Chapter 3
Chapter
Three
“Little girl?” she parroted. The pleasure still coursing through her body took a back seat to her self-preservation. Instantly, she was on full alert.
“Yes, Alessia. My mate is my perfect match. A Little girl for a Daddy Dom.”
She stared at him, not breathing or blinking. How did he know? She’d fantasized about that type of a relationship but had never imagined she could live as a Little. “Can you read my mind?”
“If I needed to,” he said. “Unless you invite me to explore or in an emergency, I will not invade your privacy.”
Alessia studied his face, checking for any small sign that would signal her to not trust him. Titus’s expression was open and concerned as he focused completely on her. “You mean that, don’t you?”
“I do. I have waited for you for many years. You are at the top of my protection list. I would not jeopardize your physical or mental health.”
Truth rang from his words. She forced her muscles to relax. Without conscious thought, Alessia stroked his broad shoulders. His strength reassured her instantly. “I’m not used to anyone taking care of me.”
“I’m sorry, Little girl.” He hugged her tightly to his chest. “You are safe with me.”
Unable to resist his allure, she rested her cheek in the curve of his neck.
Inhaling deeply, she savored his manly scent.
Something exotic tingled at her senses. He was different from others.
Titus had shared that he was not merely a man but an entity that had an animalistic side.
The difference between them should have scared her, but it didn’t.
Many long minutes later, the memory of why Enzo had sent her here ricocheted into her brain. Alessia lifted her head from his chest. “What time is it?”
Against him, Titus could feel her heartrate increase as her breath came faster. Sensing she was afraid, he checked his watch. “It’s eleven thirty, Alessia.”
“I’m supposed to meet my ride at twelve.
What am I going to tell Enzo?” She pushed herself away from him and scrambled off his lap.
As she stood, a low sound of pain emerged from her.
Immediately, he lifted her back onto his lap.
“My feet suck. I may have to go barefoot. I can’t imagine walking in those heels. ”
“What size shoes do you wear?”
“Seven.”
Carina? Do you take a seven in shoes? Titus was careful to include Marcus in his communication with his clan member’s Little girl.
An eight.
Can I steal them from you if I let you go shoe shopping for new ones with my credit card?
Stop tempting my Little girl, Marcus roared possessively.
Alessia’s feet are messed up from walking too far in heels in the rain, Titus explained.
Of course she can have these. They’re one of my favorite pairs, so you’d be super nice if you replaced them with two sets. Carina bargained shrewdly.
Deal, Titus agreed, enchanted by Carina’s manipulations.
Daddy will bring them to you. Tell Alessia hi and that I’m eager to meet her.
Titus had always enjoyed having Carina around. Now her sweet welcoming of his mate made Titus appreciate her even more as he turned his full attention back to Alessia.
She relaxed against him slightly, and Titus wanted more than ever to protect her. “You could simply stay with me, Alessia.”
“I have to go home. If I don’t, he’ll send his goons after me. One already has his sights set on me. He’s trying to convince Enzo to let him marry me.”
“What’s his name?”
“Frankie. He’s worked for Enzo for years. He might have served my father as well before his death. I didn’t pay attention back then to anything outside my family. Frankie is older. I wasn’t involved in the business in the past.”
“You’re not going back,” Titus decreed, more determined. The thought of some thug forcing Alessia to marry him against her will enraged Titus.
She froze before shaking her head. “I have to. That’s where I live. All my stuff is there.”
Opening his mouth to refuse, Titus stopped as an image of a prized possession and a name popped into her mind and reverberated strongly into his. He understood what was happening. She couldn’t abandon Hopper. He was essential to her.
“If I allow you to return for a short time to gather some things before coming to collect you in a couple of hours, would you agree to live under my protection? I would guess that loading up a moving van won’t be possible while Enzo is alive,” Titus said.
“Oh, no. Anything I possess he would claim as his.” She paused and studied him.
Titus gave her a few moments to decide. When she nodded, he celebrated. “There are only a few items I’d like to take. Nothing valuable to anyone other than me.” Alessia blinked away tears that suddenly filled her eyes.
Titus cupped her jaw. “I’m sorry, Little mate. Soon, you’ll be free of him and safe.”
“Promise?”
“I promise. Tell me, what information did Enzo order you to get?” Titus asked. He would get Alessia out of the grasp of that violent bastard as fast as possible, but he needed to shield her now.
“He made me memorize a list of stuff to find out: number of employees, security, map of the building, entrances and exits, cash flow.”
“How were you supposed to figure out where the money went?”
“He said you’re making enough to empty the registers at some point while I’m here. I’m supposed to watch how you do that,” Alessia admitted.
“Do you need to note this on your phone, or can you remember?” Titus asked.
“I’d better write the details down.”
Alaric, I need your help to craft information that Enzo is demanding from my mate. Number of employees, security, map of the building, entrances and exits, and how we collect bills from the cash registers throughout the night.
As he listened to Alaric, Titus stood and placed her bottom on the couch cushions.
He snagged her small purse from the floor where he’d discarded it.
After handing her crossbody bag over, he lifted her back onto his lap.
Quickly, he ran through the information she needed to report to Enzo.
Or at least the version Alaric wanted him to share.
Alaric’s cunning mind had kept the clan alive for centuries.
Dealing with Enzo didn’t challenge him at all.
Her phone buzzed with a notification from her ride. Alessia met Titus’s gaze. “I have to get to the car. They’re waiting for me a couple of blocks away.”
“You’re not going alone, Little mate. The neighborhood isn’t safe for a lone female to walk in the darkness. I’ll go with you.”
“They’ll never stick around if they see I’m with someone.”
“Fine. No one will spot me,” Titus said.
