Daddy’s Little Surprise (Missouri Daddies #6)

7. Chapter Five

CHAPTER FIVE

RAINEY

R ainey and Daddy stood outside his house. It was a one-story house with three bedrooms, a living room, and a screened-in patio. Daddy said it was beautiful, and he couldn’t wait to show her every little piece.

She honestly couldn’t wait to see the patio. Just thinking about sitting outside, reading a book, and not worrying about all the bugs made her sigh in happiness. Rainey was allergic to what seemed like everything. Anytime she got bitten by a mosquito, the site would swell up before she even touched it. The same went for bees and wasps.

“Do you use your patio a lot?”

“Not as much as I’d like to.”

“That’s a shame. If I had one, I would use it every chance I got.”

It was something she had dreamed about, but when she looked into the cost of one, it was super expensive. She could have figured out how to do it herself, but she wasn’t handy and probably would have made a huge mess of it .

“You can use it anytime you want. It’s not like a normal screened-in patio. The roof is glass, so the sun shines in, and when it rains, you can see the rain hitting it.”

She stared at him in awe. That sounded like absolute heaven.

“Tomorrow, I’ll show you what it looks like. You can spend as much time as you want out there as long as you relax and do nothing else. If I catch you doing anything but relaxing, you’ll be out there with supervision.”

She gasped. “You would not.”

Daddy got down to her level. “Watch me, Little girl.”

Before she could say anything, he stood to his full height and unlocked the front door. She stood close behind him as they walked in. His living room had several pictures hung on the wall in a little splash of color, but everything else was neutral. It suited him.

“Those pillows are so pretty,” she whispered. They were a bright yellow and didn’t fit in his living room, but she loved them. “You have two of them!”

Daddy looked at her funnily, but she didn’t pay any attention . Rainey knew he didn’t know about her liking things in even numbers. It was an odd thing, but anytime she didn’t have an even number, her skin started to crawl. That was one of the reasons why her pastries were sold in even numbers. That way, her mind was always at rest.

Dumb, but it helped her, and nobody seemed to complain.

All of a sudden, Rainey saw a dog dash toward them. She let out a little squeal and waddled behind Marco, gripping his arm and shirt while she closed her eyes. He would save her .

“Dane, sit,” Daddy commanded.

Just the authoritativeness in his voice made her want to sit, and she wasn’t Dane.

“Rainey, you have nothing to fear. Dane won’t hurt you. He’s a sweetheart when he wants to be.”

“When he wants to be?!” she squeaked out.

What did Daddy mean when his dog wanted to be? Did he go around biting people and bringing terror? Was he only a sweetheart to Daddy and only him?

Daddy laughed, and she quickly hit his arm.

“It’s not funny. He could kill me and the baby.”

Daddy reached back and pulled her hand off his shirt. As he turned toward her, she saw Dane sitting there looking all calm with his tongue sticking out. He looked so cute, but what she said could be true.

“Dane would never harm you. I promise. You don’t ever have to worry about that. He will harm anyone who tries to harm you. If he thinks someone is being threatening, he will bark at them and attack them if they get too close to you, but he will never turn on you.”

She stared at Daddy wide-eyed, taking in everything he had just said. How did he know Dane wouldn’t harm her?

“I can see it written all over your face. Dane would never harm you because he already has a soft spot for you. We have a walking route, and when you moved into town, he wanted to change it all of a sudden. He could smell your scent because every time we walked by your coffee shop, he would stop for a second. That turned into him taking a potty break, but when I try to take him our old way, he won’t have it.”

Her mouth hung open. He was not being serious. There was no way Dane could smell her scent and already be protective of her. Was that how it worked?

“We’re going to pet him together.”

She took a step back and teeter-tottered on her feet. “I don’t know.”

“Rainey, I know you’re nervous, but we need to do this. You’re going to be staying here, which means you’ll be around him. I don’t want you to be afraid of him. He is the biggest teddy bear to the people he loves, and he already loves you. Can you see his tongue sticking out and his eyes following your every move?”

