Chapter Eight
Clint
In a world where I could control myself, I’d have taken Bella home, laid her down in a field of fucking daisies, and made love to her slow and passionately.
I’d have played soft music, brought a picnic, told her how beautiful she is, and worn a fucking condom.
Instead, I ravished her in the most primitive way possible and gave everyone in town a show after we were done.
“Do you think he recognized me?” Bella asks, her eyes on mine in the dim light inside the truck.
“You kept your head buried against me. I’m pretty sure you’re okay. I’ve done a lot of work for the bar over the years, so I hope Mullet will try and control the damage.”
“You really think so? If my sister finds out, we’re totally screwed.”
I pull the truck to the edge of the road, headlights shining into the dark forest, fog rolling off the light. “Look at me, little girl.”
She stares toward me, her soft, little hand landing in mine. “We’re going to go back to my place, I’m going to make you some cocoa, and you’re going to paint. You still like painting, right?”
“You remember that I liked painting?”
“Of course. I thought it was really interesting that you use the lake water for your watercolor pictures.”
She pauses for a long moment, her gaze steady on me. “You’re perfect. How are you not with someone else?”
“Now I know you’ve lost your mind. I’m far from perfect.”
“You are though,” she whispers, “to me. The fact that no one wanted to hold on to you forever is shocking. I can’t believe that someone so amazing is simply available. I guess their loss is my gain.”
I shake my head and brush my thumb against the back of her hand.
“It’s never that simple. You were right when you said I wanted control.
In my past relationships, that’s been a huge problem.
I spent my time in the service steeped in a ‘take charge’ role because it was the only way I could make sure people were safe, but that just reinforced what was already there.
Since getting out, I learned that control and intensity is who I am underneath it all, but with you it doesn’t feel like it’s something I have to fight. ”
There’s a beat where I look at her, expecting everything to fall apart, but it doesn’t.
“I like who you are,” she whispers. “I like that you’re this big, tough guy. I mean, I have so much trouble sticking up for myself, and I get so emotionally invested in every conversation that I struggle to set boundaries. It’s kind of nice to think you’d be there to help me.”
I lean in, my hand cradling the side of her face as I kiss her forehead. “Will you still feel that way when Daddy tells you to stay away from toxic people?”
“You’re talking about my sister, aren’t you?”
“She’s manipulative, and you’re an innocent target.”
Bella shrugs. “I know what she’s doing. I just… I don’t know… I guess I feel bad for her. I mean, something must be wrong with her if she’s this cruel for no reason. Why else would she have me trying to sabotage your builds?”
Bella readjusts in her seat, seemingly calculating the weight of what she just said.
“She’s the reason I was at the beach spying on you.
She’s been on me for weeks, convincing me that I needed to get inside the lake house.
She thinks you’re using her designs for the remodel, and she sent me to get pictures of everything you were doing.
” Bella stares toward me as though she expects me to be angry.
“She even said you have some kind of assault charge she’s going to tell everyone about if you don’t give her a cut of your rentals.
I didn’t want to ask you because part of me thinks she’s full of it, but there’s another part that thinks it might be true. ”
I scrub my hand down over my face and stare toward my girl, my chest tight.
June is a real piece of fucking work. “This is what I’m talking about.
June twists everything, and she’ll take advantage of your kindness.
It’s just like your job. Anyone with a fucking brain could see you would’ve gotten that on your own, but she holds it over your head like you owe her for the rest of your life. ”
I clear my throat, attempting to shift my focus back to Bella’s concerns as I say, “The assault charge your sister’s talking about is from a bar fight I got into when I was in my twenties.
I was drunk, the other guy was drunk, and we were both acting like assholes.
Since he walked away with a bruise bigger than mine, I got slapped with charges.
” I shake my head. “It’s nothing. Even the military looked the other way. ”
I run my fingers gently through my girl’s hair, my tone softer as I say, “You have nothing to worry about. Daddy would never hurt you.” I bite back the clawing urge to hold her next to me for eternity and never let her go. “You belong to Daddy now, and I’ll take care of you. Understood?”
She blinks up at me, her gaze soft and sweet. “What, ugh, what makes you so… this?”
“What’s this?”
“This Daddy thing? What made you want to be Daddy? Have you done this before?”
“No,” I shake my head and narrow my gaze, “never. It surprised me too. There’s just…
something about you. You’re so innocent, so sweet, so vulnerable.
Every part of me is wired to protect that.
” I push my hand over my eye as I talk, the burn worse today than it has been in weeks.
This fucking thing better not start acting up.
“You okay?”
“Yeah,” I lie, not ready to tell her about the most broken parts of me. Not sure I ever will be. How the hell do I explain to this young, gorgeous, tight, sweet, little girl that her Daddy is breaking down? I need to change the subject. “Is your phone’s location on?”
“Shoot!” She pulls it out of her purse and swipes at the screen.
“Yeah, it’s been on all night. Turning it off now.
By the way, my sister is the one that set me up with that guy at the bar, so he’s for sure going to tell her that a man matching your description hauled me into the back office.
They’ve worked together at the bank for a while now. ”
Of course June would set Bella up with a guy that looks like he lives in a bubble. Something tells me that was his first trip to the bar.
I give my girl a reassuring smile. “I’m sure his ego is bruised right now. Chances are he’ll sulk over the weekend and tell her on Monday.”
“So… I should go back to my mom’s tonight and act normal? My sister usually stops by Saturday mornings to take her out to the market. I should be there to counter any questions.”