“How are you going to do that? Can you turn invisible?”
“Better than that. Don’t worry. The driver won’t see me. Neither will you, but you’ll sense I’m close. Okay?” He stroked her thick, silky hair away from her face. Alessia couldn’t resist pressing her head into his palm.
Setting her back on the couch, Titus then walked to the locked door and opened it. A pair of cute sneakers sat on the carpet. He snagged them and returned to kneel in front of her.
“These may be a bit big, but they shouldn’t hurt like your heels.” Titus slipped them onto her feet and tied the laces.
This time when Alessia stood, she didn’t cry out in pain. “Those are so much better. How am I going to explain the new shoes?”
“Tell them your heel broke, and the Nightfall staff let you take a pair from the lost and found.”
“Oh. That could work. But my shoes are fine,” she said, waving a hand toward the stilettos.
“Do you like these shoes?” he asked.
“I’m never wearing those again.”
“Perfect.” Titus picked up one and snapped the heel off. “Done. Now, let’s get you to the pickup spot. When you arrive home, do your report and then head back to your room. I’ll be there at two.”
“I can make up an excuse to leave. Especially if I wait a couple of days,” Alessia suggested one more time. “Enzo’s men will kill you instantly if you’re spotted.”
“That won’t happen, Little mate. You won’t stay there one additional minute. Two a.m. Grab whatever you want to have. You won’t return to your brother’s home.”
Titus sent a message to Bram. Can you grab a Nightfall sweatshirt and meet me at the exit by the front doors? Make the souvenir a large. Alessia would swim in that size, but the warm garment would protect her from the weather and cover a bit more than her beaded dress.
Titus walked her to the front door. He claimed a fragment of her time left to press an ardent kiss to her lips. Allowing her to leave went against all of his instincts demanding his mate stayed close.
A handsome man showed up with an oversized hoodie. Titus thanked him and pulled the sweatshirt over her head.
“Here, Alessia. It’s cold outside.”
When she could see again, the other man was gone.
“Remember. I’m with you now, and I will come get you.”
“I have to be completely nuts,” Alessia whispered aloud as she hurried to the address where the car would wait for her. She needed to get there quickly, or the driver would leave.
Night swirled around her. Small noises amplified in her mind as she worried—tumbling plastic bags, the honk of a distant car horn, a closing door.
Suspicious of predators lurking in the shadows, she huddled inside the hoodie as if the soft material were a suit of armor, Alessia treasured the warmth.
No one had cared about her comfort for so long.
The casual garment hugged her, reminding her of Titus’s warm embrace.
Her gaze darted from side to side. She’d never liked the dark and still slept with a nightlight.
Alessia hesitated at the entrance of a pitch-black alley. Cutting through would save her steps and minutes. Swallowing hard, she headed into the obscurity, walking as fast as her sore feet would allow her. A growl sounded in her brain. “Titus?” she whispered.
“I can be Titus, if you’d like me to,” a rough voice told her from slightly behind her.
Whirling to face the direction she thought she’d heard the sound, Alessia quickly walked backward, trying to get out of the shadows.
She couldn’t spot anyone. Where was he? She forced herself to answer calmly as she panicked inside.
“No, thank you. Sorry. Just cutting through.” She transferred her intact stiletto to one hand and held the other like a dagger.
Alessia wouldn’t go down without a fight.
“This is my alley. You don’t get to pass for free,” that gravelly voice said on her right. She spotted the shadowy figure, standing a few feet away. Freezing, she didn’t know what to do.
Run, Little mate! Titus’s order reverberated inside her head.
Alessia didn’t hesitate. With her heart pounding, she raced toward the exit, ignoring the pain that speared through her feet with each strike of her sneakers on the pavement. Thudding footsteps followed.
“What the…”
A loud snap sounded in the alley behind her and then silence. Alessia didn’t pause. When she emerged into the ring of light from the streetlamp, she kept running. When she turned at the next block, Enzo’s man and the car waited. Damn. He’d sent Frankie.
Frankie pushed away from the car when he spotted her. He tossed his cigarette, leaving the butt glowing on the street. “You’re lucky I didn’t take off.”
“Thank you for waiting for me, Frankie. The club was packed. I had to navigate around a ton of people to leave.”
“What are you wearing?” Frankie snarled.
“The shoes? Can you believe my heel broke?” She held up the evening shoes. Her new sweatshirt pulled away from her wrists. The glowing moon had already faded. The bar stamp’s disappearance emphasized how alone she was. A prickle of Titus’s presence in her mind reassured her.
“Not that. You went to a nightclub in a sweatshirt? That’s not a good way to seduce information out of someone.”
“I wasn’t there to seduce anyone, Frankie. I was wet and got cold. Besides, buying a souvenir allowed me to check out the shop.” Alessia faked a yawn. “I’m so tired. Could we go home now?”
Frankie opened the passenger door for her.
Alessia would rather have ridden in the backseat, but she didn’t suggest that.
When Frankie was pissed, he was dangerous.
He touched her in the guise of helping her settle into her seat, and her skin crawled.
Alessia couldn’t help but compare the impact of Titus’s caresses versus Frankie’s clammy skin on hers.
Gritting her teeth, she didn’t shy from him and pretended she didn’t notice or mind.
When he closed her door, she shrank back against the luxurious leather seat, not relaxing around the predatory man but glad to be free of him.
A shadow of movement along the side of the buildings caught her attention. Glowing red eyes flashed. Was that some kind of animal? Her instincts told her to be careful—not to draw Frankie’s attention to that spot. Alessia stopped herself from leaning forward to peer out the windshield.
Titus?
Be safe, Little mate. I will see you at two.