Little Sunshine

14. Hide Your Emotions

By the time the elevator dinged, I was in a bad mood.

No.

I was in the worst mood.

When Ash had said I was going to work with him, I figured I’d be able to see something. Do something.

Instead, he’d locked me in the dull penthouse.

It hadn’t made sense. Not at first.

Then it’d hit me.

Given what’d happened at Moonlight, Ash might not trust me. He might not feel comfortable with me around the resort guests at his place of employment. And with all the valuables in his grand house, he might not trust me alone there, either.

A highly secure, barren hotel penthouse was the perfect place to stash me.

As depressing as it was, I couldn’t even blame him. Which somehow sucked even worse.

The rest of my bad mood was thanks to the damn iPad I’d returned to out of boredom. After scrolling through the wild number of options, I’d opened a book with a cover of a hot, shirtless man. Unlike the awful mystery I’d tried to read at his house—which was also weirdly on the iPad—that book had immediately grabbed my attention.

Then overheated me.

Then made me mad.

Because as much as I’d tried to ignore the voice in my head, I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about little dove. Whether she had the same reaction when she read. Whether she went to Ash to help her.

And whether he kissed her when her thoughts pleaded for it.

By the time the elevator doors slid open, I was already standing. Only it wasn’t Ash who stood there. It was his coworker who’d come by the house.

Cole.

“Hey, Mila. Ash is downstairs, so I said I’d come get you.”

No alarm bells went off in my head. And based on what I’d seen at the house, he and Ash were friends.

“Okay.” I put my shoes on before impulsively grabbing the iPad so I could finish the damn book that I hated to love.

Cole used his thumb to open the elevator doors again, and we stepped inside. Once we were moving, he handed me something. “Your phone.”

“Thank…” My words trailed off when I actually looked at it. “This isn’t mine.”

Not unless his repair skills involve changing out the screen, body, specs, and every other damn thing.

He gave a sheepish smile. “Yeah, sorry, it was too damaged for even my abilities.”

I tried to hand it back. “That’s fine, I’ll figure something out.”

“No need. Now you have a new one.”

Something about his words made Ash’s previous ones float through my head.

Cole will make it good as new.

Realization dawned. “This was his plan all along.”

Cole didn’t deny it. Nor did his smile look anything but amused. “Take it up with Ash.”

“Oh, you better believe I will,” I murmured as I looked down at the shiny screen. It was pretty. And a nice gesture.

But nice gestures didn’t pay the bills.

My old cell was a piece of shit with spotty service, but it was a piece of shit for a reason. That was what I could afford. If I couldn’t add minutes that month, I wasn’t locked into a contract that would take the money anyway.

The elevator doors slid open, and I followed Cole into a waiting room that was far nicer than the penthouse. It was a place of business, but I still felt like I should take my shoes off so I didn’t track dirt in.

Ash stood in a doorway, his profile to me as he laughed.

I’d never got what people meant when they talked about getting butterflies. It definitely didn’t sound like a good thing. Insects flying around someone’s stomach sounded like the plot of a bad sci-fi movie.

But as I watched Ash laugh before he rubbed a large, tattooed hand across his beard, I suddenly understood. My belly and heart both seemed to flutter, and it was far from unpleasant.

Unlike the taunting voice that followed. A voice that sounded a lot like my mother.

If he wanted to kiss you, he would’ve. You were practically begging for it. Instead, he locked you away all day because he knows you don’t belong here.

He just pities you, little girl.

With more effort than it ever took, I blanked my mind. It was just in time because Ash glanced over. When he saw me, a dimpled smile spread across his face.

God.

I pushed that down, too, and focused on my irritation. That was easier to deal with. Holding up the cell, I gave it a little shake while I glared.

He just smiled wider.

The ass.

That was an emotion I didn’t suppress. “You owe me another five lobster stories, you ass.”

He chuckled.

And he wasn’t the only one.

