His palm began to itch. One day. One day soon, she’d be his Little girl. And he’d tease her every day just for the opportunity to toss her over his knee and spank that perfectly rounded bottom. Then he’d hold her and kiss her until she knew exactly how much she was loved.
“You do,” he admitted. “But do you have to come to me last every morning? I’d think being the most regular customer The Broken Bridle has would afford me some privileges.”
“Hm, let me check.” She turned to the back of her order padand pretended to read. “Hm, nope. I don’t see your name on the list. I guess you’ll have to talk to Hank about that. I’m sure it’s just an oversight on his part. Would you like me to see if he’s available to tell you what he thinks about your privileges?”
Before he could parry her verbal jab, she turned to glance around the room. Someone who hadn’t been studying her for six months might think she was checking to make sure no one’s cup was empty. But Trace knew every move this girl made. So, he didn’t miss her hesitation when her gaze landed on the stranger sitting in the booth on the other side of the room.
Trace had clocked the guy as soon as he walked in. Some concrete cowboy trying to look the part and missing the mark.
When Kip spun back around to face Trace, there was no mistaking the fear in her eyes. He gave the man another look. The man dropped his gaze to his phone when he noticed Trace staring, but he kept glancing up at Kip.
Not that Trace was surprised. Kip was drop-dead gorgeous. Long red hair, the clear blue eyes of an angel, soft curves in all the right places. And his. All his, and Trace didn’t appreciate anyone making his girl feel uncomfortable.
But that didn’t explain why she was not just uncomfortable but downright scared. She caught the eye of the men of Wilder all the time. No, something else was going on here. And he wanted to know what it was.
“Have a seat, little fox.” With a tilt of his head, he indicated the seat opposite him.
“Hank doesn’t pay me to sit, Trace. Just tell me what you want to order.” Another glance over her shoulder followed her words.
That wasn’t happening. He lost the smile. “Sit down, Kip,” he said, infusing his tone with authority. “If Hank has a problem with it, which he won’t, then I’ll talk to him.”
She sat, then blinked at him as if her immediate obedience shocked her. Cute. Then she glanced at the stranger again. Thatwas not so cute. Trace looked at the man as well. He tried to make eye contact, but whenever he did, the man turned his attention to his phone.
Something was definitely off with the guy. Trace just needed to know if Kip had a clue what it was.
“All right, little fox. Tell me what has you tweaked about the man across the room.”
Her gaze snapped back to him, then she gave a quick shake of her head. As if that was going to work.
Her rounded eyes overtook her pale face. “What? Tweaked? I’m… I’m not tweaked. What makes you think I’m tweaked?”
Really? That was how she was playing this? That was just insulting. “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe the fact that your pupils are almost as big as your irises and your pulse is pounding at the speed of a jackhammer.”
She narrowed her eyes. Oh good, they were now at the counterattack part of the conversation. This was moving along splendidly.
“The only thing that has me tweaked is you not letting me do my job. Now, do you want anything for breakfast or not? Because if you don’t, I need to grab another pitcher of Morning After Miracle juice.”
She slid from the booth and headed for the kitchen.
Any other day, he’d have let her. Any other day, he’d have given her time to calm down and then tried again. But this wasn’t any other day. This was the day after he’d been her Daddy at the ranch. She’d loved every minute of it as much as he had. That made this the day he decided he wanted her to be his Little girl.
Added to that, the stranger across the room was bothering his little fox, and that made this a very different day. Trace slid from his seat and caught her as she reached the counter of the bar. Taking her by the arm, he led her into the kitchen.
Being this aggressive could backfire. If he didn’t calm down,he’d scare her away before he could find out what was wrong. When he found out, he could fix the problem. Her eyes were still dark, and her pulse still raced. But now her nipples pressed against her shirt. “What are you doing? You can’t come back here. It’s…it’s a health violation. I… I don’t… don’t need your help.”
“Evidence doesn’t back up that statement, little fox. You do need my help, but I can’t do anything if I don’t know what’s going on. So, you are going to tell me why that man out there scares you.”
Her face paled, as true fear flickered in her angel eyes. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Even if I did, I wouldn’t have to tell you about it.”
He backed her up until her ass pressed against one of the kitchen counters. “Are you sure you want to push Daddy’s buttons, little fox?”
“Why do you call me that? And Foxy? Why do you call me Foxy? I’m neither foxy nor little. And you’re not my Daddy today, that was just for the Friendsgiving.”
Oh, she was asking for a red ass to match that gorgeous red hair. “It’s a good thing for you I’m not. You should know when I am, telling lies and putting yourself down like that will get you over my knee so fast it’ll make your head spin. We can talk about why I call you Foxy later. Right now, you’re going to tell me why that man out there has you spooked. I’ve been here every day for six months, and I’ve never seen you act like that around a customer, whether you knew him or not.”
She closed her eyes and blew out a long, slow breath. “I don’t want to talk about it. I’m just being silly. If you must know, he reminds me of someone from my past, and it threw me.”
When she opened her eyes, the sadness and longing he saw there broke his heart. She didn’t trust him yet, but he’d get her there. But he needed to slow down. She needed gentle coaxing. He only hoped they didn’t run out of time before she let him in.
