Chapter 4
CHAPTER 4
T ildi shifted in the well cushioned back seat of the luxurious Lexus LX600 that had been waiting for them at the port. Every bump and shift reminded her of the spanking she’d gotten earlier that day. She had really messed up.
Why had she thought she could help fend off a helicopter filled with men shooting at them? All she’d done was put everyone else in more danger. That was on top of the fact she was the cause of the danger in the first place.
If Boone hadn’t had to rescue her from Nico Midnight’s island compound, the man wouldn’t be able to shoot at anyone ever again. Instead, her Daddy had chosen her. Now Nico wanted her back, though she had no idea why. All she knew was everything that happened earlier was because of her.
She’d almost tried to sneak away while the men were getting the yacht taken care of once they docked. She should have. Then everyone’s lives would be easier. That seemed the one thing she was good at. Running away. But she’d been too scared of being alone to even try. She’d allowed the snowcapped mountains along the horizon to distract her, wondering if any of them were close to Boone’s ranch.
Selfish. She was so selfish. Now everyone was having to adjust their plans, their whole lives, all because of her. Tears stung her eyes as the cityscape thinned and the concrete of highways and buildings was replaced with lush green landscapes of neighborhoods and subdivisions. She couldn’t hold back a sniffle.
Always paying her more attention than she deserved, Boone didn’t miss it. “Are you all right, sweet girl?”
She nodded automatically. There was no need for him to worry about her with everything else he was dealing with. Especially since it was all her fault. “Me? I’m fine.” She flashed him her brightest smile. The concern in his gaze told her she couldn’t even smile right. “Really, Daddy. I’m fine. Well, my bottom still hurts a little bit, but I’m fine.”
He studied her before his face relaxed into a grin. He bopped the tip of her nose with his finger, and her stomach fluttered. She loved when he did stuff like that. “That’s what happens to Little girls who don’t mind their Daddy. But if you remember all the rules we went over for how you are to behave at Sevin’s house, I’ll bet I can find a way to show you how daddies reward their good girls later tonight.”
And just like that, the fluttering in her stomach sank straight to her core. Now she squirmed for a completely different and much more pleasant reason.
“Do we need to go over them again?” Boone asked, the playfulness now absent from his face.
“No, Daddy. I remember. I have to mind you and Grif and Dutch. I can’t go anywhere alone. And I’m not supposed to talk to anyone.”
“You can talk to anyone when I’m with you, Tildi. Just not when I’m not there. Are you sure you’re okay? I can change the plans if you aren’t comfortable.”
What had she ever done to deserve a man like Boone? She wasn’t about to cause more trouble than she already had. Everyone had a limit of how much they would take. She didn’t want to get any closer to his than she already was.
“No, Daddy. I’m good. I promise.”
“If you change your mind at any time, you just let me know and we’ll leave. Understand?”
She nodded and turned back to the window before he read something on her face she didn’t want him to see.
She tried to keep a handle on her feelings, telling herself how stupid it was to be scared when she had two super commando dudes and her Daddy with her, but it didn’t help. The closer they got to Sevin’s house, the tighter the knots in her stomach grew.
She pushed the button to crack the window, thinking the cold air might help settle her stomach. But the air was frigid, and Boone told her to close it with a, “You’re going to make yourself sick, babygirl.”
It probably wouldn’t have worked anyway. Outside solutions usually didn’t fix inside problems. At least, that’s what she’d read somewhere once.
She needed to cowgirl up and get it together. No one liked a whiner. And the last thing she wanted to be was more of a burden. Sure, the man who’d kidnapped her a year ago was Sevin’s father. But Sevin had been nothing but nice to her. Well, to Boone. Did he even know about her? Had her Daddy even mentioned her?
And how was it that a rancher commando Daddy like Boone knew people in the Cosa Nostra well enough to stop by their house anyway? Did they meet by accident one day at the movies? Or in a bar? One halfway between Wilder, Wyoming and Vancouver, Washington. She didn’t think so.
