Chapter 40
Addie looked so happy as he led her back into the bedroom after Hack left that he almost didn’t want to remind her about her punishment.
But he wouldn’t be much of a Daddy if he didn’t follow through on promised consequences. At least her throat didn’t seem to be too bad. He’d been concerned that she’d done some permanent damage, but it seemed like it just needed a bit more rest.
Something he was determined that she would get.
He’d asked Ralen to get a few things from LittleLand for him. Ralen had gone to see Titus – his archnemesis.
Most of the guys that worked for Dante were too scared to go up against Ralen, since he was Dante’s cousin.
But not Titus.
Cash wasn’t certain that man had any fear. Why would he, when he was the size of a literal garden shed?
Addie sucked on the lollipop that she had attached to her finger. He couldn’t believe that Hack had told her that she could eat as much ice cream and jello as she liked.
Mind you, a little bit never hurt anyone, and it probably would be nice on her throat. Maybe tonight after dinner, they’d make some ice cream sundaes.
Cash walked her over to the desk that was in one corner of the room and pointed at it. “Sit here, Little Stowaway,” he said. “I’ll get you a pad and pen.”
She frowned up at him and opened her mouth. He tapped her lips.
“No talking.” He set her phone down on the desk. “Remember that you’ve got your punishment. One hundred lines: I will not talk. You’re lucky I’m being lenient and not doubling it.”
Her bottom lip dropped out in a pout, and he thought it might be the cutest thing he’d ever seen in his life. It took all of his willpower not to give in to her, not to back down.
“Sit, Little Stowaway, or do you want a spanking first?”
It was comical how quickly she shook her head, and he had to hide his smile. Staying stern when presented with all this cuteness was very hard work.
He left the bedroom, returning with a pad and pen which he set down in front of her. “Make sure that you write the number for each line, so I can easily check that they are all there. You don’t want to write too many or too few.”
She heaved out a deep breath that was more of a sigh. As she got to work, he took out his phone and sent a message to Ralen to see how he was getting on.
Ralen: Five minutes away. Got what you wanted.
“I’m going out to see Ralen, Little Stowaway. I expect to see some more lines done when I get back, understand?”
She nodded with a frown.
Totally adorable.
He stepped out of the bedroom with a wide smile on his face to find Ralen walking into the house
“Someone looks happy with himself,” Ralen commented sourly. “Probably because you didn’t have to go deal with the dark ogre.”
“Dark Ogre? That’s a new one.”
“Well, he is an ogre, and he’s got a face like a black thunder cloud. Therefore, he’s the Dark Ogre. Actually, now that I’m starting to say that, it sounds too cool. Maybe the wart-ridden ogre from under the bridge.”
“I’m pretty sure it’s a troll that’s under a bridge,” Cash told him as he grabbed one of the bags off the table and started searching through it.
Ralen just grunted. “Troll will work. Actually, troll might work better. What about if a troll and an ogre had a baby? Could that be Titus?”
“I take it that Titus was in a really good mood this afternoon,” Cash said.
“Got into me. Said that we’re not doing our job properly, that we’re distracted.
I asked him what the fuck he wanted us to do.
If Alejandro’s men couldn’t find Ortega, there’s no use in us going to where he was last located.
If he was even there in the first place.
If Ortega doesn’t want to be found, then very few people would be able to find him. ”
Cash didn’t point out that he’d used that exact same argument with Ralen. He always tried to do the opposite of what Titus wanted.
Thankfully, this time it worked in Cash’s favor. If Ortega had gone underground, he must have his reasons.
“I’ll send Ortega another message,” Cash said.
Ralen nodded with a sigh. “I’ve already done that.
The truth is that I am starting to get worried.
I don’t see why he wouldn’t reply to us.
Titus is up in arms because Bonnie is getting upset.
Even though they’re not related, you know she still thinks of Ortega as family.
Not to mention the fact that Dante is getting increasingly worried. ”
Shit. What were they going to do?
“Alejandro’s guys are going to widen their search,” Ralen explained.
“They’re going to take it step by step and work their way back toward New York to see if they can figure anything out.
If we work on the assumption that he was headed this way, perhaps we should do the opposite. And work our way back here.”
“Yeah, guess that sounds logical. But it could also be a waste of time.”
“I know, but I don’t think we can just sit around and hope for the best. Let’s give him a bit longer to reply. Then we’ll go.”
