Dont say daddy.

GA?L'S TEETH GNASHED as his mind kept returning to Spencer's words en route to Juliette's university. Since he was thirty-four to his ward's eighteen, he was admittedly old enough to have sired her...but not fucking once had he thought of her as his daughter. A child yes, but his fucking daughter?

And now, a daughter whose pussy he had already tasted and blood he had already drank?

FUCK!

Ga?l tightened his grip around his steering wheel in an effort to contain his fury. He knew he was being unreasonable, and that there was no one to blame for the age gap between them. It was simply a fact of life, but...

What about Juliette? Did she also see him as a father figure? Had she ever seen him as her daddy? And what about her peers? If they saw him as her father, would that bother her? Maybe even make him less attractive in his ward's eyes?

There was only one way to find out, and a few minutes later, Ga?l's text message had Juliette hurriedly excusing herself from the other wards. Although this was not Ga?l's first time to attend a PTA as her guardian, he usually did so in a low-key manner. He had never sought her presence even when he was in her school, and she would only learn about what her teachers had told Ga?l upon meeting him at home.

This was the first time Ga?l had asked her to meet him, and Juliette couldn't help feeling nervous as she wrung her hands while waiting for—-

Oh.

Juliette's heart skipped a beat as the familiar sight of her guardian's limousine rolled up the driveway, and Ga?l's chauffeur, dear old Toby, stepped out to open the door for his master.

"Hi."

The tightness in Ga?l's chest eased upon hearing Juliette's breathless tone. No woman would sound like this if the man she was talking to was someone she saw as her father. Right?

Juliette's apprehension returned when she saw Ga?l's gaze suddenly sweep the parking lot. "What is it?"

"Most of the students here drive their own cars," Ga?l observed darkly.

"Well...of course. Not all of them can afford to hire their own personal drivers—-"

"Do you think it's better that I drive rather than take the limo?"

Juliette's brows furrowed. "What do you mean by better?"

"Which would make you more comfortable? Do you prefer riding the limo with me? Or is it more comfortable for you if I were the one behind the wheel?"

Juliette's confusion grew. "I'm still not sure what you mean, but..." She looked at him earnestly. "I think it's your comfort that should matter more. Didn't you once tell me that you preferred taking the limo because it afforded you to work and multitask while traveling? But you see, you're always so busy everyday, I also think taking the limo is ideal. That way, you can use any spare time you have to rest."

It was not the answer Ga?l had expected, but damn if those words didn't make him realize just how fucking sweet his ward was. However—-

"Can I ask you one last thing?"

"Okay..." Juliette couldn't help tensing as she waited for him to speak. It wasn't like Ga?l to talk about these things in public, and they couldn't get any more public than the two of them standing in front of the school entrance, with every UdLA student gaping and staring at their direction. Could this be some kind of test? Or a trick question, maybe?

"Have you ever thought of me as your father?"

Oh, she knew it!

He was up to one of his tricks again!

Ga?l was caught off guard when Juliette suddenly started blushing and shaking her head.

"Oh my God, Ga?l," his ward whispered. "Stop it. Not here, please."

He blinked. "Stop what?"

"You're teasing me again," Juliette accused him under her breath. "You've figured out that I can't play those games—-"

Since she was still whispering, and he still had no idea why that was, Ga?l decided to play along as he lowered his head and whispered back, "What games?"

Juliette looked at him, aghast. Was he really going to make her say it here? Didn't he notice the other students and even faculty members staring at them?

"Well?"

Oh God .

He was really going to make her say the words then.

With her cheeks turning red, Juliette squirmed as she whispered, " Kinky games. You realized that I just can't do it and call you daddy, and that's why you've been asking these questions. I'm right, aren't I?"

Ga?l's lips pressed together in a straight line. Juliette had obviously misunderstood him, but by doing so, she had also given him the answer he needed. His ward definitely did not think of him as her father, and as for Juliette's other worry...

Juliette started squirming again when she saw the contemplative look in her guardian's eyes.

"Are you sure you can't call me daddy?"

Juliette gave him a horrified look. Yes, she was absolutely sure she didn't have it in her to call him.. .that .

"But...what if I say it would terribly disappoint me that you can't?" Ga?l knew he shouldn't be teasing his ward like this, but how the fuck could he resist doing so when she was being so adorable with the way she was now fidgeting in front of him?

Juliette gnawed on her lip. She hated the thought of disappointing her guardian, but...

"Are you sure you won't change your mind?"

Oh God .

When his tone was husky like that, she wanted to give him everything, but...

"Can't you please choose something else?" she begged. "I'll call you anything else...except that."

"Then...how about you choose what to call me," Ga?l said solemnly, "and I'll let you know what I think?"

