He would love to give her the love and affection she craved, but only as a stepfather. But he couldn’t do that without her reading too much into it.

Helen definitely had problems. And he wanted to be there for her. But he had to walk a fine line.

But a stern, distant father figure—that he could handle.

“Have you sent out résumés? Are you networking?”

She laughed. “You insist you’re not my stepdad, but you like to act like one.”

“Helen, you know I’m concerned about you, and I care what happens to you.”

She slung her arm behind her head and rested against it. “I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me.”

“Good.” He stood up. “I’ve got some contracts to go over so I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He spent the next few hours in his office going over paperwork in preparation for a meeting he had the next day. When he left the den, the lights in the rest of the house were turned off and Helen’s door was closed. He sighed a breath of relief and retired to his bedroom. Once he climbed into bed, he lay in the darkness, hoping for sleep, but thoughts of Ashley percolated through his brain.

She had clearly been freaked out this morning when Helen had arrived, and he could hardly blame her. He and Ashley had both been able to ignore their history and difference in ages, until Ashley had come face-to-face with her old friend—his stepdaughter—putting everything in clear perspective for her.

He wouldn’t be surprised if she didn’t show up on Friday.

But he wanted her to. He’d find a way to get rid of Helen for the night—maybe even the whole weekend—so he could revel in the joy of being with his delightfully submissive Ashley.

He only had a few more weeks here and he intended to enjoy every hour he could with her.

* * *

Dare awoke to the quiet thump of his bedroom door closing. He glanced across the room and saw the silhouette of a woman in the moonlight.

“Ashley?”

She walked toward the bed, her long flowing robe hugging her slender body.

“No, Daddy, it’s me.”

He sat up. “Helen? What’s wrong? Did you have a bad dream?”

“No. In fact, I had a delightful dream.” She stood a few feet from his bed.

Alarm bells sounded in his head as he saw her fingers glide to the tie around her waist.

“I dreamed about you and me,” she said in a sultry voice.

Damn it, she was untying her robe. He leaped from the bed as her tie dropped and the front of the robe slipped open.

“God damn it, Helen.” He tugged the robe closed, having only caught sight of a sliver of naked skin, then he grabbed the sash and tied it snuggly at her waist.

“But, Daddy…” she murmured, her eyes wide and filled with a disturbing heat.

“Don’t call me that.”

She ran her hand up his chest, then over his shoulder and she leaned in close. “Then I’ll call you Dare. Which is so much better, anyway, because I think it’s time for our relationship to move in a new direction.”