Chapter 14
Victoria
“What’s wrong?” I ask.
He comes to me, drags the low table even closer, takes a seat, and licks his lips. Before speaking, he touches my cheek. “There was a tracking device under the chassis of your car.”
I gasp. We talked about this possibility, but I never thought it would actually be a thing. Why?
“I debated telling you,” he continues, “but I don’t want secrets between us. Ever. Seems like a horrible way to start a relationship.”
Agreeing with that, I nod. I can’t make sense of why there would be a tracker on my car. I lean back on the couch again. “I should go,” I whisper.
He frowns. “What do you mean?”
“Leave the estate. If someone’s…”
He shakes his head. “Not gonna happen, baby. I don’t give a fuck why someone is tracking you.
You’re safe here, and neither I nor anyone else living here will be intimidated.
I’ve already let the guards know to keep an eye out for anyone suspicious, but they never allow anyone through the gate who isn’t on their list.”
Blaze stands, carefully lifts my injured leg off the sofa, and eases under it before arranging it over his thighs.
He twists to face me, rests his elbow on the back of the couch, and tucks a stray curl behind my ear.
“I told you, this place sucks you in and doesn’t let you go,” he says, almost too softly to hear.
I chuckle and look around. “I get that. This mansion is alive. It has so much history. I want to know all the details. Is that weird?”
“No, Victoria. It’s not weird.”
I stare at the ceiling. “I guess my stepmom is keeping closer tabs on me than I thought. I knew she tracked my phone. That’s why I left it behind, but my car? That feels more invasive. Why would she do that?”
“I don’t know, baby, but I’m going to find out.”
My breath hitches. “You can’t do that. She’s not worth it. Who cares? I’ll sell the car. I could use the money anyway.”
“We can trade the car in if it makes you uncomfortable, but you don’t need the money.” He strokes his fingers against my neck, as if he needs to be touching as much of me as possible.
It’s soothing. I like it when he touches me. That’s why I touch him so much. He likes it, too. We’re definitely a touchy-feely couple.
I sigh. “Eventually I’ll run out of money.”
He sets a finger under my chin, forcing me to face him. “No, you won’t.”
I know what he means, but it’s scary.
“Also, I hired a PI to dig around into your stepmom.”
I wince. No sense arguing with Blaze. It’s already done. He did it because he truly believes I’m here to stay, and he wants to protect me. I’m not sure there’s anything to protect me from. I don’t like finding out my car had a tracker on it, but is it really that big of a deal?
So my stepmother is warped. Do I care? We can ditch the car, just in case, and be done with her.
“Let me ask you something.”
I nod.
“I brought a laptop upstairs with the rest of your belongings. Have you turned it on since you left home?”
My body stiffens. Could it also be tracked? “Yeah. I had to check my email to line up my interview.”
“When was the last time you did that?”
Chewing on my bottom lip, I think. “Four days ago.”
“Good. If there’s a tracking device on it, that’s the last place it would ping. Not that it matters because of your car, but I’m going to have Ryder look at it, if that’s okay with you. He’s an IT guy.”
“Okay.”
“Does your stepmother know about the interview in Phoenix?”
“No. I never told her. I figured she’d go apeshit. I don’t even know why. For some reason, she’s been acting weirder than usual ever since I moved home. Hovering. Pestering me to go on dates. She kept joking that my biological clock was ticking as if that were funny.”
Blaze smirks. “Funny thing. I think I moved here from Chicago because I realized my biological clock is ticking. I’m not sure that’s even a thing for men.”
Staring at him, I purse my lips.
His expression sobers. “What’s wrong?”
I shrug, not sure what to say. “The thought of becoming a mother never entered my mind before I met you. It’s kind of scary, Blaze. And I’m only twenty-one.” My age keeps resonating in my head over and over.
He leans in closer. “How is it scary?”
I look down, but he lifts my chin again. He really likes to make eye contact with me. It’s so fucking intense. It makes me feel special. He’s the first person I can remember who makes me feel cherished.
“For one thing, it’s dangerous. People die in childbirth. Did you know some of your cousins’ wives are thinking about delivering here at the mansion?”
“I’ve heard them discussing it, but that doesn’t mean we would have to do the same thing, Victoria. If it makes you panic, we can take it off the table. I’ll get you to the hospital in the city.”
I’m grateful he’s not being an ass about that issue.
“What if having babies at all makes me panic?” I murmur. “First, there’s morning sickness, then months of growing huge and waddling around uncomfortably, and then…” I shudder. “How the fuck do people push a head through that small hole?” My voice rises.
Blaze holds my gaze the entire time. He doesn’t even laugh at my outburst. It was kind of funny, but he’s taking me seriously.
I power on. “Swollen ankles, and then weird, huge, tight tits.” I thrust my chest forward and point at my small boobs.
“I’ve never been more than a B cup. I can’t imagine what it would feel like for them to be big.
