Chapter 28
CHAPTER 28
A ccording to the team I put on Rayna, she’s had a busy few weeks. Her move into her new place went off without a hitch. Jasper said she looked like she really liked it. I viewed the footage of her coming and going; the feed going straight to my phone, curtesy of Randall. I didn’t want to know how he did it. I put my foot down when he suggested he could get a feed inside her place.
She texted me when she arrived, which was telling. From what Tyler told me, she thought we were finished.
Awe, Little Rayn Drop, I am in no way done with you.
We had been on a strict text message relationship since she left. It might be a little evil of me to let her go on thinking our relationship had changed, but I did want her to feel like she was more than capable of taking care of herself. She wouldn’t have to, but she could. My Rayna could do anything.
But I gave time. Six weeks to be exact. Enough time to get Chandler up to speed on Quad Vegas. It freed up Josh to concentrate on Europe. He’d was in Paris doing site checks and finalizing plans for the renovations on another hotel we acquired. Business would go on. I took the summer off, and the place didn’t implode. My staff was more than capable, and they knew where to find me if shit went south.
I landed in Newark late on a Thursday afternoon.
“Good evening Mr. Grant.” Jasper met me at the terminal and after retrieving my bag. I dismissed the flight crew, and we were off.
We arrived at the apartment building thirty minutes later. Jules greeted me in the lobby.
I barely paused, no time for small talk. I headed straight to the elevators. Jules shuffled in her four-inch heels behind me. She waved the key fob at a sensor in the elevator and pushed the PH button.
I held out my hand. She placed the key fob in it.
I held the elevator door open. “I’m sure I can manage from here. If not, I know where to find you.”
She hopped out of the elevator. “I’m available, day or night.”
I didn’t respond.
I rode the elevator up to the penthouse. I thought about knocking on Rayna’s door but tomorrow would be soon enough. My little girl needed her sleep.
The elevator opened into a short hallway. Two penthouses sat on the top floor. I occupied one side and set the other up at a makeshift office. I used the key fob to let myself. It was smaller than my place in Vegas. The small entryway opened into the combined living room and kitchen. The bedroom suite was to the left and down a small hallway. The apartment had two guest rooms in the back.
I wondered around the place. Poured myself a drink and looked out the floor to ceiling windows overlooking the Rutger’s University campus. The building was well made, and the fixtures weren’t top of the line, but above average for a glorified dormitory. I had reached out to a friend of mine who purchased properties around college campuses. He turned them into private dorms. An alternative and upgrade to what the university offered. It was popular in the south, but the concept would work up here in Jersey. Next May, the place was all his if he wanted it.
I unpacked what little I bought with me. I had stuff at our family home in Manhattan. The walk-in closet would soon be filled with all of Rayna’s clothes. Her color coordinated knees highs would fill two of the built-in draws.
I walked toward the guest rooms and noted all the unopened boxes I had ordered. Rayna would enjoy putting her room together. A proper playroom for a proper little Ninja.
I shut off the lights and wondered back to the living room. It was quiet. Two quiet. I couldn’t wait for it to be filled with my little girls’ giggles.
I reviewed the footage of Rayna from earlier in the day. She had returned to her apartment around six pm. She was in for the night.
“Sleep tight little ninja. I grinned. “Daddy’s here.”
* * *
I blinked my eyes open and was struck by the sense of calm in my brain. I stretched and grabbed my phone. No text from Kyler. I pouted, but my ire didn’t last long. I pushed the covers off and smiled as the sun shined through my floor to ceiling windows. I had grown to love my new little place. Mainly the view, it brightened my day each morning. I patted to the bathroom and brushed my teeth and washed my face.
My room had a tub, but I had stuck to showers since arriving. Some things I wasn’t ready to let go of and bath time with Daddy was one of them. I ignored the toys he packed for me. I perched them on the side of the tub, but they remained untouched. I went back to my room and got dressed. It was a warm day, and the campus would be buzzing with students enjoying the weather before the cold arrived in a couple of months.
The day after I arrived, I walked to the administration building ready to discuss with a counselor my options for paying the rest of the tuition and my rent for the next year. Turns out, I didn’t have those problems anymore. Kyler had paid my tuition in full. In the mail at my new place, I discovered I had a bank account from a local bank with money in it. Not an exorbitant amount, but enough to pay my rent and eat for the rest of my final year. I was too touched by his generosity to be mad at him. He was trying to be my Daddy the best way he could, from halfway across the world.
I took an Uber to my storage unit and got all my stuff. Besides some personal items and my stuffie Sherlock, not much had any appeal. My new clothes made my old ones look dingy and threadbare. I thew on a purple shirt dress and short purple and white stripped socks. I slipped into my purple Chuck Taylors and grabbed my books for class. I swung my backpack over my shoulder and headed out the door and down to the elevator. When the elevator arrived, I stepped in.
“Good morning.” I smiled at the young man leaning into the corner of the elevator. He eyed me up and down but didn’t speak. He peaked at his phone and then back at me.
I turned to face the front. The garage level one button was pushed. I reached out to push the button from the lobby, but didn’t get a chance.
