His Jersey Girl

Chapter 8

Gabriel

Note to self, do not give a tired princess an orgasm when there isn’t a bed close at hand.

Getting Alyssa back to my hotel room at the casino had taken an amusing mix of bribes and threats of spanking. It was more humbling than I would like to admit that my recent injury kept me from just picking her up and carrying her the whole way. Tiny as she was, it shouldn’t have been an issue but after a few blocks I gave up on walking and got a taxi.

The great massage and wonderful night of sleep with her curled up against me had worked miracles. My back hadn’t twinged during my early morning workout. It was still early, and I was on my way back to my room. Hopefully she was still asleep in my bed. I thanked my lucky stars that she wasn’t scheduled to work today so after I showered I could take my time waking her up properly. Then we could enjoy a lazy day in the room exploring the growing connection between us.

Despite her adorable bratting, last night had been everything I could have asked for. We’d talked about her dreams and ambitions while sharing fries and staring out over the ocean waves. The joy that sparkled in her eyes when she talked about her writing had lit her up in a way that made her almost glow. I’d hated how quickly that had vanished when I’d asked her about her day job. Every Daddy instinct I had told me the problems she had there were more than just the usual workplace boredom.

My girl deserved nothing but light and laughter and I’d had to bite my tongue to stop from immediately demanding she quit. Rationally, I knew it was too soon to convince her to quit and let me support her financially, but I wanted to. I’d worked hard and had more than enough money to give her the freedom to follow her dreams even if she never made another dollar on her books.

Her negative reaction to being thought of as a sugar baby was the only thing that gave me pause. There was no doubt in my mind that if I offered, she would resist. I would have to earn her trust, show her that we were something special. In order to do that, I needed to spend as much time with her as my schedule would allow. The insanely irregular work hours she’d described would make that complicated.

“Hold it right there, buster!”

Was someone yelling at me?

“I said, not another step, Mr. Destroyer.”

The yelled words made me pause and turn around. Who the heck was shouting my ring name down a hallway? The polite use of ‘Mr.’ made me smile though it didn”t hide the annoyance that filled the words. Stomping toward me were two familiar-looking women. The obviously pissed-off black woman in the lead had to be the shouter. She wore a scowl on her face that was probably supposed to be intimidating, but the unflattering hotel staff uniform and the stomping pace that was just short of running reminded me more of a pissed-off kitten.

It took a moment before recognition hit. These were two of Alyssa’s friends from the club. Unfortunately, I hadn’t gotten their names. The one in the lead with the ebony braids tightly pulled back from her face had caught Rocco’s attention. The glints of sparkle and color woven into them were the only hints that a Little hid under her stern surface. My friend loved brats and I guessed by the scowl and attitude clearly visible on her face this woman probably fell squarely into that dramatic box.

Unfortunately for her, I wasn’t as amused by attitude as he was. I crossed my arms and gave them both a disapproving glare. “Can I help you, young ladies?”

My stern words brought the second woman to a nervous stop. The beautiful Hispanic woman with wide, dark eyes was wearing the same uniform Alyssa had been yesterday. The look of fear and concern on her face almost made me feel guilty for my harsh tone. I might have even apologized if her friend hadn’t continued to charge forward until she was poking her finger into my chest as if she was trying to force me to step back.

“Don’t you ‘young lady’ me. Your Daddy scowl doesn’t scare me. If you or Mr. Rocks for Brains think you can kidnap one of my girls, you have another think coming.”

It was hard not to smile at her bravado. “You mean Rocco?”

She let out a huff and shook her hand as if she’d hurt her finger by poking me so hard. “That’s what I said, Rocks for Brains.”

I raised an eyebrow and took a deep breath trying to find my patience. These were Alyssa’s friends and yelling at them would probably upset her. “Can I know your names before we discuss your wild accusations?”

The spitfire narrowed her eyes, and I could see her mentally digging her heels in. This was why I didn’t want a brat for my Little girl. I got enough of fighting in the ring. The thought of arguing over every little thing exhausted me. While I might be willing to put up with some attitude, I was not going to let this woman think she could walk all over me. I crossed my arms and settled in for the staring contest that was sure to begin.

