11. Be Careful in the Dark
“Mila seems nice.”
“She is,” I said simply, hoping Vi took the hint.
She wouldn’t.
“Young, too.”
I shot my sister a warning glare that she missed as she loaded Charlie into her car seat. My niece’s face scrunched with her disgruntlement at the lack of cuddles.
“Do your uncle a favor, Charlie girl, and have a giant diaper blowout right when your mama gets to the good aisle of Target.”
“Joke’s on you,” Vi said, “they’re all good aisles. And I have wipes, diapers, and a backup outfit in the bag.”
“Have two blowouts. Up the back and everything.”
Charlie stretched, her little fists shaking with the effort.
I bumped one of my tattooed fists to hers. “See? It’s a deal.”
“You’re a jackass,” Vi told me, but the smile on her face said otherwise. “I’m just saying, tread carefully with Mila. She’s young and skittish and has clearly been through it. And you have the tendency to be an overbearing, pigheaded?—”
“I get the point.”
“Yeah, but I still like making it.” At my stare, she held her hands up. “What? It’s my sisterly duty to humble you every once in a while.”
“Goodbye, Violence.” I used the nickname I’d given her when we were kids, and she would get the others to hold me down so she could fart on me.
Anyone who said boys were gross never had sisters.
“Keep it up, and I’ll tell Mom and Dad you’ve got a woman living with you. Mom will drive that monster of an RV straight through from Maine so she can start picking wedding themes.”
“You wouldn’t dare.”
Her smirk grew into a grin as she climbed into the car. “Call me if you need anything. Love ya!”
I turned to get back to my young, skittish houseguest when the car stopped, and the window went down.
Vi was smart enough to keep her voice quiet so Mila didn’t overhear. “And for God’s sake, feed that girl.”
I gave her a flick of the wrist salute and went inside to do that.
I assumed Mila would be long gone by the time I returned, but when I reached the kitchen, she remained on the counter. I stopped myself from letting that go to my dick.
But there was no stopping it when she smiled at me.
Fuck, she’s pretty.
“I figured it was probably med time,” she said.
“You figured right.” I grabbed the pills from the bottles and a glass of water before handing them to her.
“I can do this myself.”
“Never said you couldn’t.”
She started to pull her bottom lip between her teeth before stopping. “Then why do you insist on doing it?”
Because I want to take care of you.
Because I want you to depend on me.
Because I want to be your Daddy if you’ll let me.
“Because,” was all I said.
She shot me a glare before swallowing the pills. Before she could hop down, I took the cup from her and replaced it with the bowl.
She eyed it. “What’s this?”
“Breakfast.”
“Wow. Thanks. Super helpful,” she deadpanned.
“Strawberry yogurt, berries, bananas, and granola.” At her grimace, I reached for the bowl.
She snatched it back, and her arm curled around it protectively.
“I’ll make you something else. Eggs and toast?” I offered.
“I want this.”
“Then why did you look at it like it kicked your dog?”
“I don’t have a dog.” When I waited for a real answer, she sighed and admitted, “You keep doing stuff for me.”
“And?”
“And I don’t like it.”
“Get over it.”
Mila’s brows shot up. “What?”
“You heard me.” Before she could unleash any of the insults I could practically see on her sharp tongue, I changed the subject. “Find anything interesting in your explorations yesterday?”
A blush broke out across her cheeks, and as fucking pretty as it was, it wasn’t what I wanted.
Right then, at least.
“Told you nothing is off-limits,” I reminded so she didn’t feel guilty or called out.
But that was clearly what happened. “I didn’t go into any closed door. Or into your gym. And I didn’t snoop through?—”
“You could’ve gone anywhere you wanted and looked through anything you wanted.” Putting my fists to the island on either side of her, I leaned down so my face was in hers. “Nothing is off-limits. Just want to know if you found anything interesting.”
More specifically, I wanted to know what she liked or disliked so I knew how to make the space more comfortable for her.
“Your house is really clean.”
That wasn’t what I’d expected, but she wasn’t wrong. “I don’t make a lot of messes, and I clean what I do. Vera comes in to do the detail work every two weeks or so.”
“Your girlfriend cleans your house?” As soon as the question was out, her blush deepened, and her eyes went saucer big.
Which was fair ’cause I was betting my eyes were just as wide.
