15. Haylee

When she was alone in the room, she felt her body tremble as arousal pulsed down to her pussy. She and Ally had read Daddy Dom books for years. When she had left Pinebrook to go to college, Ally suggested they start a book club. Only, they were the only members of their book club. Ally had suggested a Daddy Dom book to read one time, and from then on, they'd both been hooked on them. The reading had slowed down when she moved in with Tim, but she still fantasized about all the Daddies in those books.

Kane telling her that he was a Daddy Dom nearly made her blush from head to toe, and then the arousal struck her like a ton of bricks. She had to get off his lap and away from him for a moment so she could breathe in something else besides his delicious scent. Not only was he a Daddy Dom, but he called himself Daddy. She wanted so badly to ask more questions, but it wasn't exactly the best time to be exploring that. And she needed to hurry up and take her phone to Kane before he came looking for her.

As she grabbed her phone, she saw that the screen was lit up, showing a text message from Tim. She stared at the screen for several minutes, unable to move or decide if she should read it. Her hands began to shake as she opened the message.

You stupid bitch, you called the cops on me. I will fucking kill you. You don't know who you're messing with.

The phone dropped from her hands as they flew up to her mouth. She gasped in shock, tears streaming down her face. She dropped to the floor in a heap, sobbing loudly.

"Haylee!" Kane's voice boomed as he strode toward her, lifting her from the floor.

Her body shook violently as she pointed to her phone lying on the carpet. He set her on the bed and picked up the phone, reading the message. He began swearing. Words she had never even heard before came out of his mouth.

"I'm going to throw up," she said as she tried to stand.

Kane swooped her up and carried her into the bathroom, gently setting her down on her knees as she began to vomit into the toilet. His arm stayed wrapped around her waist as she heaved over and over until her body went limp. She couldn't move; her body felt too weak to lift herself from the floor, and she was too drained to even care about how embarrassing that was.

"Are you done, baby?"

She nodded, unable to speak. Kane picked her up and carried her to the bed, setting her down.

"Stay there," he said before disappearing into the bathroom again.

She heard the toilet flush and water running before he returned with a washcloth in hand. She reached out to take it from him, but he shook his head and began wiping her face with the cool cloth. He was extra gentle as he cleaned her mouth, concern filling his eyes.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I just… I can't."

"Baby, shh, it's okay. Nothing to be sorry for."

He tossed the washcloth and went to the fridge, pulling out a bottle of water. He held it up to her lips.

"Drink, baby."

Without any thought, she obeyed and started drinking the cold water, gulping it down. When she pulled her head back, he set the bottle on the nightstand and sat next to her on the bed, pulling her into his lap.

"Baby, listen to me. I am not going to let anything happen to you. That motherfucking bastard isn't going to get close to you. I will kill him before I would ever let him get near you again."

She listened to his words as she snuggled against his hard chest. A shiver ran down her spine, knowing he meant every word of what he said.

"Thank you. I'm sorry to be such a bother. You didn't sign up for all this."

Kane growled, pulling her away from him until his scowl met hers.

"Actually, I did sign up for this. All of this. And you are not a bother, and I better not ever hear you referring to yourself as a bother again. You are perfect, amazing, and sweet, and I feel lucky to have you here with me. Understood?"

She wasn't used to someone saying nice things to her. Especially after they had growled at her. Who even growls? Maybe he needed to get that checked out by Logan.

"I understand."

Kane nodded. "I need to take your phone and get rid of it. I have a spare phone that I use for work sometimes that you can have so you can stay in touch with Ally. Why don't I turn on a movie in the living room for you?"

She didn't want to be in his way, and even though she had just napped, she felt exhausted. She didn't want to move out of his lap, but she needed to shower and wash the dried sweat off her body.

"I think I want to stay here. I want to take a shower and just get into my pajamas and crawl into bed."

He frowned, and she felt bad for turning him down. But he was just being nice in offering for her to come to hang out in the living room. He didn't have to coddle her. She was a big girl. Or at least she would keep telling herself that.

"You can stay in a guest room in the house, Haylee. I can move all your stuff."

She gave him a small smile and shook her head. "I'm okay out here. Scout's honor."

She held up her hand like a Scout would and smiled at him, hoping she sounded convincing. He was still frowning but nodded anyway.

"I will be back in a bit. You need to eat dinner before you go to bed for the night. I'll bring you a new phone too. You're sure you're okay to shower by yourself? I can help you if you need me to, or I can run you a bath so you don't have to stand."

Yeah. No. That would be bad because the thought of him seeing her completely naked did things to her that she didn't want him to be aware of.

"I'm fine. I think a shower will help."

He grumbled under his breath before taking her phone and leaving her alone in the apartment. She let out a deep breath, feeling overcome by sadness now that he was gone. Why did she tell him she was fine? She wanted him near her.

Real smooth, Haylee. He gave you an opening, and you shut him out.

Her mind returned to him admitting to her that he was a Daddy Dom. She couldn't wait to tell Ally about it. She was going to freak out. Not that it was all that surprising that he was a Daddy. He was bossy, demanding, and stern, yet he was also gentle and caring at the drop of a hat. She should have recognized it sooner.

