The Hidden Princess At All-Boys Alpha Academy

Chapter 0384

And by the tension in his shoulders, I can tell that he's working very, very hard to embody that.

"Come here, Ariel," he murmurs, standing by the door and beckoning with one hand, the other resting on his hip.

I send one last desperate glance at Daphne before walking to stand in front of my father.

When I stand about a foot in front of him he takes a deep breath in through his nose and reaches out to brush my hair back over my shoulder. "Well, baby trouble," he murmurs. "You smell...different."

The amount of deliberate understatement in that last word makes me fight back a groan.

I bite my lip, tucking my hands behind my back. "Is it bad?" I whisper.

"No, baby," he sighs, shaking his head at me and giving me a small smile, stroking his broad hand over my hair." It's not bad, not at all. Just...not as easy for a dad. Which is something Rafe and Mark might understand one day, but fortunately for you, you never will."

my arms around my dad's waist, crushing myself against his chest. "I'm sorry," I whisper, meaning it desperately, "I don't want

"I'm just... adjusting. You're my little girl, and now someone else has a claim on you, and that's... an adjustment. Two

it's not like you have to give me up," I murmur, shutting my

to kill me before I did that," he whispers, and I grin,

over at Daphne, giving her a

ask, pulling back a little and standing

on his wrist. He

his wrist against my neck and then down over my hair, just as Jesse did every morning and after every shower at the academy. Almost a

this for?" I ask,

anything could do that right now," he gives me a little raised eyebrow which lets me know precisely how he feels about that, "but it should be enough to confuse

do as he says but not fully

with Luca in the room too they'll notice that you

think of that this morning. Then I