Her Daddy's Jewel (MC Daddies Book 5) Read online

  “What do you think I’m going to do?” he asked.

  “Uh, I don’t know.”

  “Open.”

  She opened her mouth and he pressed his thumb into her mouth then drew it slowly out.

  “You’ve done this before,” she accused.

  “Nope. Like doing it for you, though. From now on, that’s my job.”

  “Seems like you have a lot of jobs.”

  “Just one.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Yeah. You.”

  “Don’t think I want to be a job. A job is something you have to do so you can pay the utilities and buy ramen noodles for the next week.”

  “Ramen noodles? You best be eating more than that.”

  A look crossed her face.

  “Jewel,” he growled.

  “I like ramen noodles and they’re cheap. And if I want to keep the electricity on, then I need to eat cheap.”

  He knew what she earned. She should be able to eat well and have the electricity on. But then, she also liked to shop.

  “You no longer have to worry about that.”

  “You’re not treating me like a kept doll.”

  “And you’re not a job that I don’t like. You’re my fucking passion.”

  She stared at him in shock.

  “Your passion?”

  “Yep.” He was done trying to hold himself back for the sake of what was deemed right or sane.

  He wasn’t sane.

  He didn’t care.

  “I’m your passion,” she muttered. “I feel like you’re going at a hundred miles, and I’m back limping along trying to figure out where I lost my mind.”

  Shit. He wasn’t supposed to add to her stress. “I need to slow down.”

  She held up her finger and thumb. “Just a bit.”

  “Okay.”

  “Just like that?”

  “Yep. I’m here to give you what you need. You just have to ask.”

  “Oh yeah?” she said weakly. “Because there are these really sexy teal knee-high boots I’ve had my eye on . . .”

  “Tell me where and they’re yours.”

  “Time-out.” She held her hands up in a T shape. “You know I was only joking.”

  “Are there boots?”

  “Yes, but you’re not buying them for me. Slowing down a bit means in all ways. It’s too much. The clothes, the jewelry, the lipstick. I’m not used to . . . to . . .”

  “Someone wanting to take care of you.”

  “Yeah. That. Kind of freaks me out a little.”

  He got it. Although he didn’t much like it.

  “Just let me catch up a bit. A few weeks ago, you were my friend Jason. Now, I’m apparently your passion. I feel like we missed a few steps.”

  “You disappearing and being in danger kind of sped things along.”

  “Yeah. Only I’m not in danger anymore and we haven’t even gone on a date.”

  Hmm. She did have a point.

  “We’ll have a date tonight.”

  “Oh, umm, I . . .”

  “You don’t want to?”

  “No! It’s not that. I just don’t feel like going out.” There was a flash of fear in her eyes that he didn’t like. He was glad she felt safe here in his room. But eventually, she’d have to leave. And this wasn’t like her. Normally, she was too brave for her own good.

  Her confidence was knocked down but not out. Still, he’d give her some time before he pushed.

  “Nobody said we had to go anywhere. In fact, I’d rather you didn’t.” He wanted her hidden for a while until they ensured that she was safe.

  “Oh. Well. All right then. I’d like that.” She gave him a surprisingly shy smile.

  “Good. But fair warning, I kiss on the first date.”

  Heat filled her eyes. “Think I can handle that.”

  “Good. It’s a date then.” A date, he could do. Slowing down, he could do.

  Losing her? Never going to happen.

  “I appreciate you protecting me. But sometimes not knowing is worse than knowing. Things I’m imagining can be worse than the reality.”

  Fuck. She had a point. And he hadn’t thought of that.

  He drew her up then settled on the beanbag with her on his lap. He held her tight, the way he knew made her feel safe.

  “He’s not talking. Yet. But he will have to eventually.”

  She glanced away. “I hate that you have to see him. I hate thinking about what he says about me.” She shuddered, looking ashamed.

  He didn’t like that. His hands drew into fists and he had to take some calming breaths in order not to lose it. This was about her, not him.

  “Do you know where my nickname came from?”

  She stiffened. “Umm, not exactly. Reyes told me that when he met you that Razor introduced you as Jason. Apparently, there was an incident that got you the nickname Jason.”

  Jason snorted. “It’s after Jason Voorhees.”

  “From Friday the 13th? Holy shit. What the hell was the incident?”

  “The Incident was me completely losing my shit. Like I went into a black hole and when I came out there were bodies on the ground and I had no idea how they got there.”

  “Oh my God. You went into a rage.”

  “Psychotic rage, my brothers like to say. Scared my mother so much she sent us all to therapy.”

  “All of you?”

  He grunted. “Bastards will never let me live it down either. Even though they’re as crazy as I am. Hated that therapist, but he did teach me to control my temper.”

  She shook her head. “Before all of this, I would have said you were the most even-tempered, easygoing guy I’d ever met.”

  “I work hard at controlling myself. Some days are easier than others. Sometimes, I come close to the edge and go spend a few hours punching a bag, or finding some poor sap to spar with.”

  “Is that why you bought a gym?”

  “Eh. Free gym membership. Sounded like something to do. My therapist suggested I find several things to focus on. He says I get obsessive easily. I needed multiple outlets for the rage. The gym is one. Boxing. Weights. Sometimes I go to underground fights. Well, I used to. Not so much anymore.”

