Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
Mace
After Ghost and Tank leave, it takes me an hour to get Autumn to calm down enough to take a nap. She was hyperventilating for most of that time. Now, she’s been asleep for two hours, and I’m concerned, so I’m sitting on the edge of the bed next to her.
I suppose she’s beyond exhausted from everything that’s happened in the past few days. It’s a long list. Her mind needs rest. It has shut down. But I’m worried about her.
When I brush a lock of hair from her forehead, she finally blinks up at me. A few seconds go by before she remembers. It’s obvious when her eyes darken, and her jaw clenches.
“You’ve been asleep a long time, Baby girl.”
She rolls to the side, shoves the covers down, and crawls onto my lap, hugging my neck.
I close my eyes and thank God for gifting me this amazing woman who is in my life for good. I love that she feels comfortable enough to wrap herself around me, to lean on me for support—both emotional and physical.
Before she went to sleep, I handed her a lavender cotton nightgown and told her to change in the bathroom.
I didn’t think the frilly dress would be comfortable for napping in.
She obeyed me without question, which was a relief because I still haven’t actually seen my girl naked.
I’ve grazed her clit blindly, I’ve stroked her nipples over her bra, under her sweater, and I’ve palmed her pussy over her leggings.
That’s the extent of our sexual contact.
She slept in my arms last night, but she was wearing a similar nightie to this one, and I was in shorts.
“Have they found him yet?” she asks.
“Not yet, Baby. They will.”
“And then what? You’ll immediately leave and go cut his balls off?”
I chuckle. She’s kind of cute when she says that. I’m pretty sure she means it. But I don’t think it’s a joke to her.
She leans back, lifts one knee over my thigh, and straddles my leg. Her palms come to my face. “Do you think he has shared those videos of me with anyone else?”
“It’s not likely, sweetheart.” I fucking hate that this is happening to her.
“Men like Samson are greedy. They like to keep their perceived conquests to themselves. If he intended to share the videos, he would have blackmailed you. But that was never his goal. He probably wouldn’t have told you they existed.
His intent was to swoop into your life and become the most important person in your world.
He wanted to make you feel like you needed him until you fell in love with him. ”
She smirks. “That would never have happened in any universe because I was already in love with someone else.”
I smile. “Convenient.”
She shrugs. “Yeah. Plus, the man I love is ten hundred thousand times more attractive than Frank.” She shudders and squishes up her nose. “Gross.”
My chest is tight from all this tossing around of the L word. She just said she loves me. Twice.
I decide to give it back to her in the same fashion, as if we’re discussing people who are not us. “I know what you mean. I’m in love with this amazing woman with the prettiest auburn hair I’ve ever seen. She’s also ten hundred thousand times more attractive than Frank.”
Autumn snorts. Then she inches forward, still holding my face. When her knee rubs against my cock, my breath hitches.
I grab her waist. “Autumn…”
She cocks her head to the side. “What?” Is she batting her eyes?
“You naughty little imp.”
She smooths her hands down to my shoulders and fingers my collar. “I was dreaming about you.”
“Is that so?”
She nods. This silly coy side of her is adorable, but if she thinks I’m going to make love to her today, she’s wrong.
I grab Autumn’s hips, lift her off me, and stand her on her feet on the floor. “Go into the closet and put some clothes on. You need to eat. I made dinner.”
She stares at me, frozen, not blinking at all now. Eventually, her cheeks turn red, and she drops her head. Before I can stop her, she turns and runs into the walk-in.
Fuck. I didn’t handle that very well.
I shove off the edge of the bed and follow her, finding her standing in front of her drawers with one open. She’s not reaching for anything, though. She’s trying to pretend she’s focused on undergarments.
I come up behind her and haul her against me, kissing her temple. “Hey…”
She says nothing. Her arms are limp at her sides.
With one hand, I push the clothes on the rack aside so I can set my girl on top of the dresser. I cup her face. “Look at me, Baby girl.”
She shakes her head and keeps her face down.
“Look at Daddy.”
“No, thanks. Can I get dressed now?”
“No. You can look me in the eye and listen to what I have to say.”
She sighs as she tips her head back. “What?” Her face is red. She’s embarrassed. And it’s my fault. I’ve made her feel unwanted, and that’s the last thing I want to do. Ever.
“So sassy…”
She rolls her eyes, not even catching herself and attempting to stop.
I chuckle. “You’d do just about anything to get me to spank you right now, wouldn’t you?”
She shrugs.
“I’ll be happy to spank you. I bet it will feel good after the stressful day you’ve had. Purge some of the pent-up feelings. But first, you’re going to listen to me.”
I maintain a grip on her face. Not forceful, just enough to keep her focused on me. “I know you were trying to initiate sex, and I didn’t handle it well. I should have explained myself instead of sending you away. I’m sorry.”
She shrugs. “It’s fine. I’ve been here for almost three days. You’re probably tired of me. I have a lot of shit going on. The skeletons in my closet are gigantic. I get it. It’s fine.”
“No, sweetheart. That’s not it at all. I’m not tired of you, and I never will be. Not ever. And I don’t care how much shit you have going on. I’m here to help manage every burden and ease your stress. It’s my job as your Daddy and as your man.”
“’K.”
I sigh. “Autumn…”
“Can I get dressed?”
“No. You can hear me out, naughty girl. Do you think I don’t want to make love to you?”
“Clearly you don’t.”
I shake my head. “Baby, that is not true. You rubbed your thigh against my cock. Was it limp?”
Her breath hitches.
“Was it?” There’s no way she failed to notice how fucking hard I am for her.
“No,” she murmurs.
“Do men who don’t want to have sex get a hard-on?”
“How would I know?” she whines.
“Well, they don’t. I want to take you to bed and show you how I’m going to worship you for the rest of your life so badly. And I will. But I don’t want your first time to be on the same day you found out a man you trusted to be a family friend murdered your father and has been spying on you.”
She shudders. “Spying?” Her voice rises as she lifts her head to look at me. “That’s an understatement. He’s been watching me fucking masturbate, Mace!” she shouts. “Do you know how that makes me feel?”
I stroke her cheeks with my thumbs. “No, Baby girl. I can’t know what you’re feeling because I’ve never been in your shoes, but I know it has to hurt, and it’s making you crazy every time you think about it.
I know I’m fucking furious that someone violated your privacy.
It makes me want to punch a hole in the wall that he’s seen you naked and I haven’t.
The fucking asshole will pay, Autumn. I will see to it.
In the meantime, I’m not taking you to bed when you’re hurting like this.
When we make love for the first time, I want every single ounce of your attention on me and how good it feels to have me surrounding you. ”
I pause because I want to say the right things, and I need to gather my thoughts better.
After taking another deep breath, I continue, “You are mine, Autumn. It’s forever.” I pull her against me and hold her close, squishing her in my huge hug.
She whimpers as she wraps her arms and legs around me. “Okay, Daddy.”
I growl. It’s a sound of triumph. That one word I’ve longed to hear from her is a slice of heaven. I’ve thought about that word coming from her lips for years. It seemed like a pipe dream. And now it’s real.
I’m a lucky fucker.
After slowly releasing her, I grab her head and kiss her lips. “Get dressed. Put on something that makes you feel Little. After dinner, I’m going to spank your bottom, and then you’re going to stand in timeout. You need time to relieve the stress and center yourself. Got it?”
“Yes, Sir.”
I lift a brow.
She grins. “Yes, Daddy.”
“Good girl.”