Chapter 13
Chapter thirteen
Blaine
A Few Weeks Later
Stepping out of my car, I gazed up at the building I’d never given a second glance while passing by. Closing the door, I took a quick look around. It was a quiet neighborhood, a few people passing, nothing unusual. My Sunshine told me she’d be at the dance studio today and out early, so here I was.
After missing her more than I missed my chocolate stash at the office, I figured it was time for a visit.
We’d been spending more time together lately, and I was still debating how to bring up my upcoming travel season with Killian.
The trips overseas, the galas, the suits and contracts…
it would be the perfect excuse to actually use my private jet instead of hitching a ride in his.
And maybe, just maybe, to take her with me.
So why the hell was I nervous? It’s not like I wasn’t already sleeping with her, paying her, spoiling her. Still not entirely sure if our arrangement is legal, but I don’t dwell on it. One could call it an exchange of goods… really, really good goods.
But asking her to travel? That was different.
That pushed us further. And we were already pretty damn far, considering how short a time we’d known each other.
Regardless, I was falling. Hard. For her smile, her awful jokes, the way she fit against me like she belonged there.
Too hard, maybe. Every time I caught myself staring too long or enjoying the sex a little too much, I tried to reel it back. Emphasis on the word “tried.”
So now, I’ve been controlling… well, trying to control my impulse to just blurt out that I’m falling for her.
I was controlling it about as well as I’ve been keeping our little arrangement from Killian—which, surprisingly, I’m actually nailing.
But the other secrets I've kept in my back pocket?
Yeah, I've been doing a pretty shit job of keeping tabs on them. Been tossing him little distractions, small confessions that don’t matter, just to cover the one big one: my Maia.
As far as Killian’s concerned, she doesn’t exist to me anymore. I’ve given him no reason to think otherwise. Meanwhile, I’ve adjusted my pants in the car a hundred times just from thinking about seeing her.
If anything, I think the reason he hasn’t pressed me about her lately is because someone else is screwing with his head.
Brielle. Over the last couple weeks, I’ve spoken to her here and there, and through the grapevine of his butler and driver gossip group chat, I’ve pieced together enough to know Killian’s acting… off. Different.
So fucking different that he coincidentally decided he needed a personal assistant and practically forced her into the job. If it wasn’t clear he wanted her, he might as well have tattooed her name across his forehead. And while he’s at it, he could add the word hypocrite right under it.
Telling me not to get involved with a woman while he’s basically kidnapping one? Crazy work. If I didn’t seize the opportunity to point that out, I’d be the idiot.
But now, all I had to do was casually suggest he find a way to make her travel with us. Then, while he’s busy playing house with his new PA and her kid, I’ll be focused on what really matters: spending time with my sweet Sunshine.
I sank back into the bench in the waiting room, crossing one ankle over my knee while I waited for her shift to be over.
Parents and kids filtered in and out, the classes turning over every half hour.
Some of the little ones bounced in wearing leotards two sizes too big; others were teenagers looking like they already thought they were Broadway-bound.
Either way, nobody seemed to care I was sitting there.
Good. Fewer eyes on me meant less chance of someone recognizing Blaine Fucking Porter sitting in a dance studio lobby like a creep waiting for his girlfriend. Or sugar baby. Or both.
Glancing at my phone, I scrolled through a few emails before catching movement at the edge of my vision. A tiny figure was trying to climb up onto the bench beside me. For half a second I considered offering a hand, but before I could, she hauled herself up with the stubbornness of a grown man.
I went back to my phone. At least until I felt it—those eyes. Little kid eyes. Heavy, unblinking, judging.
Lifting my gaze slowly, I found her staring right at me.
"Hi!" she said with a smile, and I paused for a moment, glancing around before looking back at her.
"Uh… hi," I said cautiously, and she stuck her hand out for me to shake.
"My name is Delilah!" She grinned.
I shook her hand gently. "You can call me Blaine."
"Whatcha doin’ here, Blaine?" she asked, her words sharp for her age, though her pronunciation reminded me she was still very young.
