Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
Daniel
Having Rosie dissolve into sobs over my lap as I spanked her and stroked her slippery little cunt to the peak of arousal has changed me in a fundamental way.
I came to this city as I have many times before—a man searching for something. I will leave having found it, feeling truly whole for the first time in my life. I will leave with Rosie by my side and do everything in my power to keep her next to me every day for the rest of my life.
Today, on her twenty-first birthday, I mean that in the most literal sense of the expression.
We shower together, then get dressed for a day of fun. I leave my suits in the closet and put on jeans and a T-shirt to match her dressed-down look. She gives me a wicked smile and says, “There’s the Mr. Burke I know and love to perv on.”
I press her against the wall and make her ride my cock again.
When we finally leave the suite, it’s for her tattoo appointment. She grips my hand for almost an hour as the artist decorates the top of her foot with an intricate design.
Then we have to go shoe shopping because she wants to dress up again tonight, but the heels she brought have a strap in the wrong place.
The clerk at the shoe store calls me Rosie’s dad, and she giggles and goes along with it.
I fuck her against the wall again as soon as we’re back in the suite. Mating with her is a full-body workout every time, and I think it’ll be weeks or months of this multiple times a day to calm my frenzy to claim her.
It’s still a bit hard to believe that she wants me—needs me—as much as I do her.
“We should have a nap,” I tell her as I carry her to the shower for the second time that day.
She nuzzles my neck. “Okay, Daddy.”
I groan in pained delight.
Instead of sleeping right away, we talk for an hour about poker and the rules of playing in person.
To my delighted surprise, Rosie has played before, at college and online.
“Never for a lot of money,” she hastens to add.
“I’ve never needed a poker face tutorial before this trip. But I know how to play the game.”
“Good girl. I’m looking forward to taking you to the poker room tonight.”
Our conversation meanders after that, and we land on her school schedule and how often she can sleep at my house. I want her there every night. I want a ring on her finger by the end of this trip, but she wants to take things slower.
“A few weeks, then.”
She smiles lazily. “Maybe we could get engaged in the summer?”
“What if you’re pregnant by the summer?” I cup her breasts and imagine them full of milk.
“I’ll stay on the pill until we’re married.”
I groan.
“Really?”
“What if I throw them out?”
She laughs and circles my cock with her little fingers. “Don’t you want some time with me all to yourself, Daddy?”
The only thing that could distract me. “Keep talking.”
Her fingers stroke lower, cupping my balls. “You wanted more babies after Mel?”
Once upon a time, that question would have sliced into my chest. Now I know the answer. “I did. I still do. And it turns out, the gap will be a bit bigger than I thought.”
She snuggles closer. “And what about after we have one baby? Will you want more?”
I stroke her hair. My heart thumps hard against my ribs. “I would. If you could have them.”
“I liked growing up with siblings.”
There are four kids in her family. I close my eyes and picture Rosie a decade from now, herding dark-haired angels who look just like her out the door.
“Then we’ll have as many kids as is right when the time comes.” My cock flexes against her touch, but I don’t roll her onto her back and take her again.
There will be time for that again soon. Tonight, tomorrow. When we return home and I can chase her naked through my house. We’ll fuck in every room. I’ll make her dinner and give her bubble baths, and then bury my face between her legs on my—our—bed.
But right now, in this moment, all I want is this tender connection. I grin.
She must be watching my face because she asks me, “What is it?”
“This is nice.”
“Yeah.”
“Rosie. . .” I blink my eyes open again and catch her chin in my fingers. “I love you. I will always love you. No matter what, I will put you first. And one day soon, I’m going to make some eternal vows to you in front of our families.”
“Oh, Daniel.” Her eyes shimmer, but she’s smiling. “I love you, too.”
“Okay, I’m going to practice on you.”
I lean back in my chair, amused, as Rosie squares her shoulders, then points at the breadbasket. “Would you like more bread?”
“No,” I say smoothly. “Thanks for asking.”
She gives me a pleased smile. “Would you like my panties?”
“What?” My voice rises, just enough, and she claps her hands—and now her smile is actually genuinely pleased.
“I heard the difference.” She grabs a piece of bread and slathers it with butter. “So when you’re making small talk before the game begins, you’re listening for that genuine tone.”
“Exactly.”
“Got it. So when I tell you that I’m not actually wearing any panties. . .”