“She’s Zoe, and I’m Lucia.”

Thank God one of them wasn’t looking to argue. I gave Lucia a grateful smile.

“Alyssa was supposed to come back to my place last night after your date, but she never showed up and she’s not answering her phone.”

Guilt settled like a lump in my chest. In my struggles to get my princess settled in bed I hadn’t considered there might be someone waiting for her. Which reminded me, I also needed to get Rocco to deal with the asshole at her job. Having him handle it would be the smart thing to do, though after seeing my girl’s tears last night punching the guy”s face was tempting. Giving into that urge, no matter how satisfying, would probably end with me spending time dealing with cops. Anything that reduced the time I could spend with Alyssa was a bad idea.

“I apologize, Lucia. We got in late last night; I didn’t realize you were expecting her. She’s not ignoring you; I silenced her phone so she could sleep in. Can I have her call you when she wakes up?”

“We want to see her now.” Zoe’s eyes flashed with anger. This was a Little in desperate need of a good spanking. But luckily that wasn’t my job.

“No.”

When arguing with a capital-B-brat, short answers were best. Explanations would only give them fuel for more arguments, and I had no intention of going several rounds with her. The glare she leveled at me was probably supposed to be intimidating. I could almost see her trying to shoot mental laser beams at me.

“What right do you have to say who she can talk to?” Zoe growled through gritted teeth.

“I’m her Daddy.” Just saying the words felt right and settled much of the annoyance growing inside me.

Lucia gasped. “Really?”

At least one of her friends seemed happy at the idea. We might not have settled everything last night, but I was confident that at least for the time being I had the right to claim that title. If I wanted it long term, I knew making friends with her friends was the right thing to do. I gentled my expression and smiled.

“Yes, really. She’s going to stay with me in my suite for now. But I promise to have her contact you after she wakes up.”

At least I hoped she’d stay with me rather than go home. Showing any doubt to these two wasn’t part of my plans though so I tried to project nothing but confidence. The little resistance Alyssa had given me last night had seemed more about not wanting to be a burden than about having true concerns. With a bit of convincing, I was sure she’d agree to give staying with me a try.

“That was fast,” Zoe grumbled. “I don’t approve.”

“Zoe!” Lucia whisper-shouted.

I raised an eyebrow, honestly impressed with how unintimidated by me Zoe was. This was one Little girl who needed a firm Daddy. I wondered if Rocco understood how much of a challenge he had in front of him if he set his sights on her. It wasn’t hard to understand Zoe’s concerns, but I wasn’t about to allow her skepticism ruin my chance with Alyssa. Focusing my attention on Lucia was the best thing to do since she appeared to be the more reasonable of the two.

“I promise I want only the best for Alyssa. We had a wonderful date last night. She’s special and I want to treat her like the princess she is.”

I could almost see the fairytale hearts and flowers dancing through Lucia’s mind, and even Zoe’s expression had softened.

“Her stuff is at my place. She was going to stay with Grace and I while she looked for a new apartment.”

Why hadn’t Alyssa mentioned she didn’t have an apartment last night? It looked like I was going to have to have a talk with my girl about sharing important details. Fortunately, her apartmentless state would make my argument for her to stay with me stronger.

“Can I send someone over to get her things?” Having her own stuff would help her feel more comfortable. If I couldn’t find someone to do that for me then I would take her myself.

“Sure. Grace is home till two and I’ll be back there after six.”

“Lucia! We don’t know if Alyssa agreed to his crazy plan. Don’t you think we should wait before handing her stuff over to some rando?”

Lucia scowled, showing a bit of fire. “You saw the pictures she sent last night. Plus, Angel wouldn’t let a bad guy into the club.”

“You are way too trusting.”

I agreed with Zoe, though I’d never admit it since I wanted that trust. The ability to hold onto childlike innocence was one of the many things I admired about Littles. It was also why they needed a Big in their lives. Last night I’d known my Little girl was taking pictures but hadn’t realized she’d been sharing them with her friends. Had it been in private texts or on social media? I definitely needed to up my Daddy game. I didn’t want to hide our relationship but with my fame and some of the more extreme fans out there, it wasn’t safe to be too public with our lives.