And Boone was trying to kill Sevin’s father. How could she trust someone who helped a person kill his own father? Not that she wasn’t grateful. Ugh! It was so confusing.
“Holy fu… dge. Fudgesicles.” She glanced at Boone, who stared at her with that single brow raised expression. Not good.
Arriving at Sevin’s house hadn’t helped her feel better at all. It wasn’t a house at all. It was a compound. Just like all the ones she’d been held in for the past year.
Sure, it was nicer. A medieval compound with a castle like the last place she’d been held. This looked like a ritzy gated subdivision. But she’d had the same sick feeling in her stomach every time Nico had her moved.
The stone fence surrounding the property barred anyone from seeing anything. It was too high to climb without drawing attention. Plenty of gated communities had solid fences around them. That wasn’t what made it stand out. As they’d driven down the road leading to the main entrance, the manned gates along the fence made it different. She didn’t know a lot, but she’d learned to spot someone carrying a gun under their suit jacket. Men with guns carried themselves differently.
The closer they got, the more she struggled to breathe. She needed to get a grip. This was part of Boone’s world. That meant she needed to stop being such an idiot. No one else was panicking, and they had dealt with much worse things than she had.
Closing her eyes, she tried to picture fuzzy bunnies and unicorns. Only, within a few seconds, the bunny had a gun like the one those men on the chopper had used to shoot at them and the unicorn was sharpening his horn with a rasp until the point was extra sharp. So much for imaginary friends helping.
When they stopped at the main entrance and two scary looking men approached their SUV, she fought the urge to cower on the floor of the backseat. She buried her face in Boone’s chest and did her best not to whimper.
One arm wrapped around her as he put a thick, calloused finger under her chin, tipping her gaze to meet his. Concern furrowed his brows as he took in her expression. “Hey. What’s this? What’s wrong, baby?”
She wanted to tell him, but the whir of the window lowering caught her attention.
“Can I help you?” the gorilla in the expensive suit asked.
Grif grinned, and when he spoke his voice had a country twang he’d never used before. “I sure hope so. I’m Griffen Turner, and this here is Dutch Holloway. We work for the big guy in the back, Boone Daniels. I think your boss is expectin’ us.”
“You got any weapons with you?”
Grif’s grin disappeared, and his expression darkened. “What do you think?”
It was phrased like a question, but Grif’s tone made it clear it was not.
The man in the suit didn’t react at all. “You’ll need to leave them here.”
“That ain’t going to happen, hoss.”
The man’s eyes were cold. “You can leave them by choice, or I can take them.”
“You can try.” Grif’s grin returned, but no humor lit his words.
Silence fell like lead as Grif held the man’s glare without blinking. The other goon’s phone rang. Answering it, the man listened then nodded. He crossed to the man still having a stare down with Grif and mumbled something in his ear.
Without speaking or dropping his gaze, the man stepped back from the gate as it swung open.
“You have a good day,” Grif said before pulling through the wrought iron gate.
She wiped her trembling hands on her thighs. Her heart raced, and her stomach dropped a notch with each tree they passed. The cedar-lined drive stretched on for what seemed an eternity, ending at a stark white mansion.
Oh, and the entire driveway was painted white. Who painted their driveway white? They probably had to hire someone full time just to paint it every day. They should have just painted the bricks yellow because it felt like they were headed toward a nasty version of Oz.
Panic rattled the thin bars of the cage she kept it locked in. This whole place was nothing more than a sanitized version of the compounds she’d endured for the past year. As the pristine white prison—not prison, house—at the end of the drive, drew closer, her panic broke free and dread filled her lungs.
Breathing grew difficult as her throat tightened. Her chest burned, and spots floated before her eyes. She almost screamed when a large familiar hand landed on her arm and tugged.
“Tildi, are you breathing?”
The words came from far away.
“Look at me, babygirl.”