I’m more prepared this time, and my response is smooth and controlled. “I put them on you myself.”
She winks. “But did I take them off at some point? I heard the tremor. Just a little. Mr. Burke, maybe you’re the one who needs to work on his poker face for the game tonight.”
“I’ll be fine.”
But my confidence in my ability to command the game doesn’t take into account the intense jealousy I feel as soon as we walk into the casino’s poker room.
Every horny male gaze in the room locks onto her bouncy tits and curvy legs.
Biting down the instinct to hustle her somewhere, anywhere, else, I guide her to the main counter and let them know we’ve arrived for our reserved game time.
“Welcome back, Mr. Burke. And can I see some ID, young lady?”
Rosie gleefully hands over her driver’s license. “It’s my birthday.”
I’m half-expecting another ‘your father brought to a casino’ comment, but I suppose in this environment, a young, hot girlfriend is more likely.
“Happy birthday. The same number of chips for the birthday girl as you usually get, Mr. Burke?”
“Yes, please.”
Rosie’s eyes go wide as the tray is lifted to the counter. “Daniel, this is too much.”
“Nothing is too much for you.” I run my hand up and down her back. Her dress dips low tonight, revealing her spine, and I love the access I have to her bare flesh. Nothing would ever be too much for the woman who woke up this hungry beast inside me. “It will make me happy to see you play.”
Two other players interested in no-limit hold ’em, a man in his thirties and a woman closer to Rosie’s age, arrive at the table at the same time as us.
We introduce ourselves, then I lead with my standard “get to know their unguarded voice” question. “How long are you in town?”
“I live here,” the young woman says. “Lacey.”
“I’m Greg. Arrived yesterday.” The man gives Rosie a friendly smile. “How ’bout you, sweetheart?”
She tugs on my elbow before I can growl.
“I’m Rosie, and this is Daniel. We’re here for Daniel’s daughter’s wedding.
” She’s definitely broadcasted to them that we are a couple.
My inner caveman appreciates the public claim as she pats my chest, and I remember the same gesture at the florist. Her voice is different now, though. “We fly home tomorrow.”
Little Rosie Johnson isn’t letting these people hear her unguarded voice. She’s carefully performing even before we sit down.
I’m impressed, and I let her see that in my expression.
She winks at me as the others sit. Game on.
During the first hand, everyone is a bit cautious. Rosie folds after the flop, which was a good call when Lacey wins with a full house. Nice for her, but she didn’t make very much on it because of the early nerves. I file that observation away.
The next few hands are duds for me, so I’m the one to fold early. As I expected, it is a lot of fun to watch Rosie play. She’s more expressive than most, but I can’t tell which of her faces are genuine and which are put on.
If I can’t, there’s no way the others can.
My little girl found her own way to bring a poker face to the table. I’ll reward her for that later.
Two more players join us, filling up the table, and the next hour and a half fly by. In between hands, I stroke her back. She drops her hand to my thigh often, and the erotic touches don’t distract me from the game.
They’re foreplay.
The pile of chips she has in front of her is pretty arousing, too. Her natural enthusiasm plus a good dose of beginner’s luck—and careful betting—means she’s definitely leaving here with more money than she came in with.
Happy birthday indeed.
She yawns just before the next hand, and I kiss her softly. “Last one? Ready for bed?”
“Mmm,” she says happily against my mouth. “Maybe.”
I’m confident about my cards at the turn, looking at a flush. There’s a pair of kings on the table, so there’s a chance someone might have a full house or also have two hearts in their hand like I do, but I’m willing to risk a bit.
To my surprise, it’s Rosie who challenges me for it. She has an earnest gleam in her eye. “Raise it up.”
And she pushes a third of her chips over the line.
Well. That’s hot. I adjust my stance and meet her bid. “Call.”
Two other players call as well.
I lay my cards down first.
Then it’s Rosie’s turn.
“Pocket kings.”
The others groan. Nobody can beat her four of a kind.
She flashes a wicked smile at me as the dealer slides her winnings across the felt. “Thank you. And I think that’s it for me. Good night, everyone.”
By the time we get to the counter to cash out, she’s vibrating. She plays it cool, though, not saying anything until we’re well away from the poker room.
“Oh my god.” She grabs my hand and tugs me into a dark corner in the first slots room we pass. “That was so much fun.”
“You don’t look tired anymore,” I growl against her neck as I kiss her. “You didn’t want to stay and keep playing?”