It wasn't like he was offering to be her Daddy, though. He said it himself that he was just feeling overly protective, and he didn't mean to say it. She wondered about him having a Little, and she wrinkled her nose at the thought. She really didn't like thinking about him with another woman. And how dumb was that, considering she had just met him?

She turned on the shower as hot as she could stand and stood under the steaming water, letting it run over her body. Her pussy had been slick since the morning he stood in her hotel room, and thoughts of his hard, muscular body without clothes made her feel even needier. Sliding her hand down her tummy, she settled her fingers on her clit and began rubbing in circular motions. Thoughts of Kane being her Daddy made her pussy pulse until she was breathing heavily under the spray of water. Grabbing the handle in the shower, she closed her eyes and rubbed herself into an exploding orgasm that shook through her entire body.

She gripped the handle to keep her balance as she came down from her own ecstasy. Her entire body felt relaxed and light for the first time in days. Shutting off the water, she grabbed a towel and wrapped herself up before stepping out onto the cushy rug. Wiping the steam from the mirror, she noticed how flushed her cheeks were, and she didn't think it was from the hot water.

As soon as she finished dressing in a pair of baby blue pajama pants with ducks on them and a plain tank top, she heard a soft knocking on the apartment door. She blushed, hoping he wouldn't figure out what she had just been up to a few minutes before. Pulling the towel that was wrapped around her hair away, she went to the door and opened it to find Kane standing in front of her with a bowl in one hand and a glass in another.

"Good shower?" he asked.

She felt herself blush from head to toe.

He doesn't know that you just masturbated while thinking about him, dummy. He's just asking a question to make conversation.

"It was good. Relaxing. Come in." She opened the door, letting him inside.

"Good. Hopefully, it will help you sleep. I brought you some soup and a protein shake."

She made a face at the protein shake, and he gave her a stern look that had her straightening her expression quickly. He set the food on the table and waited for her to sit before moving his chair closer to hers and sitting down. He held the creamy-colored shake with a straw up to her mouth. She smiled at the pink straw before taking a drink. It wasn't terrible. Actually, it was kind of yummy.

She stared at the soup. It looked like chicken noodle, and it smelled delicious, but she couldn't seem to move her arms to start eating.

"Eat, baby girl. Unless you want me to feed you?"

As much as she hated to admit it, she had loved when he'd fed her the previous night. It was intimate and sweet. But she didn't want to annoy him with her neediness, so she grabbed the spoon and began eating slowly.

"Mmm, this is really good. Did you make it?"

He laughed. "I did make it. I opened a can, poured it into a pot, and turned on the stove, so yes, I made it."

She giggled and stuck her tongue out at him. He grinned at her, obviously pleased with himself that he made her laugh.

"Well, you did a fantastic job. Best soup I've ever had. You'll have to give me your recipe," she replied sarcastically.

"Okay, now you're laying it on thick and making me feel guilty for not making it from scratch."

She laughed and took another bite.

"Nooo… I would never do that. Nope. Not me."

He gave her an incredulous look and shook his head. She could see his lips twitching at the corners.

He sat quietly, letting her eat, offering a drink of the shake to her between bites. She could get used to the shake. After she'd eaten as much as she could, she pushed the still-half-full bowl away from her. Kane frowned and grumbled. He seemed to grumble a lot. Maybe he needed that checked out too.

"We need to work on you eating a little more."

"Okay, but not tonight, please. I'm so tired, and my tummy is still feeling uneasy."

He studied her before nodding, "Okay. Are you sure you don't want me to set you up in the house? I'd feel better about you being closer to me."

She shook her head. "I'm okay. I'm so tired tonight. It's not even that late, but it's been such a long day. I'm probably going to just crash."

The frown on his face told her he didn't like her answer, but he nodded and pulled an iPhone out of his back pocket.

"Here. This is for you. I added mine, Luke's, and Ally's phone numbers to it for you. Use it as much as you want. It's all unlimited."

She took the phone from his hand, feeling the heat of him brush against her. The pull she felt toward him was strong. Her attraction to Tim had been nothing compared to what she felt toward Kane.

"Thank you, Kane. For everything. I feel like I will never be able…"

He cut her off. "If you say anything about repaying me, you will be in a lot of trouble, baby alligator."

She closed her mouth and used her hand to imitate zipping her lips shut and throwing away the key. His eyes crinkled at the corners slightly, showing his amusement, and she couldn't help but smile.

"Well… again… thank you. All of this means so much to me."

He reached over, brushing his knuckles over her non-bruised cheek, using his thumb to rub gently. She almost thought he was going to kiss her until he pulled his hand away slowly and sighed.

"I will let you go to bed. Call or text if you need anything, or just come over to the house."

She nodded, feeling slightly disappointed, though she didn't know why. He'd already offered for her to stay in the house with him. She couldn't expect him to stay in the apartment with her all night. Why didn't she give in to his offer?

"See ya later, baby alligator."

"In a while, crocodile," she whispered before closing the door.

She left the lights on and crawled into the comfortable bed. She was completely drained, but her mind wouldn't stop thinking about the man who was so close yet too far away for her liking. Despite her earlier release in the shower, her clit was aching again, only she had a feeling that her own fingers wouldn't be able to relieve that ache. It felt like she tossed and turned for hours until she finally dozed off into a fitful sleep.