Sinfully Yours, Sir

by Laylah Roberts

  “I suppose if I keep pursuing this you’ll threaten to move to Alaska again,” Dare said.

  Tilly smiled. “Nope, this time it will be Hawaii.”

  Dylan gazed down at her questioningly.

  “After I moved to Austin, Dare kept pestering me to come home. I finally threatened to move to Alaska if he didn’t let me be. I’d have done it too. I was ashamed of how gullible I’d been. I just needed some space.”

  Dare frowned fiercely. “Javier fooled a lot of people. You were a baby. You’re still a baby.”

  “I’m nearly twenty-three. I know that seems young when you’re as old as you are,” she teased him, grinning as he winced. “But I’ve been through a lot. I’m not a child anymore, Dare.”

  “You’ll always be my baby sister, though, and I’m always going to want to protect you.”

  “I’m still surprised her threat kept you away,” Dylan said.

  Dare stared at him for a long moment then nodded. “Dad made us promise to give Tilly some space.”

  “He did?” she asked with surprise.

  “Yeah, I guess he figured you needed time. I was going to come get you after three months, but Simon visited you and said you were doing okay. So I waited a few more months before I decided to come and get you. But you seemed happy. Happier than I had seen you in a while. So I let you be.” He scowled at her. “If I’d known the real reason you were staying away from home, I’d have taken you over my knee, though. We all thought you were staying away because of bad memories, not because you felt guilty. For a smart girl, you were really stupid, Tilly. As if we’d ever blame you for what Javier did. Don’t you think we’ve all spent a lot of time blaming ourselves?”

  “You weren’t even here,” she said.

  “Exactly. I wasn’t here to look out for you. Eli was busy with the ranch. Asher was going through that dark period, and Simon was away at college. We all kicked ourselves multiple times for allowing you to be taken in by that asshole.”

  Tilly stepped back and he pulled her in so she was leaning back against his front. “You couldn’t have stopped me.”

  “Couldn’t I?” Dare said. “You so sure about that?”

  Tilly sighed. “Okay, maybe you could have. Back then. But it really wasn’t your fault. I can’t believe you guys felt guilty.”

  “Seems like a lot of that was going around,” Dylan pointed out gently. “Maybe you should all make a point of burying this once and for all.”

  She smiled up at him. “I think you’re right.”

  Dare looked at them both. “You’re not going to tell me about the mugging, are you?”

  “Nope,” Tilly said cheerfully.

  “Fine,” he muttered. He glared at Dylan. “But I want your promise you will keep her safe and that you’re not getting her involved in anything dangerous.”

  “I promise,” Dylan said.

  “Okay, you two want a ride back?”

  They both climbed into his truck, Dylan in the front seat.

  “Asher went through a dark period?” Dylan finally asked. “You mean he was darker than he is now?”

  Dare grinned. “Yep. Hard to believe, right?”

  ***

  Later that night, Dylan stepped out onto the porch. Tilly’s family had spent the night laughing and fighting and putting to bed all the guilt and angst about what had happened with Javier.

  A burst of laughter followed him out and he smiled, glad that all the tension was easing and Tilly’s relationship with her family was on the mend. Even Asher seemed a bit lighter, maybe. Well, not really.

  But he’d noticed that Tilly’s father had snuck out onto the porch five minutes ago. Dylan had decided to follow him.

  “You mind if I join you?” Dylan asked as he spotted the older man leaning against the rail, looking out into the dark. The lights from the house lit the dark porch.

  The other man grunted then brought a cigar up to his mouth. “Thought you might be Tilly. She hates me smoking these. Always used to chase me out here as a child and tell me off.” There was a smile in the older man’s voice. “I’d forgotten how feisty she could be when she believed in something.” He turned toward Dylan. “I failed her, didn’t I?”

  “Tilly is a beautiful, sweet, smart and loving person. You raised an amazing daughter. I don’t see how that can be considered a failure.”

