Page 38 of Daddy's Reckoning

My mouth fell open as I realized what he was saying. I’d never met Theo’s family, but I knew he, his mother, and his sisters were very tight. I realized then he’d never spoken about a father in his life.

My own eyes filled, and I nodded, my movements jerky and short. I wanted to wipe his tears the way he always wiped mine, but they hadn’t fallen.

“For you, I need to be what my mother never had. I need to be your rock, the one you can count on, the one you can always come to, the one you know would do anything for you.” The intensity in his gaze was urgent, and I couldn’t tear myself away as he locked eyes with me. A hiccup escaped his lips, threatening to ruin the moment. He grimaced. “I could do that, as the father of your child, or as a friend, but I know you, babygirl. It won’t be enough for you. You won’t trust it. Why would you? Your own experiences in life have been far worse than mine.”

I nodded in agreement, amazed at how well this man, initially a stranger I’d hired just over a year ago to fill a need, knew me. Really and truly knew me. And not just that, he understood me.

“That’s why”—he grabbed my hand—“I need to be your Daddy. Please, babygirl. Let me do this for you. For myself. For us. For our baby.” As if drawn by some invisible force, his free hand moved to my belly, resting there.

His touch was magnetic, and made this whole thing seem even more real. I could see he felt the same way, and the love in his eyes choked me up inside. Everything he’d said made sense. How could I say no? I didn’t want to, not really. There was still a part of me screaming not to trust it, that he was doing it out of obligation now, and maybe in some ways, that was true. But it was also so much more than that.

“Y-yes,” I croaked, nodding my head emphatically. “Okay.”

“Okay, yes? Okay, I can be your Daddy?”

I drew a deep breath, and forced a shaky smile. “Yes, you can be my Daddy.”

CHAPTER 10

THEO

Relief whooshed through me like a tidal wave, draining me. My heart was pounding, and blood seemed to be rushing through my veins at warp speed. My eyes burned. My palms, one holding hers and one still resting on her belly, were damp and shaky. All of a sudden, I was exhausted.

Emotional release. I’d heard the term. Over the course of my lifestyle, I’d extracted so many of them from willing and needy submissives, getting them to connect my hand across their ass to all matter of things they needed release from. Guilt, physical pain, daddy issues, abuse, fear… I believed in emotional releases with my whole being, the power of catharsis. But I’d never experienced it myself.

I’d never put myself out there enough to be able to—it just wasn’t my way. Even with my closest friends and tight-knit family, there was a part of myself I never showed. Maybe I’d blocked it out, told myself that it couldn’t hurt me anymore, that I wasn’t that kid, wishing for a father, watching his mother struggle, but Erin being pregnant had changed all that. The feelings and thoughts long abandoned had pushed their way to the surface, and they’d stayed stuck in the back of my mind, until today, when they’d finally broken through.

I hated that I’d nearly broken like that, in a situation where I was supposed to be the strong one, her unflappable, dependable Daddy, but it seemed to have been what she needed. To see me be vulnerable. To make it something she did not just for herself. And in the end, it had all worked out, and I’d gotten what I wanted.

A grin I couldn’t stop spread across my face. The ruthless businessman in me threatened to come out. I was about to tell myself that weakness had been part of my plan.

But then, she reached her soft hand up and stroked my cheek, her eyes light with tears and understanding, a compassion I’d never seen. “You’re a good man, Theo Montgomery. I’m lucky to have you in my life, as my Daddy, and as our child’s father.”

“I want to be more than that.” I couldn’t hold back from saying it, even though I knew I shouldn’t push.

“I know.” Her smile seemed sad, and I waited for her to say more, but she didn’t. Not about that, anyway. Instead, she gingerly lifted herself from my lap and scooted off the bed. “Thank you for always taking care of me. I swear, sometimes I thank my lucky stars that I let Ashlyn drag me to the club that one night a year ago. If she hadn’t, I might not have ever seen the ad for Rent-A-Daddy, and I might have never met you.”

My chest ached at the thought. I hadn’t known Erin long, but I couldn’t imagine a life without her in it. If I had it my way, I’d tell her that, propose with some outlandishly expensive ring, haul her to Vegas, and make her mine as soon as possible. I wanted it as badly as I wanted to breathe. But she wasn’t ready. Something was still holding her back, and until I knew what it was, I had to play the long game. I had to take my wins where I could get them. Her in the house we would share together, and her submitting to me as her Daddy once more.

It wasn’t nearly enough, but it was hard-won, and it was all I had at the moment. I watched as she started to dress, pulling on a fresh tee and yoga pants from her drawers. I looked down at my slacks, wrinkled to all hell from her writhing over my lap. For once, the wrinkles and unkemptness didn’t bother me. For once I wanted to strip off my stifling work attire and change into sweats and an old tee. Did I even have such clothing?

I didn’t, but that was a problem easily solved. Pulling my phone from my pocket, I started to place a quick order. “Did you need anything from the store?” I asked. “Any late-night cravings you need fulfilled?”

She stopped in the middle of getting dressed, pulling her head through the neckhole of her shirt, and blinked at me. “Pickles. And chocolate ice cream. And plain potato chips. Caramel syrup.”

She rattled the items off quickly, leaving me speechless. I’d obviously asked the right question.

“You’re not… planning on eating all of those things… together… are you?”

She grinned, her eyes sparkling. “I might, honestly.”

Knowing better than to say a word, I looked back down at my phone and added the items to my order. “Anything else? Are you having any cravings for… I don't know… anything healthy?”

“Does cran-raspberry juice count?”

Wasn’t that stuff like pure sugar and ten percent juice? I shook my head slowly. “I’m not sure.”

“Oh, well… then, no,” she answered honestly. “Not at the moment.”