Chapter 2 #2
“Excuse me, miss?” an older man called to her from inside the car beside her. Close. Much too close. “I’m sorry to frighten you, but we aren’t from around here. Do you know how to get to… what was it called, Dodie?”
“South Las Vegas Boulevard, Daddy.” A woman with snow-white hair and a mischievous twinkle in her soft blue eyes answered.
She tried to hide her shock, but the older couple’s knowing grins showed she hadn’t succeeded.
Seeing where she stood for the first time, she stared at the orange-and-white-striped arm that was supposed to keep people out of the parking lot.
Since it was pointing straight up, it wasn’t doing its job very well.
How had she made it so far from Connor’s truck?
She shook her head as if that would help. “Oh, no!”
Worry creased the man’s brow. “I guess I need to apologize again. I’m Dan, and this is my Little girl, Dodie. We couldn’t help overhearing the conversation you were having with yourself back there. You were talking about your Daddy being sex on a stick.”
Even the blood in Bliss’s veins froze. They’d heard her? She’d said that out loud? A wave of dizziness swirled over her. Did she always talk out loud when she thought she was talking to herself?
With a groan, she pressed her palms to her sizzling cheeks and bent over, resting her forehead on the car door. Could someone just dig a hole and bury her?
“I don’t know about always, but you were definitely talking out loud right then.” Dodie’s voice sounded just the way Bliss had always imagined a grandmother would sound.
“In your own world, too.” She could tell Dan was a Daddy from the irritation in his voice. “We’ve been following you for several minutes as you paraded around this parking lot, and you didn’t even notice. You need to be more careful, young lady.”
“And for the record,” Dodie added, “dark angels make the best Daddies. And the kind of trouble you’re talking about is what makes life worth living.”
For the life of her, Bliss could do nothing but stare back and forth between the couple. There were no words. None. It was too cool for words that Dan and Dodie were still enjoying their relationship. Maybe she had longer to find a Daddy than she’d thought.
Dan glanced past Bliss and smiled. “I take it you can’t help us get to South Las Vegas Boulevard. Well, it’s probably for the best you didn’t know. If that’s your Daddy there, I don’t think you’ll have time to explain anyway.”
Dodie leaned forward for a better look. The twinkle in her eyes grew more devilish. “Oh, my! You are about to have a very memorable time. Enjoy!”
“Well, we best be going now.” With a quick wave, Dan pulled out of the lot.
She hoped Dan and Dodie would find the street they were looking for as she turned to face her doom.
Connor stood at the truck’s tailgate, scanning the parking lot until his panicked gaze fell on her.
Wait… was that fear in his eyes? If so, it shifted to anger before she could register it.
Not knowing what else to do, she wiggled her fingers at him.
The panic melted into momentary confusion before settling into white-hot fury.
Her stomach iced over and dropped to her toes. She’d never seen anyone that angry before. She wanted to run at the realization that all that anger was headed her way. But beneath the fury, there was something hotter. Something possessive? That couldn’t be right.
She took a moment to close her eyes and twitch her nose. She could do it just like Samantha Stevens on that old-time television show, Bewitched. Disappointment swamped her spirit when, after opening her eyes, she still stood on the other side of the parking lot. The universe could be so unfair.
Connor prowled across the lot like a lion stalking a gazelle. Maybe she should leap away. The guilt of frightening him was even worse than the fear of him being upset with her. She’d caught the disappointment in his eyes, too. That hurt more than any shout could have.
Butterfly piranhas swarmed in her tummy at the very thought. She hated being in trouble. Hated it! Because trouble meant punishment. Trouble meant being unwanted.
She tensed so much her muscle spasms came back, only now they were more like ripples, and they weren’t in her legs. No, they were slightly higher. What was up with that? She should not, under any circumstances, be getting turned on right now.
She was a good girl. There wasn’t an ounce of brat in her anywhere. So why was she excited? Her body was a traitor with terrible timing. With no answer to that, she waited for Connor to reach her. At least it couldn’t get any worse.
The universe disagreed. Connor’s expression changed again, this time to shock, then determination. “Get down!”
Before she could process the command, he tackled her, rolling at the last minute to land beneath her. Bliss would have screamed, but the fall knocked the breath from her.
Connor rolled again, taking them behind the empty guard station. “Don’t move,” he snarled.
When her breath returned, she punched his chest. “Get off me!”
“Bliss, I can immobilize you if I have to. I said, don’t move.”
Holy Moses! Not even wanting to think about how he would immobilize her, Bliss did as she was told.
