Chapter 5

Five

WINTER

“ I ’m telling you, January, he made my thighs quiver so hard I couldn’t walk the rest of the night.”

My best friend’s scream rings out through the video call until I quickly lower the volume. “I knew it!”

“Yeah, but then he left for the night. I feel like he loves me, but… does that just mean as his goddaughter? Still a little girl?”

She grimaces, her almond-shaped eyes peeking up as if deep in thought. “ Maybe … you’ll have to show him just how grown up you are now. That you’re not his goddaughter, but an adult woman.”

“Right… Well, I need to do that now by heading into my new job at the lodge. When are you visiting?”

Her bright white teeth flash with her smile. “If you love the place, then I’m coming next month! See if they have a job available for me there, too, and I may just stay if you do.”

After we hang up and I finish getting dressed, my stomach ties into a knot. Staying … It’s something Ben already hinted would be an issue. He works too much and is rarely here. It seems like he wants me to know I’m just a guest and there’s a time limit to things.

If I can just show him for the holidays that things can be different. I’d follow him anywhere. Maybe I can make myself so invaluable while here, he won’t want me to leave.

With a tug, I pull on my fur-lined suede boots over tight jeans. Then, I give myself a once-over in the mirror. Hmm, the pigtails are too juvenile. I let my hair loose, then apply another layer of red lipstick.

Ben sits at the island with an expression of guilt wracking his face as I descend the stairs. But his eyes flicker over my body as I wander over to pull up the stool next to him. “I made you breakfast. Don’t want my girl going into her first day on an empty stomach.”

Pressing my mouth against his cheek, I murmur, “Thank you.”

“But you don’t need to work through the entire holiday. I want you here for Christmas. There’s, um, traditions I want to do.”

Spearing some scrambled eggs, I chew slowly and look around at the decorations we put up. “What do you want to do?”

“I thought we could watch some Christmas movies tonight after dinner. Make some popcorn and cookies like you and your mom used to do.”

Tears spring to my eyes. He wants me to feel welcomed and loved, even without my mother here to do that for me. His hand rubs my shoulder in a very fatherly way as he clears his throat. “Would you like that, baby?”

Nodding, I swallow and say, “Yes, Ben. I would love that.”

His brow furrows when I say his name, but I shovel in the rest of my breakfast before I have to explain why I didn’t call him Daddy. Tonight will be a good time to prove just how grown up I am. It can be a romantic date and less of a family thing.

Ben drops me off at the lodge with a bid of good luck, and I find my supervisor, Blaze , at the check-in counter. Blaze is definitely a regular, with his name-brand logos on every article of clothing he has on, including his ski pants. A spray of white-blond hair escapes his beanie, which he shoves further down on his head. Silver hoops in his ears shine as I open the door, and his jaw drops when I step inside.

Pushing his long-sleeved shirt up to show off some veiny, tattooed forearms, he smiles broadly in a warm greeting. “Are you Winter?”

“Blaze?”

He sticks out a hand and shakes mine firmly, almost pulling me into his body. “Great to meet you. Let me show you around.”

Long lashes flirt with me over the course of the morning as he escorts me through the entire campus on a golf cart. His hand seems to find its way to my arm often, and once to my lower back, as he teaches me about the lodge. He introduces me to his regular crew, all good-looking guys in their early twenties that throw a lot of wild parties in their staff apartments. “And you’re invited any time .”

By the time I reach the ski shop where my new position is, I’m exhausted with all the attention. A few of Blaze's friends are my new co-workers and don’t stop making googly eyes all afternoon while I train at the cash register.

While waiting for Ben to pick me up, I ask the front desk staff if they know of any more job openings for January. Misty, one girl I immediately befriended at lunch, hands me a brochure. “Grant’s Ice Inn has been closed for a long time, but Justin Grant himself said he needs someone to help set things up before the grand opening, then help with the day-to-day. It’s more of a permanent position, if that’s what she’s looking for.”

I take the paper and thank her as Ben’s SUV pulls up.

