Free The Pawn (Shattered Series Book 1) by Chloe D. Ashton

lot. But, he’s still the best daddy in the whole wide world.”
            Forcing back her own tears, she stared down at her.
          “And sometimes,” the child hiccupped. “He says things that I don’t understand.”
           She squatted down before her. “Like what, sweetheart?”
           “It’s Daddy’s secret, one that he doesn’t know I know. When he thinks that no one’s listening or watching, he sits and cries in the dark alone. He says that he’s the lost one, and it makes me sad,” the child sniffled. “But, he’s not lost. I know where he is.”
           “Come here, sweetheart,” Olivia murmured, pulling her into her arms. “I’m sure that he doesn’t mean anything by that, and sometimes, grown-ups just say things that are hard to understand, okay?”
            As the words left her, a heavy shadow fell over her.
            She stiffened.
            How was it even possible to ignore such an enigmatic presence? The whole room simply breathed the pure essence of him …
            All six feet of him, she mulled as her eyes traveled up the long legs.
            Finally, finding the courage, she looked up and stared directly into the stranger’s eyes. For a moment, she was thunderstruck, speechless, awed, breathless…
           There were too many emotions to even count!
           And dear heavens---
           Where were the words to describe the how devastatingly attractive he was? Those green eyes---they were the most hypnotic, she thought, and breathed fast as their gazes held.
            Forcing herself, she looked away.
        A subdued calmness exuded from him as he stared at her mockingly. Then, a lazy smile spread across his rugged handsome features before he turned his attention to his daughter. He forced a frown. “Meghan, you’re not supposed to have sweets this early in the day, and you know that. Not to mention that you’ve been sick with a tummy ache and fever just yesterday.”
           Meghan turned towards her father with downcast eyes. "Daddy, I’m sorry. Please don’t be mad at me.” The huge tears swam in her eyes as she looked at him. “Please.”
       For a brief second, his hardened gaze softened, but then the sternness returned to his voice. "Of course I am not upset with you. But, you know the rules, Poppet, and you broke them---"
      "I won’t do it again, Daddy. I promise! But, you’re mad at me. I can tell!”
          Bursting into tears, turning to her again, Meghan clung to her.
          "Hey, it’s okay,” Olivia soothed, brushing the tears from the little girl’s face. Then, pure defiance breathed within her as she eyed the stranger. "And there’s no point in making a huge ordeal from a simple matter, is there?”
     Narrowing his gaze, the stranger edged closer to them. "Obviously, you aren’t thinking clearly, Olivia, but you haven’t been well, so I’ll overlook that blatant lack of good judgment." He carefully extracted the child from her before lifting her up in his arms. "My little Poppet," he said, addressing the child with a smile, and then, Meghan squealed delightfully as he tickled her playfully. "Dry these pretty little eyes and go check on Cricket. She’s back from the vet and is missing you right now."
     The child gasped in amazement. "Is my kitty all better?" Meghan demanded, squirming in his arms, and he relented as he placed her down. “I wanna see her now!” Excited, the child tugged on his large hand. “Didn’t you hear me, Daddy? I want to see her now! I want to see her now!”
     A different play of emotions crossed his face, and to her surprise, his tone lightened. “Guess what? She’s just as eager to see you! Rosa is keeping her company right now, and that’s why I was looking for you earlier, Poppet. So, you can only imagine my disappointment when I found you disobeying my rules."