Daddy's Naughty Author (Naughty Girls #1)

Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

D o you know what happens to naughty girls? Naughty girls get spanked on their bare asses, and you have been a very naughty girl.

I finish writing the chapter, close my laptop, pick up my mug, and step onto the front porch of my Green Mountain Falls duplex. Leaning against the railing, I admire the mountains looming in the distance and sip my coffee. If you could call what I was drinking, coffee. There was more cream and sugar than anything else in the mug. Rubbing the sting from my burning eyes—a consequence of staring at a screen for hours without blinking enough—I let out a deep sigh.

That’s when I spot him.

My incredibly sexy-as-sin next-door neighbor, Kevin Campbell. I watch shamelessly as he jumps down from his pickup truck and slams the door shut. I had bought this place for the mountain views, but ever since Kevin moved in, I’d found something else to stare at. Like right now, how his Army PT shirt stretches tightly across his broad chest, showing off muscles for days. Who needs mountain peaks when there are chiseled pecs next door?

Our interactions had been minimal since he moved in last year—mostly consisting of nods and casual waves. Our conversations had been brief, a little small talk here and there. He’d asked what I did for a living and chatted about his job. Of course, I didn’t tell him exactly what I write…Occasionally, he’d pop by to let me know he was going out of town and ask for me to pick up his mail and feed his cat. You know, neighborly things.

As he steps toward his house, I raise my hand in greeting like I normally do, expecting him to flash that dazzling smile of his. But he never looks up.

That’s odd.

He always looks up. I’d never seen him walk looking down before. Like ever. In fact, once, he scolded me, saying I needed to stop staring down at my phone when walking, claiming it was a “dangerous habit” and telling me I should always be aware of my surroundings. At that very moment, I nicknamed him Soldier Daddy. In my head of course. Never out loud. No, that would be embarrassing.

I try again. Raise my hand and wave. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. Not even a head tilt in acknowledgement. Yep, something was definitely wrong.

“Morning,” I call out, noticing the furrow in his usually composed brow. “Something wrong?”

He sighs, raking a hand through his perfectly groomed, short, dark hair. “Sorry, morning, RJ. Nothing is wrong, not exactly. My mom’s coming to visit.”

“And why exactly is your mom coming to visit a bad thing?” I knew family drama existed, sure, but KC had always spoken so highly of his family.

“Because I might have told her I was in a serious relationship. Now, she wants to meet the make-believe girlfriend.”

I raise an eyebrow, my curiosity piqued. “Oh, really? And why would you do that?”

“She's been on my case for years to settle down. Now, she's convinced I've finally found the one and she's coming to assess the situation. And if she doesn't approve…well, let’s just say I’ll be facing a barrage of arranged dates with every eligible bachelorette in a fifty-mile radius every time I go home. Over Christmas leave, she downloaded several dating apps, made a profile and scoped out potential daughter-in-law candidates in the area.”

I bite back a smile. KC, forced into a dating game by his mother? The mental image was almost too good.

“I’m the oldest, and she wants grandbabies. After trying everything else I could think of to get her off my back, I made up a girlfriend. I mean, I’ve dated, sure. Nothing has stuck. My lifestyle isn’t exactly relationship friendly. Hell, almost all my buddies have been divorced at least once. Now she’s coming to visit, and wants to meet my girlfriend. I thought about saying my girlfriend was out of town for work, but…”

“But what?”

He hesitates before speaking. Was he blushing or was I imagining things? He definitely looks flushed. “I told her my girlfriend is an author. I don’t know…I might have used you as inspiration for my lie.”

“Me? Why in the world would you use me?” I’m not exactly the prettiest girl on the block. I’m rather… plain. Girl next door, if the girl next door had big boobs and wide hips.

“I don’t know many women in the area outside of my buddies’ wives, and you seemed like a good inspiration. For a lie to work, it has to be believable, right? I figured an author was as good as any match for a soldier. Working from home fits the military lifestyle and all. A lot of military spouses work from home.”

If only… I couldn’t imagine being KC’s girlfriend. He’s clean-cut, fit, and from what I could tell rather straight-laced. Me? I’m a literary prostitute. I write straight-up BDSM, power exchange, spank your ass, and call me Daddy novels. I could never imagine myself with a man like KC.

That was a lie.

Oh, I’d imagined it or, at least, I’d imagined myself underneath… and maybe on top of… a man like KC.

“Well, why not just tell her the truth? Or say you broke up?” I suggest trying my best to be helpful.

