“Miss Gemma! You look beautiful. Is that a new dress?”
Immediately, the little girl stepped back and twirled for me. “Yes! Daddy got it for me. It’s for my dance, but I wanted to show it to you,” she said shyly.
“She’s lying,” Jim said with a grunted as he walked in, but there was a fond smile on his face. “She hasn’t taken it off since I got it for her, and her dance is still a week away.”
“A dance?” I frowned. “You’re too young to be dancing!”
“Nuh-uh! Dance! Dance with me, Uncle Brick!”
“Sure thing, sweetheart. Why don’t you go put your things in the guest room and then come back down, okay?”
Nodding, she grabbed her pink backpack and headed up the stairs. Immediately, Jim’s face fell. “Maybe I should stay too. Last night, she had nightmares all night long.”
“She’s going to be fine. I’ll be with her, Jim.”
My friend’s eyes suddenly narrowed as he focused on something behind me. “You and your hooker?” He hissed the words at me. “I thought you’d have some respect for my daughter and have her at least gone for the weekend.”
Whirling around, I saw Daisy creeping down the stairs. She froze, and I could tell by the look on her face that she’d heard Jim’s accusation. The blood immediately drained from her face, and I had to resist the urge to knock Jim out.
“Daisy, will you please go upstairs and make sure our guest is settled in?” I asked in a calm voice. Jim immediately took a step forward, and I put a hand on his chest to stop him.
“Of course,” she said softly and headed back up the stairs.
“You and I are good friends, Jim,” I said coldly. “But if I ever hear you talk about Daisy that way again, I will sever all ties with you and never look back. Do you understand me?”
“Gemma is spending the weekend here,” Jim said. “She doesn’t need to see or be around someone like that.”
“Gemma will be perfectly fine. Daisy is a guest in my home, and she deserves your respect. She is not a hooker,” I added with a little too much anger and emotion in the words. I took a deep breath before continuing. “You’ve always trusted me with Gemma before. This shouldn’t be any different.”
Jim cocked his head and stared at me. “This is a change for you,” he said gruffly. Suddenly, we could hear peals of laughter coming from upstairs. He nodded his head. “All right. Gemma! Come give me a kiss before I leave!”
“Daddy!” Gemma flew down the stairs, and Daisy slowly followed behind her. I tried to give her a comforting smile. “Miss Daisy said she would do my hair pretty! I want my hair pretty for my dance too.”
“Did she?” Jim cleared his throat. “I would very much appreciate that, Daisy. I’m not very good with hair.”
It was the closest that Daisy would get to an apology, and she seemed to know it. “No worries. I happen to be excellent with hair.”
“And makeup?” Gemma asked hopefully.
Jim’s eyes opened in alarm, and Daisy shook her head. “Now why would we mess up that pretty face with make-up?”
Gemma beamed, showing off her cherub cheeks. Jim bent down and gave her a hug. “I’m only a phone call away if you need me, okay?” he told her softly.
“Okay, Daddy.” She hugged him tight, and I could have sworn there were tears in his eyes as he stood and cleared his throat. I never would have thought that anyone could bring Jim to his knees, but that girl had him wrapped around her little finger.
After Jim left, I bent down and picked Gemma up. “Have you ever heard of a breakfast pizza?”
A look of puzzlement crossed her face. “No.”
“I think we’re going to try some, but I would hate to mess up that pretty dress. Why don’t you go change while we finish baking?”
“Okay, Uncle Brick.” I twirled her in the air until she squealed with laughter before putting her down. She hopped up the stairs, and I sighed. “I’m sorry. I forgot that I’d offered to take Gemma for the weekend. Jim is a business associate and a friend. He’s raising Gemma alone, and she’s been having nightmares lately. I thought a change of pace might help her.”
“You don’t have to apologize, Brick. This is your home.”
“And Jim should not have called you that. It’s not who you are. You know that, right?”