  “She didn’t feel she could come to me when someone was hurting her,” he said harshly and Dylan could feel the pain in his voice.

  “Javier worked her like a pro. She was young and impressionable and he had her thinking that no one would believe her, that no one could help her. If someone tells you that you’re worthy and unloved long enough, eventually you believe it.”

  “She talks to you, trusts you.”

  “She does,” Dylan said.

  “I don’t want that happening to my baby girl again. I don’t want her to ever feel like she can’t come to me or her brothers for anything. I forced myself to let her go off by herself to Austin and it was the hardest thing I ever had to do. There wasn’t a day that went by where I didn’t want to chase after her and haul her back.”

  “Tilly needed that time to grow.”

  “If she’d been home I might have figured out she was blaming herself for everything,” her father said, his regret evident.

  “Like you were blaming yourself?” Dylan queried.

  “Gotta let this go, don’t I?”

  “The ‘what if’s will kill you, sir,” Dylan agreed. “Javier has already caused enough hurt in this family. Respectfully, it’s time to move on.”

  Her father took a long suck on his cigar and was silent for a long moment.

  “So, you ever going to ask her to marry you or you going to live in sin for the rest of your lives?”

  Dylan bit back a grin. The older man’s voice warned him that there was only one right answer to that question.

  “Sir, I’d like to ask your permission to ask your daughter to marry me.”

  Zach was silent for a long moment. “I’ve only known you for a few days, and despite the two of you avoiding the question, I’m guessing you haven’t dated long.”

  “We haven’t, sir, and no, you haven’t known me long. But I respect your daughter. I think she’s smart, amazing and giving. I want to spend my life with her, but if you need more time to get to know me then I’m willing to wait until I propose.”

  “Hmm.”

  There was another long silence. Muffled laughter reached them from inside.

  “Haven’t heard them laugh and carry on like that in a long time,” her father said. He sighed. “Tilly said you insisted that she come home. I want to see her more often.”

  “We’ll come here as often as we can and you’re always welcome to visit us.”

  “Not really a city man.” He stubbed out the cigar. “But I’ll make an exception for my daughter and any possible grandkids.”

  Dylan rubbed his hand over his mouth to hide his grin. There was the sound of a door opening and Tilly’s perfume drifted toward him. She didn’t say anything, though, and Dylan didn’t look her way.

  “Lord knows, those useless sons of mine aren’t going to produce any grandkids for me anytime soon. I want her to stay here for a while. By herself.”

  Dylan sucked in a sharp breath.

  “You seem like a good man and Tilly isn’t the girl she once was. But I need to know for sure that she’s safe. I want her to stay here alone for a bit. I want to be sure that she’s not being coerced into anything.”

  “Daddy, Dylan would never do that,” Tilly said.

  Dylan turned as she walked toward them. She snuck in between them, cuddling close to him but looking up to her father. “He would never push me into anything.”

  “Not saying he would. But before I can give my permission I need to put any fears I have to rest. I failed you once, Tilly. I won’t do it again.”

  “Oh, Daddy.”

  Dylan heard the tears in her voice and he hugged h
er tight. The issues between them wouldn’t heal in a few days; it would take much longer. But maybe if they had some time without him they could move on.

  “I think you should stay,” Dylan said. It went against every fiber of his being to leave her here. But he had to show her that he loved him as much as she loved him.

  “You want me to stay here?” she asked, the surprise in her voice clear.

  “Would you excuse us?” he said to her father.

  Dylan grabbed her hand. He tugged her inside and avoiding the living area, pulling her along to their bedroom.

  “Why do you want me to stay here?” she asked once he’d shut the door.

  Dylan sat in the large chair in the corner of the room and pulled her onto his lap.

  “Listen to me. I don’t want to leave you here. I’ll miss you like crazy. But I think this is what you and your family need. You all need some time together, without me. It will be hard to be apart from you, but in the long run it will be the best idea. You’re never going to be truly happy unless your family is fully behind our relationship.”