“I appreciate that you are trying to look out for your friend. I’m doing the same by not letting you wake her up. How about this: After she calls you, we can arrange for her things to be brought back to my room.”

The two women looked at each other for a few silent minutes and I was fascinated by the intense eye contact. It was like they were somehow mentally talking though no words were being said. I was surprised when Zoe’s shoulders slumped as if she’d lost an argument.

“Fine. But I expect to hear from her as soon as she wakes up.” Not waiting for my answer, Zoe stomped off as if ready to attack the next person who dared get in her way.

I chuckled and smiled at Lucia. “It’s good Alyssa has friends like you two.”

She bit her lip. “Alyssa’s a special friend. She hasn’t had an easy life. I really hope you treat her right.”

“I will.” It hurt my heart to think about the struggles my girl might have faced in life. The world could be a harsh place especially to those who weren’t hardened by it. That was why I loved being a Daddy. I wanted to shelter Alyssa from the cruel reality around her. I wasn’t a fool who beleived I could fix everything, but I was determined to at least try.

The thought of the presents I’d ordered to be delivered to my suite made me smile. If I had my way my girl would have a wonderful day in Little space, letting me pamper her and blocking out the rest of the world. Material things wouldn’t fix whatever emotional hurts haunted her, but they were a good start.

Lucia cocked her head as if she could see my inner thoughts and smiled. “It was nice meeting you Mr. Destroyer.”

“Call me Gabriel, Lucia. It was nice meeting you too.”

Alyssa’s friend walked away at a much calmer pace then she had arrived. It would take time to develop trust but there were a few things I could handle now. I called Rocco as I walked up to the elevators.

“What the hell do you want?” Rocco”s frustrated voice answered on the first ring.

“Good morning to you too, Mr. Sunshine.” I’d wanted to ask him to handle taking care of Alyssa’s boss and see if he could hire her to be my personal masseuse for the next month, but I was a good enough friend to know he needed to get something off his chest before I would ask for favors.

The sound of my friend’s chuckle let me relax.

“Fuck you. It’s seven in the morning and I’ve had less than five hours of sleep. I repeat. What the hell do you want?”

“Don’t you know you are too old to be out partying all night?” A single night of crappy sleep wasn’t something that would put my friend in such a crappy mood, but I knew if I pushed Rocco’s buttons he would spill what was bothering him.

“I’m one year older than you, I am not old,” he grumbled.

“Yes, but we both know you have let yourself slip out of shape so you can’t keep up anymore.”

It wasn’t remotely true. Though he no longer fought in the ring, my friend worked out daily, but it was fun to tease him. His growl made me chuckle.

“You should appreciate me more. I spent most of my night fending off a concerned club owner. Seems he was worried when your little troublemaker didn’t come in last night.”

Alyssa had mentioned that she was at the club every night, but I’d thought that was an exaggeration. What was going on in her life that she needed to be there that often? Between that information and finding out she was without an apartment; I was starting to get concerned.

“Troublemakers are your thing, not mine. Though I would think you’d be in a better mood if you went to the club last night. What did you tell Angel?”

The elevator doors opened, and I was happy to see no one was in the car as I stepped in.

“I told him the two of you were out on a date. Next time I think I’ll just say you kidnapped her and let you deal with all the questions.”

“What is it with people thinking I’m someone who would kidnap someone? I just had to deal with two fired-up Littles who thought the same thing.”

“Which Littles?” Rocco’s voice was calm but I could hear the eager tone under the casual words.

“Why does it matter?”

“Gabriel.” The way he growled my name made it easy to picture my friend clenching his phone.

“Calm down before you give yourself a coronary. Your rainbow-braided beauty and her friend Lucia. I take it from your level of frustration that things didn’t work out yesterday.”

“She’d already left by the time I went looking and she wasn’t at the club.”

“Well, she’s on duty now.”

“Good to know. Did you call for any reason other than to bust my chops?”

The elevator doors opened on my floor and I stepped out. I couldn’t wait to see Alyssa again.

“Yeah, there are a few things I’d like you to take care of for me.”