Reaching out, he snagged my wrist and pulled me into the expansive office, where two other people stood in front of a wall of security monitors.

With tattoos peeking out from his expensive suit, the man was hot. Not Ash levels of hot, but still. His dark hair was pushed back and slightly disheveled, and his dark eyes were sharp and serious despite the small smile that tipped his lips. I moved my attention from the attractive yet terrifying—or maybe terrifyingly attractive—man to the exceptionally pretty woman in his arms. Her strawberry-blonde hair was pulled into a high ponytail, and she wore a dress that looked a lot like the one I wore.

They both winced as they took in the damage to my face, but she was quicker to hide it. The angry glower he shot at Ash made me inch closer to the behemoth. I wasn’t sure if it was an inept attempt to protect Ash or have Ash protect me, but it didn’t matter. There was no threat and the man’s expression smoothed out.

Ash kept hold of me as he made introductions. “Mila, this is my boss, Maximo Black, and his wife, Juliet.”

The one who ran?

She didn’t seem like she was there against her will and wanting to escape. With the way she leaned into her husband, I didn’t see anything forced about her body language or her smile.

“Uh, hello,” I greeted, my cheeks burning red hot. “I, uhh… Sorry.”

The woman—Juliet—waved away my apology. “No, no, you’re right. They’re all asses. A job requirement to work for my husband is they have to be bossy and domineering and heavy-handed?—”

“How would you like my heavy hand to make your ass red, dove?” her husband cut in.

My breath caught at the threat, and my alarmed gaze shot to hers. While her eyes were also wide, she didn’t look horrified like me.

Not.

At.

All.

With a bat of her lashes, she bit back a smile. “Hey, you hate liars. I can’t get in trouble for telling the truth, Daddy.”

That time when my breath caught, it wasn’t from fear.

It was something much different. Something that settled in my quickened heart, swirling stomach, and areas lower.

Despite his threat, he smiled adoringly down at her, and that made my heart rate go funnier. He said something else that I didn’t catch, but it made her cheeks flush.

Not wanting to do or say something stupid, I tore my focus from the couple and looked down. “Oh.” I held the iPad out. “I think this is yours.”

“Ash said you might like my taste in reading material better than his.” She took the tablet and glanced at the screen. “That’s one of my favorite books. Major hangover afterward.” She offered it back to me. “Do you want to borrow it so you can finish reading?”

And add literary fuel to my already stoked and ready to combust fire?

Hell no.

I shook my head. “Thank you, though.”

“Text me the title, and I’ll put it on her phone,” Ash said.

“No, you won’t because I don’t have a phone.”

Everyone’s eyes dropped to the phone I literally held in my hand. When Ash’s returned to mine, a smirk pulled at his lips.

I wanted to kiss it off him.

Or maybe shove the cell in his mouth.

I wasn’t sure which.

I kept my own mouth shut since I’d already made a mini scene by calling him an ass in front of an audience. I didn’t need to make it any worse.

He spoke instead, his smirk changing to a sweet smile. “You ready?”

Between Ash’s nearness, my reading material, his boss’ interaction with his wife, my hypocritical sadness at his lack of trust, that damn smile, and… Well, everything to do with Ash, I needed to get control of myself before I was stuck in the SUV with him. It didn’t matter how big that sucker was, it was still too confined.

“I’m going to pop into the restroom first,” I said before facing forward. “It was very nice to meet you Mr. and Mrs. Black?—”

“Maximo and Juliet,” the man corrected. Although the way he subtly gripped her ass said he liked the reminder they were married.

“Right,” I agreed, not that it mattered.

I’d likely never see them again.

Ash

I knew Milawas annoyed.

Her calling me an ass had kinda clued me in.

I’d assumed there’d be worse once we were closed in the elevator, but I got none of the snapped attitude I’d expected.

Wanted.

Craved.

Instead, she’d stood as far off to the side as she could get and stared straight ahead like she wanted to be anywhere but there.

