جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 40

I sighed as I pulled her closer to my body, cradling her against my chest as I put my cheek on the top of her forehead. “I wish I could answer that with more clarity then I’m about to answer it. Yes, I regret it, but on the other hand no I don’t.”“How can it be both?” she whispered.“Yes, I regret it because no father should ever step out of bounds with their daughter like I did. It doesn’t matter if it is their stepdaughter or their biological daughter, they are still ‘dad’. That bond is one of the most important ones that a child, especially a little girl, will ever have. For a little girl, their father is the first man that will show them how they are supposed to be treated when they grow up. Their fathers are supposed to open doors, pull out chairs, pay for things, and teach them how to express their feelings and how to protect themselves from people who may not want to respect their personal boundaries. The way a father treats a little girl’s mother is how they learn how a man’s

After a hearty breakfast, we followed Keke and Becky out of the house and back to a stable, where five horses and a smaller pony were already out front for us, saddled and ready to go. Becky slowed until she was between me and Rip, gripping his hand hard. When he looked down at her, he immediately stopped to kneel in front of her, while I stood beside them. He tucked a stray hair into her royal-looking bun as he smiled softly at her.“What’s wrong, sweetheart?” he asked.“I’m scared,” she whispered.“Scared of what, princess?” he pressed gently.“Them,” Becky admitted almost silently as she glanced at the horses.Rip nodded understandingly as he picked her up. “Would you like me to ride with you?”Becky nodded as he bounced her a little. When he was back on his feet, he smiled at me. “Unless you want to ride with her, that is.”Emotions made my throat too tight to speak, so all I could do was shake my head a little. “N-no,” I finally managed to squeak. “I think Becky needs her daddy r

NaomiAs soon as we got back to the house, Becky and Keke kidnapped Raja and Rip, leaving me alone with Charity. I eyed her warily, which only made her laugh a little as she draped her arm over my shoulders to guide me down the hallway.“Don’t look so scared, Naomi. I promise I have other things to talk about other than your non-relationship with Rip,” she told me.“I wasn’t scared,” I immediately denied.“Mhmm. And I’m not hopelessly in love with Raja! Now how about we get out of these riding habits and put something more comfortable on. I got us something special for tonight.”I tugged at the buttons on the corset-like top of the dress I was wearing. “Almost anything would be better than what we’re wearing!”“Agreed,” she laughed. “I had Raja get us some silk trousers, and some cute little bra-like tops. Yours is sea-green and mine is saphire blue. The girls have matching ones except their tops cover their entire torso.”“That sounds like the outfit Jasmine wears in Aladdin,” I said

I nervously reached out to take Rip’s hand as we neared his house. I didn’t want to see Natalie. It was the only thing that could burst the bubble that was still surrounding me from our perfect weekend. We had been late getting Becky back to the orphanage to get ready for school and had to sit through a very stern lecture from Tom, who had instantly melted when Rip told him that he hadn’t been able to bring her down from the weekend until this morning. That hadn’t been entirely the truth, but I was grateful that it was the only reason Rip gave Tom. We had spent hours making love, and now I was sore. I wasn’t as sore as the first night we made love, but almost. Now I understood why he insisted on me taking breaks. The man was huge and I was not used to making love. To anyone. Not just him.When we finally pulled up in front of the house, I anxiously reached out to take Rip’s hand, clinging to it.“Swear to me that I’m not about to find out that you were lying to me,” I begged.He turne

Jon sat back in his chair with surprise written all over his face. “You’re what?”“I think I’m falling in love with Naomi,” I repeated, sighing deeply. “And yes, I know what you’re about to say.”“Do you now?” he asked as he crossed his arms over his chest. “Do tell me what I was going to say.”“You’re going to lecture me about her being only 18 and about me having raised her for several years,” I said, groaning as I ran my fingers through my hair.“That was not at all what I was going to say. I don’t care about her age, Rip. Guys our age are always dating girls her age. The fact that you think that is what I was going to say tells me that is on your mind, and you&