Chapter 17
KYLIE
“Daddy.” A voice from far away sighed. The joy in it made my heart ache. “You came home.”
“I always come home for my little Rayn drop.” That voice, I recognized. It sounded closer. “She technically wasn’t on duty. Take it easy on her.”
Compassionate Kyler. Didn’t expect that, but who was he talking about?
“I got it.” That voice I recognized, too. It always made my insides flip. Even when I didn’t want it to. It was so calm and deep and demanding and soft at the same time. How did he do that?
“Come on, baby.” The other voice said. “Let’s go to bed.”
“Good night, Uncle Patrick.”
“Night, Little Ninja.”
“Kylie did a great job of looking after me tonight. You should keep her.”
Keep who.
I blinked my eyes open, still on my side. Rayna disappeared from the room in Kyler’s arms. So, she did sleep with him. Another data point for a file that was getting more confusing by the hour.
I rolled onto my back and found more eyes staring down at me.
“Holy shit.” I grabbed the blanket and covered myself, although I don’t know why. I was fully clothed. Asleep. On the job. In a twin-sized bed covered in white lace. A stuffed teddy bear was placed next to me. “What time is it?” I rubbed my eyes.
“Almost four in the morning.” His words were delivered with a peaceful cadence.
A feeling of dread sat in the pit of my stomach. I pushed the covers off and placed my feet on the ground.
“She asked me to stay with her until you guys got home.” I stood and pulled up the covers. The stuffie slid off the bed. Patrick caught it before it hit the ground.
“She must have put this here. She’d asked if I had any stuffies, and of course I don’t.” I placed the teddy bear back on her bed. “She is such a sweetheart.
“Why were you here in the first place?”
My brain was a scrambled mess, and I was tired. How did I end up here?
“Tyler.”
“Tyler?”
“Oh, yeah, I was getting some pizza and ran into Tyler and Maddox, and they insisted I join them. Then we watched a movie, and they went to bed. That’s when Rayna asked me to stay.
” I tried tucking in the blankets. I wanted to leave the space as I found it.
“Yeah, she seemed so sad. I didn’t want to leave her like that. ”
“Did y’all have fun playing?”
“Yeah,” I blinked. “Um, what–no. I didn’t play with her. She’s my assignment. We’re not friends.”
I untucked and re-tucked the blankets.
“Kylie.” His voice sounded annoyed. “Don’t worry about that. Someone will come in tomorrow and make the bed. I want to learn more about your night.”
“I told you what happened.” Giving up, I sat on the bed. “What more do you want to know?”
He sat on Rayna’s bed and rubbed his hands together. “You’re not in trouble, okay?”
“Okay.”
“I understand you are a people pleaser, and you have an innate need to do what’s asked of you, even by your assignment.
” He scoffed at the word. “I just couldn’t imagine a little spending an evening with Rayna and Tyler surrounded by all of this.
” He held his hands out to his side. “And your little didn’t peek out once? ”
“What my little does or doesn’t do isn’t your business.” I crossed my arms over my chest.
“Well, as we have already discussed, we agreed that when you oversee Rayna or Tinley’s care, you are in full on adult mode. We are going to put you in a lot of places that are little heavens. Hell, this room makes me want to kick off my shoes and play.”
I peeked at my bare feet. Where were my shoes?
They sat at the end of the bed along with my socks. I don’t remember taking them off. I stood up.
“Sit down, Kylie.”
I dropped back down onto my bottom. Thankfully, the bed was like a cloud.
Patrick stood and retrieved my shoes and socks. He sat back on Rayna’s bed.
“I’m not asking as your boss.” He leaned forward.
There wasn’t much space between the two beds.
I could almost feel his body heat. “To be honest, I’m not concerned about your little when we are out on assignment.
I’ve told you that, and even if you let your guard down and enjoy it, I’ve seen your ability to adapt and pivot your thinking, in training, on the gun range, in dealing with the Grants. I’m not concerned.”
“So, who’s asking about my little?”