Connor studied the road until whatever he saw satisfied him. Pushing to his feet, he wrapped his large manacle of a hand around her wrist and yanked her up.
“Hey!” she shouted, trying to free herself from his grasp.
He pointed at her and growled, “Not another sound. Not one.”
Pressing her lips together, she tried to keep up as he dragged her toward the hotel.
“Wait. Wait!” What the heck was going on? She knew she’d messed up, but he was scaring her. “What is going on?” She tried to slow him down, but dragging her feet didn’t work.
He spun to face her. “What did I say about making a sound?”
She scrunched her nose. “You said not to make one.” Lord, the only thing pounding harder than her heart was her clit.
“Consequences,” he said, his voice deep and clipped.
“What do you mean, consequ—eep!”
Before she knew what was happening, he shoved a shoulder into her stomach and lifted her. His hard muscles pressed into her abdomen as he walked so fast he was almost jogging.
She was going to throw up. It would serve him right if it got all over his back. “Put me down!”
His hard palm smacked her bottom with the force of a paddle. One smack for each word as he ground out, “Do. Not. Talk.”
Holy hotdogs, that hurt. Her bottom burned. She could tell where every finger had landed. And that was only three smacks. She’d read all those spicy Daddy books. She knew spankings hurt. But the driving heat that shifted from her bottom to between her thighs? That she had not expected.
Connor strode straight past his truck to the hallway of the motel he’d entered earlier. And just like that, her heartbeat was right back where it was before. Great. What was it about this man?
He set her on her feet when they reached the hotel room. “Do not move.”
Tilting her head up, she met the gaze of one still-furious, tattooed muscleman. And just like that, the fluttering disappeared, and those butterfly piranhas came back to gnaw at the interior of her stomach.
Even though she nodded, he scowled down at her. His disapproval burned. She needed to think fast, but she never reacted well in the middle of a situation. It was as if her brain stalled, and she couldn’t think. Her feelings were more reliable.
Before the answer came to her, he grabbed her hand and marched her into the hotel room like a naughty child. The way he slammed the door shut, she half expected him to continue smacking her bottom, but he didn’t.
Her chest hollowed. Why did that disappoint her?
It shouldn’t. He must hate her after all the trouble she’d caused.
He’d never want to see her again. If it ever worked out that she could live in Darling near Winnie, she’d have to carry a canvas bag with her so that every time he was around, she could pull it over her head.
He stepped in front of her, scowling and red-faced. Taking her by the wrist again, he marched her to the far corner and stood her there. Was… was he… was he putting her in the corner like the Daddies did in the books she hid on her phone?
A tremor worked through her that had nothing to do with fear. It skimmed from head to toe but came to rest in her core. Gooseflesh pebbled her skin.
She was an adult, but he’d put her in the corner like a naughty child. And she was just standing there, not breathing, waiting to see what he’d say next.
“Nose to the corner, Trouble. Clasp your hands behind your back. We’re going to talk, but you’re going to do it with your nose in the corner, like the naughty girl you are.”
When he had her positioned the way he wanted, he stepped back and sat at the end of the bed. He was angrier than she’d ever seen him, yet when he spoke, his tone was even. “Tell me, Trouble, was I not clear when I told you to stay in the truck and out of sight?”
She heard his questions, but her mind kept replaying the flecks and streaks of gold in his eyes that melted into molten gold lava. She wanted to run her hand along his square jaw to see if his five o’clock shadow would prickle her fingers. The imagined sensations stole her breath.
“Well?”
Since she’d never been put in the corner, she didn’t realize she should guard against sinking into her Little headspace. She was there before she realized it was happening.
He seemed to want an answer, so, as usual, she blurted out the first thing that popped into her head. “You’re beautiful when you’re angry.” Because he was. Fierce and blazing and alive. And no one had ever burned for her safety before.
Yep. Those were the words that came out of her mouth. Her cheeks burned all the way to the tips of her toes. Not that it wasn’t true. He was incredible. How would he taste if she licked him and made him hers? That was it. He was the incredible edible Daddy.
The thought tickled her so much she almost laughed. But she shouldn’t want to laugh. She’d just said something stupid. Again.
Maybe she could press herself into the corner so hard that she would pass through the wall into the next room. Or maybe into another dimension. She wanted to disappear. Maybe.
What would it be like to have a Daddy? Especially one like Connor, who would get that upset if she put herself in danger. No one had ever cared about her like that. He wouldn’t be upset if he didn’t care, right? Maybe his anger meant she mattered.
Still, she wished she’d given a different answer because now she worried his head might explode. If it did, she would probably still think he was the most beautiful man she’d ever seen.