And they’d hurt. They’d get clogged milk ducts or some shit.
I’ve heard that sometimes it’s painful when babies nurse. And they’d drip all the time.”
Still, he listens to me.
Shaking my head, I keep going. “And babies… They’re like small humans, and the hospital lets you just walk out the front door with them. They don’t even have an instruction manual.”
Finally, he gives me a smile.
“And then they cry. They’re needy. You have to feed them and change their diapers. They can’t take care of themselves for years. They get sick. That would scare me to death.”
He slides his hand to the back of my neck and sets his forehead against mine.
“You will never ever do any of that alone, Victoria. The men in this mansion will all be active participants in every fucking step of their children’s lives.
That includes me. When you’re sick, I will hold your hair back and bring you clear soda.
When your ankles hurt, I will massage them.
When you give birth, I will hold your hand and do everything in my power to ease your pain. ”
He plants a kiss on my lips. A chaste one filled with promises.
Then he continues, his voice deeper, “When the baby cries, I will rock it back to sleep. When it’s hungry, I will bring it to you.
We’ll get a top-of-the-line pump so I can express your milk.
That way, you can sleep through the night while I feed our child a bottle at three in the morning. ”
I lift a brow. Most of what he’s saying sounds sweet and normal, even if it is difficult to believe, but one line catches me off-guard.
“You’ll pump my milk?” I snicker. “I think you mean me. They’d be my annoying huge udders.
I’d be the one feeling like a human milk cow.
I don’t think you’d ever fully understand the sensation or how to fix it. ”
He shakes his head. “I don’t think you fully understand how hands-on I will be, baby.” He releases my neck and glides his fingers over my throat until they dance over my breast.
I whimper when he touches my nipple through my shirt and bra.
“You haven’t known me long, but surely you’ve begun to understand that I’m not like most of the men you’ve known. We’ll be a team. I’ll be involved in every aspect of your life.” He pinches my nipple.
I arch into him, gasping. “Blaze…” My eyes roll back because, for some inexplicable reason, I’m lured by his bossy words and the way he touches me. I’m so horny right now it’s not even funny.
But he’s not done. He hasn’t released my nipple. He has a firm grip on it. Almost painfully so. But I like it, and I don’t dare pull away. “Your teats are sensitive, Victoria,” he breathes out.
I tremble at his choice of words. Teats…
“I’ll train them to crave my touch.” He gives a little twist, making me hiss. “By the time you give birth, you’ll know better than to even consider touching your nipples, baby.”
I’m panting now, so fucking aroused I might come in my shorts. His words are so filthy and irrational, and yet, my panties are soaked.
“It will be ingrained in you that all the attention they get comes from me. That means you’ll learn to keep your hands away from them. You’ll defer to me always. That starts now. Understood?”
I can’t catch my breath.
He lifts a brow, waiting for me to respond to his bizarre request. But it’s not a request. It’s a demand. He cups my breast and starts stroking my nipple with his thumb. “Do you like it when I play with them, baby?”
“Yes…” I love it so much that every time his fingers are on my nipples, I could agree to marry him this afternoon.
“Did you know they were so sensitive before yesterday, Victoria?”
“No,” I whimper.
“Have you ever played with them before?” He keeps thumbing my tight bud, driving me to distraction.
“No.”
He gives that bud another firm pinch and switches to the other, tormenting it with the backs of his knuckles, not applying near enough pressure.
My pussy is throbbing. Apparently, my tits are connected to my clit. Who knew?
“Mmmm…” The tone of his voice makes me tremble. “Can you let me decide when they get attention, baby?” He’s practically purring out the words. Sensual. His tone is so sexy.
How could I not agree to his request? I nod. Why would I want to sit around playing with my nipples when he’s such an expert at it?
“Your body responds to me like a well-tuned instrument, baby. Even after only twenty-four hours. You crave my touch. That will never end. It will only grow stronger because I’m ordering you not to touch yourself. If I catch you playing with your nipples or your pussy, I’ll punish you.”
My breath hitches. A second later, I moan and lean closer to him. “You’ll spank me,” I murmur.
“Oh, baby, I’ll spank you for sassing me.
I’ll spank you for breaking my rules. I’ll spank you for lying or not sharing your feelings, or any number of things.
But those spankings will be on your bottom.
If I catch you playing with your nipples, I’ll spank these tight buds.
” He pinches the one he’s been thrumming.
All the air leaves my lungs, and I shudder violently at the thought of him swatting my tits. Surely he’s kidding.
I think I might faint. That’s how horny I am. If he doesn’t let me come soon, I’ll pass out. All from his dirty talk. Even if he were just saying this stuff to make me aroused, it would work. But he’s serious.
My man wants to punish me for masturbating.
My man…
Yeah, he’s definitely my man. He wants to spank my nipples if I touch them. Fuck, that’s weirdly erotic.