Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
It was crazy how things could change from one breath to the next.
One moment, she was sitting at a table in a nice bar, talking to an attractive, friendly guy.
The next, she was staring at the gorgeous ass of the guy she kept having sexy dreams about.
Who she’d thought didn’t want to get involved with her.
However, she was kind of getting mixed messages considering that she was now hanging upside down over his shoulder.
He’d tracked her down, threatened the guy she was talking to, then picked her up and carried her out of the bar.
All without a ‘hello’.
What. The. Heck?
“Uh, Stafford?” she asked.
“Yes?” he said as he walked into the parking lot.
“Are you feeling all right?” she asked.
“You know, for the first time in a long time, everything feels very, very right.”
Huh.
“Hey! Where are you going with her? Stafford! Put her down!”
Witches and wizards.
That was Kiesha.
“I’m taking her home,” Stafford replied. “Where she’s meant to be.” They came to a sudden stop.
Urgh, she wasn’t sure about this mode of transport. The blood was rushing to her head and her stomach was queasy.
“Kiesha, get out of my way,” Stafford ordered.
“No. Put my new friend down. Do it or I’m going to have to find my Taser.”
A Taser?
“Um, Kiesha, I don’t think a Taser is necessary,” she said nervously. Kiesha did know that he had a hold of Blakely, right? If she Tasered Stafford, he’d likely drop her.
And Blakely really didn’t want to be dropped from this height.
Plus, she didn’t actually want him to get Tasered. That sounded like it would hurt.
“It is if he doesn’t drop you,” Kiesha replied.
“Kiesha, why did you run out like that without me?”
Oh, thank goodness. Harry was here. The voice of reason.
“Because Stafford is trying to kidnap Blakely!” Kiesha cried. “Didn’t you see him pick her up and carry her out of The Wishing Well? He threatened to cut Aiden’s hand off! So I rushed out after them and told him to put her down and he’s refusing. I’m going to go get my Taser.”
Well, he didn’t quite threaten to cut Aiden’s hand off.
She waited for Harry to talk Kiesha down.
“What? You’re Stafford?” Harry asked.
“I am,” Stafford replied coolly. “Both of you need to get out of my way.”
“No, you need to put Blakely down before I let Kiesha go find her Taser,” Harry told him in a low voice.
He . . . what? She’d expected Harry to de-escalate this! Not encourage Kiesha and her Tasering.
“Yes! See! You’re acting crazy, Stafford. Do you want Ed coming out here next?” Kiesha asked.
“I don’t care who comes out next,” Stafford snarled. “Blakely is coming home with me. She is not going back into that bar to get pawed by some asshole.”
“I wasn’t getting pawed!” she protested.
“And Aiden isn’t an asshole. He’s a physiotherapist,” Kiesha explained.
“What does that have to do with him being an asshole?” Stafford asked. “He can be both.”
“He’s not one!” Kiesha said. “He was getting on really well with Blakely, and you ruined it with your caveman routine. You’re her boss, not her boyfriend.”
“Actually, I’m both.”
There was shocked silence from everyone. Even from Stafford himself, it seemed.
Her boyfriend? What was he talking about? He wasn’t her boyfriend.
“How can you be her boyfriend?” Kiesha demanded. “She came here for Daddy Speed Dating. She never said that you were her boyfriend. Doesn’t make sense.”
“Perhaps we should hear from Blakely,” Harry said.
Oh, now he was the voice of reason.
“Stafford, put me down,” she demanded. She really was feeling queasy.
“No. And this has nothing to do with the two of you,” Stafford told them. “Get out of my way. I’m taking Blakely home.”
“Blakely?” Harry asked. “Is that what you want?”
“Um, well, I . . . actually, what I’d really like is to be put on my feet before I vomit.”
Stafford immediately drew her over his shoulder and set her down. The blood rushed out of her head and made her feel dizzy. She swayed and Stafford grabbed her hips.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were feeling ill?” he demanded. “Do you still feel like you’re going to vomit? You didn’t take a drink from anyone in there, did you?”
Huh?
“Well, just from Noah.”
“Noah wouldn’t spike her drink,” Harry said firmly. “I think she’s just ill from you holding her upside down. Is that right, Blakely?”
“Yes, that’s right.” She was still lightheaded, but she wasn’t sure if that’s because she was being held over Stafford’s shoulder or because of what he’d just said. “Boyfriend?”
“Is he your boyfriend, Blakely?” Kiesha asked as she eyed Stafford with suspicion. “Because you really should have said something before I tried to matchmake you with half the town.”
“Half the town?” Stafford yelled. “How many people touched you?”
“No one was touching me!” she told him. What the heck did he think she was doing in there?
“That asshole was.” Stafford glared down at her.
“I told you, he’s a physiotherapist,” Kiesha said.
“He can be both,” Stafford pointed out. “How many men did you introduce my girl to?”
“I’m not your girl, though,” she said, starting to get angry and more and more confused. What was going on here? Why was he calling her his girlfriend?
This made no sense.
“You are my girl.”
Blakely raised her hands into the air. “Says who?”
“Me.”
“And I don’t get a say?” She went up onto her tiptoes to attempt to get into his face.
“No,” he replied.
Harry cleared his throat. “Sounds like the two of you have some things to talk through.”
“I’ll say,” Kiesha said. “He thinks she’s his girl. She thinks she’s looking for a Daddy. Are you a Daddy, Stafford? I always got a bit of a vibe.”
“I don’t think that’s our business,” Harry told Kiesha.
“Well, of course it is. I have to know what is going on. I’m the expert on Wishingbone society.”
“That’s her way of saying she likes to listen to gossip,” Harry said dryly.
“So, are you going to tell us what’s going on?” Kiesha asked.
“I like you, Kiesha,” Stafford said as he took hold of Blakely’s hand. “But it’s really none of your business. Now, if you’ll excuse us, I need to talk to Blakely.”
“Is that all right with Blakely?” Harry asked. “Do you want to go with Stafford? Do you feel safe with him?”
“Of course she’s safe with me!” Stafford snarled. “What are you trying to insinuate? That I would harm her?”
“You walked into The Wishing Well, threatened Aiden, and then picked her up and carried her out. And you weren’t going to stop to let us check on her. So I’m going to check on her now and you’re going to let me,” Harry said firmly.
Whoa.
Harry could really bring out the Dominant when he wanted to.
“Wow. That was sexy,” Kiesha told him.
“Glad you think so,” he told her. “Remember that when I’m punishing you later for running out without telling me where you were going.”
“What?” Kiesha cried. “Nooo. I was trying to save a friend.”
“You still ran off without me,” Harry told her. “And that’s not allowed. You could have put yourself in danger and I won’t ever allow that.”
Blakely sighed. Lord, she was so happy Kiesha had that with Harry.
And totally jealous that she didn’t have that sort of relationship.