KC sighs again, shaking his head. “I don’t want to hear the 'you’re not getting any younger' speech again. It’s easier if she thinks I’ve finally settled down. Now she’s coming for the weekend and wants to have brunch with my girlfriend. My imaginary girlfriend.” He rubs his hand over his face again. He looks truly pained. It is rather fascinating. I can’t imagine anything getting under the skin of this man.

Before I can overthink it, the words tumble out of my mouth. Life changing words. Stupid words. Impulsive words.

“Well, I could be your girlfriend for a weekend. Just to play the part and get your mom off your back. I mean, your pretend girlfriend, of course.”

KC blinks, clearly processing my offer. “Wait, really? You’d do that?”

“Sure, why not?” I shrug, trying to appear casual, like my heart isn’t about to beat out of my chest. “It’s not like we actually have to date. Just pretend for a weekend. Besides, I could use some excitement in my life. As long as I could use it as inspiration for one of my novels, it’s a win-win. Your mom gets off your back and I get some real-life fake date experience.” And I write enough fake love stories to know exactly how to pull it off. My mind races. This is insane. But… the image of KC cowering under his mother’s matchmaking onslaught was… kind of tempting. Besides, I always secretly enjoyed a challenge. Who knows, maybe it would inspire another book.

KC stands there for a second, looking at me. “I couldn’t let you do this without there being something in it for you, too.”

“Ummm.” I bite my lip. What could I possibly get out of this that would be appropriate to vocalize? Before I have a chance to think of something, his face lights up.

"I know! I'll take you to that used bookstore you love. The one with the rare first editions. I'll even let you pick out whatever you want. A book shopping spree." He looks so proud of himself for coming up with the suggestion. So, he does listen to me…

My pulse quickens at the thought of a book shopping spree. "The Book Nook? Seriously?" That bookstore is my weakness. A true weakness. Like… somewhere between an addiction and obsession.

"Seriously," he confirms, looking relieved.

"You know I'm going to milk this for everything it's worth, right? Like, I can do some serious financial damage in that store.”

“I’m not hurting for money.”

“Okay…I would have done it for free, though.”

He throws back his head and laughs. “Well fuck, this just might work.”

“I mean, you said you modeled your fake girlfriend after me, so I’ll fit the bill,” I add.

“Are you sure? We are going to have to get together, and get our stories straight, and get to know each other. Like a crash course or something. You should know, it would require you to kiss me…my mom thinks we’re practically engaged at this point.”

Kiss him? It would be such a burden to kiss the sexy as fuck special forces operator next door.

Such. A. Burden.

“I guess I can tolerate a kiss or two.” Or ten. “No, but really. I think we can pull it off. We can fake a break up, if you want.”

“Hell, what am I doing?” he scrubs his face with his hand again. I wouldn’t blame him if he changes his mind. Not one bit. “I have to run to work. Can we get together tonight and hash out the details? I’ll take you out to dinner or something.”

“Sounds like a date—” I giggle. “See what I did there? A date? Since we’re pretending to date?”

KC laughs. “I got it. See you at seven?”

“Seven works for me.”

I watch as KC disappears into his house before heading back into mine. Collapsing into my desk chair, I pull up the Discord chat with my Naughty Girls’ Book Club.

“You are not going to believe what just happened!” I type furiously.

“What?”

“Tell us!”

“A new idea for a book?”

The responses come in fast. I have to admit, when another author had suggested I set up a Patreon, I scoffed. I’m not a big-name author. Sure, writing romance novels pays my bills, but there's not much leftover for fun. In fact, I had picked up a second job just for spending money. But, she’d finally convinced me to try it out, and at the time, I fully expected to have zero subscribers.

When I launched, I’d included a private book club tier where members would get a secret book only available to subscribers. I’d capped it at twenty, thinking no one would join. But then—boom. Twenty subscribers at a hundred bucks a month. Now, I have superfans who have become friends, and I can concentrate on writing books and ditch my second job.

“SoldierDaddy just asked me out on a date!” I type.

“What?”

“No way!”

“We need all the deets, ASAP!”

I laugh as I read the fast and furious messages popping up on my screen. I quickly fill them in on what had just happened. Just like KC had used me as inspiration for his fake girlfriend, I had thought about using him as inspiration in one of my books and now, I would feel justified in doing so. After a few minutes of chatting with the women, I close the window and reopen my current work in progress. It’s time to write—but for once, the fiction on my screen seems a little less thrilling than the story unfolding right outside my door.