"I’m… waiting for a friend," I said carefully, and she nodded, swinging her feet.
"Who’s your friend?"
"Maia. She teaches dance here."
"Oh! She’s my dance teacher," she chirped.
I tilted my head at the obvious statement, humoring her. "Is she now?”
She nodded fiercely, and I slid my phone back into my pocket as she sighed.
"Yeah, she’s my new teacher for most of my classes because Bribri got a new job."
Bribri. My brow ticked, but I stayed quiet, letting her ramble despite her features seeming to look oddly familiar.
"But she works with Killy now, so I guess it’s okay."
I froze. Tilted my head. "Bribri and… Killy?"
"Mmhm. It’s their nicknames. Her name is Brielle, and… I don’t really remember how Killy says his name. Killy-ann?"
My hands dragged over my face in slow, painful realization.
As far as I was concerned, Brielle worked in a library. Nobody mentioned she taught dance, let alone that her niece took classes here. If they did, clearly I wasn’t listening.
So Brielle used to work with Maia. Now I’d gone and introduced myself to her niece. And that same niece? About to be shacking up with Kiki while Brielle plays PA.
Wouldn’t be a big deal if Killian were a sensible human being. But he wasn’t. And the second he found out I was still seeing Maia, I was done. Finished.
This is absolutely fucked.
“What’s wrong? Do you want a nickname too?” Delilah asked, tilting her head, genuinely sad for me.
I shook my head, sighing. Jesus Christ. Why am I spiraling? It’s not like I’ll ever see her again.
…Who am I kidding? With our luck, the odds of running into this kid just went from slim to guaranteed. She might not even remember my face or my name—
But she seems smart. Too smart.
“Delilah… can you keep a secret?” I asked.
She shrugged. “I can try.”
Great. Just fucking great.
“I know Killy and Bribri.”
“You do!” Her eyes lit up like it was Christmas morning.
“Yes. But they can’t know I came here to see my friend Maia.”
“Why not?” she asked, all wide-eyed curiosity.
I bit my lip. “We’re… not supposed to be friends right now.”
“Why not?”
This kid. I groaned internally. “It’s another secret, okay?”
“What’s in it for me?”
I narrowed my eyes. Yeah… a little too fucking smart. “Nothing. You’d just be doing me a favor.”
“Then I don’t know if I can keep a secret.”
I blinked at her. “How old are you?”
“Four.” She swung her feet happily.
Jesus Christ. Why am I negotiating with a preschooler?
“What do you even want for keeping the secret?”
“I can negotiate.”
“You don’t even know what that word means.”
She shrugged. “I heard it in a movie once.”
“You’re four.”
“Almost five.”
“Right. And considering you’ve probably only seen six movies in your lifetime, I’m shocked you even remembered a word from one of them.” She just kept smiling, waiting patiently. Deciding to entertain her, I sighed. “Fine. What do you want?”
“Piggy bank money.”
Of course. My jaw clenched as I reached for my wallet. I debated slipping her a one, but the way she stared at me? She’d know. Oh, she’d definitely know.
I handed her a hundred.
She squealed, wrapping her tiny arms around me. “Thank you, Blainey. Your secret is safe with me.”
“It’s probably not, but that’s fine,” I muttered, patting her back before she hopped down from the bench and disappeared into one of the classrooms.
Another door opened, and my Sunshine appeared, looking at me like she couldn’t quite believe I was real. She smiled as she crossed the room, and I stood, slipping my arms around her waist the second she was close enough.
“Are you stalking me, Mr. Porter?”
“A sugar daddy always knows where his baby is, Sunshine… Besides, you told me your new schedule a few days ago.”
“You have a point there.” She giggled, then added, “With my coworker Brielle’s hours cut back in her new job, my schedule is always changing.”
I almost laughed out loud. If only she knew. If only she realized we were two steps away from starring in a deranged Brady Bunch reboot. Sunshine, Brielle, Lucifer, the kid who just hustled me out of a hundred bucks… what a fucking family tree.