It’s toasty inside the car, and my seat is already hot by the time I slide onto it after Ben buckles my belt for me and shuts the door. “I told you. I’m an adult now and can do my own seatbelt, Ben.”

His eyes dart down to my lap as he takes off toward home. With a flat smile, he says, “And I told you, you’ll always be my little girl.”

“What if I wasn’t?”

As we slow for a red light on Main Street, he glances at me. “What do you mean?”

“What if I was… your girlfriend .”

Running a hand through his light brown hair, he stammers. “Uh…” Perhaps I’m imagining it, but his chest seems to rise and fall quicker than it had been. “I don’t know what to say to that, Winter. It’s my fault I’ve caused some confusion, but what I said was right. I shouldn’t have done what I did to you. You’re too young and need to live life without some old man hanging on you.”

My fingers delve in between his on the steering wheel, then pull it back to me. “You’re not too old. What is it you think you’ll take away from me?”

He cups my hand and squeezes as he turns the corner into our neighborhood. “I work a lot and am gone. That’s not fair to you. Besides, Winter?”

When he pulls into the garage and parks, there’s such finality to his tone, and my heart races. “Yes?”

The engine shudders slightly when he turns it off and angles his body toward mine. “I want children and marriage. I’m in my forties now, baby. That means I’d have to get started on these things right away to enjoy any part of a kid’s life. You’re only eighteen. That’s… Let me love you like my goddaughter, the girl I knew as my best friend’s kid. The one I taught how to ski.”

Warmth soothes my cool cheek as he places his palm against it. “Can’t you do both?”

His eyes narrow slightly. “What do you mean?”

“Can’t you love me like your goddaughter and a wife?”

A deep, primal growl erupts from his chest, but he slides away from me like if he were to stay another moment, he’d kiss me again. “Go get changed. I made dinner, and then we’ll watch the movie.”

Up in my room, I slip into an oversized holiday T-shirt, a tiny thong, and thigh high cable-knit socks. Ben’s palm rubs his crotch when I enter the kitchen, and he slides my dinner plate toward me. While we eat and I inform him about my day, he sits back and listens to every word intensely. “ Blaze , huh? And some other ski kids?”

A snort unleashes from my nose. “ Not kids. We’re adults.”

“You’re right. That was insulting, I’m sorry.” But his face looks concerned.

He’s still lost in thought by the time we’ve started Christmas in Connecticut, and I curl up beside him with a fuzzy blanket on the sofa. His arm wraps around me, but there’s no heat behind the action. After about ten minutes, I lay my head in his lap, and he straightens in his seat.

My fingers crawl to the waistband of his sweatpants and tug. “Baby! What are you doing?”

With as innocent a look as I can muster, I tell him flatly, “I want you to teach me how to suck your dick.”

As if passion rears up from his loins, his cock hardens to a steel rod that stabs me in the rib cage. His hands cup my face as he pulls it close to his. “Baby… You make me desperate for you. Do you understand what you’re even doing to me? Why are you torturing me like this?”

Hooking my first digit inside the elastic, I pull it open, and his abs dip in response. “I just want to show you how grown I am. I’m not your little girl.”

His head falls back on the cushion for a moment as I slip my palm down to grip his hot cock. It’s thick and pulsing. When I stroke a thumb over the top, it’s wet. Groaning, he lifts his head once again. In a reverent whisper, he says, “What if I want you to be?”

“You want me to be your little girl while I suck you off, Daddy?”

The whites of his eyes disappear as he squeezes his lids shut for a moment. “Yes.” My smile is uncontrollable, and he helps as I scoot his pants down his hips. Brushing back my hair, he gathers it in one of his fists. “I want to take care of you like my little girl, and teach you things. I want to be your godfather… and your daddy. Do you understand?”

Sticking my tongue out, I touch the tip of his dick, which leaks more fluid from the hole. It tastes salty. “Yes, Daddy. That’s exactly what I want. And what I need.”

“Ah, baby. Just like that. Kiss the tip of it like you do my lips.”