“Mila—” I started.

But the doors chose that moment to slide open, and she hurried out. She slowed after a few steps. A few more, and she stopped altogether. “Where is your car?”

“Getting some work done,” I said since that was easier than explaining Cole needed to check it for listening devices.

Her nose crinkled. “Trying to get that awful new car smell out, huh?”

I chuckled before trying again. “Mila?—”

That hint of humor was gone just as fast. “Which car?”

I pointed toward a gray Range Rover. “But hold up.”

She didn’t, hightailing it to the SUV. She tried the door, but it was locked, giving me the chance to box her in with my hands on the roof. She kept her back to me.

“Look at me.” When she did, I dropped a hand to her hip to turn her so she faced me.

“I am capable of moving myself. You know that, right? You don’t always have to move me how you want me.”

That statement and the images it created hardened my dick to the point of pain. I ignored it and focused on her. “Look, I know you’re pissed. I get it. But it’s a safety thing. And I’ll never risk that.”

Sadness. Christ, so much fucking sadness filled her blue eyes as she slowly nodded.

Her sass made me hard.

But that expression on her face broke my damn heart.

“You don’t have to keep it,” I said. “But at least use the phone while you’re staying with me.”

It wasn’t a lie. I just wasn’t sharing how long I intended to keep her with me.

Her mouth opened and then closed before opening again. “What?”

Wondering if my assumption was wrong, my eyes narrowed. “Is there something else on your mind?”

“No.” She blinked a few times. “I’m just shocked you’re compromising.”

I wasn’t sure which I wanted to do more—swat her smart-ass or find a better way to occupy her smart mouth. Since neither was a possibility yet, I stepped away before I lost that shred of control I had.

I waited until we were in the car before asking, “You got a taste for anything?”

“Not really.”

Even if she did, it was unlikely she would tell me.

“Mexican?”

Her expression lit.

“Mexican it is,” I said before she tried to lob the decision back to me. I drove in silence for a few minutes. “So… Did you find anything to clean?”

Her brows shot up quickly before she let out a long sigh. “No. For such a fancy hotel, the rooms are really boring.”

“Not the rest of them. That’s my personal penthouse, so when the last remodel was done, they left it for me to set up how I want. I haven’t gotten around to it.”

If I thought the mention of Mexican food had excited her, it was nothing compared to her reaction to that. “There are so many possibilities. What do you think you’ll do?”

I shrugged. “Haven’t thought about it.”

“Was it recently remodeled?”

I thought for a second. “Five years ago or so.”

Her lips parted, and fuck, I wanted to kiss them.

Fuck, I wanted to do so much more.

I shifted in my seat to hide my growing hard-on. “What was the book you were reading?”

A small squeak escaped her, and her face didn’t just flush. It turned bright red, the color spreading to her chest.

I’d asked the innocent question to get my mind off my dick, but her reaction had the opposite effect. Given the books I’d overheard Vera and Juliet talking about, I was no longer just making conversation.

I needed to know what Mila had read.

And what part of it she liked so much that it made her blush like that.

She turned away to look out the window. “Nothing really, I mostly flipped through. Juliet has a lot of books. A lot of random ones, too.” She took a dramatic pause before glancing my way. “I mostly watched TV.”

I slowed to a stop at a red light and gave her my full attention. “What were you watching?”

But I knew. The evil smile that split her face said everything.

“You’re a cold-hearted woman.”

The evil laugh that followed confirmed it.

“We have to talk.”

I’d waited until after Mila had picked at her tacos before starting the conversation that would upset her. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have eaten the small amount she had.

She sank back in the secluded booth and crossed her arms as she looked near me. Not at me. Her gaze was settled somewhere over my shoulder as she waited.

Elbows to the table, I leaned forward. “I went to see Veronica today.” At her lost expression, I clarified, “Your mom.”

If Mila’s eyebrows could’ve hit her hairline, they would’ve. “You know my mother?”