  Tilly nibbled on her lip. “I’ll miss you. How long do I have to stay here?”

  “Hey, this isn’t a punishment,” Dylan told her. “You call me, even if it’s three hours after I’ve left, and I’ll come back and get you. You don’t have to do this.”

  For a long moment, she just sat on his lap and thought. He simply relished her closeness. It would be torture to be apart, but he would do whatever was necessary to look after her. That included her mental well-being, as well as physical.

  “Okay, I think you’re right,” she agreed. “Doesn’t mean I like being apart from you.”

  “I should hope not.” He kissed her forehead. “But I’ll talk to you each night and if you need me, I’ll be here.”

  “How long do you think I should stay?”

  “You’ll know when the time’s right to leave,” he told her.

  “My boss isn’t going to be happy.”

  He wondered whether now was the right moment to bring this up. What the hell. Might as well. “Do you care about that job? I mean, would it make you sad to give it up?”

  “Well, I need it to pay the bills. I’ve almost gone through my savings to pay the rent while I’ve been away.”

  “Money aside, would you miss it?”

  Tilly gazed up at him fiercely. “Are you suggesting I let you support me?”

  “Tilly,” he said warningly. “Answer the question.”

  “Okay, no need to go all Dom on me,” she replied, wrinkling her nose.

  He gave her thigh a sharp smack and she jumped. “Ow,” she complained, but a flash of heat entered her gaze.

  “I’d miss the people I work with, but no, I wouldn’t miss the job. I have to admit I’ve been getting pretty tired doing the waitressing at Club Decadence on top of my day job.”

  “What would you like to do, money aside?” he asked. He didn’t want to push her into anything she wasn’t ready for. If she wanted to keep waitressing, that was fine with him. Although she wouldn’t be waitressing at Club Decadence anymore. He’d take care of her membership fee. He just wanted her to be happy.

  “I’m not sure. I don’t know if I want to go to college. I don’t know what I would do.”

  “Maybe you should think about it. If you lose your job, I’m sure you can get another one and I can help you out. If the tables were turned, wouldn’t you do the same thing for me?”

  He could see the thoughtful look on her face, the realization that she couldn’t really protest that.

  “Okay. I’ll call my boss tomorrow.”

  “Good. Then I think I’ll leave tomorrow.”

  She gazed up at him in dismay. He tapped her nose. “Cheer up, little one. It won’t be forever. This isn’t a death sentence.”

  “I know.” She sighed dramatically. “It’s just that I’ve gotten used to having you around. I mean, who will keep my feet warm at night?”

  Dylan tickled her until she giggled with laughter and begged him to stop.

  “I’ll let you borrow a pair of socks, brat.”

  Tilly looked up at him, love and laughter in her gaze. “I really will miss you, you know.”

  “Me too, baby. Me too.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Dylan left the newspaper he’d been reading on the table and stood, placing his empty coffee cup in the sink. He checked the time. It wasn’t even nine-thirty yet. He hadn’t fallen asleep until after four, but he’d woken up around eight and been unable to get back to sleep. He’d had very little sleep over the last week. Being apart from Tilly was horrid. He missed her far more than he’d ever imagined he would.

  He hadn’t even managed to call her last night. The club had been busy. One of the newer subs had caused issues between two Doms, and by the time he’d sorted that issue out, he’d been well behind in the rest of his work.

  There had been a few times when he’d actually considered hopping in his truck – which one of Rogan’s men had finally returned to him – and going to get her.

  But she needed this time with her family.

  A knock on the door caught him by surprise. Striding to the door, he peered out the peephole.

  “Roarke!” he greeted his boss and friend with surprise. “What are you doing here?”

  The other man looked at his watch with a groan. “I’m sorry, man. I didn’t even check the time. You weren’t still asleep, were you?” Roarke took in his jeans and t-shirt.

  “No, it’s fine. Come in.”