  “The Masked Fighter,” she murmured.

  “Yeah, I always hid my face because someone would have ratted me out to Ma. She’d have been pissed because of what happened with Jagger and The Incident.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Jagger had started acting weird. Aggressive. He’d been seeing this girl, Emily. Later, we found out she’d been taking drugs for a while. She’d gotten him involved with some bad people who she owed money to. He couldn’t go to Ma, she hated Emily. And despite growing up like this, we didn’t have instant access to wads of cash. Not back then. Our trust funds didn’t come in until we were twenty-five. So he wanted some fast cash.”

  “What did he do?”

  “Started placing lots of risky bets on the fights. He lost more than he won. And when he didn’t have the money to pay off her debts, the guy she owed money to sent some of his fighters to beat him up. I’d followed him, wanting to know what was going on. I was eighteen and thought I knew everything. Anyway, I caught these guys beating on my big brother and I went psycho.”

  “You were protecting your brother.”

  “I blacked out, baby girl. Fucked those guys up good. When I came to, I was standing and they were all on the ground. Still have no fucking idea how it happened. Ma freaked when she found out. Sent us all to therapy. Including Sting and Jag.”

  “But weren’t they grown up?”

  “Yeah. That part was freaking funny. Grown men scared of their own mother.”

  She gave him a look. He had to grin.

  “Yeah, I’m scared of her too. Anyway, I decided to enter the underground fights and beat every fighter that asshole backed. Made myself some nice cash and got my revenge. I only did it for a while, though. I had other plans.”

  “And that’s how you
got your nickname?”

  “Yeah. When I joined the Iron Shadows, one of the members already knew the story, well the embellished story. Seems I can’t get away from it. But it serves a purpose. Keeps everyone from fucking with me.”

  “Did you ever fight Reyes?” she asked.

  “Nah, we never crossed paths. He came into the scene later, I think.”

  She was silent for a long moment. “I think I should try therapy again. I think it would help me.”

  Relief flooded him. Thank fuck.

  “I’ll help you find someone when this is all over. I’m so fucking proud of you.”

  She dropped her gaze. “I’ve done nothing to make you proud.”

  He lifted her face gently. “You make me proud every day.

  She shook her head. “I don’t know why. I’m not even a good person. I can be cynical and anti-social. I have black days. There are times that I don’t want to get out of bed. I don’t want to deal with people. I can be petty and stubborn and argumentative.”

  “And you are also loyal and kind and fun. You make me proud because, despite the fact that you have dark days, you still get up and move forward. Because you’re a fighter.”

  “I wish I saw what you see.”

  “You will.”

  He drew her in close, running his hand up and down her back like he knew she liked. “What have you been playing?”

  He knew exactly what she was playing. But he wanted her to lose the stiff tension. To relax back. Damn, he really wanted to nibble on her neck. She was so fucking tasty.

  “Did you just call me tasty?”

  “Uh-huh. Speaking of tasty.” He sat forward and pulled out a small clear bag from his pocket. “Here you go.”

  “Green and red gummi bears. They don’t sell them like this.”

  “Nope.”

  “You picked out all the other colors for me?”

  “Yep.”

  “Nobody has ever done anything like that for me before.”

  “Get used to it, baby. With me, red and green gummi bears is just the beginning.” He winked and she giggled at his silliness.

  But the thing is, he meant every word.

  Jewel flung her arms around his neck, squeezing tight. She didn’t know why, with all the things that he’d done for her, that this one really got to her. Wormed its way into her heart. But it did.

  He noticed her. Things about her that no one else knew, he did.

  And she didn’t even have to tell him.

  She just grinned up at him before popping one in her mouth.

  He gently grabbed one of her hands. “Taking your bandages off was very naughty.”

  “I’m never naughty.”

  “Yes, you are.” He lay back against the beanbag, staring up at her through half-lidded eyes that were heavy with need. It made her breath catch.

  “What you going to do? Spank me?”

  “I should. I should take you over my knee.” He ran his thumbs up her inner thighs. Okay, that felt good. Sooo good.

  Why had she said that she wanted to take things slow? What was she thinking?

  She expected him to draw her in, to kiss her. Instead, he reached over to grab the bag of gummi bears she’d abandoned. That told her how attracted she was to him. Forgetting about gummi bears? Never happened before.

  Sacrilege.

  He drew out a red one.

  “Open.”

  She parted her lips and he placed it into her mouth. “Suck.”

  As she sucked, he drew her down to kiss her. When he pulled back, she was panting hard.

  “Yum. Think that’s my new favorite taste.”

  “Red gummi bears?”

  “No. My baby girl. Although I think I’ll need to keep you in a lifetime supply of them if this is what I get every time. Course, I might need to ration them or I’ll also be taking you to the dentist constantly.”

  “You don’t need to worry about that.”

  “And why is that?” he asked suspiciously.

  “I never go to the dentist.”

  He shook his head. “You will be now.”

  “Nuh-uh. Hate the dentist.” She shuddered.