“Vera is in her fifties,” I said.
She shrugged. “I don’t judge.”
“Vera is not my girlfriend. She’s my boss’ housekeeper who I poach twice a month because I can clean and do dishes and laundry, but I fucking hate dusting.”
She perked up at that. “I can dust.”
“No.”
She instantly deflated.
What the hell?
I didn’t get the chance to question when she asked, “Speaking of boss… Don’t you have to go to work?”
“I’m working from home for a few days.”
Her eyes moved down my body, and I would’ve fucking killed to know what she thought. If she liked what she saw. “Why are you dressed for work then?”
“Habit.”
“You can be a driver from home?”
Driving Maximo was a small part of my job that any of the others—including Maximo himself—could handle. Keeping his schedule, arranging and rearranging meetings, and tracking his new casino build were all things I could do from anywhere.
My job as his enforcer was a little harder to do remotely, but I was making it work. I just made my threats extra creative over the phone.
“Something like that,” I answered.
Her sharp look said she knew there was more, but I wasn’t about to get into my full job description.
She already seemed like she was two seconds away from bolting. Hearing that the man she’d trusted to care for her was cool with some casual torture would seal it.
I distracted her by adding, “Speaking of, one of my coworkers will be swinging by soon.”
“Oh.” She set the bowl to the side and wiggled forward on the island. “I’ll go upstairs.”
Without thought, I stepped forward, and her legs spread automatically.
Thank fuck I hadn’t tucked my shirt in because there’d be no missing the bulge that’d formed when my dick instantly hardened.
I wanted to close the small amount of distance between us. I wanted to take her mouth and taste sweet berries and something that was sure as fuck sweeter. Something that was all Mila. I wanted to press my hand between her legs and feel if I affected her the way she affected me.
Because I honestly wasn’t sure. Sometimes she looked up at me with those damn eyes like she wanted me to do all that and more. Other times, though, she acted like she wanted to be as far as fucking possible from me. Like she was counting down until she could get away from me.
And that was what had me clutching at my control. That and Vi’s true words. Mila was young and skittish and had been through it. I still wanted her. Fuck, did I want her. But more than that, I wanted to take care of her.
I got the feeling it’d been a long time since anyone had done that.
I didn’t want her to feel like that care came with strings attached—and those strings were attached to her body. I also didn’t want to do something that’d make her want to leave. Or worse, make her think she had to stay and reciprocate.
Once she was healed, and I’d handled the dickheads who’d dared to touch her, things would be different. But for right then, I wanted her to stay in the safety I could provide her. Which meant any of my other wants were on the back burner.
And my hand was gonna continue to get a workout.
Keeping the space between us, I shook my head. “There’s no reason to go anywhere. We’ll be in my office.”
“Okay.”
I heard the distant sound of a car door closing, but she didn’t move until the front door opened. Her gaze went to the side and then returned to me, and she looked ready to vault herself backward off the island at any sign of trouble.
In my time working for Maximo, I’d dealt with liars, thieves, dealers, loan sharks, and every other aspect of the Vegas underbelly. Some were dumbasses with less common sense than a snail, but others were smart. Sharp. Aware enough of the world they dwelled in to keep their defenses up at all times.
But she had even them beat.
It made me wonder again what the fuck she’d been through that had her fight-or-flight instincts so acute.
I gripped her wrists before she could do anything that’d hurt herself just as Cole came into the entryway.
“Hey, I put the bags…” His words trailed off when he saw Mila on the counter with me standing close, her wrists in my hold. It was barely perceptible, but his mouth twitched in amusement. “I’ll be in the office.”
“Hold up,” I said. “Mila, this is my coworker Cole.”
She kept her face partially turned, like she was trying to hide the worst of her injuries from him. She gave him a smile and as good of a wave as she could with her hands still in mine. With my fingers wrapped around her small wrists, I could easily feel her pulse thumping beneath the thin skin.
All of it sent a surge of jealousy through me.
Pushing it down, I asked her, “You got your phone with you?”
“Yeah, but it’s busted, remember?”
I grudgingly released my hold on her delicate wrists. “Cole will make it good as new.”
With a soft laugh, she shook her head. “It’s beyond that. This isn’t a little glitch or a needed update.” She pulled it from her pocket and showed him the cracked screen.
Cole shrugged. “An easy fix. You cool if I take it with me?”