  Roarke laughed tiredly as he stepped inside. “When you’re living with a baby you kind of lose track of time. You know when it’s morning and night, but beyond that it’s all a bit of a blur.”

  Ava had given birth to a beautiful baby girl, Lily, just over six weeks ago.

  “It’s not a problem,” Dylan assured him. “I’ve been awake for a while. Coffee?”

  “Thanks. I live on the stuff at the moment.”

  “Me too,” Dylan said.

  “Trouble sleeping?” Roarke asked as he followed him into the kitchen.

  “A bit. I’m finding it hard to get into the swing of things after having a break.”

  “And you’re missing Tilly,” Roarke added.

  “And I’m missing Tilly.” He’d told everyone that Tilly was spending some time with her family. He’d let them think that the reason they’d left town so abruptly was due to family reasons.

  “The reason I’ve barged in on your quiet Sunday morning is to talk to you about the club.”

  “Something wrong?” Dylan asked.

  “No, not at all. I just wanted to talk to you in privacy, and Lily was sleeping, so I thought I’d duck out while I had the chance. I’m looking to take a step back from the business. I have six clubs across the state. That means a bit of traveling around. Not a lot, but I like to keep my eye on things. I have managers in each, of course – people like you who deal with day-to-day management. I want to spend more time with my family. That means finding someone I trust to take over my job. I was wondering if you’d like to be that person.”

  Dylan was floored. “Me?”

  “Yeah. Extra responsibility, but extra money too. Also, it would be better hours. Still some late nights, of course, but you would be getting home earlier.”

  “Wow, that’s an amazing offer.”

  Roarke smiled. “You’re a hard worker, you’re smart and you’re good with people. You’re the only person I considered. Think about it. I’ll send you over some information.”

  Roarke finished off his coffee and stood. “Think it over. Let me know.”

  Dylan walked him out and shook his hand. As Roarke drove off, a large, dusty truck pulled up. He’d seen that truck before. A wide grin crossed his face as the front passenger door opened and Tilly jumped out.

  “Dylan!” She yelled, racing up to the house. She threw herself at him. He braced himself, catching her easily and twirling her around.

  His arm protes
ted the movement, but he ignored it.

  “Oh, shoot! Your arm. I’m sorry.”

  She peered up at him in consternation. Dylan leaned down and kissed her, ignoring Dare, who was walking up the footpath behind her.

  Finally, Dare cleared his throat and Dylan pulled back. Tugging Tilly close with his good arm, he nodded at her brother.

  “Dare, how’s it going?” he asked

  “Well, I’m tired because midgie insisted on leaving at five this morning. Plus, I’m hungry because she wouldn’t let me stop for some food. Breakfast consisted of three chocolate bars and a bag of chips, and the only reason I was allowed to stop for them is because we needed gas. Plus, she talked my ear off the entire way.”

  Dylan glanced down at Tilly, who was rolling her eyes.

  “You volunteered to bring me.”

  “I drew the short straw,” Dare said with a grin.

  She reached out and whacked his arm.

  “You should have called me,” Dylan told her. “I’d have come and got you.”

  “I knew you were working last night and I didn’t want you to have to make such a long trip on little sleep.”

  “Hey! I worked late yesterday too,” Dare protested.

  “You finished work then you went out for drinks with your friends. That’s not working late.”

  “I had one beer. One,” Dare said with emphasis. “You got any food in there?”

  Dylan smiled, glad Tilly was back in his arms. “I’ll see what I can do.”

  “I’ll have pancakes and bacon,” Dare said, moving past them and into the house.

  “Dare!” Tilly protested, glaring at her brother.

  “What?” he asked.

  “You’re not supposed to just make yourself at home. You’re supposed to wait until you’re invited inside and you’re not supposed to just demand breakfast.” She looked up at Dylan. “Sorry about him, he’s not really house-trained.”

  Dare stuck his head back out the door. “He doesn’t care. Besides, he’s going to be family, isn’t he? He’s got to get used to us dropping in. So, pancakes?”