Marriage with my daughter's father: Darling please be gentle - Chapter 252

Chapter 252: Chapter 252:You think you can punish me?

The night deepened, the world outside sinking into a quiet stillness, but Winter’s eyes refused to close.

She lay on her side, watching Kalix. His head rested on the pillow, eyes shut as if sleep had claimed him, but she knew better.

Kalix always held her when they slept — her head tucked against his chest, his arm locked firmly around her waist. But tonight, he lay on his back, one hand resting over his chest, the other at his side, still and unmoving.

Her brows furrowed. The rise and fall of his chest was too measured. Too controlled. He wasn’t sleeping — he was pretending.

His earlier words replayed in her mind, each one landing like a slap she hadn’t been ready for. She should have confronted him. Should have demanded an explanation. But instead… a slow, wicked thought curled in her mind.

A mischievous smile tugged at her lips as she slipped under the duvet, the soft darkness swallowing her whole.

Kalix, meanwhile, was battling the quiet storm inside him. He’d pulled his little stunt tonight expecting Winter to challenge him — maybe even push back. But when she hadn’t reacted, doubt had crept in.

Had she really fallen asleep?

His frown deepened, and then… something shifted.

Movement.

Beneath the duvet, the mattress dipped. A warm, deliberate weight inched closer. The faint rustle of fabric reached his ears. His eyes flew open just as a small bump under the covers crawled up his body.

The duvet parted, and Winter’s face emerged — eyes glinting like she’d just caught him at his own game.

“I knew you were playing with me, Kalix,” she murmured, her voice low, velvety, and far too dangerous for his peace of mind.

He didn’t even have a chance to speak before she disappeared under the covers again.

“Winter…” His warning came out more like a plea, his voice losing its edge.

The heat of her body radiated through the thin barrier of clothing, and every nerve in him sharpened. His hand tightened on the duvet, torn between dragging her back up and letting her continue whatever wicked plan she’d conjured.

“You made a grave mistake, Kalix,” her muffled voice teased from the darkness beneath the blanket. “Now… you’ll face the consequences.”

His breath caught, a shiver chasing down his spine as her hands slid with infuriating slowness over him. His muscles tensed, his pulse quickening in a way that made him forget why he’d been pretending to sleep in the first place.

The duvet slipped further, and the air between them charged and thick. Kalix’s grip on control — the control he always prided himself on — began to slip.

“Winter,” he rasped again, this time her name a surrender rather than a warning.

When she finally lifted her head from beneath the covers, her smile was pure trouble. “Still want to play?” she whispered.

The challenge in her eyes set him alight, and in one swift motion, Kalix flipped them so she was beneath him, the duvet tumbling away completely.

“You think you can punish me?” he murmured, leaning down until his lips brushed hers. “Careful, Winter. I play to win.”

Her laugh was breathless, her hands curling into his shirt, pulling him closer. “Then stop talking,” she breathed, “and prove it.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, Kalix’s eyes darkened. His hand shot to her waist, and in one swift, effortless motion, he flipped her onto the bed.

The mattress dipped under his weight, his body pressing firmly against hers, caging her in. Before she could catch her breath, his lips crashed onto hers.

Winter gasped against his mouth, the sound swallowed instantly by the sheer force of his kiss. It was deep and unrelenting — the kind that set fire to every nerve, the kind that burned away the need for air or thought. He kissed her like a man starved, like every second apart had been agony, and this was the only way to make it stop.

Her arms wrapped around his shoulders, her palms sliding over the firm muscles of his back until her nails caught and traced downward. The faint scratch earned her a low growl, the sound rumbling through his chest and into her body.

She had played her game earlier, keeping him at a distance, making him work for every inch. But now, with her walls lowered and her body yielding beneath his, Kalix wasn’t about to restrain himself.

His mouth moved against hers with deliberate hunger, shifting between claiming and savoring — tasting her, teasing her, deepening the kiss until she could feel the pull of it in her very bones. His hand slid from her waist to cup the side of her neck, thumb brushing her jaw as he tilted her head for better access, taking what she offered and demanding more.

Her breath caught when he finally broke the kiss, only to trail his lips along her jaw, down the curve of her throat. His warmth seeped through every layer between them, his scent surrounding her until she could think of nothing else.

“Kalix…” she whispered, and his name on her lips was enough to undo whatever fragile control he had left.

One hand tangled in her hair, the other braced beside her head, he hovered just enough to meet her gaze. His eyes burned with a heat that made her pulse race, his voice a low promise against her skin.

“You’re mine tonight, Winter. All of you.”

Her heart stuttered, not from the words alone, but from the certainty in them — as if there had never been a time, or a world, where that wasn’t true.

His mouth claimed hers again, slower this time, deeper, each kiss pulling her further under until the room, the night, the world beyond the bed ceased to exist. The heat between them swelled, spilling into every touch, every brush of his lips, every lingering press of his body against hers.

By the time the moon dipped low and the first traces of dawn kissed the edges of the curtains, the air was still thick with the echo of their laughter, their whispered words, and the promise of a game neither of them would ever stop playing.

***

The next morning, the couple woke early, moving through their routine in quiet harmony before heading out. As always, they made a stop to drop Selene off at school — a ritual that had quickly become one of Winter’s favorite parts of the day.

Since her little piece of advice the other night had clearly paid off, Kalix had decided to grant her request before they drove to the company.

As they stepped into the elevator, Winter narrowed her eyes at him, unable to hold back her curiosity any longer. “I wonder what you and Selene are always whispering about behind my back,” she said, folding her arms. “It’s never just about homework, is it? Feels… suspicious.”

Kalix’s lips curved into a slow, knowing grin — the kind that made her suspicion spike instantly.

“You’ll find out,” he said, leaning casually against the wall, “when the time is right.”

That infuriatingly vague answer only made her mind race, replaying every conspiratorial smile and hushed giggle she’d caught between the two of them lately. She tried to pry more, but he only let that grin linger, as if enjoying the way she was racking her brain.

The elevator chimed, the doors sliding open to reveal the bustling office floor.

Without another word, they stepped out, each heading toward their respective offices — Kalix still wearing that damnably smug smile, and Winter still plotting to uncover whatever father-daughter secret he was keeping from her.

However, Kalix’s smile faded the moment he walked into his office and found Stanley already waiting inside.

The instant their eyes met, the atmosphere shifted. Something in Stanley’s expression told him that whatever was coming next wouldn’t be ordinary — and yet, it didn’t feel entirely unfamiliar.