“Hello, Rayna.” He pulled me back against his chest. Thankfully, my backpack was between us. It didn’t prevent him from holding me close. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” He grabbed both my hands and secured them behind my back with a zip tie.
“Ouch.” I grunted and struggled to pull free. “Let me --.” He slapped his hand over my mouth. I bit into his palm.
“Fuck.” He shook his hand out and pushed me face first into the other wall. “No biting. Didn’t you parents teach you any manners?”
I tasted blood in my mouth and my vision went blurry. No. I can’t pass out.
I blinked.
“Who are you?” I turned my head. He took a knife out of his pocket and showed it to me.
“I’m a friend of Santorini. I told my guys you were here.” He licked his lips and grabbed me again. “I’ve been watching you for a while. We couldn’t figure out why he was coming here, but now we know.”
“Who’s coming here?” I narrowed my eyes.
The elevator opened into the parking garage. “Let’s go.” He snapped his fingers.
No way was I about to follow him.
His patience was wearing thin. I had that effect on people. He grabbed my arm, but I went limp like dead weight.
“You’re only hurting yourself.” He bent down and shoved his shoulder into my stomach. The blow knocked the wind out of me. He hoisted me up and grabbed my bare legs. I gasped for air as he stroud out of the elevator and through the parking garage.
“Please, put me down.” How was this happening again? Tears dripped from my eyes onto the pavement below. Maybe I could throw up on his shoes. “Please let me go. I won’t tell anyone. I have money.”
“No, you don’t, but you have the right idea.” He slapped my ass and snickered. “I know someone who will pay a pretty penny for you. Between Grant and Santorini, I am thinking bidding war, hell, you’re a hot piece. I might keep you for myself.”
Calm down, Rayna.
I went limp to take some of the pressure off my stomach. With my hands behind my back, I teetered on the edge of his boney shoulder. If I squirmed enough, he would drop me and it would hurt, but better than letting him walk out of here with me in tow.
He rounded another line of cars and grabbed keys out of his pocket. The car beeped, and the trunk opened. I had to do something. I had to fight. What would a ninja do?
A ninja wouldn’t have gotten in the elevator in the first place.
I took a deep breath in and on the exhale; I screamed and elbowed my abductor in the back of his head.
“Fuck, he grabbed the back of his head. I managed a full body roll off the slimy guys' shoulders. I floated in the air for a few seconds until the thud. I collided with the concrete ground.
“Ugh.” I groaned. No time to waste, Rayna.
I scrambled to get my feet underneath me. A hand latched onto my ankle, but I kicked and screamed with all I had in me. He scrambled to crawl on top of me and pinned me to the ground. Pain exploded through my shoulder. He lifted me again but then dropped me.
My head bounced off the concrete. My world went fuzzy. I heard other voices yelling. Someone screamed out in pain, and it wasn’t me. I blinked and rolled on to my back. I heard my name but couldn’t focus.
Don’t pass out.
I squeezed my eyes shut and warm hands cradled my cheeks. I know that touch.
“Rayna.” Someone whispered. I know that voice. I was lifted into the air and cradled against someone’s chest. I knew that smell and the familiar comfort it offered. A beard scratched against my cheek. I knew I wasn’t in danger.
Other voices upset the man carrying me and I didn’t like it. It broke my heart.
“I’m okay.” I whispered, but the conversation continued. “Stop.” I thought I yelled, but they continued to ignore me. The fuzzy edges cleared a little, and I looked up and blinked again. I must be dead. No other explanation to be in Kyler’s arms.
He wasn’t looking at me.
I reached up and pulled his beard.
He looked taken a back and looked down at me.
“Did you just pull my beard, little one?” His voice soothed my soul.
“I thought I was dead.” I pulled it again. “Just want to make sure it was real. You’re real?”
“Yeah, Rayn Drop.” He leaned his forehead against mine. “I’m real. You okay?”
Paramedics showed up out of nowhere. Kyler sat me on the gurney but held me tight. He growled when a paramedic tried to attend to me.
“Let them look her over.” Was that Patrick?
I tried to move my head, but it ached too much.
What the hell happened?
“What are you doing here?” I leaned back.
Kyler ran his hand down my cheek and on my shoulders. “It seems you can’t stay out of trouble.”
He kissed my cheek. And, my vision blurred from my tears.
“But you sent me away.” I gripped his forearm.
“I did, and it was the stupidest thing I’ve ever done.” He growled against my lips and kissed me. The taste of his lips took my breath away. When he finally let me go, he stared.
“Really stupid.” I peeked up at him.
He gave me his best Daddy frown. I was going to pay for that later and I didn’t mind one bit.
“Boss,” Patrick walked behind Kyler. “Let them check her out.”
“Hi Patrick.” My head cleared. And the ache on my side throbbed, but my heart was full. They were here when I needed them. “Who was that guy, anyway?”
“We’ll get into that later.” Kyler stepped back a couple of inches but wouldn’t let go of my hand. The paramedic took a big gulp and stepped in to check me out.
