Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

“ W here’s Bear?” Eden asked as she slid into the seat next to Addie at the breakfast table.

“He went to my apartment to get me some clothes.” Addie took another bite of her toasted frozen waffle.

“So, no pancakes, I guess.” Eden sighed dramatically.

Addie giggled. “Rock made me frozen waffles. They’re good. He even has blueberry ones.”

Rock headed over and handed Eden a sippy cup of milk. “But if my waffles aren’t good enough for you…” he warned.

Eden sat up taller. “Waffles sound amazing, Rock. Thank you.”

Rock snickered as he returned to the toaster. “I thought so.”

King sat across from the two Littles, sipping a cup of coffee.

“If Bear isn’t back in time, my Daddy can take us to class,” Eden said.

“Oh, shoot. I forgot we have algebra this morning. I promised Bear I wouldn’t leave the clubhouse for any reason. Hopefully, he’ll be back by then.” She finished her waffles and stood, intending to take her plate to the dishwasher, but King interrupted her and removed the plate from her hand.

“Sit,” he directed.

She sighed as she returned to her chair next to Eden. “I’m not allowed to go to work either. I hope someone told Kade.” She set her elbow on the table and leaned her cheek on her palm.

“Kade knows, Little one,” King informed her. “He also brought your purse and backpack in from the front desk last night. He locked them up safe for you. I’ll go get them.”

Addie turned her forehead toward her palm and groaned. “I’m such a mess I forgot about my belongings being at the reception desk.”

Eden rubbed her back. “Understandable. You had a weird evening.”

Weird didn’t even begin to describe all the things that had happened to Addie from the moment Joseph had walked into the shop to now. Weird was an understatement.

King returned with her stuff while Rock set a plate in front of Eden.

Addie took out her notebook. “If I can’t work, I guess I should at least look over our notes in case we have a pop quiz in algebra today.”

“I should look over your notes, too,” Eden said between bites. “You’re so much better at algebra than me.”

“That’s because I’ve taken it before, remember? This is a refresher for me.”

Eden grinned. “Yep. Let’s go with that. It sounds a lot better than admitting I’m not that great at math.”

Addie giggled, grateful that she’d met Eden and formed a friendship. Lord knew where Addie might be today if she hadn’t had Eden. She wrapped an arm around her and gave her a hug. “Thank you.”

Eden hugged her back. “You’re welcome. Thank you for helping me with math.”

“Daddy…” Addie argued an hour later as she stood in the bathroom with her hands on her hips. “I need to shut the door while I shower.”

He chuckled as he set a clean towel and a washcloth on the vanity. “Angel, this is officially the last time you’ll be washing your own body. Now, you can either do so with the door open, or if you want to continue debating the topic, I’ll stand in the room with you.”

She barely grasped the second half of his speech because she was still focused on the first sentence. “You’re going to wash me?” Her voice squeaked.

“Yep. I’m going to give you baths from now on. Starting tonight.”

She swallowed. The thought of him running his hands all over her naked body made her squeeze her legs together. She was fortunate he’d provided her with a new pair of panties from the supply closet and a borrowed pair of leggings, so she hadn’t had to sit at breakfast in just her T-shirt.

He cupped her face. “Or, if you’d rather, I can strip your clothes off and give you your first bath right now.”

She licked her lips, considering her options. She could put up a fuss and test him.

“Angel, you might want to rethink whatever’s brewing in that pretty head of yours…”

Flinching, she reconsidered. “I’ll leave the door open.” She was learning that arguing with him would never be in her best interest. She would not win, and he was likely to take away privileges if she kept it up.

“Good girl. Five minutes.” He lifted her fingers to his lips and sucked on the middle one, making her gasp. “What’s the rule?”

“I won’t touch myself, Daddy.”

“Not more than necessary.”

“I think I’ll need more than five minutes, though. I need to shave, wash my hair, and do conditioner.”

“Ten minutes, and I’m going to stick my head in the door in five to make sure you’re behaving.” He released her and turned to walk out of the room, leaving the door open several inches.

She didn’t dare touch it, nor did she risk dawdling. She quickly stripped off her clothes and stepped into the shower. She probably should have turned it on first, but it was too late for that now.

While the water heated, angled away from her, she shaved her legs. By the time she was finished with the razor, the water was hot. The glass walls were steamed up, too, so Daddy wouldn’t see much when he checked on her.

She grabbed the shampoo next. Her nipples were so hard and tight, and her pussy was tingling. She knew why. It was because the banter with her Daddy about shutting the door and washing her had made her horny.

Thinking about him giving her a bath that night was going to have her squirming all day. How was she going to focus in class?

She was glad he’d gotten back soon enough that she could shower and get to class on time. She also knew he was concerned and would not only be driving her and Eden himself but also waiting outside the door to the classroom.

Addie had met Eden on the first day of class. The two of them had been the only ones who weren’t eighteen-year-old freshmen, so they’d hit it off. That first day, Eden had warned Addie that she had a super overprotective boyfriend waiting for her outside and that he would also come with them when they met to study.

It had seemed so odd to Addie, odd enough that she’d been leery about this new friend of hers, and it had taken several classes before she’d met Eden at the library. She’d forced herself to do so because the truth was she hadn’t made friends in town yet, and she’d really liked Eden.

