Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

“You were spectacular, princess.”There was nothing like the praise of a good Daddy after an incredible scene. Still feeling like my head was spinning, I leaned against his sturdy frame for support as he reached into the shower.

Both of us were sweaty, messy, and completely blissful in the afterglow of our play.

“That was, hands down, the best scene of my life,” I murmured dreamily.

“That’s just the beginning.” With a kiss to the top of my head, he guided me into the large shower stall — more like a shower room, if you asked me — and followed in behind me. Multiple jets of water pointed at us. No cold spot in this shower! It had already filled up with steam in the short time since he had turned the water on.

“I can’t imagine it getting better than that.”

“Well, as we get to know one another, our scenes will grow. Then, as emotions come into play, it can get quite intense, quite fast.”

“Emotions make that big of a difference?” While I believed that whole-heartedly, I had no reason to think he did as well. There was that pesky insecurity sneaking up on me again. The last thing I needed to do was catch feelings for this incredible man if he wasn’t going to return them. I squashed down the tiny voice that warned me it might already be too late. That was not a today Willow problem. Most certainly not. Tomorrow Willow could handle that.

“Emotions make all the difference, if you ask me.” Adam pulled me closer to him, as if any amount of space between us was too much right then. “Actually, since we are on the topic, I feel like it’s important to talk about how scenes like this make us feel. They can invoke really strong emotions at times, especially coming down from subspace.”

“I was in pretty deep subspace,” I giggled. My hands ran the loofah over his muscular chest. It took everything I had not to lean forward and kiss his skin, all speckled with water droplets.

“Yes, you were. It was incredible to behold.” His hands never strayed far from me, constantly touching from shoulder to waist, caressing my hips and breasts along the way.

“And since we are talking about emotions, I think it might do us some good to have a short discussion about how we’re both feeling,” he added. My stomach clenched. He wanted to talk about our feelings now? That was supposed to be for tomorrow Willow!

Was I ready to say any of them aloud?

“You go first, since you brought it up,” I teased, opting for a cutesy response over an emotional one I wasn’t sure I was ready for.

“If you say so, princess. Well, it’s kind of new territory for me,” he sighed, shifting our positions so he could rinse off under the water’s spray.

“How so?” I watched the suds slide down his body, over every inch of his skin. Was I jealous of soap lather? Wow. Seriously, wow. Before I had time to continue my ogling, he turned our positions again, letting the spray wet my hair fully. Turning me around, he began spreading shampoo over my head.

“It’s been ten years since Abigail died,” he muttered, his fingers rubbing the shampoo into my hair with incredible tenderness. For a moment, my chest tightened, remembering that awful day. Alyssa and I had been seniors in high school, and still best friends at the time. I had spent more time at her house than mine that year. When Abigail had gotten sick and passed so suddenly, Alyssa had been beyond devastated. I had too, to a lesser extent. Abigail had been a huge presence in my life.

“I remember,” I whispered.

“I will always miss her, but I’ve worked hard to move on with my life these last ten years. That being said, I haven’t really opened myself up to anything more than play partners. Well, not really.”

“I feel like there’s a story there.”

“There was a short period of time when I went on far too many blind dates, usually set up by my friends. But I haven’t really been open to the idea of a real relationship since Abigail.”

“And… now?” I asked with a wince, thanking God he couldn’t see my face as he lathered my hair up. I didn’t know if I even wanted the answer to that question. If he said he wasn’t open to a real romantic relationship, I would be devastated. I was developing feelings for the man rapidly, even if I wasn’t ready to admit it. But if he said he was ready for more, how much more would that complicate things in the long run?

“Now, I’ve made the decision to stop keeping my guard up quite so high. I guess I’m sort of adopting the whole let’s see what happens attitude.”

“But it’s not off the table?” I asked, timid as a mouse.

“Not even close, princess,” he whispered right against the shell of my ear. I gasped as he spun me around in the shower, tugging my hair sharply until my head hung back, the water sluicing over my sudsy locks until the water ran clean.

“What about you? What concerns do you have?” he asked, turning me back around to run conditioner through my hair. Thank God, or it would be a tangled mess by morning, even if I brushed it. It could be wild when it wanted to be.

“That feels so good,” I groaned as he massaged my scalp. A moment later, he turned me again, letting the conditioner rinse out of my hair.

“Are you going to answer my question?” he teased. I turned back around, letting the water run over the front of my body. In all honesty, it was hard to be so blatantly honest with those dark eyes looking down at me, making me think of all the dirty things we had done together. Or better yet — the dirty things we had yet to do.

“If I’m being honest, it’s still a little weird that you’re Alyssa’s father,” I admitted. He groaned, but I quickly continued. “It doesn’t bother me to the point of not moving forward. I’m just saying that it wasn’t exactly what I had planned. But it’s not a deal-breaker.”

“The best laid plans of mice and men,” he muttered against the back of my shoulder as the water sprayed over us.

“Do not start quoting Robert Burns to me.” I turned just enough for him to see my tongue sticking out.

“Then do not worry so much about Alyssa, princess,” he murmured, his lips almost buzzing against the tender flesh at the back of my neck as he brushed the heavy, wet locks of my hair to the side.

“That feels so good.”

“I’m about to make you feel better.”

No other words were spoken as he turned me, lifting me into his arms with the strength of a man half his age and took me against the shower wall.

Well… no clean words were spoken.

Only the dirty, dirty words of a Daddy to his little princess.