Page 21

Dagger

“T his isn’t necessary.” Sinclair pushed in close to me, her tits pressed right up against my arm.

Her scent invaded my nostrils, stronger than the nachos we made for dinner and stronger than the chocolate cake that was still baking in the oven.

“This is time for you and Dani. Father-daughter time.” I knew she was thinking of her younger self and how badly she wanted her father’s attention.

“Dani is right there.” I pointed to where my daughter was bent over peeking inside the oven to check on the cake’s progress. “And I’m here. We’re together, which means father-daughter time.”

Her gaze narrowed at me, and she folded her arms which did nothing to hide her gorgeous tits beneath that olive-green cardigan. “You don’t play fair, do you?”

I laughed. “This is the best place for you right now since this is where I am. And neither Dani nor I mind having you here.” I held my fingers in front of her face. “Are you okay? Feeling dizzy or nauseous?”

She smacked my hand away. “I’m fine.”

I laughed, happy to have her here in my home where she was safe. “It’s my job to make sure you’re okay.”

She blinked slowly, her eyes wide and sparkling under the golden kitchen lights. “I appreciate you taking your job so seriously, Dagger.” She placed one gentle hand on my chest. “Now are these special hour-long nachos or can we eat before I gnaw off my forearm?”

“Yeah, Dad, I’m gonna gnaw my arm too!” Dani appeared in my line of sight wearing a teasing smile.

“Yeah, yeah.” I turned my back on them and cut the heat under the beef and onions. “Fine, it’s time to eat. How about I set up the projector in the backyard?”

“You have a projector?” Sinclair’s stunned expression was adorable as she turned to Dani. “Do you watch movies in the backyard all the time?”

Dani’s smile fell. “No. Dad’s busy and Callie doesn’t know how to work it.”

My heart hammered in my chest, guilt washing over me and reminding me that I was failing in my job as a dad. I wanted to explain or apologize, but Sinclair hopped in before I could.

“Then you get to pick what we watch tonight. What kind of movies do you like?”

Dani thought about it for a long minute while I loaded the ingredients onto the kitchen table. “I like funny movies and fantasy movies. What do you like?”

“I like funny movies too, but I’m more of a romance or a thriller girl myself. I think, though, that you are too young for thrillers.” She laughed, keeping it light as her stomach growled. “And I think I need to eat before I pass out from hunger.”

Dani laughed and stood beside Sinclair at the table, fixing her nachos the same way her teacher did. “Cheese on the top and the bottom?”

“Yeah, cheese is the glue that holds the nachos together.” She stacked her nachos meticulously and Dani followed suit. “Now the real question is, sour cream last or jalapenos?”

“Sour cream! That way it cools off the jalapeno peppers.”

“Smart,” she answered simply, and plopped sour cream on top of her nacho mountain last.

We settled in the backyard for a kids’ movie that held absolutely zero appeal to me, but Dani was riveted. I don’t even think she blinked or looked away from the screen as she devoured her nachos. She was oblivious when I walked my fingers across the blanket and laid my hand on top of Sinclair’s.

She smiled and flipped her hand over, but only for a second before she pulled away and finished off her nachos. And not before I noticed the blush on her cheeks.

Dani fell asleep before the movie ended and I scooped her up, loving the warmth of her small body in my arms. Dani was my entire world and holding her like this reminded me that she was small and vulnerable and I needed her to know I would always be there for her, no matter our past. No matter what.

I found Sinclair in the kitchen eating more nachos. Her eyes closed as she slid the chip into her mouth with a moan.

My cock sprang to life, and I bit back a groan, but not quick enough before she froze and opened her eyes, sliding a gaze my way. “Need a moment?”

She grinned around the chip and nodded. “A moment or five.” She finished chewing and then laughed. “You make damn good nachos, anyone ever tell you that?”

“Not anyone. Ever.” But it was nice to hear that she appreciated my limited culinary skills.

“Then let me be the first to tell you that they were absolutely delicious. Probably the best nachos I’ve ever had,” she said with a sincere smile.

“Thank you, Sinclair.”

“No, thank you .” She went through my drawers and cabinets until she found plastic containers, quickly storing all the leftovers.

“I thought about what you said about being there for Dani when she wakes up in the morning, and you’re right.”

She nodded. “I wasn’t trying to lecture you, just sharing it from the perspective of a girl who only wants her dad.”

“Believe it or not, I understand completely. The only difference is that I wasn’t allowed to be hurt when my old man wasn’t around in the morning.

He was out bustin’ heads, sellin’ dope, and livin’ that life.

I wasn’t allowed to miss him or say I missed him.

Shit, I wasn’t allowed to say or do anything that might make anybody think I was soft. ”

“Sounds like a real gem,” she said sarcastically.

“He was your classic tough guy. Thought feelings made you soft and being soft made you an easier target.” I didn’t know why I told her all of that.

“I don’t want Dani growing up like that, cold and without feelings, so I’m trying to do better, and according to you that means being here in the morning for her. ”

Sinclair nodded.

I smiled because the trap was set. “Which is why the best thing for you and me and Dani is for you to stay here. My place is secure,” I added before she could argue.

Her eyes darted around for a second, something she did when she was thinking, probably for another reason to go home.

“And I can keep an eye on you better here.”

She closed her mouth and opened it again.

“Plus, your stalker doesn’t know where I live. And if he finds out, I have a better security system that might help us identify him.” I closed the distance between us and trapped her between me and the counter.

“What are you doing?” she asked breathlessly.

