“As I said. You are my baby, Josephine Elise. From now until the end of time.”
CHAPTER 6
JOSIE
“Daddy’s” words chill me to the bone. “What do you mean, until the end of time?”
A smile curves his lips. It isn’t cruel or even wicked, but it sends a shiver up my spine all the same.
Because what it really is… is smug. As if he knows something I don’t, something he’s rather proud of.
And that is very much something to fear from a man like him.
Rising from his chair with me still in his arms in a move so smooth it sends my heart fluttering despite the punishing treatment I’ve experienced at his hands so far, he lays me out on the couch and tugs my panties completely off. Exposing every last inch of my most intimate parts to the entire room.
“Daddy!” The word comes out as a low, horrified hiss. “What are you doing?”
“Getting you ready for the ceremony, of course. Arms up, little one.”
Arms up? So he can strip mecompletelynaked?
I think not.
Crossing my arms over my chest, I glare up at him. “Not until you tell me what’s happening.”
It’s a stalling tactic, and when his lips dip down into a frown, I fully expect it to earn me another spanking.
But his expression clears with a sigh and to my surprise, he nods. “I suppose that’s only fair. You see, our family has started a new tradition. Well, Axel started it, really, and we’ll be the second couple to carry it on.”
Unease crawls up my spine. “What kind of tradition?”
“The kind where we get all dressed up and vow to love each other until death do we part.”
It takes a moment for my scrambled brain to fully process his words. “Are you saying you want tomarryme?”
“Is that really so hard to believe? Once upon a time you would have married me in a heartbeat. And I would have done the same.”
“That wastwenty years ago. We aren’t the same people we were back then.”
“Maybe not, but…” Trailing off, he shrugs. “Fate brought us back together. And I’m not about to turn my back on that second chance. And, as we discussed earlier, you can’t go back to New York now that you know we’re alive. It’s too dangerous for you and for us. You’re stuck with me, Josie, so we might as well make it official.”
He says it so calmly, like it’s nothing for him to simply… lay claim to me like this. And perhaps it is that easy, at least for him.
Not so much for me.
“I amnotgoing to marry you.”
Something that almost looks like regret flickers in his eyes. “You don’t really have a choice, bug. But I promise to make you as happy as humanly possible. Eventually you’ll realize this was for the best, all the way around. Gray, can you hand me her diaper, please?”
Again, it’s like my brain short-circuits. “Diaper? I am not wearing a fucking diaper!”
Eyes narrowing, he pins me with a look so stern it’s all I can do not to whimper as my bottom clenches in response, reminding me of how thoroughly I’ve been punished already. “Once you’re dressed, Daddy is going to remind you howgoodLittle girls use their mouths.”
Horror spreads through me, sitting heavy on my chest. I don’t need him to spell that out for me. “No, Daddy, please! I’ll be good, I promise!”
Just like when we were younger, my promises for good behavior don’t seem to sway him. Grabbing my ankles in one hand, he lifts my legs high as he slides something soft and cottony beneath my bottom.
Oh. My. God.
