Promise Me Forever (Top Shelf Romance)

by Kate Stewart

  “It doesn’t mean anything if it’s not what you want.” I cut my eye at Mian when I felt her watching me again. Her pink lips were slightly parted. Theo didn’t respond. He turned to his daughter and lowered his tall frame to his haunches. Her gaze reluctantly shifted from me to her father.

  “You good here?”

  “She’ll be fine,” I dictated.

  Her body stiffened, the only thing moving were her flaring nostrils.

  It seems she hated being spoken for. I smiled for her father’s benefit and wondered why I’d done it. Was it because I didn’t want to give her a chance to say no? I’d been in their presence together for less than ten minutes and already knew he indulged his daughter. Spoiled was written all over her.

  “Well, I guess it’s settled,” he said clearly amused. He stood to his full height and ruffled her hair. I waited for her to complain and fuss over her hair like chicks do, but she only smiled up at her father and offered a fist bump when he set it up.

  Yeah, definitely a daddy’s girl.

  Theo left, and for the first time, I was alone with her. The air felt thinner, and the walls closed in making the room appear smaller. I felt as if I were being strangled by the need to be even closer.

  I bet she’s just a baby, perv.

  “Tell me how old you are.”

  “That’s a rude question.” The way she scolded me, she might have been twice my age.

  “Like you care.” Was there anything typical about this girl? “How old?” I repeated.

  “Ten.”

  “Bull. Shit.”

  “Well, I am.” She stepped around me and looked at the wall above my headboard. I had posters of buxom beauties stashed on almost every inch of the space.

  What could I say? I’m a breast man.

  “Did you feel they were all necessary?” Her back was turned, but it didn’t matter. I could hear the disapproval in her tone.

  “You can never have too many breasts.”

  “As someone who will one day possess them, I beg to differ.”

  I closed my eyes, but it only made the visual even more lucid. She was just a little girl, and I was six fucking years older than she was. Neither one of us was even legally able to consent to sex, but it didn’t erase the vision of her older with soft, perky Ds.

  “Are you even listening?”

  “Sorry?”

  She sighed. “I said I’m hungry.”

  “The kitchen is downstairs.” I retook my spot in my gaming chair and picked up the game controller. I needed the distraction that came with violence since I was crushing on a girl who was practically a toddler.

  “This is your house.”

  “I’m sure you don’t need help finding the kitchen,” I answered without taking my eyes from the video game.

  She didn’t move. I had a feeling she was expecting me to jump and see to her needs. When it became clear I wouldn’t, she huffed and stomped from my bedroom. I paused the game when I couldn’t hear her footsteps anymore and hung my head.

  It took less than five minutes of having her out of my sight for me to run after her.

  I found her in the kitchen staring into the refrigerator with her nose turned up. I was light on my feet so I was floored when I entered, and she turned her head.

  “Don’t you have anything besides sandwich meat and Gatorade?”

  “You vegetarian?”

  “No, but there’s nothing I want in here.”

  “Pick something.” I waited to see if she would obey. She slammed the door closed and planted her hands on her nonexistent hips.

  Cute.

  “Didn’t you hear me?”

  I leaned against the doorjamb and crossed my arms. “If you’re going to be a brat then I guess you aren’t hungry.”

  She put her back against the door. Maybe so I could watch her lick her lips. She was even prettier angry.

  Ten. She’s fucking ten.

  “Are you always so mean?”

  “Are you always so spoiled?”

  “I’m not spoiled. I’m hungry.”

  “What did you have in mind?” Why was I asking?

  She didn’t even think about. “Frozen yogurt.”

  “That’s not food.”

  “Daddy and I passed a shop on the way here.” Her eyes brightened, and she completely ignored my comment. “It’s just around the corner.”

  “You’re not leaving.” Theo’s orders to keep her safe meant not letting her out of my sight. It was one hell of a convenience because I had no intention of doing so until her father came back and took her from me.

  “Not by myself. Daddy says I have to stay with you no matter what. So will you take me?”

  “No.” I stood up straight and walked away before she had a chance to convince me. I didn’t trust her.

  Not.

  One.

  Bit.

  I heard her small footsteps running after me and picked up my pace. It was official. I ran from a little girl.

  “Why not?” Her yelling amused me.

  “Because I said so.”

  “So? That’s not good enough. I want to go.”

  “I’m not your father, kid.”

  “No, you’re not because you’re an asshole! My dad gives me whatever I want,” she taunted.

  I stopped climbing. She wasn’t expecting it, so when her body collided hard with my back, she was gone in an instant. Her fear-filled gasp struck a chord in my heart so that the beat quickened. Pivoting on my feet, I caught her shirt in my fist just in time. Her body leaned at an angle.

  Shit. She would have gone head first, and her father would have killed me.

  I pulled her up until she was standing upright and released her when I trusted she was steady on her feet. Only then did I start to breathe again.

  “I’m going to tell my dad you pushed me.” She stuck her little nose in the air and dared me not to beg for mercy.

  My eyes narrowed into slits. I save this little cunt’s life, and she threatens me? “Then maybe I should push you so your father won’t know what a liar his precious daughter is.”

