“Let’s get this over with so I can get you back where you belong...in our bed,” Kace grumbled.
Getting turned on before talking to my dad sounded like a really bad idea, so I did my best to ignore the sexy beast sitting next to me and leaned over to start the video chat with my dad. He accepted on the first ring. “Hey, sweetie. I didn’t expect to hear from you so soon after dropping you off at school. Everything okay?”
“Yup.” I grinned and blew him a kiss. “My classes were super easy this morning.”
“You need me to put extra money on your account for books?” he asked.
Thinking about the wad of cash he’d handed to me before he headed back home on Sunday, I laughed and shook my head. “Nope, I’m all set on that front. I was calling because I wanted to introduce you to someone.”
“To who?” His eyes narrowed. “Has one of the girls at the dorm worked her way into your good graces and turned your threesome into a foursome?”
“Dad, seriously. You can’t call Allegra, Calliope, and me that.” I wrinkled my nose as though I smelled something bad. “It’s gross.”
“You damn well know I’d never say something crude about my baby girl and her friends.” He shook his head and sighed. “Now quit trying to stall and introduce me to whatever little friend you have waiting in the wings. Mac needs me over at the clubhouse soon, so I don’t have all day.”
Recognizing the serious tone in my dad’s voice and not wanting to irritate him, I leaned back so he could see who was sitting next to me. “I wouldn’t call Kace little since he’s taller than you.”
“And who exactly is Kace?” my dad grunted with a scowl.
“He’s my…” I struggled for the right word. It wasn’t as though I could call him my mate. Dad would freak out and drive up here to drag me back home.
“I’m her man,” Kace answered for me.
A muscle in my dad’s jaw clenched. “What the fuck, Larissa? You’ve been dating someone and didn’t tell me about it at Thanksgiving?”
“Watch how you talk to her,” Kace growled, flinging his arm over my shoulder to pull me close.
My dad tilted his head to the side, a speculative gleam in his eyes as he looked at Kace. “My girl knows I don’t mean anything by swearing. She grew up around that shit.”
“Maybe,” Kace conceded. “But my woman doesn’t need to hear shit like that directed at her.”
“That’s fair.” My dad nodded, his lips twitching in a way I knew meant he was fighting a grin. “You got a job?”
Kace gave me a little squeeze as he answered, “Yeah, I’m the mayor of Timber Ridge. It’s two towns over from Larissa’s school.”
“My baby girl hooked up with a politician?” My dad let out a bark of laughter, shaking his head. “Fucking priceless.”
“I also own a bar, if that helps,” Kace added with a cocky grin.
“We’ve got one down here, so I can relate. But that won’t stop me from hunting you down and killing you if you don't treat my daughter right,” my dad warned.
“That’ll never happen, but you’re welcome to try.” Kace grinned. “Although it’d be good to at least know the name of the man who’s threatening my life.”
“Oh, crap. Sorry,” I apologize. “I forgot that part. Kace, this is my father, Lincoln Nash.”
“Nobody uses my full name. Call me Link,” my dad corrected.
“It’s nice to meet you, Link.” Kace picked up my hand and pressed a kiss to my knuckles. “I promise to take good care of your daughter.”
“You’d better.” An alarm went off on his phone, and he grimaced. “I’ve got to run, but I expect regular check-ins from you, Larissa. Now that I know you’ve got a man in your life, none of this a couple of times a week bullshit. Until I get the chance to meet him in person, I want to see your pretty face every day.”
Kace nodded, seeming to easily understand where my dad was coming from. “You’ve got it.”
“Love you, sweetie.”
“I love you, too, Daddy,” I replied a split second before he disconnected. Heaving a deep sigh, I collapsed against the couch. “Phew! That went better than I expected.”
“If that was good, I’m not sure I want to know how you thought that was going to go,” he chuckled. “You might not see it because you love him, but your dad is scary for a human.”
“I didn’t say he wasn’t scary, just that you didn’t need to worry about him since you have the shifter advantage. You know how Allegra said I’d help her bury a body if she murdered someone?” Kace nodded. “If my dad thought I was in danger, I wouldn’t need to kill the person because they’d already be dead. And I’d probably never find out I was at risk in the first place.”
Kace brushed his thumb over my knuckles. “Now you have me to keep you safe, too.”
“I like being safe, but I could’ve sworn there was some talk about getting that call over with so you could take me to bed?” I reminded him.
“Forget that plan,” he growled, standing and pulling me up with him. “The couch will work fine for what I have in mind. Strip, baby. I can’t wait to get inside you again.”
I didn’t need convincing and started to toss my clothes off my body. Kace got naked faster than me and helped drag my panties down my legs. “You’re so fucking beautiful.” He ghosted his fingers down my chest to the tip of one of my breasts. His thumb flicked over my nipple, making me tremble. “I love how sensitive your tits are.”
His fingers drifted lower, finally coming to rest at my