Cash nodded, picking up the bags of stuff he’d asked Ralen to get. “Thanks for this.”
Ralen gave him a smug smile. “No problem. I’m sure the two of you are going to enjoy yourselves this afternoon. Anything else I can do? Put in some earplugs? Play some music really loud?”
Cash shot him a look. “It’s not like that. We’re not . . . this isn’t about sex or attraction. Addie needs a Daddy and I enjoy taking care of her. That’s all it is. Nothing more.”
Addie closed the bedroom door. She’d finished her lines and had wanted to see what Cash was doing.
All right. She hadn’t actually finished all of her lines.
She’d done fifty, and she was hoping that would be enough.
She’d also wanted to shake out her hand because she’d written them really fast, and now it was cramping.
Plus, some of the words didn’t look very legible.
Was he going to judge her on penmanship?
Anyway, none of that mattered now as she sat down and tried to process what she’d just heard.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise. She’d already known that this wasn’t going anywhere. Soon, they’d both go their separate ways.
It was about mutual benefit not mutual attraction.
Nope, the attraction was all one-sided because she was very much attracted to him. She’d kind of hoped that he might be a tiny bit attracted to her. After all, he’d said that she could touch him whenever and however she wanted.
But she guessed it didn’t really mean much. Just that he liked being touched.
Perhaps the reason she was so attracted to him was because he was the first man to pay any real attention to her.
Actually, no. She knew she’d be interested in him no matter what. How could she not be? He was the sexiest man she’d ever seen in her life, and that included on TV or in movies.
Cash Savage was a movie star brought to life, but with an edge. And she dared anyone not to be attracted to him.
God. She was falling for him. Maybe it was because they were basically living together. Perhaps it was because he’d helped her. Or because he was a Daddy, and her Little was screaming out for one. Whatever it was, her feelings were engaged, and she should probably attempt to protect herself.
Only she had no clue how to do that, because the last thing she wanted to do was put any physical distance between them.
A sigh escaped her just as he returned to the bedroom. She needed to slip back into Little headspace. Her Little didn’t spend time worrying about stuff like this.
She was also wondering who Ortega was and why they were so worried about him. Why did they need to go and find him? Should she say something? No, then he’d know she’d been listening in. And that would be terrible and embarrassing.
Plus, he might get upset at her and that was the one thing she always tried to avoid, someone getting upset at her.
“How are your lines going?” he asked as he set a bag down on the bed. She glanced back at the bag, wondering what was in it.
He leaned over her shoulder, and she could feel the heat of him at her back. His scent surrounded her. Worried that she was going to lean back into him, she held herself very stiffly.
“What’s wrong? Was it too many lines? You started to get a bit wonky with your writing toward the end. Is your hand cramping? You wrote a lot in a short amount of time.”
He took her hand in his and started to massage it gently.
Oh, man, that felt so good. Addie let out a soft sigh.
“Shit, I shouldn’t have left you alone. I’m so sorry, baby. But you should’ve stopped if it started to hurt. You shouldn’t have pushed yourself to keep going. You can always stop. You can always say no. You have the power to do that. Understand?”
How was he so freaking perfect and yet not the one for her?
No, correction. She wasn’t the one for him.
She nodded, and he led her over to the bed. When she sat, he crouched in front of her and grabbed hold of her hand, massaging it again.
Guilt filled her. Her hand wasn’t hurting that much, and that wasn’t the reason that she’d stopped. But she also didn’t want to start writing that list again, so she kept quiet.
After all, she wasn’t supposed to talk, right?
“My poor girl.” He kissed her hand. “There, Daddy’s made it all better with his magic kisses. Can you feel the magic working?”
A blush filled her face, and she nodded. She could actually feel the magic working. Her hand felt better already.
He stood and leaned down to kiss her forehead.
She was going to have to soak in every moment of this and just remember that it was really temporary. It sounded like he had to leave soon, and she’d be going back to Las Vegas.
“I got you some gifts,” he said to her. “I hope you like them.”
He drew out a box. On the front was a picture of some squishies and what looked to be slime and clay. What was it? A squishy maker? She didn’t even know these existed.
Ooh, it looked like so much fun. She took hold of it, studying it intently.
“Do you like it, baby girl?”
Addie nodded excitedly and glanced up at him with a big smile. Her adult worries started to melt away.