  Grabbing her shirt again, I push my fist into her flat chest until she's leaning over again. Her shriek is followed by teardrops spilling from emerald pools. I release my pinky from my fist to taunt her.

  “I’m sorry!" Terror has stricken her smooth, pale face.

  “No. You’re not.” I set her upright again and push her against the wall. “But you will be if you threaten me again.”

  Leaving her standing there looking too afraid to breathe, I lock myself in my bedroom.

  I shouldn't have been trusted with her.

  Her father didn’t show up that Sunday. Two days turned into an entire summer with us at each other’s throats. I began to think Theo had forgotten about his daughter altogether when he finally showed up at the end of summer. But he came with news neither of us was willing to accept.

  “Daddy, what do you mean I have to stay here? For how long?” Her tone wasn’t one she should be using with her father, but he indulged her anyway.

  “For a while.”

  “But what about school?”

  “You’re going to transfer to a school here in Chicago.”

  I looked at my father who watched Theo’s daughter with a small grin. He was amused by her bratty behavior, but I knew he wouldn’t accept the same for me.

  “Dad?”

  “Yeah, son?”

  “I’m not sure what’s going on…”

  His grin dropped and his gaze hardened. “You wanted a slice of the pie. This is your way in.”

  “What about Mom?”

  “While I’m alive, your mother doesn’t make the decisions when it comes to you… or her,” he answered frigidly. I simply nodded because I knew my acceptance was all he expected. He was good to my mother and me. He even loved us, though some would disagree. His hard exterior was sometimes hard to turn off because of the hazards of his job.

  “Daddy, I don’t want to stay here
with him. He’s mean.”

  Her father’s gaze flitted to mine. I expected anger but instead, got sympathy. Perhaps her father wasn’t as oblivious to her spoiled behavior as I thought. “Are you sure it’s not because he doesn’t let you have your way?”

  “I’m not staying here with him. I’ll run away.”

  “Excuse me?”

  She either missed the hard edge his tone took or didn’t care. “You heard me.”

  I looked at my father who didn’t seem to find her brattiness cute anymore. Instead, he watched Theo to see what he would do. Meekness wasn’t something my father aspired to have or even understood. If Theo didn’t correct her behavior, I knew my father would. I stood back to watch it all unfold and even fought a smile.

  “I will not explain myself to you but you, little girl, will do as I say.” She opened her mouth to argue, but Theo’s hands flew to his belt. He unbuckled it with sure fingers and whipped it through the loops until it was free. Folding it, he stared down at his defiant daughter who looked as if she’d found her senses. “Are we clear?”

  Rather than answer, she turned and walked away. I could see she was crushed and just a little bit fearful. I tried to put myself in her shoes and knew I wouldn’t have reacted any less defiant. She’d only lost her mother four months ago, and now she was being uprooted from the only home she had known.

  Just before she passed me, she stopped and stared at me directly. There was nothing in her eyes. They were blank from defeat.

  “I hate you.”

  Soundlessly, she left the kitchen, and I couldn’t help but think I would have hated me, too.

  I glanced at Theo. He stared after her—his stance was relaxed now. I think we were all relieved that she hadn’t fought him. He didn’t want to hurt her any more than she wanted to be hurt.

  My father cleared his throat in a subtle command for my attention. I gave it to him. He stood and closed the distance between us. His strong grip seized my shoulder. “Don’t fuck this up, son. This is the only chance you’re getting.”

  Chapter 7

  ANGEL

  Present

  I made Lucas set Mian free because while I had a secret fetish for self-torment, I knew I wasn’t ready to see her again. Hours later, her presence lingered in my father’s home. I swore I could smell her scent. The possibility raised the hairs on my skin.

  Lucas said he found her in my old bedroom hiding under the bed of all places. The knowledge that she hadn’t changed pleased me when it shouldn’t have. She was impulsive and challenging. Perversely, I liked that she still had fight left in her.

  I looked forward to breaking her spirit.

  Instead of my old bedroom where Lucas had found her, instinct led me to my father’s study in the west wing.

  The door was left cracked, something I would never do, so I pushed it open and took in the havoc she wreaked. The desk and bookshelf had been left untouched. My inspection of the room shifted to my right where six generations of bandits were displayed proudly.

  The last two in the lineup were missing from their rightful place. The safe hidden behind my own portrait had been discovered and left exposed.

  Son of a bitch…

  My glare shifted to the floor where a toppled chair lay among the discarded portraits. I was impressed that she even managed to lift them considering I could bench press her body weight easily.

  Curiosity morphed into desperation. With quick, angry steps, I stalked to the safe and punched in the numbers. The sole content of the safe was detrimental to the prosperity of the Knights. There was no way she could have gotten inside without the code. It was only ever known by a Knight, but I needed to see for myself that I hadn’t just ruined my family by letting her go. The keypad beeped and flashed green after I entered in the combination. The lock disengaged. I yanked on the handle and shoved my entire forearm inside the metal box.

  Empty.

  She got me.

  She fucking got me.