She wanted to obey the voice. It was so insistent. But she couldn’t take her eyes off the mansion drawing closer. Cold and imposing, it reminded her of all the magisterial buildings the General had dragged her to as a child. Their massive size and cold formality had terrified her, not that she could say that.
Fear equaled weakness to her father, or the General as he’d insisted his family call him. The General did not tolerate weakness.
“Fuck!” Worry laced the faraway voice.
She should offer it comfort. But that would mean letting her guard down, and she needed her guard up to face the great and ominous Midnight.
“Dutch, lower all the windows.”
Frosty wind smacked her face, causing her lungs to draw in sweet, clean air. It blew apart the vision of encroaching doom. The emotion sweeping through her threatened to overwhelm her control.
She sat in the back of the car, now cradled on her Daddy lap. He cupped her face so gently it shredded her control, and she burst into sobs.
“Talk to me, Tildi. What’s wrong? What is going on in that incredible mind of yours? Tell me so I can fix it.” Boone ran his thumbs over her cheeks, wiping away her tears.
He was too far away. She threw herself against his chest. He smelled of salt and sandalwood and strength.
Tildi leaned against him and allowed his steady heartbeat to calm her. This was her Daddy. She could overcome any fear as long as he was with her. Especially silly, imaginary fears. Who couldn’t overcome things like that?
“Are you ready to tell me what has you so upset you had a panic attack? Is it being near Sevin? I’d never put you in danger, Tildi. If I thought Sevin was anything like his father, we wouldn’t come within a hundred miles of this place.”
She planted her forehead against his chest and nodded. He would. She had no idea why, but he was always there for her. And how was she repaying him? By acting like a total idiot.
She needed to be better. To be worthy of his love and attention. She needed to do whatever it took to earn her place by his side. That included not embarrassing him in front of his friend, Sevin.
“Nothing, Daddy. I just got in my own head for a minute, but I’m better now. I’m sorry to make a scene.”
His arms held her tighter. “You didn’t make a scene, little one. You had a panic attack. And we are not leaving this car until you tell me what caused it.”
She had him so worried. See? Selfish.
Daddies like Boone didn’t deserve selfish Littles. They deserved perfect Littles. She could be perfect if she tried hard enough. “It was nothing, Daddy. Promise. I was being silly, but now I stopped.”
He sat her up straight on his lap, leaving a vacuum where the warmth of his chest had been. She swallowed hard and tried not to see it as rejection.
“That isn’t how this works, little girl. I asked you a question, and we will sit in the car until you give me an answer. I don’t care if it takes all night.”
Stubborn Daddy.
Huffing out an aggrieved sigh, she attempted to come up with a reason that would satisfy him without giving too much away. “I just… I didn’t think about exactly what Sevin’s house and everything would look like. That’s all. See, it was stupid to panic just because of a tall thick fence and armed guards. Sheesh! What did I think it was going to be like, right? I mean, it’s not like I haven’t seen the same thing a dozen times in the past year. I shouldn’t have let it bother me. I won’t cause a scene again. I promise.”
Boone's hands gripped her hips so hard she feared she might have bruises. She must have really screwed up. Even more than she thought.
A muffled, “Fuck me,” came from the front seat. Looking up, she watched Dutch rub a hand across his face.
She’d forgotten Grif and Dutch were there.
Way to go, Tildi. She should have known she’d give too much away. She wasn’t very good at secrets.
“I’m sorry, bluebell. I should have realized Sev’s place would remind you of all the compounds you’ve been held at for the past year. We don’t have to stay here. I’ll phone him and tell him we’ll meet over the phone. Grif, let’s get out of here.”
“No!” She couldn’t let him change all his plans just for her. He needed to explain what had happened on their trip. “I’m okay now. Promise. I don’t want to cause any trouble. We can go in, and I’ll be fine.”
“I’m not putting you through staying somewhere that gives you flashbacks of everything you’ve dealt with, babygirl. You aren’t causing trouble. This is on me.”