“No,” I snap, a breeze blowing the creaking pines, “you’re not doing that alone. We’ll tell her together in the morning after everyone’s had a proper night’s sleep.”
“In case you didn’t already know this, June is insane. You being there is only going to make things worse. I mean, in her defense, I’d be pissed too. You’re the one man I shouldn’t want. Plus, she thinks you want her back.”
“What?” I bite back a laugh.
“Big time. She said you were looking at her like you wanted her the other night when she pulled in.”
“June thinks everyone is looking at her like they want her. She’s got an ego bigger than that fucking Deepling you’re worried about.
” I lean into my little girl, kissing her forehead gently.
“You’re the only one I want, and you’re mine.
So you stay next to Daddy, and everything will be taken care of.
” I hold my hand steady on her creamy thigh.
“I told you, we’re going home for cocoa, and I’m going to watch you paint. Daddy likes watching you relax.”
“Home?”
“Wherever you’re with me is home, little girl. Right now, that’s the lake house. When that’s finished, we’ll find something that works for us both.”
“Like a little house in the woods? One with big trees and acreage to start a garden?”
“If that’s what you want, that’s what we’ll get. Your dreams are my dreams.” My fucking eye burns again, and I try to ignore it, but my hand instinctively rises to scrub at the pain.
“I want to take care of you too. Are you sure that eye is okay?”
I appreciate the concern, but I really don’t want to get into a depressing story about this eye tonight, so I change the subject again. “Tell me all about what you’re going to paint. You used to like landscapes. I remember you sitting on the beach, capturing the mountains and the lake.”
She narrows her brows like she wants to press but ultimately allows me some privacy with a grin I’m more than thankful for. “Do you remember what else was in that painting?”
“The Deepling! How could I forget? All fourteen feet of that weird, slithering flamingo. Maybe we should go out on the water tonight,” I tease, “see if we can find him. I hear he prefers the night swimmers.”
She laughs and glances out the side window where a field of wildflowers grow in the silvery moonlight.
“Maybe we could pick some flowers first. I used to paint these pictures with mashed up wild yarrow. It’s a little sticky, and the color stains your fingertips pale yellow, but I love how the art ends up smelling like sunbaked fields. We could do it together.”
God, has there ever been a more perfect girl?
“Yes, of course.” I hop from the truck and round to her side, helping her across the road and toward the field of moonlit blooms. “How do you paint with them?”
“Some of them,” she says, her head on a swivel, looking for the right flowers, “I crush up to make paint, then dip my brush in like normal. Others, I make prints. The daisies are especially fun to print. So are the sunflowers. Their heads are so defined.” She walks a few steps ahead, fingertips brushing petals like she’s greeting each one as the wind moves through the field, goosebumps rising on her forearms.
I slip my flannel over her shoulders, and she leans back into me for a second, her breath slow and relaxed before she spots the tiny yellow plant she’s looking for.
“That’s yarrow!” She jumps excitedly and moves toward the bloom, holding it up like a prize, her smile bright and peaceful.
This moment is so simple. Flowers, moonlight, the two of us.
There’s no expensive wine, fancy gifts, or elegant dinner. It’s just us and the mountain, yet something settles in my chest in a way I’ve never felt before.
“That’s the one you paint with?” I say, taking the bloom from her hand so she can gather more.
She nods with enthusiasm as she leans down to pick a big, white daisy. “This one I can use for prints. I pin it to the canvas and use the watercolor around it.” She handles each flower like they’re equally sacred, talking of the pigments as she inhales their scent.
I love her.
I know it now without a shadow of a doubt.
I love this woman. My baby. My little girl. My sweet, innocent angel.
All I want to do is care for her, protect her, and give her everything she’s ever wanted. My life’s mission going forward is to see her smile every day for the rest of eternity.
The field quiets as the tall grass sways in slow waves, Bella looking up at me with a smile that I’ll never forget. It’s simply stunning.
I bend down and pick a purple flower, brushing it against her cheek before tucking the thin stem behind her ear. It sounds cliché, but the world is still, like even the wind is waiting for whatever comes next.
Hell, maybe it is. I’m not a fate guy, but right now, I know every second of my life has been leading up to this moment, right here, in this field of wildflowers with this sweet angel.
I lift her chin gently and lean forward, my lips on hers in the moonlight as I breathe her in.
“I love you,” I whisper against her lips. “I’m not letting you go.”
She pulls back enough that her gaze can lift to mine. “I love you too, Daddy.”
My cock thumps at my zipper, and the need to take her claws at me again, aching and desperate.
I want to give in, lay her down in this field of moonlit beauty, and take her tight, little pussy hard and fast, but I resist the urge in favor of this quiet memory. This sweet night. This innocent moment.
“Your cock is hard.” She smiles and scrubs her hand over the top of my bulge. “Picking flowers really does it for you, huh?”
I laugh and lean into her forehead for a kiss. “That, or it’s the little girl that keeps bending over in that short, pink, little dress,” I groan. “This is the last time you’re leaving the house in that.”
Bouquet of flowers in her hand, she grins and shakes her head before running through the field toward the truck. “What happens if I don’t listen?”
“I’m starting to think you like your punishments,” I growl, stalking behind her, happier than I’ve ever fucking been.
“I do!” she shouts back, a laugh in her throat as she crosses the gravel road toward the woods, the moonlight guiding the way.
With morning, reality will come, and I know full well folks will have plenty to say about what happened tonight, but right now, in the darkness, life is perfect, and I’m going to enjoy every fucking second.