Mila didn’t hesitate before handing it over. “Not like I can do anything with it.”
Cole slipped it into the laptop bag he had slung over his shoulder.
Knowing what she’d do if I left it, I moved away from Mila and quickly rinsed the cutting board and knife I’d used before loading them both in the dishwasher. I turned off the sink in time to hear Mila’s laugh. I faced them to see her smiling up at Cole as he spoke quietly.
He’s fucking lucky I’m not still holding that damn knife.
My homicidal jealousy was forgotten when Mila met my gaze, and her grin grew. “You poured tequila on your own phone?”
“Bourbon,” I corrected, grimacing at the hazy memory. “A whole fucking bottle of rare, expensive bourbon.”
That detail made her laugh more. “Why?”
“I was drunk.”
“And?” Cole prompted because the bastard knew that wasn’t the whole story.
“And watching a movie.”
“Annnnd?”
“And I figured if there is gonna be a robot uprising, I wanted my phone on my side. I was being a polite host.”
“Oh my God,” Mila cried as she threw her head back and laughed.
I didn’t give a fuck she was laughing at me. I’d tell her all the embarrassing shit I’d ever done. Hell, I’d recreate the scene with another expensive bottle of bourbon if it made her laugh like that.
Carefree and unrestrained, granting me a glimpse behind her barricaded walls.
Before I did something stupid—like push for more—I handed her back the breakfast bowl. “You see the game room yesterday?”
“You mean your arcade?” she teased.
“Can’t be an arcade. Doesn’t have tickets or a prize counter. But yeah. We’ll be in the room across from there. Come get me if you need anything.”
“Got it.”
“It was nice to meet you, Mila,” Cole said with a smile. He had a quiet charm that women liked. I shot him a glare so he’d stop fucking aiming it at Mila. He ignored me and grinned wider. “I’ll get your phone to you soon.”
“No rush,” she said, before her own smile faltered. She caught herself and forced it back into place. “And it was nice meeting you, too.”
Cole and I headed for my office. Once there was enough distance from the kitchen, he spoke. “Why do I feel like I’m about to be fired from a door duty that I’m not even on?”
His question was a reference to when Maximo had fired me after Juliet called me Handsome Goon.
He wasn’t wrong.
“I’ll head home, see what else I can dig up.” Cole stood and gathered his shit as my phone beeped. “That the boss?”
I checked my phone. “Nope.”
Vi: She had two blowouts and a projectile, you bastard.
Vi: If it wouldn’t send poor Mila up those mountains, I’d pay to fly Emily’s and Maggie’s kids here so I could dump all eleven off with you at the same time.
Vi: You bastard.
“What’d you do to piss her off?” Cole asked, reading over my shoulder.
“Baby shit curse.”
“Evil.”
Cole had come over to drop off some clothes for Mila and get her broken phone. He would transfer her data onto a new one and dig into the texts from her bitch mother to see if there was any merit to her suspicion. Since he was already there, he’d stuck around for a few hours to go over work shit with me.
“Almost forgot.” He pulled something from his bag and tossed it to me. I looked down to see a small plug-in light. “She afraid of the dark?”
“Think so.” The light she left on in the bathroom could’ve just been so she could navigate the unknown space in the night, but I got the feeling it was more than that.
“Make sense. She’s had a lot of monsters hiding in the dark.”
“Now she’s got one in the light, too.”
He shook his head, but he did it smirking. “You’ve got it bad already.”
I didn’t say anything because he wasn’t wrong. I tossed the light onto the desk and started walking him out.
He kept his voice low. “Let me know if you decide you want the cameras, and I’ll get them together to install when I bring the rest out here.”
I lifted my chin, not wanting to say more in case Mila was around.
I didn’t see her, but that wasn’t a surprise.
I bet she’s hiding out in her room.
I’d have lost that bet.
I opened the front door to find Mila sitting on one of the porch chairs. A book sat open in her lap, but it was only on the third page. Either she’d just started, or she found the mystery book as slow as I had.
There was a reason it’d been the first book to come to mind when Maximo had been punishing Juliet with the most boring shit he could pack her reading app with.
“Nice to meet you again, Mila.” Cole grinned at her, and I was pretty sure it was more than he’d smiled for the previous month combined. I was also pretty sure he was doing it to fuck with me. “If Ash is being a dick, just ask him about the lobsters at Parisian Crescent.”
