
He leaned against the door, watching her. “I bet.”
“So,” she turned to face him. “Where should I go?”
Jared laughed. “Where would you like to go?”
She pulled in a shaky breath, her glance flitting up the staircase in what seemed like a reflex.
“Of course.” He took a small step forward. “It makes sense to start there.”
“It’s where most of our interaction took place.” She sounded apprehensive—almost afraid—but her expression was determined. “Is my room still the same?” Her brow knitted at the question.
“Pink, you mean?”
She forced a smile. “Yes.”
“Naturally. I didn’t want to change a thing.” He tilted his head as he tried to explain. “I decorated the place for you, little girl, and only you. I couldn’t just change it.”
“I’d like to see it again.”
He nodded. “Want to go on your own?”
Sophie pressed her lips together for a moment. “I think so. Is that okay?”
“Of course. I’ll wait for you in the kitchen. Do you remember where that is?”
Sophie’s focus shifted in the correct direction. “Yes, I remember.”
“Okay, then, go ahead.”
She scurried away to the staircase, glancing back at him only once as she reached the second step. He could hear her tread as she reached the top of the stairs, and recognized the place she paused, right outside her room.
Taking a deep breath, he headed for the kitchen and filled the kettle. Jared hadn’t asked if she wanted a drink, but offering her one was the normal thing to do. There hadn’t been much that was normal about the times she’d sat in this room—often bound, gagged, and clamped—while he prepared her meals, but this was going to be different. This was going to be as plain and vanilla as he could muster. If they were going to move forward, back into the dark, it had to be at her request. It had to be down to Sophie.
She would have to indicate when she was ready.
And he would have to respect that.
Leaning against the counter, he listened as the kettle began to boil. His desire was like the water in that kettle—latent and full, yet simmering and ready to bubble over.
Jared hoped his little girl wouldn’t keep him waiting too long.
Chapter Eight
Sophie
She stood in the entrance of the pink room, her throat drying on reflex. So much had happened here. It was the place she’d woken up that first night. The place he’d spanked her, bound her, and fucked her on more than one occasion. Her gaze flitted to the rug between the door and the bed, recalling the intense encounters she’d experienced there.
Her heart raced at the memories, and Sophie reached for the frame to support her.
What had she been thinking, coming back here?
What if Jared switched back into psycho Daddy mode and took her again?
Her sex clenched at the thought, despite the furling nausea in her belly. She would be okay. Karen was looking out for now, and even so, Jared wouldn’t do that to her this time. Sophie wasn’t sure how she knew; she just sensed it.
She trusted it.
Sure, the dark, dominant version of him was still there, lurking just below the surface, and she had the feeling he’d be more than happy to rise up and say hello, but Jared had a handle on that man now.
Daddy was under control.
“Is it how you remember?”
Lost in her thoughts, Sophie hadn’t heard Jared’s footsteps, and she jumped at his voice, spinning to face him.
“Yes.” She flushed at the look of him—so tall, so strong, and so brooding. Even without the sadist, he was captivating.
“I’m sorry.” He hooked his thumbs in the pockets of his trousers. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
Sophie smiled. “Well, that’s a first.”
She was relieved at his tone, although her heart was still hammering away inside her chest, threatening to ascend into her throat at any moment.
“I was just wondering if you’d like a drink.” His voice was soothing, trying to put her at ease. “A tea or coffee, perhaps?”
“You’re not going to drug it, are you?” She laughed at her own quip, but it sounded strained as it bounced down the hallway.
Jared’s brow furrowed. “You’re never going to let that go, are you?”
He didn’t seem angry, just melancholy, and she immediately regretted the jibe.
“I’m sorry. I…” She shook her head, glancing down at the carpet. “I’m just nervous.”
“Hey.” Jared took a stride in her direction, and her attention was on him again in an instant. “It’s okay. I know it’s a long road back from the dark place where we started.”
She eyed him, lifting her chin to meet his gaze. Jared had always had the most magnetic blue eyes. They could hypnotize her, invoking a startling range of emotions without him needing to say a word.
“What if I don’t want to come all the way back?”
That intoxicating eyebrow rose at her query, and Sophie’s heart pounded even faster.
“Then perhaps I could meet you halfway.”
Fuck. He hadn’t even said anything vaguely erotic, yet there she was, hanging on his every word. The tension in the hall had become a real, palpable thing, and Sophie could feel it radiating from her. From both of them.
“That would be good.” She hesitated, and for the first time, she seriously considered using the word that was on both of their minds, but she couldn’t force it from her lips. “Do you think it could work?”