“I do now.”

Her lips curved down, and anger radiated from her. “You shouldn’t have done that.”

“I wasn’t trying?—”

But her anger wasn’t aimed at me or my interference. “Veronica Rogers is a succubus. She digs her claws into everyone in her orbit and bleeds them dry. I don’t want her trying to drag you into her problems.”

Too late.

I didn’t tell her that. If Mila had been that upset about a phone, I didn’t know how she’d react to finding out I’d paid her mother’s debt.

And I sure as fuck didn’t want to find out.

“That won’t happen,” I stated since that was the truth. “But you gotta know, she didn’t have you attacked.”

She scoffed. “Let me guess… She batted her fake lashes, pushed her tits out, and claimed she’d never do something so vile?”

Pretty much except she claimed she didn’t even have a daughter because she’s a moronic cunt.

I didn’t tell her that, either. “We checked her story. When you were supposed to meet, she was in the middle of getting dumped.”

Hope filled Mila’s eyes before she worked to tamp it down. “She has my money?”

No, she spent it on herself.

I lifted my chin anyway since I would give her the money—and anything else she wanted.

“I can’t believe this.” Genuine shock filled her face. “It really wasn’t her?”

My folks weren’t good parents.

They were the fucking best.

I was tight with them and all four of my sisters. My dad sent hockey scores like I couldn’t just check ESPN. My ma still threatened to come cook me chicken soup every time I was sick.

If they weren’t spending their retirement RVing across the country, she probably would’ve.

I couldn’t imagine either of them would accidentally hurt me, much less suspecting they’d purposefully set me up to be hurt. But Mila had truly believed it because it was plausible.

Which was its own kind of jacked up.

“She had no clue,” I answered. “Showed up later, but you were gone.”

The hint of happiness disappeared quickly, and blankness took over. When she caught me watching her, she forced a smile. “So it was just an ordinary, run-of-the-mill mugging? Boring.”

I hated to make her relive it, but we had nothing else to go on. And from the haunted look on her face, I got the feeling she was already thinking about those bastards. “Tell me more about what happened.”

Grabbing a tortilla chip from the basket, she broke it in pieces over her plate as she gave only slightly more detail than what I knew. “There were two guys. One was tall and lanky. He had this”—she wiggled her fingers under her nose—“awful pube facial hair. He was blond, I think? Or light brown. He only got close to me for a minute. The rest of the time, he just, uh, watched.” When she’d turned the first one to dust, she sat forward and grabbed another chip but just held it.

Stared at it.

“Sunshine.”

She jolted at my voice.

“We can st?—”

“No, it’s fine.” Sweeping at imaginary crumbs on the table, she peeked up at me shyly. “I was just trying to figure out how to politely phrase that he had tiny-dick energy.”

It was a fucked time to laugh, but I couldn’t stop myself.

Thankfully, that made Mila relax, and she leaned back again. “The other guy called him Ease. Or Ezz. Something like that. He was shorter than the other guy but still probably around five-ten. Kind of muscular, kind of bulky. Dark hair. Mean.” She shivered. “Really mean. He’s the one who…” She forced a smile as she tossed the chip down. “At least I get the satisfaction of knowing it was a pointless mugging since all they got was my license and debit card with nothing on it.”

“What?”

Mila fidgeted with her hands and fake laughed. “Not actually nothing?—”

“They stole your license?”

“Didn’t I tell you?”

“All the details of your car accident? No, sunshine, you weren’t exactly forthcoming.”

“Yeah,” she drawled, scrunching her nose. “Sorry.”

I didn’t bother to tell her she apologized too much since she would just apologize for that, too. Pulling my phone from my pocket, I shot off a text to Cole before pocketing it again.

I watched Mila stack the dishes and tidy up the table and do basically everything to avoid looking at me.

That need deep in my chest pounded closer to the surface. Like an itch I couldn’t scratch. Not right then.