“What?” she questioned.
But I bit out, “I’ll remember this. Payback is going to be a fucking bitch when your time comes.”
Cole just laughed as he jogged down the steps to his car.
Mila turned to blink up at me. “Do I want to know?”
“Probably, but I’m not telling you. I haven’t been a dick.”
“I’ll give it five minutes then,” she said solemnly.
“You feeling leftover pasta, a sandwich, or a wrap?”
“For what?”
“Lunch.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“Don’t remember asking. It’s lunch time.”
“I just ate that big breakfast.”
“Hours ago. Not to mention, I saw the container in the fridge when I grabbed water earlier. You ate less than a quarter of it.”
“You can’t say not to mention, and then proceed to mention it.”
Fuck, she’s cute.
“Lunch, little girl.”
Mila gave a soft but dramatic sigh. “I see five minutes was generous.”
Biting back a smile at the sass, I headed toward the kitchen. Mila followed a minute later.
“What did you decide?” I asked.
“That you and I have very different appetite levels.”
“If you pick something, you can eat in the backyard.” Her eyes lit, and I piled on. “It’s even nicer than the front.”
“I’ll reheat some of the pasta,” she tried.
“I got it.”
“I’ll go wash up then.”
She returned as the microwave beeped, and I handed her the plate with a potholder under it.
“This isn’t mine,” she said.
“Pretty sure I’m giving it to you, so yes, it is.”
She shook her head. “Ash, this is more than I eat in an entire day.”
“And you heard what the doctor said about that.”
“I don’t need to rectify it in one meal.”
“Eat what you want and toss the rest.”
Mila’s lips curved in a horrified grimace. “I am not wasting all this food.”
“Then put it in the fridge.”
With your yogurt and leftover sandwich.
She opened her mouth to argue before closing it. With a soft inhale, she forced a small smile. “Thanks for making this.”
“Mila—”
“Backyard?”
I held her gaze for a few seconds before she broke the contact and looked to the side. She grabbed the book she’d set down and waited expectantly while avoiding my face.
I turned and walked to the back door, sliding it open and stepping out of her way. I was glad I did when I got the profile view of her reaction.
“It’s gorgeous,” she breathed.
It was the reason I’d bought the house in the first place. After the large deck—complete with grill and built-in pizza oven—the rest of the expansive yard was nothing but nature.
When the real estate agent had suggested tearing it up to put in a pool, I’d nearly fired her. If I wanted to swim, I could do it at Maximo’s or one of the resorts. There was no reason to destroy natural beauty—beauty that included a damn creek—for convenience.
I walked to the edge of the deck to point out the chair one of my nephews had dragged out. “There’s a creek over there.”
Mila didn’t need to be told twice. With another murmured thanks, she carried her book and lunch to the chair.
I wanted to stand there and watch her. I wanted to do a fuck of a lot more than that.
I didn’t.
Forcing myself into the office, I watched her on the exterior security camera until she came inside.
When the creditsof another episode rolled, I clicked off the TV.
With her feet to the couch and her head resting on her bent knees, Mila turned just enough to look at me. I wasn’t even sure she could lift her head if she wanted to.
“Bed, sunshine.”
“But I’m not tired,” she claimed.
A lie.
When I’d finished work, Mila had been in the living room. The book had still sat on her lap, but it’d been forgotten as she’d scrolled the TV.
I hadn’t bought it.
The couch and chair had been slightly off. The books on the shelf had been repositioned so they were even.
For a moment, I’d thought she’d been snooping, but when I’d gone into the kitchen, I’d smelled the faint traces of cleaner in my reorganized fridge.
Mila had been trying to clean my damn house.
I’d told her it wasn’t necessary, and she’d denied the attempt. Then she’d argued that it was necessary. Then she’d argued that she could cook rather than ordering Chinese delivery.
I’d never had someone fight me so damn hard about so damn little.
She’d finally dropped the fight when I’d told her I didn’t want either of us to cook because I wanted to start the other show she liked. The one we needed to watch from the beginning.
Of everything, that had been what’d relaxed her.
It was almost one in the morning, and she’d been fighting to stay awake since before ten. Every time I’d said anything about bed, she’d rallied and insisted I put on another episode of the heaven comedy she loved.