“What’s your name?” He asked.
“Rayna Smith,” Kyler answered.
“Hi Rayna,” He smiled. “My name is Mike.” He touched the side of head and then held my eye open with one hand and shined a pin light in it. “Where does it hurt?”
“Here.” I touched my head. “And I fell on my hip, but it’s not that bad.”
“Did you pass out at any time?” He checked my eyes again. “Dizzy?”
“I got a little dizzy when I hit the ground and my vision was blurry, but it’s fine now.” I winced when he touched my waist.
“Lie back for me.” Kyler guided me down.
Mike pressed my abdomen and my hip. “Does it hurt when I press here?”
“No.” I shook my head.
“Does it hurt anywhere else?” He asked. My arm ached. The zip ties cut into my wrists. Kyler stared at the bruises on my arms. I looked up at him. His eyes grew dark, and I swear I saw steam coming out of his nostrils. I looked down at the handprint size bruises on my biceps.
“It’s just a bruise.” I reassured him, but he wasn’t having it.
“Where is he?” Kyler stalked off. “I’ll kill him.”
“Kyler.” I yelled after him. I tried to jump off the gurney, but the paramedic held me back. “No, let me go.”
“Rayna, stay put.” Patrick said.
He ran after Kyler.
Kyler wrenched the car door open and leaned in. But Patrick pulled him back and spoke to him in a firm but quiet tone. It calmed Kyler a little, but his body was a ball of tension. He looked up at me and his face softened.
He nodded and straightened his wrinkled shirt.
Kyler stalked back to me and scooped me up.
“Is she okay?” He barked.
I jumped.
“Uhm, I’d like to take her to the hospital for some X-rays,” Kyler glared at him. “But yeah, just some bruises. Some rest and she’ll be fine. If she starts vomiting or the pain . . .” Mike’s voice trailed off as we headed for the elevator.
Kyler had lost what patience he had left.
In the elevator, he flashed a key fob across the panel and hit the PH button. “Daddy, I live on five.”
“We live in the penthouse.”
“You moved in here?” My head throbbed. “Wha, When?”
“Last night.” He grunted.
“And when were you going to tell me?” I asked.
“Today.” His eyes shut. “Before all of this . . .” His voice cracked.
“Hey, Daddy.” I gripped his face. “I’m okay. I’m fine.”
“But you almost weren’t.” He leaned in and swiped his lips across mine. “If anything happened to you, I would never forgive myself.”
I wrapped my arms around his neck. He adjusted me to straddle him. He held me with one hand under my ass.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Kyler asked. “If you need to go to the hospital, I’ll take you.”
“No, I’m fine. I promise.” The elevator opened. We stepped out and took a right. Kyler opened the door with his free hand.
“Wow.” The room had the same view as my place, but from much higher up. We didn’t get to enjoy it or the rest of the apartment. He carried me through the bedroom and into the bathroom. He sat me on the counter and turned toward the tub. It was as big as my bathroom downstairs. I noticed a new set of bath crayons and other toys in a little basket in the corner.
“I took a shower this morning.” I smelled under my arms.
Kyler smirked back at me as he poured bubbles in the tub.
I sighed loudly.
“You’re not clean until Daddy cleans you and besides the warm water will help your bruises.” He frowned and gently lifted my arm to study the bruise on my biceps.
“The bruises were probably more my fault.” I pressed on my hip. “I fought back hard. I wasn’t about to let him put me in the trunk of that car.”
Kyler’s mouth dropped open.
“I’m a ninja and I can take care of myself.” I gave him a quick demonstration of my karate chopping skills. He grabbed my hands and growled.
“What am I going to do with you?” He whispered and shook his head. “Arms up.” He lifted them and removed my dress. Then my bra. He ran his fingers down my sternum and over my hip. He lifted me and removed my panties. He dropped them in the hamper near the tub. He bent down and removed my shoes and socks. He remained fully dressed.
Not for long. He stood and pulled his shirt off. Toed off his shoes and jeans and left them in a pile in the floor.
He pulled me in his arms and stepped into the tub. The air was filled with lavender. “Hold on.” He tightened his grip around my waist and sat down in the tub.
The water felt good. The perfect temperature to sooth my aching muscles. We sat in the middle of the tub, holding each other. Daddy buried his face in the crook of my neck.
“Daddy?”
“Just let me hold you for a second.” He nibbled on my skin. “I missed you.”
“I missed you too.” I ran my hand through his hair. His cock hardened between us. “I’m sorry.” He loosens his grip.
“I thought when I said I had to go back to school, you would tell me not to or come with me or something silly like that.” I bit my lip.
“It wasn’t silly.” He lifted my chin. “I wasn’t going to tell you not to go, but I didn’t want the reason we were together was because of how we started. I wanted you to have the opportunity to choose me.”
“I get it.” I nodded. “I choose you.”
“I choose you, too.” He kissed me and all the uncertainty and confusion melted away. “For the rest of the day, I’m going to take care of you, bath you, feed you and fuck you.”
“That sounds like fun.”
“We’ll deal with your punishment tomorrow.”