She stared at me with those gorgeous blue eyes. “Except that when you strip away the list of chores every morning and the pretty dresses at night, it’s exactly what I am. It’s okay, Brick. I’ve come to terms with this arrangement. You don’t have to worry about me.”
Ice bloomed in my chest. I’d never, for an instant, thought of her like that, but she did?
“Come on. It’s time you learned how to make something fun to eat. Tonight, we’ll have hot dogs and spaghetti.” Her eyes were once again warm and sweet.
I grimaced. “That sounds awful.”
Footsteps thundered upstairs as Gemma ran down the hall, and Daisy grinned. “I guess Gemma will have to cast the tie-breaking vote. I have a feeling that she’ll be on my side. We women have to stick together!”
***
I never heard Gemma’s cries that night. After a day at the park, a dinner that was as…interesting as Daisy had described it, and a movie before Gemma’s bedtime, I was exhausted. The little girl was a bundle of energy, and Daisy never once slowed down with Gemma. After tucking Gemma in bed, I left my own door open in case she had a nightmare, but I’d fallen deeply asleep.
The hallway light spilling into my bedroom woke up. Frowning, I blinked. I could hear soft whispers coming down the hall, and as I stumbled to Gemma’s room to make sure that she was all right, I realized that Daisy was in the room with her.
“You don’t have to be ashamed,” Daisy said. “I used to have scary dreams too.”
I froze outside the door and closed my eyes. I knew it was wrong to eavesdrop, but wanted to make sure that Gemma was okay. At least, that’s what I told myself.
“What were your bad dreams about?”
“A lot of things,” Daisy murmured. “They weren’t always the same. And some nights, I’d just wake up scared and couldn’t remember why.
“Did your daddy scare your bad dreams away?” Gemma asked. “Mine does!”
“You’re a lucky girl,” Daisy chuckled. “No, my parents didn’t know that I had nightmares.”
“Why?”
I held my breath, and there was a beat of silence. “My parents didn’t always get along,” she admitted. “But we don’t have to talk about that. What happens when you lay down to go to sleep? After your daddy tucks you in?”
“I can’t sleep. I’m scared of the bad dreams.”
“Yeah? Why don’t we try something different tonight? Do you like to read books before bed? Or…since I don’t have any books, why don’t I tell you a story until you fall asleep?”
“What story?”
“What kind would you like?”
“Hmm.” Gemma hummed loudly, and I could hear some shifting in the bed. “A dog story! I love dogs.”
“I think I can do that. Slip back under the covers for me and close your eyes. I’m going to turn out the light except for the nightlight, but you don’t have to be scared because I’m going to be right here.”
“Okay.”
The room darkened, and I leaned against the wall, listening to Daisy’s voice as she began her story. She was going to make an excellent mother one day.
For half an hour, she made up some ridiculous story about a dog escaping the pound and trying to make its way back home. Before she finished the story, she fell quiet, and I realized that Gemma must’ve already been asleep.
Not wanting to be caught listening in, I hurried back to my room and waited for Daisy to come out. Her eyes widened when she caught sight of me, and she put her finger to her lips. “Is everything okay?” I whispered when she approached me.
“She woke up, but she’s asleep again. She’s right next door, so I should be able to hear if she wakes u
p again.”
“Actually, I might stay up to get some work done. Why don’t you catch up on your sleep here,” I said, motioning to my own bed, “and I’ll keep an ear out for Gemma. Okay?”
Daisy yawned before frowning. “Sleep in your bed? With her right down the hall?”
It wasn’t the first time she’d shied away from me with Gemma around. “You’ll get more sleep here. I’ll get some work done in your room. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“For bunny pancakes?”
“Bunny pancakes,” I confirmed and kissed the top of her head. She stumbled into my room and crawled into my bed. Seeing her curled up under my sheets was nearly my undoing, but I managed to grab my computer and close the door behind me.
They both slept soundly until morning, but I didn’t get any work done. My focus wasn’t on my multi-billion dollar company. It was tangled up in the woman sleeping in my bed.