There was no way Dane was following her. She looked at the dog and moved her body to the right a little, and his eyes tracked her the whole way.

“See? I’m not lying to you. I would never lie to you about something like this.”

She nodded and took a step forward. Daddy took her hand.

“Hold your hand in a fist, and we’ll let Dane smell it.”

She did what he said, and Daddy held her wrist as they got closer to Dane’s face.

“Gentle,” Daddy softly spoke.

Rainey closed her eyes as Daddy put her hand closer to Dane’s mouth. A wet, cold sensation went across her hand, and she quickly pulled it back, letting out a little scream.

She opened her eyes to see Dane intently watching her but still sitting where he was before.

“We’re going to try this again, but this time, I want your eyes to be open. All Dane did was sniff your hand and touch it with his wet nose. He did nothing else.”

Daddy held her wrist again as they tried it once more. This time, she did keep her eyes open but held her breath the closer they got. What if Dane decided to bite her hand? She had no idea how strong his jaw was, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to get away.

Dane sniffed her hand for several seconds before his tongue snuck out and licked her.

“Breathe,” Daddy gently said as he rubbed her back. “Take a deep breath with Daddy. Everything is okay. Dane isn’t going to do anything.”

She filled her lungs with air as Dane started to lick her hand again.

“See, such a teddy bear. You can pet him now.”

Daddy let go of her hand, and she watched intently, waiting to see if Dane would harm her without Daddy touching her. But it never happened. Dane still gave her gentle licks every once in a while.

“Whenever you’re ready, you can pet him.”

She took a deep breath and started to pet the top of Dane’s head. She immediately relaxed as Dane pushed his head into her hand, wanting more. A total teddy bear, Daddy was right.

Rainey sat down and continued to stroke Dane. At one point, she even wrapped her arms around him and hugged him.

“I love him,” she whispered.

“I don’t want to say I told you so, but I told you so. Dane will forever love you and protect you.”

“Can you help me up?”

She hadn’t really thought it through when she sat on the ground, but it was getting harder and harder to get up from the floor with each passing day. She could probably figure it out, but Daddy was there, and she didn’t want to expend energy she didn’t have to.

Daddy squatted and helped her up. She winced as her feet started to ache. Once she earned more money, she was going to invest in better shoes.

“I’ll add that to the list.”

“What list? And add what?” she asked.

“Shoes. A list of things I’m going to buy you.”

She put her hands on her waist. “I don’t need you to buy me anything. You don’t need to spend your money on me.”

Daddy cupped her face with his hands. “Yes, you’re right; I don’t need to buy you anything or spend my money. You’re absolutely right, but I want to. I want to buy you new shoes and clothes and some stuffed animals. I want to spend my money on you.”

Rainey was left speechless. She had never had a man, or anyone, tell her they wanted to buy her something. Any person who bought her a gift made it a big deal. But here Daddy was, doing the exact opposite.

Daddy took her hand and led her toward the kitchen. He pulled out a chair and helped her sit before he got busy doing something. She took a minute to admire the kitchen, but every time she took her eyes off him, they ended up right back.

Watching him do things in the kitchen was hot. His tight shirt showed the muscles rippling. All she wanted to do was rip his shirt off, rip all his clothing off, and just watch .

Rainey clenched her thighs together and took a deep breath. She needed to calm herself down.

“Are you hungry?” Daddy asked as he turned around. “Dane, outside.”

She watched as Dane sprinted to the back and went through the doggy door. Did Daddy not have Dane in the kitchen when he ate?

“Not for food, but you,” she blurted out.

Her eyes went wide as she stared at him. Did she really just say that out loud? There was no way she said that to him.

Rainey stood and started making her way toward the front door. She was not staying in the same house after blurting that out. Absolutely mortifying.

But she didn’t get two steps away before she felt his hand wrap around her neck and his body behind her. His hand wasn’t tight, but it was letting her know he was in control.

It should scare her, make her nervous, but it did the exact opposite. She felt herself getting even more turned on.

“You aren’t going anywhere.”