Page 23 of Her Hero Daddy
“Good morning,” she said.
Kane turned, and she swore silently. She had already thought he was handsome, but now he was standing in the kitchen, barefoot with a pair of dark blue jeans that hugged his ass perfectly and a black T-shirt that showed off his sculpted body. Did he do like a million crunches and push-ups each day and drink protein by the gallon?
His already neatly trimmed beard looked like it had been cleaned up, and his dark hair looked damp from a shower and slightly tousled away from his face. He smiled at her, and she wasn’t sure if she was breathing anymore. Despite wrestling alligators, he had perfectly straight teeth that probably made toothpaste-commercial models jealous.
“Morning, precious girl,” he answered.
Shit. Precious girl. If only she was. But she still loved hearing it.
“Having a hard time with the toaster?”
He grinned. “The toaster is being difficult.”
“Do you want help?”
“No. You sit down. Do you want coffee?”
“Yes, please.”
Kane grabbed a mug and poured her a cup of coffee. “I don’t have any creamer, but I have milk.”
“Milk is fine. Thank you.”
He gave her a carton of milk and returned to the toaster.
“If you write down anything you need or want from the store, I can make a run later today or send Luke and Ally to pick stuff up.”
“Oh… uh, it’s okay. I’m fine for now. Once I’m working, I can get my own stuff. Do you know when my car will arrive?”
He frowned and furrowed his brow.
Uh-oh.
“Haylee, you aren’t starting work anytime soon, so you will make a list of anything you want or need, and I will get it for you. End of discussion. And your car will get here later today, but I don’t want you going out and about yet. Not until you’re feeling better. Besides, you don’t even have your driver’s license card with you. We need to get that before you can drive around.”
Who made him the boss?
“Why do you always get to end the discussion with the final say? And I feel just fine. I just look like shit.”
Kane stalked toward her, stopping when he was only inches away, and leaned down so his face was close to hers. She probably should have been scared. If it had been Tim walking toward her like that, she would have been. But now that she’d been around him and seen that underneath the surface, he was quite sweet and gentle, she didn’t fear Kane anymore. It seemed his bark was worse than his bite. Well, at least so far, it had been.
“Little girl, I am the boss, so I get final say. And you do not look like shit. You look tired and like you need a really long hug, but you do not look like shit. And no cursing.”
She blinked and blinked again, trying to focus. His scent distracted her but only briefly before she squared her shoulders and tried to sit up a little straighter.
“You’re not the boss of me, though” was all she could get out.
Good one, Haylee. Way to sound like a grown-up.
He grinned and nodded his head. “Especially the boss of you, baby alligator.”
Well, shit. What was she supposed to say when the thought of him being the boss of her made her all gooey inside?
“You’re right about needing a really long hug,” she said sadly, lowering her eyes from his.
Before she realized it, he had picked her up gently from where she sat at the dining table and carried her to the couch in the living room, setting her on his lap as he sat. Her entire body froze until he pulled her gently into his chest and wrapped his arms around her, enveloping her into him. His warmth and hold relaxed her, while his scent and the knowledge that her ass was pressed against him drove her crazy.
“Let me hold you, little one. Let me hug you. Give me all of your sadness.”