Chapter Nineteen
Daisy
The next week flew by. Brick didn’t touch me at all during the weekend, and for that, I was grateful. Poor Gemma already went to bed terrified of her nightmares. I wanted to be there for her if she needed me, and Brick apparently felt the same.
Sunday night, Brick was in my bed all night long, making up for lost time. I wondered if things were changing between us, but Monday morning, there was a list of things for me to do around the house again, along with explicit instructions on what to wear that night. We fell back into the same routine. There were no more dates out or pretend family nights in. Still, it had been nice while it lasted.
“You seem happier,” Suzie commented as she started to prepare for dinner. “Smiling. Humming. You aren’t doing something stupid like falling in love, are you?”
“What?” Sitting directly on the floor, I was still trying to figure out how these gold strappy heels fit. They looked like they were supposed to wrap all the way up my legs, but there were so many loops and cross tucks. Every time I thought it was right, the buckle didn’t meet the strap. Who the hell designed these?
“Falling in love. Hoping that Brick Langston is going to be your knight in shining armor?”
“Of course not,” I muttered, but didn’t meet her gaze. “I have a boyfriend that I’m going home to when this is over with, remember?”
“Right. The boyfriend who sold you.” Suzie grunted, stirring something in a bowl as she eyed me. “Does he make you smile and hum like that too?”
“Ralph makes me happy. We have a future together,” I said blandly. The truth was that I hadn’t thought of Ralph all week. Hadn’t called him either. We hadn’t talked since his last surprise visit and since then he hadn’t gotten in touch with me at all. Not even a message on social media.
“And you and Brick don’t have a future?”
My hands started to shake, and I looked up sharply. “Weren’t you the one who warned me of the dangers of having romantic delusions? Now you want to keep planting that notion in my head?”
“So you are falling for him.” Suzie smiled in triumph. “I know what I told you, little girl. That’s because in all the time that I’d known Brick, he’s never once defended a woman. Never cared about her feelings. Never tried to do anything to make her happy, at least outside of the bedroom. He’s done all three with you.”
It would be a lie if I didn’t admit that her words made me feel…something. I loved to see Brick softening towards me, and hoped that it meant something, but that kind of thinking was dangerous. I did not want to get hurt. “Has he ever invited a woman to live with him for a month?”
Suzie shook her head. “No.”
“That’s the difference. He’s just around me more. It doesn’t mean anything.”
“Why are you so against the thought of a romantic ending? Why are you so against the idea of falling in love?”
I sighed and discarded the shoes. “There is no such thing as a romantic ending. Falling in love only ends in pain. What Brick and I have is chemistry and passion, and it’s going to burn out at some point. My parents were in love. They had all that chemistry and passion, and you know what it got them? Crying and fighting every night. I used to lay awake and listen to my father assault my mother every night. She’d scream no and fight him, but she never left him either.”
Suzie’s eyes widened in horror. “That’s why you were a virgin, isn’t it?”
“I loved my mother, but I don’t want to end up like her. With Ralph…we may not have passion and love, but he cares about my future, and I can build a life on that.” I stood and nudged the shoes away with my foot. There was no way that I was going to find a way to wear them. It was back to the black pumps.
“Ralph doesn’t care about your future, darling. He cares about his money. What is it going to take for you to see that?” Suzie shook her head. “You can’t be so afraid of finding love that you get trapped in a passionless and loveless relationship, darling. You won’t be any happier than your mother.”
My heart ached at the thought, but before I could dwell on the unhappy thought, there was a knock at the door. With a frown, I adjusted the skin-tight cream-colored dress that I was wearing. I prayed that Suzie wasn’t making anything with red sauce.
One of the employees for the building stood on the other side with a box. “This was delivered to the front desk,” he said and held it out to me. “Mr. Langston wanted to make sure that you had it for tonight.”
“For tonight?” I frowned and accepted the box. “Thank you.”
As I shut the door, Suzie shouldered her bag and pointed to the pot. “You let this boil, and it’ll be ruined. Simmer until you pull the steak out of the oven, okay?”
