Page 32 of Daddy's Temptation

I clench my jaw so tight my teeth creak. “I remember every word. I never wanted to be temporary. The only reason I agreed to your terms was because I’d do anything to have you. You’ve got to know how I feel… how I suspect you feel too.”

For a brief moment, Candace looks at me with longing. Then as fast as it came, it’s gone. “Don’t presume to know how I feel. You have no clue.”

“Then tell me.”

She shakes her head and drops her arms, looking defeated. “It’s over, Andre. I can’t do this with you.”

Her words are like a knife to my gut. The sad determination on her face tells me she’s made her decision and is resolved to follow through. Unwilling to let her turn away from me, I reach out and pull her against my chest. She sinks into me for a fleeting second, melting against me like the soft, pliant little girl she is.

I thread my fingers into her hair, massaging her scalp. Some of the tension leeches out of her, and she lets out a shuddering breath. With a finger under her chin, I tip her face up. Her bright blue eyes are glassy with unshed tears while her bottom lip trembles.

“Please, Andre. Please just let me go.”

I growl low in my throat. “The hell I will. You’re mine, angel. I won’t let you go. I can’t. I’ll fight for you until my dying breath.”

Candace shakes her head, pushing away from me. “This was a mistake. We are a mistake.”

“Liar—” She cuts me off before I can say more with the one word I never wanted to hear uttered from her lips.

“Broccoli.”

I open my mouth to speak, but she repeats herself.

“Broccoli, Andre.”

“You can’t safeword our relationship away.”

“Watch me,” she says defiantly. “We’re done.”

She walks past me with her head held high, leaving me standing on the sidewalk completely pissed off. I want to push her but now isn’t the time. I’ll let her walk away tonight, but I’ll be damned if I give her up. Candace is everything I’ve ever wanted. She’s the only woman for me… my babygirl… my angel. She’ll be my everything.

18

Candace

It’s beena week since I left Andre standing on the sidewalk in front of Jose Locos. It’s been a week of absolute suck. I miss him so much despite his betrayal. My heart aches. I’m barely sleeping and have zero appetite. I’m just going through the motions at this point. There’s a black cloud hanging over my head and not a single ray of sunshine in sight.

On top of that, Sugar is mad at me. She gave me a massive dressing down. She doesn’t understand why I won’t talk to Andre. I can’t tell her that one of her closest friends is a cheating jerk. Nor can I tell her how I really feel. I’ll carry my broken heart to the grave. I broke the rules and let myself fall in love with him. I was an idiot to think I could trust a man, even one as good as Andre.

Time and time again, I saw my dad cheat on my mom. For all their indifference toward me, I still felt betrayed by his infidelity. I never should have broken my vow to not fall in love. Keeping myself apart from any romantic attachments is safe. At the club, I got what I needed from the unattached daddy doms. They all followed the rules. Andre blew my rules to bits and pieces on the first day.

I push back the tears that threaten to fall and focus back on my computer screen. Mr. Sloan sent another request for an acquisition that makes zero sense. A lot of the properties he’s acquired the last few months haven’t made any sense. Random commercial properties that were nothing at all like the high-priced, high-end properties that Sloane International is known for buying.

The intercom on my desk buzzes. “Miss Brand do you have the Riverside property secured yet?”

I shake my head. He sent me the email ten minutes ago. “No, Mr. Sloan, I haven’t had a chance to contact the seller.”Considering you just sent me the request ten-fucking-minutes ago.

“Come to my office.” He doesn’t wait for my response, just clicks the connection off expecting my obedience.

Bastard.

“Candace, I’m disappointed.” He makes a tsking sound. “I had hoped that you would flourish under my tutelage, but time and time again, you prove to be a disappointment.”

Anger bubbles up within me, and it takes all of my willpower to choke my words back. I want to tell him exactly what I think of him, but I hold my tongue. Anything less than silence will be seen as a challenge, and I don’t want to end up having to smooth things over by stroking his massive ego back into its inflated state.

“If this is about the Riverside property—”

“That’s just one of the many disappointments, Miss Brand,” he says, cutting me off.