His ward went back to her lip gnawing, and it was all he could do not to gnaw on her lip himself. A few more moments passed, and just as he was about to take pity on her and say he was only teasing, Juliette suddenly raised herself on her toes and whispered her choice straight into his ear.

Fuck.

He was instantly hard, and without another word, he grabbed her hand and made a terse call to his driver.

Juliette's heart was beating hard as Toby came back to pick them up. Once inside the limo, Ga?l didn't waste time getting the privacy window behind his driver slide up, and before she could ask him what he had in mind—-

Oh my God.

He already had her legs wide open, Ga?l was on his knees between them, and Juliette's senses swirled.

"Remember what you're supposed to call me," her guardian purred.

It was her only warning just before his head delved under her skirt, and he was pushing her panties to the side so his tongue could flick against her clit.

A moan tore out of her throat, and her fingers curled helplessly into fists as Ga?l started sucking on the swollen nub of flesh.

"Oh God."

And when she remembered what she had promised to call him—-

"Oh God, yes, baby , yes."

And as he sucked harder and harder, and her body started to shake and arch up against his mouth, all she could do was grip the beautiful curls of his head as she moaned, "Please, baby, please don't stop. Please, baby, pleeeeeaaase..... baaaaaaaaabyyyyy! "

UDLA'S LUNCH HALL WAS a lot more crowded and noisier than usual, with many of the students' parents and guardians taking advantage of the parent-teacher conference that no other university offered.

The other Bellecourts were already with their wards when Ga?l and Juliette joined them in their table. She waited nervously for one of them to ask why they were late, but no one did, and Juliette was relieved.

Oh, thank God, no one had figured out what was going on between her and her guardian!

Ga?l took the chance to inform his family about Etienne's latest discovery, and Jean Luc grimly agreed to tighten up security.

"But is it possible, though?" Sydney wanted to know. "None of us goes anywhere a stray vampire could've had enough time to become obsessed with us."

"That might be true," Severin acknowledged, "but there's no harm in taking extra precautions."

Lunch break eventually came to an end, and it was time for the wards to accompany their respective guardians to the faculty hall.

As Ga?l went to speak with Professor Gustav, Juliette headed to the ladies', and when she came back, the sight that greeted her broke her heart.

Was that Emilia Moretti talking to her guardian?

Aprilynne saw the look of pain on Juliette's face and hurriedly made up an excuse to the other wards before taking Juliette somewhere private.

"You looked like you were about to cry," she said uneasily.

"I'm sorry." Juliette felt mortified at how she had failed to control her emotions. If it were Emilia in her shoes, the other girl probably wouldn't have made such a childish mistake. Emilia just seemed so perfect, and the more she thought about it, the more she felt it was wrong and selfish of her to even dream of earning Ga?l's love.

Turning to Aprilynne, she asked haltingly, "Are you aware of this new experiment of Etienne—-"

"The one that makes use of precoital cum?"

Fire still burst in Juliette's cheeks even with Aprilynne uttering the words in a pragmatic tone. Was she world's last living prude or what? Why did everyone seem to have such an easy time saying these things?

Aprilynne looked at Juliette pensively. "If you know about it, then I'm guessing Ga?l was the one who told you himself?"

Juliette nodded. "He only told me that he has to consume a certain amount in order to improve my blood's compatibility with his."

"I see..."

"Is there something else I should know, something else I can do..." Juliette's voice trailed off when she saw Aprilynne's discomfited expression. "There's another catch, isn't there?"

The other girl didn't answer, and it was so unlike Aprilynne to hesitate that Juliette's misgivings grew. "It's not like you to pull your punches. Is it that bad?"

Aprilynne heaved a sigh. This was why she hated having to do with anything that involved romantic feelings. It just made things more complicated, when everything could've been simple and calculable.

"It's true that consuming the required amount of precoital cum, when mixed with the sangferia drank from the exact same source, can increase blood compatibility."

"But..." Juliette couldn't help holding her breath again. "There's a but, isn't there?"

"Doing so would render any other subsequent consumption of sangferia from other sources null and void."

Juliette blinked. "I...don't get it."

"If Ga?l consumes the required amount of precoital cum from your body, and later on your sangferia as well, blood compatibility will improve, and he will enjoy all the other benefits that come with it. However, this method has a side effect. It will make his body unable to process any other source of sangferia afterwards. So if ever things don't work out between you, or if a day comes that Ga?l needs to further increase his strength for battle - he won't be able to do it. He can consume the sangferia of a near perfect-match like Emilia's, and it won't do anything for him. That is the downside of using a supplementary method for improving chemical compatibility."

Aprilynne looked at Juliette with regret. "It's a one-shot deal for Ga?l, so I hope both of you will really think things out before proceeding."