Daddy PI: Book 1 of the Daddy PI Casefiles Frost, J (acx book reading txt) 📖

up in his arms in the bright Mexican sun. But I was very shaky when he came out.

“Yes, Daddy.”

He gives me a deep, real smile. Not his wolfy grin. Not his patient daddy smile. This is deep and warm and relieved and . . . loving.

“Did I almost blow it?” I ask, suddenly feeling very shaky, even so tight in his arms, at the realization of everything I could have lost.

He lowers his head until our foreheads touch. “No, sweetheart, because I wouldn’t have let you run very far. Did you run because I asked you to move in with me for the summer? Because all the things we’ve shared over the last couple of days frightened you?”

Did I? The sharing’s been hard, but I’ve loved it. It’s made me feel closer to Logan than I’ve felt to any of my Doms since Lew. I wasn’t at all scared about moving in with him for the summer. I was excited. But then Master Jason got angry with me and I thought Logan would side with him and all those old fears welled up.

“I didn’t think I was scared. I mean, sharing with you is scary sometimes but I don’t want to stop. And I want to stay with you. So, so much. I was telling Vashi about how excited I was and then Master Jason got angry and I couldn’t do anything right and all I could think about was that I was going to wreck it with you. Like dominoes. I couldn’t stop them from falling.”

“Mm-hmm. That’s all you have to say to me in future, sweetheart. Just say ‘dominoes’ and I’ll know you’re overwhelmed. Let’s make that your safe word, huh? Will you remember that?”

“Yes, Daddy.”

“Good girl.” He kisses me, sweet and soft. “You are not going to wreck it with me, sweetheart. We’re new to each other and we’re going very fast. There’ll be growing pains. But I wouldn’t be pushing if I didn’t feel this was absolutely right.”

I get that melty feeling in my chest again. “You feel this is right?”

“Absolutely right. I haven’t been this certain about anyone, ever.”

“Ever?”

“Never-ever.”

And he’s had a lot of chances to be certain. I’ve had less than a dozen, but I understand what he means. It’s like trying on a pile of shoes that all pinch a little, not so much that you wouldn’t buy them if they look good and the price was right, but you know they’ll take some breaking in, maybe a few blisters. Then you find the pair that make you feel like you’ve put on Mercury’s winged sandals. The perfect fit. Logan probably wouldn’t appreciate the comparison, though, even if I compared him to Louboutins.

The thought makes me giggle.

Logan squeezes me up against his chest. “That’s a sound I’ve wanted to hear for hours. I’ve missed your laughter, sweetheart. I hate seeing you sad, and the crying when I put you in the corner? That was fucking awful. No more corner time, huh? It doesn’t work for us. I hated not being able to see your face. I hated hearing you cry and not being able to comfort you. You should have seen Niall, watching me jump up and go to you every two minutes. He looked like he was going to take away my Dom badge.”

That makes me giggle harder. “Bad Daddy.”

“Useless,” he agrees. “Is corner time something you need as a little, Emmy?”

“No way. It doesn’t make me feel little or remorseful. It makes me feel like an utter failure. If you don’t want to look at me, much less interact with me, why am I even there? Spank me, paddle me, deny me orgasms—although I really hope you don’t do that, Daddy—but please don’t put me in a corner and ignore me.”

“Deal.” He pulls back enough to offer me his pinkie and grins at me when I shake it with mine. “No more corner time. If I want to get you to reflect on what you’ve done, there are better ways. In fact, I think we’ll try one out after dinner.”

More punishment? I try to be Wonder Woman brave. To submit and trust my Dom. But I honestly feel like I’ve hit my wall. I can’t take one more second of feeling bad today. “Puh-please could we do it tomorrow? I feel like I’m going to break if you punish me again today.”

“Oh, baby. Sweet baby.” He presses gentle kisses to my brow, eyelids, cheeks, and, finally, my mouth. “No more discipline today. That’s the last thing either of us need. I said I was going to get you to reflect. That doesn’t involve disciplining you. Let’s talk about it over dinner, huh? We’ve missed our seating at the restaurant but we can do the Lido buffet again.”

“Yes, Daddy.” I felt hungry when Michael was examining me. That must have been an hour ago and now I feel like a wolf is chewing through my belly.

“Good girl. Let’s clean you up and put you in something comfy. Do you want some cream?”

I’ve tried not to be whiny about it, but my thighs feel worse today than they did yesterday. “Yes, please.”

He kisses my forehead. “Go wash your face and brush your hair while I get the cream.”

He dresses me in a blue and white striped T-shirt dress so soft it’s like being wrapped in a cloud, rubs cream into my thighs and bottom, and keeps his arm around me as we go through the buffet line. I’m snuggled in my daddy’s warmth again. His teddy-bear comfort. I don’t even pay attention to the calories of the crab cakes and green bean salad that he picks for my dinner, because I know he’ll take care of me.

While we eat, he tells me stories. About his sister and her twin daughters, who he calls the Dynamite Duo. About his time in the Navy. About scenes that went wrong in funny ways. I know he’s distracting me to keep me from thinking too much. If Gracie or one