  “Jewel,” he said sternly. “You’re going to the dentist. End of discussion. Just like you’ll be going to the doctor.”

  “I don’t like your bossy side.”

  “You like all my sides. This one.” He turned his head to one side. “And this one.” His head went the other way while she just shook her head at his foolishness. “Especially this one.” He looked at her full-on, the heat in his gaze stealing her breath.

  Then he waggled his eyebrows to break the tension.

  “I have an idea for our first date.”

  “What’s that?” Getting naked?

  No, bad Jewel. You told him to slow down, remember?

  She was such a dumbass sometimes.

  “I have to go organize it.” He lifted her off him then stood.

  “Wait here. Finish your game. I’ll be back soon.”

  She wondered what he was going to do.

  13

  She hadn’t expected a picnic.

  But that’s what he’d set up. A red and white checkered picnic blanket. Finger food. Plastic cups filled with sparkling water.

  It was incredibly sweet.

  “You didn’t need to rebandage my hands.”

  He shot her a look then held up a strawberry in front of her lips. Okay, who was she to say no to a strawberry? She loved strawberries. In fact, she loved anything ending in berry.

  Blueberry. Raspberry. Halle Berry.

  She was so hot.

  “What are you thinking about?”

  “Halle Berry.”

  “Right. Didn’t expect that.”

  She grinned. “I like to keep you on your toes.”

  “You do that, baby girl. You definitely do that.”

  He stared at her intently. Having him see everything, having all his attention on her, it could be intimidating.

  But it also made her feel safe. And heard. Something she hadn’t really felt in her life.

  And she wasn’t exactly normal anyway. Maybe in the future there might be times where she needed a bit of space from him.

  However, that day wasn’t today. The future wasn’t something she’d ever allowed herself to think about much before. Because there had been times where she hadn’t believed she would make it to tomorrow, let alone the following week, month, year.

  “Open.” He popped a raspberry into her mouth.

  Yum. She hummed.

  “Damn, baby blue. Who knew that eating could be so damn hot?”

  She blushed as he rubbed at his hard dick.

  “Whoops. Sorry.”

  “Making sexy noises while eating is something you only do in private, got me? Those sorts of noises are just for the two of us. No one else.”

  “Possessive, much?”

  “You have no idea. I’m on my best behavior right now. But once I’ve got you locked down . . .”

  “Jason!”

  “Thirty.”

  She shook her head.

  This. Guy.

  Fuck.

  He held up a small finger sandwich. She took a bite. Egg salad. How had he had time to make all this? When he’d said he’d go get them some food for their date, she was expecting a bag of cookies and maybe some cheese and crackers. Not this feast.

  “Did you re-bandage my hands just so you got to feed me?”

  “That was just a bonus. I think that whenever we’re alone, I should feed you. And you can make all the sex noises you like.”

  She groaned. “You can’t feed me all the time.”

  “Why not?” he replied simply.

  He’d do it too.

  They continued to eat, with him feeding her. Which was way sexier than she’d thought it would be. When she was full, she lay back on the picnic blanket.

  He moved to her side, leaning up on one elbow to look down at her. “Okay?”

  “Yeah.
I’m good. So, is this the kissing part of the date?” she teased, wanting to lighten the mood.

  “Why, Miss Jewel, are you being forward with me?” he said in a terrible southern drawl.

  She giggled at his silliness. But then he reached out and placed his hand on the side of her neck. The warmth of his fingers filled her with heat. His thumb tilted her chin in a dominant movement that somehow also came off as tender. His lips touched hers.

  Soft.

  Then harder. Pressure on her chin had her opening her mouth under his silent command. His tongue slipped between her lips, danced with hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck, wanting more. Needing it.

  When he drew back, she murmured in protest. “I want more.”

  “No more.”

  She pouted.

  “Put that away.” He tapped her lip. “If I keep going, I won’t want to stop.”

  “So maybe you shouldn’t,” she told him. Screw slow.

  His gaze narrowed then he clicked his tongue. “Miss Jewel, are you implying that I’m easy? I don’t put out on the first date, naughty girl.”

  She rolled her eyes as he started packing up all the leftover food. She forced herself to breathe through the arousal. Sitting, she attempted to help but he brushed her hands away. “I got this.” He kissed her lightly. “I’ll be back soon. Don’t get changed. I’m going to choose what pajamas you wear. And help you get ready for bed.”

  “And brush my teeth?” she guessed.

  “Uh-huh.”

  “You gonna pee for me too?”

  “You want some help with that?” he asked.

  “No!” she squeaked.

  He grinned at her. He was teasing. The rat.

  “Not sure I like this side of you,” she grumbled.

  “Sure you do. You like all sides of me.”

  Damn him. He was right.

  “Still doesn’t mean that we don’t need boundaries.”

  “As long as those boundaries don’t include me staying away from you, I can compromise.”

  “Can you?”

  He didn’t reply. Yeah, that’s what she’d thought. He was back quicker than she thought he would be. Walking over to her, he helped her up.

  “Come on, let’s get you ready for bed.”

  He ran her a bath, but he didn’t stay to bathe her. That made her feel sad then she shook herself. She didn’t need him to bathe her. That was silly.