His lips curled. “Yes, I do.” He closed the remaining distance between them in one stride. “That’s why you’re here, isn’t it, Sophie? Whatever we had here—whatever I started—it isn’t done. It isn’t over.”
She exhaled. He was right in front of her now, and as she pulled in a shaky breath, the scent of his spicy cologne flooded her senses.
“It was never over.” Her voice was small, yet determined. “But I couldn’t live with the terms you demanded.”
“I know that now. I understand what you need outside of these walls.”
Sophie gulped. Things had shifted into hot and intense just as rapidly as they always had, and now that they were back in Jared’s domain, she felt more vulnerable than she had for years.
“And what’s that? What do I need?”
She stood tall, ensuring her voice was as firm as she could muster because this was critical. Whatever Jared said next was the heart of everything. Had he really listened to the things she’d been saying. Did he truly understand her needs?
Jared pulled in a deep breath. “You need to be Sophie, as well as my little girl.” His brow rose at his own verdict. “That means a mother to your children as well as your work, your friends, and the other parts of your life, which are important.”
She smiled. He had been listening.
Thank God.
“That’s right. It’s fucked up to admit, but I have missed being with you, Jared. I want those things, but not at the expense of the other things.”
“It’s only fucked up because of the genesis,” he countered, and as he spoke, he reached for Sophie’s waist and pulled her to him. “The things you enjoyed, the way you gave yourself to me—there was nothing wrong with any of that.”
Jared smiled at the memory, the hand at her arse skimming over her skirt and down her thigh before he squeezed her left cheek possessively. Sophie had opted for a garter belt and stockings beneath the dress—just for Jared. The thought ratcheted up her burgeoning arousal, ten-fold. She hoped he’d noticed, and the twinkle in his eyes suggested the answer was yes—he had.
“Aside from the abduction and the fact I was technically still married at the time?”
“Yes.” He laughed, the deep sound vibrating over her. “Apart from those mere trifles.” His expression hardened. “What we had Sophie, that was real. You can’t contrive chemistry like that.”
“I know.”
In all the years that had come before and all those that had followed, Sophie had never come close to finding a connection like it.
She inhaled, reaching up to stroke the dark stubble at his jaw. She’d so rarely been able to touch him before, and her lips curled at the newfound liberty.
“It’s why I’m here.” Her voice sounded distant as their eyes locked once more. “You’re right.”
Jared’s free hand rose into her hair, cradling the back of her head as though she was a small child. A spike of excited apprehension surged through her at the idea.
“You’ve come here in pursuit of your deepest urges, little girl.” His gaze drilled into her. “You know I can help you with those things.”
“Yes.”
The anxiety was morphing at her core, twisting into hot, slick need—a need she hadn’t experienced since the last time she was caught in Jared’s web in this house.<
br />
“And you want me to help you?”
Fuck, she did want that.
“Yes.” She practically panted the word, her eyes fluttering closed as his fist tightened in her hair.
Jared was taking control, and it was magnificent.
“By dominating you. By exerting authority over you again?”
Her eyes flickered open at the question. “Yes, please.”
Sophie’s toes curled inside her shoes, but it wasn’t just the intensity of the moment which produced the response. It was the fact her sentence needed something else.
Something more.
She’d willingly have called him sir, but that wasn’t what he wanted.
It wasn’t what either of them wanted.
“Sophie.” His voice was that soft, taunting purr, the one she’d had dreamed of for so long.
Her lips parted. Sophie wanted to say it. She wanted to give him what he needed, but there was still a part of her that refused, clinging to that final bastion of her independence—of the woman she had fought to be every day since she’d fled from this little brick house. Giving in at this moment seemed like the tipping point.
If she ceded on this one, critical detail, there was no going back.
No second thoughts.
“Are you ready to be my little girl again?” His warm, minty breath washed over her, lulling and arousing her in equal measure. “Are you ready to give yourself to me?”
She pulled in a deep breath, gazing into his eyes, and finally, she reached the point of no return. The point where her need burgeoned. The point where the risk of never yielding was more dangerous than the consequences if she did.
At that moment, the answer came to her with ease. She even smiled before she murmured it into his jaw.
“Yes, Daddy. I’m ready.”
Chapter Nine
Jared
There were fireworks in Jared’s mind as she finally, delightfully, granted him his greatest wish, and for a moment, it was difficult to take another breath, but when he focused on Sophie again, she was smiling.
Daddy's Little Girl: A Dark Daddy Romance Epilogue Page 5