Total pages in book: 44
Estimated words: 40546 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 203(@200wpm)___ 162(@250wpm)___ 135(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 40546 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 203(@200wpm)___ 162(@250wpm)___ 135(@300wpm)
"I meant rock climbers and base jumpers, not..." I gesture helplessly at the cliff face we're about to rappel down. "Not whatever this is."
"This is a story," he says, that familiar authority creeping into his voice that still makes my knees weak. "The story you've been chasing for six months about illegal cliff diving in remote locations."
"I could have interviewed them from the ground."
"You could have." He checks my rope one more time, then tilts my chin up so I have to look at him. "But that's not who you are anymore, is it, little girl?"
The endearment hits me like it always does, making me remember exactly who I've become in his hands. The journalist who's won three awards in the past year for immersive reporting. The woman who follows stories into war zones and natural disasters and the kinds of places that require wilderness survival skills.
The woman who's brave enough to trust her mountain man to keep her safe while she chases the truth.
"Besides," Cade continues, his grin turning wicked, "I like having you on a rope."
"We are not having this conversation while I'm wearing climbing gear."
"Aren't we?" His hands are already moving to check my harness, but his touch lingers in ways that have nothing to do with safety and everything to do with the fact that he still owns me completely. "Because I'm thinking tonight, after you get your story, I might keep you in this harness for a while."
"Cade." My protest is breathless, needy.
"Or maybe I'll take it off you very, very slowly. Make you tell me exactly how it felt to trust Daddy to keep you safe while you got the shot nobody else was brave enough to get."
"You're impossible."
"I'm yours." He clips into his own rope, then steps to the edge of the cliff. "You ready to fly, little girl?"
I look down at the crystal-clear lake two hundred feet below, where illegal cliff divers are performing stunts that will either make my career or kill us both. Then I look at Cade, this man who's taught me that the best stories are the ones that scare you, that the only way to really live is to jump and trust that someone will catch you.
"I'm ready," I say.
And I am. The last two years have been adventures for us both. Cade’s dialed back on taking tourists on outings because he can’t stand to be away from me. His little maple syrup hobby has blossomed into a seven-figure enterprise as well, but he won’t let it grow out of control. He’s a quality over quantity man and there’s only so much maple syrup one man can make.
It’s especially yummy when I’m licking it off his dick. Sunday mornings are for maple flavored Daddy dicks and waffles.
"That's my brave girl," he says, and together we step off the edge of the world.
Some lessons, I've learned, are worth repeating.
My phone buzzes as we reach the bottom safely, adrenaline still singing through my veins. A text from Sarah: Saw your story about the illegal diving ring on CNN. You're completely insane, and I'm so proud of you. Mom says hi.
I show Cade the message, and he grins. "Your surrogate mom?"
"The woman who taught me that family isn't always about blood." I tuck the phone away.
Sarah's mom has been more supportive in two years than my parents were in nineteen. My actual parents sent a Christmas card last year. Very formal. I think they're hoping I'll eventually come to my senses and return to academia, but that’s not going to happen. I’m happy doing what I’m doing, and eventually they’ll come round to that. Or they won’t. I’m learning to accept that my happiness is my responsibility, not theirs.
I start pulling off my climbing gear, letting Cade help with the complicated buckles. "Sarah's right. I'm not the same person who needed their approval anymore."
"No," he says, his hands stilling on my harness, eyes going dark with that familiar heat. "You're the person who trusts me to keep you safe while you chase the impossible. The person brave enough to jump off cliffs for a story." His fingers trace the rope marks on my wrists, and I shiver. "My perfect little girl who's conquered the world."
"Daddy," I whisper, the word still electric between us after all this time.
"That's right." He presses me back against the cliff face, his body caging me in. "And tonight, when we get back to that hotel room, I'm going to remind you exactly how proud I am of my brave girl."
"Promise?"
"Promise." He kisses me hard, claiming, his hands already working at the clips that hold me together. "I'm going to unwrap you so slowly you'll forget your own name. Going to make you remember that the only approval that matters is mine."
"I love you," I breathe against his mouth.