“A concerned Daddy Dom who hates to see a woman suppress such an amazing part of herself.” He flipped my sock right side out and placed my left foot across his thigh.
“You waste so much energy keeping her bottled up; it’s putting your adult side under immense stress.
That’s more of a distraction to your mentality than if you’d just let her out at appropriate times. ”
He put the sock on and then my shoe, slipping the black loafer on with ease. He’d done this before.
“You would have been fine if I was little with Rayna tonight?”
“No, not really because I don’t know your little.
I don’t like anyone around Rayna who I don’t know.
Too many unknowns.” He proceeded with my right foot.
It had been so long since I had anyone do something for me.
Something as simple as putting my shoes on made my heart race. I looked away and blinked back tears.
“Kylie. I don’t know your little, but I’d like to.”
My heart dropped, and a lump formed in my throat.
“Why?”
“Because I want to get to know you and she’s a part of you.” He placed a hand on my knee. It felt nice and comforting. He had such big hands, with veins tracing distinct paths up his forearms that drew my eye.
“I don’t know how to just let her out.” I moved my legs. His hand fell to the side. I immediately missed his touch. How long has it been since I was touched?
“Well, you went to a club before.” He clasped his hands together. “Why don’t you schedule some playtime? There will be plenty of littles running around the club this weekend.”
“What about Daddies?”
Patrick’s face dropped and my little giggled in my head.
“Well.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “If you want to take part in a scene to get you into little space, I guess you could find . . .”
I covered my mouth to keep the giggle from escaping.
Sweat formed on his forehead, and his eyes darted around. I tilted my head to catch his gaze. My eyes wide and waited for him to finish his sentence.
He captured my gaze and shook his head.
“You would really set me up with a Daddy Dom at the club.” I placed a hand to my chest and gave him the most sincere expression I could muster under the circumstances. “That’s so nice of you. I truly appreciate it.”
“I’m not setting you up with someone else.”
“No.” I pouted, holding in a giggle.
“No need.” He shifted back on the bed. “I can spank your little ass right now for being so sassy. I bet your little would love that.”
“I don’t think that’s a very appropriate thing for my boss to say to me.” I gripped my chest and feigned surprise. “I should report you to HR.”
I couldn’t hold it any longer and exploded into a fit of laughter.
“Kylie,” he mumbled and shook his head.
“Oh, I could run right out of here and into Kyler’s room and demand he punish you.”
“You’ve seen what happens when unauthorized people enter his office; imagine what would happen if you entered his and Rayna’s bedroom.”
I had the urge to find out.
“Don’t even think about it.” He stood up and headed toward the door.
I pressed my lips together to fight another laugh, but the humor still bubbled in my chest.
“How about we table this discussion until the weekend’s over, okay?” He stepped out, then stepped back in. “Are you coming, or do you want to sleep in the playroom all night? Once I close the door, it locks automatically.”
“No matter.” I shrugged. “Rayna already told me about the escape route.”
“That is need-to-know information.”
“Didn’t you hear?” I stepped around him. “Littles share everything.”
“This conversation is too bizarre for four o’clock in the morning.”
“Well, you brought it up.”
“Yeah, and a naughty girl deserves a spanking.”
I spun around, hiding my backside from him.
“After you.” I waved him on.
He chuckled and led me out of the penthouse and into the hall.
We passed by his door and stopped.
“You don’t have to walk me home.” I leaned against the wall and yawned. “I’ll be perfectly safe. I know the guy who designed the security for this place. It’s top-notch.”
“I appreciate the vote of confidence.” He continued toward the elevator. “I’m walking you home, anyway.”
“You are a full-service boss, aren’t you?
” I snickered, but followed him. The banter we had, the obvious chemistry scrambled my brain.
It was all part of my plan, right? Get close to Patrick, gain his trust and then expose him and his boss for the criminals they are.
The more time I spent with all of them, the harder it was to remember why I was here.
“If you think I’m strict as a boss, you should see me as a daddy.”
Those words lingered in the air. I involuntarily covered my ass with my hands the entire ride down to the lobby, down the hall to Quad II and back up.
Just in case.