“Don’t remember asking if you were tired.” I stood. “I said bed.”
“Okay, good night.” She reached to the side for the remote I’d left on the arm of the couch. I grabbed it before she could, and she held out her hand.
“I’ll throw you over my shoulder and carry you upstairs.”
“You wouldn’t. Give me the remote. I promise I won’t watch our show.” When I didn’t give it over, she wiggled her fingers.
I took the invitation she didn’t know she made and gripped her hand to pull her standing. Since I didn’t move back, the momentum made her body crash into mine.
Her palm went to my chest, and she tipped her head to look at me.
“You gonna tell me why you don’t want to go to sleep?”
Just as quick, she dropped her hand and stepped away, nearly tripping over the couch. “I guess it’s later than I thought. Bed is probably smart.” She yawned, and it wasn’t as forced as she’d been going for. “I’m wiped. Good night.”
“Good night, sunshine.”
“You owe me like ten lobster stories now,” she muttered as she headed from the room.
I waited until she was in the entryway before killing the light. I did the same in the entryway, only turning that one off once she was up the stairs. I followed after and waited until the door to the bedroom closed before turning off the hall light.
When I was almost to the loft, the door of the bedroom was thrown open. I backtracked to the end of the hall and nearly crashed into Mila.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” she lied, her eyes wide with a surprising amount of panic. “I just forgot my water. And I wanted to grab that book. And I didn’t eat my fortune cookie. Plus, I think?—”
“Do you want me to sleep in there with you again?”
She started to pull her full bottom lip between her teeth before wincing at the swollen cut. After a slight hesitation, she nodded.
“Get ready for bed. I’ll be right in.”
She nodded again and took off toward the room.
I waited until the door closed again before going to the guest room I’d been using. I stripped my shirt off and tossed it into the hamper before undoing my belt and slacks. As soon as I shoved the fabric of my boxer briefs down, my hard cock sprung free from where it’d been stretched down my thigh. It made me a sick bastard because I fucking knew something was bothering her, but my dick didn’t get that memo.
Or it did and it just didn’t care that it was a bastard.
I fisted it and squeezed until it toed the line of pain. With the image of Mila looking up at me, I knew I would come embarrassingly fast, but I didn’t want to risk her changing her mind. Releasing a groan of frustration at the same time I released my hold, I pulled on a new pair of boxers and basketball shorts, tucking my hard-on into the waistband. Since that did jack shit to hide the inches that stuck out past the fabric, I pulled on a loose tee.
I took care of the rest of what I needed as fast as I could before grabbing my phone and returning to Mila. I didn’t knock in case she’d crashed, but I did open the door slowly.
Not only was she still awake, but she was sitting on the bed with her eyes aimed at me.
Waiting for me.
My dick jerked.
I tilted my head toward the study side of the room. “Want me to sleep over there?”
Her lip went back between her teeth as she shook her head.
“Want me to take the floor?”
Another shake.
“Like last night?”
She nodded.
Rounding the bed, I closed the bathroom door.
“Wait—” Mila started but her protests cut off when the room wasn’t plunged into darkness. She leaned over to check out the bright light coming from the plug-in. “You didn’t have to put that there.”
I pulled back the blankets. “Never said I did.”
“You can turn it off.”
“No need.”
“It’s really fine.”
“Mila.”
“Hold on, I’m going to switch it off.”
“Mila—”
“I don’t need?—”
“Little girl.”
“Don’t call me that.”
“Then stop interrupting me before I…” That time I was the one to interrupt myself before I said something that’d have her kicking my ass right back out of bed.
“Before you what?” she challenged. Her voice may have been quiet and raspy with exhaustion, but there was no doubt it was a challenge.
If it hadn’t made her visibly upset, I’d have called her a brat again.
“Before I fall asleep and nosedive off the damn bed.” I carefully pulled her into my loose hold and covered us. “Go to sleep.”
“Eleven lobster stories.” She paused before amending. “Actually, twelve for calling me little girl.”
I expected it to take a while for her to relax, but within minutes, Mila was out. It took me longer to get comfortable while keeping my hips away from her so she couldn’t feel how turned on I was. A task that became damn near impossible when she snuggled into me.
Trusting me in her sleep.
Hermonster in the night-light.
Even if she didn’t know it yet.