“So, there isn’t anybody, right?” Joe says. “Look, you can tell me if there is. I’ll get on the phone with her now. Maybe you can do me a solid and warn them away, too.”
“I don’t think she’s fallen into anything like that,” I say, cautiously. “She’s a strong-minded girl, and she knows what she wants or doesn’t want. I don’t think anyone would be able to take advantage of her.”
“Well, you’d be surprised. She can be altogether too nice for her own good,” Joe says. “I find out anyone’s had their hands on her down there, I might have to think twice about letting her off to college. Damn, I know I should let her live her own life and make her own mistakes, but just thinking about it makes me so mad.”
“You’re just a protective father,” I assure him, mentally backpedaling as fast as I can from the idea of telling him the truth. Joe’s clearly not ready to hear it, no matter what justification I could give. He’s likely to rip my head off, and that’s not going to lead to him approving of our relationship in any way.
I may have claimed her as my own, but a father’s love is a powerful thing. More than that, I respect Joe. I don’t want to come between him and his daughter.
Which means I need to tread very carefully here – and come up with a way to show him how serious I am. How this isn’t just a guy taking advantage of a defenseless girl because he could.
“Well, thanks for calling to let me know she’s doing good,” Joe says. “It’s good to hear from you, buddy.”
“You, too,” I say, almost on autopilot as my mind races. “I should let you get on. I know it’s late there.”
“Right, and it must be in the middle of your workday already,” Joe says, knowing as he does that I usually start early. “Talk to you soon, man.”
“Talk soon,” I say, hanging up the phone.
I take a long moment on the beach, looking out at the sea and how it laps lazily at the shore. If I'm going to come out of this with Ashley on my arm, I need to think of a way to get her dad on my side. And that means I might have to do a bit of creative thinking.
How exactly do I show a man that I have only the best possible intentions towards his daughter - even at the same time as preying on his greatest fears about what might have happened to her while she's been away?
This isn't going to be easy. But getting to call Ashley my own for the rest of my life is a prize that is one hundred percent worth it. I'm not going to back down. I just need to find a way.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Ashley
“How was work?” I ask, watching Fernando come back in through the glass doors. I got dressed while he was out, deliberately choosing one of the dresses he bought for me yesterday. It’s entirely inappropriate for this time of day, but that’s not the point. If I have my way, we won’t be going out for anyone else to see it.
“What? Oh, yeah. Fine,” Fernando says, looking up with a worried expression that clears when he takes in my dress. “Wow. Are you trying to stop traffic? I think there may be a big pile-up if you walk outside like that.”
“Well, I don’t have to go outside,” I say, walking behind the kitchen island and leaning over it. I’m well aware of how the cut of this dress makes my breasts almost bulge out of the fabric when I lean like this. “We could just stay here.”
“Are you sure?” Fernando says, his eyes not at all on my face. “You still have more of the city to see. You want to sacrifice one of your sightseeing days?”
“That’s exactly the point,” I tell him. “I only have a short while left here with you. We should make the most of it.”
“Alright,” Fernando says, and grins, coming around the counter towards me. He puts his hands on my hips, giving me a slow look up and down. “Then what do you suggest we do today, to make the most of it?”
“I can think of a few things,” I say, moving closer and letting his hands slip from my waist around to my ass.
That's all it takes for Fernando to lean down and kiss me, his hands squeezing my ass and kneads my flesh in a way that makes me instantly wet. I slip my hands around his neck, holding on and making sure that he knows I want him to carry on, to deepen the kiss, to go further.
Before I know it, Fernando has a hold of me and lifts me off the ground, pushing me back and then depositing me on the countertop of the kitchen island. I yelp in surprise at the cool marble on my skin, but I instantly appreciate the added height. Fernando reaches for my hips again, lifting me one more time, and yanks my panties out of the way. He drags them quickly down my legs and off, discarding them on the kitchen floor.