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“I’m sorry, Daddy,” she said. “I shouldn’t have said anything. Even if it was your boat, it’s none of my business how many women you’ve had here.”

Um, no. He lowered his finger to her chin and tilted her face up until she was forced to look at him. “I want you to ask me anything you want to know. As long as you ask respectfully, I will never get upset with you for asking. I may not be able to answer your question, but I will tell you why I can’t. And I promise I will answer it as soon as I’m free to do so. There are no secrets between a Daddy and his Little girl. Understand?”

She smiled. “Yes, Daddy,” she said, then shivered in his arms.

She was ice cold. What was wrong with him? A Daddy didn’t let his Little girl sit there and freeze to death.

“Let’s get you out of these wet clothes,” he said. “A warm shower will make you feel better.”

She gave a startled cry when he lifted her from the seat they shared and carried her into the bathroom on the left. The marble counters were surrounded by dark, wooden paneled walls. The room took up the entire bow of the yacht, but to Boone, it was small. Then again, for a ship, it was huge.

Entering the master stateroom en suite, he couldn’t hold back a grin at the shower. It would easily hold two people, which fit in with his plans perfectly. But what caught his eye was the built-in seating area at one end and the almost shoulder-high ledge shelf under the dual shower head.

There were any number of advantages to explore, but he needed to talk to her first. She might prefer a soak in the free-standing marble tub. That would only be disappointing if she wanted to do it alone.

“Tildi, you have a choice to make about how you want this to go. I want you to know I won’t be upset with whatever you decide. Your comfort is the most important thing to me. We can handle this shower one of two ways. I can get the water set at the right temperature for you then leave you to shower alone. Or I can stay, and we can shower together. If I stay, you need to know we will be getting dirtier before we get clean. I will do whatever you want. There is no wrong decision. This is about you, what you are ready for, what you need, and what you want. What can Daddy do to make you feel better?”

She stared up at him for a long time, still shivering. He was about to make the choice for her when she said, “I’ve been alone for over a year. I don’t want to be alone anymore.”

Thank God.

“You aren’t alone anymore, babygirl. Now you have a Daddy. I feel a connection to you that I’ve never experienced before. I think you feel it, too.” At least, he hoped she did.

Without breaking eye contact, she nodded.

“I’m going to need your words this time, Bluebell.”

He could have predicted the adorable pink that washed over her cheeks. “Yes, Daddy. I feel it, too.”

A tension he hadn’t realized he had relaxed its hold. But he wasn’t done. “If we do this, I won’t be able to pull back. You’ve already made a decision that lasts until we get to Seattle. But I’ll be honest. The way I feel right now, I don’t know if I’ll be able to let you go by then.”

“I don’t know if I will, either,” she said. “But I’m willing to risk it if you are. If I’ve learned anything the past year, it’s that you can’t waste today waiting for what might come tomorrow.”

Truer words had never been spoken, though it gutted him that she knew them already. She was way too young to havelearned those lessons. Especially since he knew she’d learned them in such a hard way.

Grabbing the bottom of her shirt, he said, “Reach for the sky, Bluebell.”

With a laugh, she raised her arms, allowing him to pull off her wet top. It landed with a splat where he dropped it. When he turned back to face her, his mouth went dry, and he lost the ability to speak. Hell, he lost the ability to think. Even knowing from the spanking he’d given her earlier, he was unprepared for the sight before him.

She stood, eyes to the floor, back stiff as a board, like a prisoner before a judge waiting to be sentenced for a crime. The warm air of the hot shower had smoothed the pebbling from her skin, but her nipples pressed against the sheer fabric of her bra, barely hidden by the tiny lace flowers scattered across the cups.

Without lifting her face, she peeked up at him through her hair. Rage threatened to engulf him at the fear in her eyes, but he fought it back. It wasn’t her he was upset with. She’d been through enough, and not just that day. She’d been living under the threat of the Cosa Nostra for a long time. No woman should endure what she had.

Before that moment, killing Midnight had been justice enough. Now… now that man would suffer. He would beg for death before Boone put him down like the vicious animal he was.

He schooled his features to only show the desire consuming him at having her here with him now. As he removed her bra, he traced each of her numerous bruises, pressing his lips on each mark on her her arms. They didn’t shock him, nor did they dampen the desire keeping his cock at attention.

He shifted closer, crowding into her personal space. Her face shot up to stare at him, and he let every ounce of hunger and passion he’d held back show in his eyes. He wasn’t always great with words. Actions were his language.

He slipped his fingers into the waistband of her skirt and slid it and her panties to the floor. After she stood naked before him, he stepped back for a moment and rid himself of his clothes. The rigid state of his dick could speak for him. Cupping her jaw in his hands, he guided her back toward the shower.

He allowed his eyes to skim her tempting curves. When she lifted her hands to cover her breasts and the vee between her legs, he blocked her efforts and placed her palms on her outer thighs.

“Every inch of you is perfection, babygirl. You have no need to be ashamed of your body, and you have nothing to fear. Nothing happens between us, now or ever, without your consent. Nothing. Do you remember that safeword from earlier?”

He waited for her answer. She nodded, but that wasn’t good enough.

“Words, Matilda…” He paused, realizing he had missed gathering important intel. “Tildi, what is your middle name?”