It had turned out that Gabriel was a gem among gems. Sure, he’d been overprotective, but not in a creepy, jealous boyfriend way. More like a caring, I-don’t-want-anything-to-happen-to-you way.

And now, the table had turned. Bear would take the two of them to class, playing the role of overprotective boyfriend. Gabriel wouldn’t go with them this morning because they didn’t need two bodyguards. One would suffice, and Addie’s relationship with Bear was too new for him to turn her over to one of his brothers.

She smiled as she rinsed off her hair and added conditioner. She had shaved her legs, but now she picked up the razor again, deciding to shave her pussy. Could she do it? She hadn’t ever done so before. Three months ago, her mother had sent her to a spa before the wedding for the “full works.” It had turned out that the treatment included a Brazilian wax.

Addie had been nervous as hell when she’d spread her legs open and let a kind woman rip the hair off her private parts, but her mother had insisted Joseph would be pleased.

Ha. Joseph had never seen her pussy, and he never would. She wasn’t even convinced he would have seen her naked if she’d gone through with the wedding. That’s how much interest the man had shown in her.

The marriage had been arranged, so it wasn’t really surprising that he’d been just as uninterested in her as she’d been in him. But as the weeks had ticked by, she’d begun to wonder if perhaps he’d had a secret girlfriend on the side and if he’d intended to continue seeing her after the wedding. It was certainly possible and apparently not uncommon among society’s elite.

Addie shuddered to think she’d almost married the man. What the hell was he doing in town, though?

“Addie?”

She jumped, twisting around. She could barely make out her Daddy where he stood in the doorway. She hoped he couldn’t see her any better because she had one foot propped up on the shower bench, and she’d been two seconds from dragging the razor over her private parts. If she’d already set the razor on her skin, she might have cut herself when he’d entered.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“Yes. Fine. Can I have my other five minutes now?” she snipped.

He chuckled. “That depends. What are you about to do with that razor, Angel?”

Shit . Apparently, he could see her better than she saw him. “Shave, of course. Go away.”

He stepped farther into the bathroom. “Have you shaved your pussy before, Addie?”

Well, double shit. “Do you have no boundaries at all?” she countered.

“None. Not with you. Please be careful. I don’t want you to nick your skin. Then you’d end up in Doc’s office with your legs spread while he examined the cuts.”

She sighed and set her foot back on the floor. “I assumed you’d like me shaved down there,” she murmured, “but now I’m shaking too badly to do it.”

“Addie, you may keep your pussy however you prefer. Shaved, groomed, a landing strip, not cut at all… I don’t care. Do it for you , not for me , okay?”

Why did he have to be so sweet and overbearing at the same time? His kindness diluted his gruff exterior and left her reeling. “Okay,” she whispered. Now, she wondered what she might prefer. She’d never thought about it. She’d only been thinking of him.

Instead of leaving her with her own embarrassment, he continued, “I assume at some point you were shaved or waxed bare in the past, based on the growth, Angel. Did you make that decision for yourself?”

What was he, psychic? How had he figured that out from the minimal contact he’d had with her pussy without looking last night? “No,” she muttered as she moved to stand directly under the warm spray. It was so weird having this conversation with him while she stood in his shower and he watched fully clothed from a few feet away. Even though the steam would be making it difficult for him to make out specifics, she was still naked.

“Then how about we discuss this topic later before you make a decision? If you like the feeling of having your pussy bare, I’ll shave it for you, okay?”

The water was perfectly warm, bordering on hot, but she shivered anyway. “Can I please have my other five minutes, Daddy?”

“Yes, Angel.” He finally turned and left the room.

Addie stood under the spray for the entire five minutes, letting it run down her hair to rinse off the conditioner. He kept doing this to her, pushing her to discuss topics that regular people probably never talked about, embarrassing her to the point that her face was always hot and red.

She should put her foot down and be more forceful about her boundaries. Except Bear had made it clear she would have no boundaries with him. On top of that, his intimate discussions about such private matters made her horny every time. He knew it; that’s why he did it.

“Are you ready to get out, Angel?” He was back. Not surprising. She’d used up far more than her allotted time.

“Yes, Sir.” She turned off the water and didn’t even care that he opened the shower door, held out a huge towel, and wrapped her up in it.

She didn’t care when he guided her to the middle of the bathroom and patted her body dry. She also didn’t care when he removed the towel and used it to wring out her hair.

If she were honest with herself, she’d probably stayed in the shower too long on purpose. She’d kind of wanted him to see her naked. The entire time he fussed over her, making sure every drop of water was absorbed, she watched him in the bathroom mirror.

What she saw in his expression was lust and admiration. That’s all that mattered. After being engaged to a man who had never glanced at her, she found it refreshing to date a man who couldn’t take his eyes off her.

“Thank you, Daddy,” she said as he hung the towel up and grabbed a comb.

“You’re welcome, Angel.” He didn’t make a single comment about the fact that she stood naked in his bathroom while he grabbed a comb and carefully worked out the tangles in her long hair.

By the time he was done, she no longer cared either. After all, he was her Daddy. He’d been destined to see her naked. He’d promised her he wouldn’t wait long. She might as well get over herself because the fluttering feeling in her belly made every moment of his care worth it.