“Uh-huh.” I was barely listening as I put the box on the counter. What would Brick send me that would be for tonight?
“If you burn the sauce, it won’t be my fault,” Suzie muttered. “There’s some bacon in the fridge. For some reason, Brick wants it for breakfast pizza. Honestly, I don’t even know where he got that idea.”
I smiled to myself as Suzie bustled out of the condo. Tugging at the tape, I pulled it off and opened the box. Inside, there was another box. Gold and white stripes with an ornate label. Erotic Elegance. Flipping the lid open, I pulled out the fabric inside.
Black crotch-less sheer panties and a matching bar that hid absolutely nothing.
Immediately, I grew wet.
Apparently, Brick had some interesting plans for tonight.
I wasn’t wearing any panties under the dress, so it was easy enough to slip on the new garments, but I needed to exchange the bra. I unzipped the dress just enough to pull the straps down and unhook my bra. From the corner of my eye, I could see the sauce starting to boil. Cursing, I turned the heat down and stirred it with one hand while I stripped off my bra. Finally, I slipped the new bra on, managed to hook it in the back, and pulled my dress back up.
My nipples easily showed beneath the dress with the new bra on. There would be no hiding my arousal.
Once the sauce was safe, I gathered up the boxes, my shoes, and my discarded bra and hurried them upstairs before Brick would see the mess.
When I scurried back to the kitchen, he was already there. “Brick. Mr. Langston.” I still wasn’t sure what to call him when we weren’t in bed. “Dinner is almost ready.”
With his eyes trained on me, he reached across and turned the stove off. My mouth immediately dried. “Are you not hungry?” I asked slowly.
“Take off the dress,” he ordered. “Now.”
There was no denying him. There was never any denying him. I unhooked my dress and let the fabric fall to the floor. He’d seen me naked, but that didn’t stop the flush from creeping up my chest. I could only imagine the sight that I made, standing there in his kitchen in the most scandalous pair of lingerie that I’d ever put on. Nipples exposed, tight with arousal. Crotch-less panties that didn’t protect my thighs from my juices. My desire was all too easy to see, and his eyes slowly swept over me from head to toe.
“You ar
e so fucking beautiful,” he said harshly. “Come here.”
As I walked towards him, Brick undid his belt, but rather than removing his pants, he slid the belt out of the loops and folded it in his hands. I immediately stopped, eyeing the strap of leather in his hands. Just what was he planning on doing with it?
“Come here, Daisy.” His gaze narrowed, and I slowly blew out my breath. Either trust him or don’t.
One step forward and a look of pure satisfaction crossed his face. “Give me your hands,” he demanded.
Shivering, I held them out to him, and he looped the belt around my wrists. The leather was supple and warm against me as he tied my wrists together. “I don’t want you to touch me,” he said in a strangled voice. “I want to play this out, Daisy, and if you touch me, it’ll be over before it even begins.”
“I’m yours, Master. Do whatever you want,” I said breathlessly. Hooking his arms around my waist, he lifted me to the kitchen table.
“Spread your legs.” I did as he asked, but the table kept me from widening my thighs too much. “More. I know how flexible you are, Daisy. Spread your thighs for me and let me see that beautiful pussy.”
Feeling wicked, I lifted my legs until I straddled the table. My balance was a little precarious with my hands tied, so I gripped the table in front of me, but he immediately grabbed my hands and lifted them above my head. My breasts rose, and he groaned.
“Perfect. This is what I’ve been thinking about all day. This is what I’ve been picturing. Do you have any idea how hard this has been for me? I’m supposed to be running a multi-billion dollar corporation, and all I could do was wish that you were in my office so I could fuck you on every surface.”
“You could have called,” I whispered. “And I would have been there to do whatever you wanted.”
“Christ,” he groaned. “You really are perfect.” Leaning down, he kissed me long and hard as his hands stroked up and down my thighs but never touching me where I needed him most. My hands were still above my head, and I was helpless. I couldn’t touch him, but needed him naked.
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