Maybe never.

Mila fought me on every-damn-thing. There was a good possibility that she wouldn’t ever let me take care of her. That she wouldn’t hand over her submission and let me worry about everything else.

That she wouldn’t want me to be her Daddy.

I was comingoutta my damn skin.

I sat in the loft with my untouched drink. I had no fucking clue what was happening on the muted baseball game or with the files I was supposed to be going over. My mind was on Mila.

My mind was always on Mila.

The same traits that made me good at my job—the way I fixated and obsessed, going over every variable and outcome—had made her the target.

Unfortunately for me and my fucked-up brain, Mila didn’t share that driving need to be around me. When we’d gotten home from dinner, she hadn’t wanted to watch one of her shows with me. She’d barely muttered good night before locking herself in the bedroom. After the conversation we’d had, I got her need for space. And since my control was close to snapping, I’d wanted to give it to her.

For one night.

I’d made it a few hours.

That was close enough.

Mila wasn’t due for any meds, so I didn’t have that excuse to fall back on if she woke up, but I didn’t care. I needed to make sure she was okay.

That she wasn’t having another nightmare that emotionally shook her until she literally shook.

That she hadn’t moved around so much, she’d fallen out of bed.

I needed to see her.

Like the first night when I’d checked on her without her knowledge, I felt no hesitancy. No doubt. No guilt. The only reason I paused outside the door was to listen for the TV or movement.

When there was nothing but silence, I turned the knob.

Fuck.

Locked.

If I was a good man, that would’ve been the end of it.

But I’d never been a quitter.

Jogging downstairs, I hunted around my office and then the junk drawer in the kitchen for the small key that unlocked the bedroom from the outside. Finally finding it, I went upstairs and popped the lock before slowly pushing the door open.

Moving quietly across the room, I stopped next to the bed. In the soft light, I could see everything.

Putting in a night-light was a genius idea.

Mila’s body was stretched across the horizontal length of the mattress with one arm under a pillow and the blanket covering her side. Her other leg was kicked out, her sleep shorts barely covering her pussy. Her hard nipples pressed against the thin material of her top.

In my whole damn life, I’d never wanted anyone as badly as I wanted Mila. My control had never been so dangerously close to slipping.

My dick had never been so hard.

Fuck it.

I’m already heading to hell anyway.

Might as well upgrade to a first-class ticket.

Shoving my hand into my shorts, I fisted my cock and squeezed. There wasn’t enough room in the confined space, but I ran my hand along the length as best as I could. That was all I’d intended to do. It was already too much. But the longer I looked down at her, the more I stroked until I needed to tug the stretchy waistband down to free myself.

I held the material out of the way with one hand while my other wrapped around the base. I slowly moved up, circling around the head and choking back a moan.

Mila’s words from the garage echoed in my head, but I didn’t shut them down like I’d done earlier.

I let them run wild.

‘You don’t always have to move me how you want me.’

I thought of all the ways I’d pick her up and move her. Positioning her exactly where I wanted her. Tying her there. I thought about how she’d let me.

How she’d beg for more.

Beg for me.

It took every-damn-thing I had to stop from coming on that pretty pussy, those perfect tits, or her beautiful face.

Once she was mine, I would do it.

But I didn’t want the first time I saw my cum splattered across her skin to be when she was asleep. I wanted it to be when she was awake and begging me for it.

Tucking myself away with a soft hiss, I carefully covered her, checking to make sure she was away from the edge. With one last look, I left, going straight to the en suite in the guest room I was using.

After adjusting the temperature of the water to match the fiery flames of hell waiting for me, I barely entered the shower before wrapping my fist around my cock.

It was embarrassingly fucking fast how soon my balls tightened, the pressure building until my cum hit the wall in front of me. My hand shot out, slapping the tile to stop me from faceplanting as my vision returned to normal.

Like every other time I’d jacked off that week, the orgasm took the edge off.

But it wasn’t enough.