Grif pulled underneath the porte cochere and slowed to a stop just as a tall man in a suit stepped out of the front door with several equally large men following behind. They prowled down the steps like a coalition of male lions. Every single one of them reminded her of the men who had held her captive.
She’d always felt bad for the wounded gazelles at the watering holes on all those documentaries she’d had to watch as a child. Now she knew exactly how they felt. Unable to stop herself, she moved closer to Boone. If she could disappear behind him, she would.
Grif turned to look at Boone, a worried frown darkening his face when he saw her. “What do you want me to do, chief?”
Guilt and self-loathing swept through her. She might be Little, but that didn’t mean she had to be weak. Littles were strong and brave. They wouldn’t have stopped by Sevin’s estate if her Daddy didn’t need to talk to him.
She needed to pull up her big girl panties, at least for the next few minutes. She could do this. After all Boone had done for her, she could do this for him “Please, Daddy. I’ll be fine. I promise.”
Boone studied her before nodding his head. He turned his attention to Grif. “Grif, you’re with Tildi. Keep the car running, and if she shows any signs of distress, tap the horn. We’ll hop back in the car and head to the ranch. That would suit me just fine.”
“He won’t have to do that. You don’t have to worry about me.” She would be big and strong and brave. Even if it killed her.
He turned to her. “If you mean that, we’re all heading out right now. I am not stepping one foot out of this car unless I have your promise that you’ll tell Grif if we need to leave.”
“But, Daddy?—”
“Don’t ‘but Daddy’ me, little girl. You are more important to me than Sevin Midnight. I want to talk to him in person so I can get a feel for what he’s thinking. But that is not a necessity. You are the only necessity in my life. Do you understand?”
It took all she could do not to stare at him, slack jawed.
This man.
Even in her best dreams no one said things like that to her. But if there was one thing she’d learned about Boone in the last three weeks, it was he was like Popeye the Sailor Man. He said what he meant and meant what he said.
“I understand, Daddy. Thank you.”
His answer was to pull her in for a quick, hard kiss that had her breath quickening for a much better reason.
“Dutch, you’re with me.”
“You got it, chief.”
The two of them joined Sev and his men at the bottom of the steps. Boone stood facing the SUV, and though he and Dutch talked to Sev and the muscular blonde man standing next to him, her Daddy kept his eyes on her the entire time with a smile on his face.
Grif tried to keep the conversation going but eventually gave up. Tildi couldn’t think about anything but Boone.
He stood beside men in bespoke suits, each costing as much as her last car, yet Boone was still the finest looking man she’d ever seen. He didn’t need custom made clothes and Italian leather shoes.
He was the most remarkable man she’d ever met. It would be so easy to picture a life with him, but it was too soon for that. That wouldn’t be smart. They were headed to his ranch, but there was no guarantee he’d want her to stay.
She needed to soak up all the memories she could, just in case it didn’t last. It would be so easy to fall into thinking of him as her forever Daddy. She needed to slow her heart down.
Boone and Sev didn’t talk long before they were slapping each other on the back and shaking hands. Her Daddy headed back to her, his long strides eating up the short distance.
His eyes burned, but not with anger. No, they burned with need. For her.
Her heart thumped harder, and arousal dampened her panties. How could he do that with just his eyes?
He climbed in beside her and leaned over to give her a peck on the cheek. At least that was what she expected. But that isn’t what he gave her at all. With a hand behind her neck, he tilted her head where he wanted it and pressed demanding lips to hers. Her lips parted, and his tongue invaded her mouth.
The kiss didn’t last nearly long enough. Too soon, he pulled back, leaving her reeling and wanting more.
Pressing his forehead against hers, he grinned. “Miss me?”
“Every second,” she teased back with perfect honesty.
He reconnected her seatbelt but pulled her leg to rest on his. “All right then, let’s go home.”
They headed out for Wild River Ranch. It was Boone’s home now, but if she did everything she could to be helpful and stay out of trouble, it just might become her home, too.