Leaning over, I place my mouth against the seeping head. The crown engorges to kiss me back. With a hiss, he says, “ Yes . Now soften your tongue and swirl around the outside like a popsicle.”

More of that musky flavor surrounds my taste buds when I do. He holds the base for me so I can move my mouth around him.

“Baby? You want to suck your daddy’s dick?”

“Mm-hmm.”

Gripping my hair, he pulls me up to look at him. “Tell me, baby. I need to hear it from you. What do you want to do?”

“I want to suck my daddy’s dick.”

“Say please.”

“Please, Daddy. Let me suck your cock. Please .”

Scooting his hips down, he releases my hair and nods at his crotch. “Good girl. Put your mouth over me, then treat it like a lollipop.”

His palm lifts my shirt and rubs my ass gently as I suction him inside. Warm sighs escape his chest as his fingers work up my thigh and gently stroke my thong where it covers my pussy. I’m soaked. Desperation fills me as I press back against his palm.

Placing my hand over his at the base, I wait for his next instruction. “Relax, baby. Just rest your head in my lap and watch the movie. Do you like my cock in your mouth?”

Nodding, I almost pull out and say something, but he taps my cheek lightly. “Shh. Just lay there and keep me inside you. Suck, baby. It’s comforting, right?”

I ease my body down to a more comfortable position as his fingers continue to stroke my pussy lips just outside my panties. Their dance teases me gently, making me even more wet. My inner muscles pulse with anticipation. Never letting his hardness slip out, I casually nurse on him. Like a bottle.

“Such a good little girl.” One of his fingers strokes my cheek as I focus back on the movie. He’s right. There’s a deep sense of contentment in holding him in my mouth as we lounge together.

Occasionally, his cock throbs inside my mouth, spurting a little more of that salty fluid on my tongue, and I swallow it. “Just getting your mouth used to my dick, baby.” Ever so slowly, his finger tickles as it slides my panties aside, then finds my clit. He doesn’t even rub it, just holds pressure as it rushes with blood beneath the weight of him.

With a whimper, I writhe on his hand, but he removes it to spank me. When I gasp at the smack, he thrusts his hips up. His cock hits the back of my throat until I gag. “Baby… Don’t be naughty. Let me control things here. Just keep your mouth steady and I’ll work it.”

Moaning my agreement, I bury the side of my face against his abs and hold still. Undulating up and down, he juts against my tongue slowly, then does the same with his fingers inside my slickness. The sound of how very needy I am plays louder than the movie.

He picks up his pace until my orgasm rises to the surface as he plunges deep within me. “I shouldn’t be doing this with my little girl...”

My groans of disagreement are cut off as he forces himself past my wide lips. When he curls them, his fingers hit some spot of pure pleasure inside me. “Do you need to come, baby?” I can’t even utter a response, but he says, “Come on my fingers while I fill your little mouth.”

Screaming against his hot skin, every corner of my body fills with ecstasy. His throbbing cock explodes against the recesses of my mouth, against my tongue. It’s so much, some cum seeps between the corners of my seal and slides down my chin. I dribble like a baby. Swallowing quickly, I try to memorize the flavor of him . My daddy. I love it. I love Ben. And now I know I won’t stop until we’re together.

He lifts me up and onto his lap, my thighs wrapping around his waist. My arms wrap around his neck as he cups the back of my neck, placing my face against his chest.

Then he rocks me while pressing his lips to the crown of my head.

“You’re right, Winter. I love you. So fucking much. And the confusion is that I love you as both my goddaughter and my lover… But I don’t want you to be anything different. I’m your daddy. Just be my little girl, okay?”

Tears of joy overwhelm my vision until I blink them away repeatedly. When I sit up, his expression of bliss reflects my own. “I love you, too.”

He presses his lips against my forehead and pulls me back into him. “Now, go upstairs and brush your teeth. Then, let’s go to bed.”

“Together?” Hope overflows through my soul that he’ll say we’re together now.

“Yeah… together .”