  Fortunately, for me, she had no idea who she was fucking with. My lips spread wide, and my cock hardened from the promise of the great pleasure I’d get by teaching her.

  Mian.

  Sweet Mian.

  I’m going to destroy that little girl.

  “You look like shit.” Lucas walked into my father’s study where he found me the next morning. I’d been too eager to plot my little bandit’s demise to sleep. “What the hell was last night about?”

  I watched him get comfortable on my father’s couch while I sat on the other side of his desk. I took over the study after he died, but it still felt like his. The study, the house, the business. The only part I felt was truly mine was my reputation. I earned that shit.

  Too fucking bad my father would never know how ruthless his only heir had become. Maybe even more than he had ever been.

  Lucas stared while I clicked at the mouse and brought up a game of solitaire. I usually plotted best when I indulged in the game. “What would that be?”

  “I’ll see you soon,” he mimicked. “Are we terrorizing kids now?”

  “She’s not a kid anymore.” No one recognized that irritatingly, dick-hardening fact more than I did.

  “Then why else would you let her go?”

  “I want to play with her a little.”

  His teeth clicked. “Didn’t your mother ever tell you not to play with your food?”

  I cut my eyes at him and saw his smirk. “I’m going to savor this then.”

  He chewed the corner of his lip in silence. I could tell he was thinking, and Lucas thinking was never a good thing since he was intuitive as fuck. “I think it was obvious last night that you two know each other. Did something more happen between you two?”

  I paused the card game and turned to bring him into focus. “No.”

  What I left unsaid was the fact that she’d been too young for something to happen. We lived together for five years but in that time, she turned my world upside down.

  Nothing and no one tortured me more than Mian.

  Not all the shit I stole or the lives I took.

  Not the money or power.

  None of it compared to little Mian Ross.

  She would grow older. Her body would change. The sound of her voice would change. Hell, even the look in her eyes…

  She became bolder with her crush, making my grip on morality slip.

  I’ve wanted to fuck her spoiled ass six ways to Sunday since she was fourteen. I was young too and still much too old for her. Not to mention self-destructive and out of control.

  But not so out of control I’d cross a line that I couldn’t uncross. Especially, behind bars, which was where I would have belonged if I did all the things that crossed my mind when she tempted. Oh, how she had tempted…

  “How do you know her?”

  “She’s Theo’s kid.”

  His eyes flashed hatred when I mentioned my father’s killer. “Bullshit.” I shook my head and waited. He sat up and beat his fist against his chest. “Why the fuck would you let her go?”

  “I told you.”

  “You didn’t think she would be useful to us now? I don’t feel like playing. I feel like making Theo suffer.”

  “And he will. They both will.”

  “How, man? She’s gone.”

  “You escorted her home last night?” He nodded slowly. I could see the wheels in his head already turning. “We make a move when it’s the right time, not before. She can’t hide and she sure as fuck can’t run.”

  He shook his head, but I could see his muscles relax one by one. “I didn’t know Theo had a kid.”

  “I first met her when I was sixteen and she was ten. Her mom had just died that same year, and Theo didn’t want the burden of facing his daughter.”

  Lucas swore.

  “So where did that fit you?”

  “I’d been asking for an in and my father finally gave me one. My first job was a fucking babysitting gig. He moved me into the brownstone against my mother’s wishes a
nd left her alone out there in the country.”

  “Is that why Z and I couldn’t come around anymore?”

  I nodded. “My orders were to keep her protected but mostly isolated. Her mother never wanted her involved in his other life. I guess it was his way of keeping his promise to her.”

  “Damn. Why didn’t you at least say something?”

  “We both know my father. One fuck up and that was it. I wasn’t taking chances.”

  “When was the last time you saw her?”

  I swallowed back pain. “Three years ago. It was a couple of months before her father murdered mine.”

  On my fucking birthday.

  “Shit,” he mumbled.

  I decided not to share that our brief separation was mostly due to what an asshole I had been to her. We had a falling out after I stomped all over her feelings for good. I could still remember the look on her face when I walked away…

  “So, you haven’t seen or spoken to her since then?”

  I shook my head. “I called so she could wish me a happy birthday.” His eyebrows bunched, and I could tell he was about to dig deeper in shit I didn’t care to share so I quickly changed the subject.

  “The book is gone.”

  “Gone? What do you mean gone?” Alarm and disbelief wiped away any confusion he’d had about my past.

  I shrugged as if she hadn’t run away with the past, present, and future of the Knights. “She got in the safe.”

  “Fuck!” He rubbed at his forehead and pulled his phone from his pocket. “I have a man on her. He can grab her and have her here in less than two hours.”

  “No.”

  “No? What do you mean no?”

  “I mean we do this my way.” As we always do.

  He stared at me for a beat before exploding. “Are you fucking serious right now?”

  “Deadly.”

  “She could—”

  “I want her to make her next move, and we’re going to be there when she does. Even if her father didn’t send her, which I highly doubt, I don’t think she’s working alone.”

  “She could be.”

  I shook my head sharply. “She had information that only a Knight should know. She’s not a fucking Knight.”