But I swallowed it down, finally keeping my mouth shut for once. My hand lingered on her lower back as I led her outside, settling her into the passenger seat before climbing in myself.
As I pulled out of the lot, I glanced at her.
She looked tired but still impossibly radiant—her waves tied into a low ponytail, leggings hugging every curve, that pink jacket clinging like a second skin.
She smelled like vanilla and musk, like sex and sugar cookies, and it took everything in me not to slam the car into park and drag her onto my lap.
Instead, I cleared my throat. “There’s actually something I wanted to discuss with you…”
Her eyes flicked over to me, curious. She didn’t look drained from teaching all day. If anything, she looked more alive than I did after thirty minutes at the office.
“What is it?”
“I’ll be leaving the country soon,” I admitted, exhaling through my nose. “For the next few months, I’ll be back and forth, assisting Killian.”
“When?” she whispered. The shift in her tone nearly made me smile… she cared. But I forced it down.
“Nothing’s finalized yet, but… probably in the next few weeks.” Her silence ate at me, so I caught her hand, lifting it to my lips. “I wanted to know if you’d accompany me.”
Her whole face lit up. “Really?”
The excitement she tried to hide almost broke me into a grin.
And instantly, I was picturing her in my jet, legs curled up on leather seats, champagne in hand, that contagious smile plastered on her face.
Picturing her wrapped in silk sheets in my penthouse overseas, her laugh echoing off marble walls, her closet filled with every designer label I could throw at her.
Sunshine deserved to be spoiled. And damn if I didn’t want to be the one to do it. Maybe I was leaning too hard into this sugar daddy role. Maybe. But fuck, she made it feel natural.
“Of course, Sunshine.”
Her smile softened, but then her eyes clouded with worry. “Is Killian okay with me going?”
My jaw ticked. I forced it still. “Ecstatic,” I lied smoothly.
She gave me a look, the kind that said she didn’t quite buy it.
“Are you sure?”
“Positive,” I said, no hesitation. I didn’t give her time to press me. Pulling into the garage, I killed the engine and stepped out, circling around to open her door like the gentleman I pretend to be.
Her hand slid into mine. Together, we walked past the rows of my cars, their polished chrome glinting under the fluorescent lights. When we reached the elevator, I pressed the button for the top floor, then drew her against me by the waist as we began to ascend.
She blushed, lips parting just slightly, and I couldn’t resist trailing my hands over her curves, slow and deliberate.
“You’re so pretty,” I muttered, watching as she bit her lip playfully. Her hands slid up my chest, fingers lingering as she undid the buttons of my jacket one by one. When it slipped free, her hand found my necktie, tugging, loosening.
I thought for a moment, then killed the playful mood with a question that had been eating at me. “What do you do with your allowance?”
Like last time, her face shifted. Not guilty. Not ashamed. Just… guarded.
“Pay my bills,” she said, voice light, eyes on my tie instead of me.
“And you have bills that total over a hundred grand so far?” I pressed.
She nodded silently. Still no eye contact.
“Sometimes I buy myself things.” Her tone softened, like it was an admission.
I hummed, twirling a strand of her hair around my finger. “Like what?”
“Little things. Sometimes I buy clothes for dance or for… other reasons.” A sexy little spark lit in her gaze.
“What kind of reasons?” I asked, heat rising in my chest.
In an instant, her fist curled around my tie, yanking me down until our lips hovered a breath apart. My pulse spiked. Those siren eyes pinned me, daring me, mocking me, undoing me.
“It’s a secret,” she whispered, voice a purr. “But don’t worry. You’ll like it.”
Fuck. I internally groaned, jaw tight as we locked into another unspoken battle for dominance. She loved testing me, taking the reins, reminding me how easily she could unravel me. It was adorable. Infuriating. Dangerous. Had Blaine Jr. standing right at fucking attention.
The elevator dinged, doors sliding open. And just like that, she let go with a giggle, pulling away. Her hips swayed with exaggerated purpose as she stepped out, every sway screaming, You’re not in control.
I swallowed my groan, dragging in a breath and forcing myself to walk after her, doing everything in my power to reel it in.