“Giving in,” I whispered before my mouth slammed down over hers.

Her lips were soft and plump, pliant as they opened on a gasp.

Our tongues collided in a fiery tornado of want and need, heat and passion.

She moaned when my tongue slicked across hers, harder when I plunged deeper and held her closer.

Sinclair’s arms wrapped around me, her gorgeous tits pressed against my chest and her heart thundered against mine.

The kiss was a whirlwind of ecstasy. I didn’t think I’d ever been so satisfied just kissing a woman as I was kissing her right there in my kitchen while my daughter slept upstairs.

Her fingertips dug into my shoulders, and she pressed closer as if she couldn’t get close enough, couldn’t get enough of me.

One leg hitched up over my hip, putting the warmth of her pussy directly against my cock and making me wish we both had on a fuck of a lot less clothing.

She pulled back with a shuddery breath. “Dagger.”

“Right here, babe.” My voice was thick with lust because I wanted her so fucking bad that I was seconds away from stripping her down and sliding my cock deep. “Fuck,” I growled, unsnapping the button on her jeans before I tugged the zipper down. “Tell me to stop,” I demanded.

“I should,” she moaned, but her head fell back when my fingers slid past her waistband and into her panties. “Oh!”

“Your pussy is so hot and so fucking wet. Is that for me?”

“I don’t know, is it?” Just to make me lose my fucking mind even more, she opened her legs wider, silently begging me to touch her. “Oh fuck.” Her head fell back when I found her clit first and swirled my middle finger around it.

Her pussy was already drenched, as if she’d been thinking about this moment before I even knew it would happen. I slid from her clit to her hole and slipped inside just enough to feel her clench around me. “I love that when I touch you like this, you react.”

A husky laugh escaped. “I just love it when you touch me like this.”

My finger plunged deep, pulling a soft moan from her lips. I added a second finger, her tight cunt squeezing me so hard it made my cock jealous. She pulsed around me instantly and sucked in a sharp breath. “Come for me, Sinclair. Let me see you come all over my fingers.”

She gasped again, her eyes wide and shocked while my fingers fucked her hard and deep, coaxing more and more pleasure from her while I kissed from her lips to her jaw and down the column of her neck. “Dagger,” she cried out on a jagged breath.

“Now,” I urged, and pressed my thumb against her clit, rubbing wild circles while my fingers found a punishing pace that she responded to like a wildcat. “Yeah, just like that.”

Her body trembled as the orgasm shot through her, pussy clenching my fingers hard enough to break them.

She pulsed as shaky breaths left her body while her hips rolled, fucking my hand until every last drop of need had been wrung from her body.

“Oh, Dagger.” She gripped my arms and rode out her orgasm until her body went limp against mine.

“Fuck, I love to make you come.”

She laughed, still breathless. “You’re so good at it too. Yet another reason you’re so dangerous. I might confuse this orgasmic euphoria for something more.”

“Now you’re just trying to sweet talk me out of my pants.”

Her eyes darkened and she licked her lips. “Maybe I am.”

My cock was on board with that plan, but the goddamn phone interrupted. I groaned and reached across the countertop for it. “Yeah.” I listened but my gaze never left Sinclair’s face, and she couldn’t stop watching.

She gasped when I pulled my slick fingers from her pussy and rubbed her juices on my lips before I licked them clean. “Dirty,” she mouthed.

“What the fuck?” I licked my fingers clean and focused on the call. “Yeah, I’ll be there in ten.”

“What’s wrong?” she asked, her voice suddenly full of worry.

“Some asshole vandalized my shop.” Steel City Ink belonged to the MC, but it was my baby. It’s where I spent most of my time and how I made my money.

“Oh no!” her hands flew to her mouth, all traces of desire gone. “It wasn’t him , was it?”

Shit, I should have known she’d go there because that’s where the fuck I went too. “I don’t know yet. Stay here.”

This time she nodded, accepting without arguing, which I appreciated. “Be safe, okay?”

I stopped and turned back to her. “You worried about me?”

She nodded. “Duh.”

“I’ll be fine,” I assured her, and pressed a hot, too fucking quick, kiss to her lips. “Promise. Think about what I said about staying here.”

She let out a short laugh. “There’s only one thing I’ll be thinking about more than that,” she replied.

“That’s what I like to hear,” I said, kissing her one last time before I left, hopped on my bike, and hauled ass to the tattoo parlor.

***

I frowned when I pulled up to the shop. It was vandalized, but it looked like it was done by a bratty fucking teenager.

“What the fuck?” I exclaimed as I took in the spray paint and the broken window.

The ink that stained the floor and the cash register.

It was fucked but it wasn’t as rage-filled as I expected.

Diesel was there with Gio and Rebel. “Who’d you piss off?” Rebel asked with a grin.

“Who haven’t I pissed off?” I had a feeling this was more about Sinclair than me. “Did the cameras catch anything?”

Diesel shrugged. “Just got the footage to Slate. He’s looking into it.”

“This is a pain in the ass, but it doesn’t exactly send a message.”

Gio scratched his chin. “This is busy work more than anything. You got competition or your woman?”

I shook my head. As far as Sinclair knew, nobody wanted her at all, never mind enough to stalk.

“The hookah lounge owner says he heard a couple bikes taking off when the shop’s alarm sounded.” Maverick joined with an exhausted expression on his face. “Are we thinking Bloody Devils?”

“Has to be, right?” Rocky rubbed his face and let out a heavy sigh.

“We need have a chat with our new friends,” Diesel said, his voice low and menacing.