Chapter 2 #2
There are questions about whether she has social media, which Titan flagged. He found an account for a D. Placer, but the location lists DC instead of Tennessee. There are only a few pictures, and none of them show her face. The file does say she’s a twin, so this could be her sister.
There are also some posts on Reddit about a reality show she was on that make my blood run cold. People were vicious, and the threats scare the shit out of me.
“Cancel all my meetings for the evening.” I walk out of the office and head down to the parking garage.
My driver is already waiting for me, but I shake my head at him. I had a dinner meeting planned with Brock, or Cronus as he’s called. He’s in town to discuss some contracts. I help him with legal matters anytime he needs it, and he does the same for me.
“Sorry, Totten. I’m going to do this on my own. You can head to the property. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.” Totten lives in a small cabin near my house, so he’s close by if I need him.
“Yes, sir. Tell Cronus I said hello.”
I don’t need a personal bodyguard all the time. I’m trained to fight and protect myself, but it’s still nice to have a driver and that option if I need it. Cronus found Totten for me about ten years ago when I had issues with a woman stalking me. She’s moved on now, and I kept Totten around.
“Not going to see him either. I rescheduled for tomorrow. I have something more important to check on right now.”
He gives me the look he usually does when he’s considering disobeying my wishes, but he knows better than to cross me when I’m in a mood. My girl is alone, and I’m going to check on her.
I head to my personal Range Rover parked beside the one Totten is in. Climbing behind the wheel, I drop Daphne’s file onto the passenger seat and then make my way out of the parking garage. According to the schedule Titan sent me, she’s off work now.
I pull up to her building and park near her Jeep. A bumper sticker on the back window says she likes her Bulldogs English. I notice the 4x4 package on the Jeep, and I pick the file up to look through it again.
Part of the file said she has memberships to several national parks and spends her free time rock climbing, hiking, and mountain biking. I spend a lot of time outdoors too. I hike all the trails around my home, and every summer I head to Colorado to hike the land around my property in Vail.
Movement at the entrance catches my attention, and my body freezes.
Daphne steps outside in pajamas with two dogs on leashes.
Her hair is piled up, exposing the long, slender column of her neck.
One dog strains against the leash, anxious to get going, while the other keeps pace beside her.
She clicks on a flashlight looped around her wrist and heads toward the darkened park.
“Fuck this,” I growl and climb out of the car.
I follow behind Daphne at a distance. She’s giggling and talking to her dogs as if they are human.
“Auntie Delly will be coming to see her babies next week. Are you excited? Ugh, I can’t believe I’m still thinking about him. Damn freaking wine.” She wobbles a bit, and that’s all it takes for me to decide to walk up to her.
Before I reach her, I notice a man walking the trail, taking her in. He passes her, turning his head to watch her ass, and I shoulder check him.
“She’s taken, asshole,” I grumble as I walk up to her.
“Little girl, what do you think you’re doing?” I say as I wrap my arm around her waist.
Her dogs clue in on me immediately. One growls low in its throat while the other rubs against my leg.
“Hey!” Daphne reacts too late and holds up a taser.
I turn it away from both of us and take it from her hand.
“Dare, what are you doing here?”
She shortens my name, and I love it. Only my sister calls me by a nickname, D, but I like Dare.
“I’m here to make sure assholes like the one who just walked by you don’t get any ideas about my girl. Now let’s walk these two and get you back inside before you get arrested for indecent exposure.”
“Indecent exposure? My bikini covers less than this. Women wear sets like this out and about all the time.”
“Well, they aren’t mine. You won’t be doing that.”
“Excuse me,” she says. I love the fire in her right now and know it’s because she’s a teeny bit tipsy. “Back off, or my dogs will attack you.” She huffs.
I look down at the two beasts staring up at me. Both have the characteristic wrinkles and squashed-in faces. Each is different in color and temperament.
“I’m warning you, they will attack,” she says.
I turn to look at her and see she’s holding in a laugh. I can’t stop myself. I squeeze her middle as I pull her in close.
“Little girl, they would sooner lick me to death than attack me, and we both know that.”
I turn her up a trail that is better lit, and the dogs start walking ahead, looking for spots to do their business.
“Ugh, girls, why don’t you protect Mommy?” she asks them before she turns to look at me again. “Why are you here?”
“I told you already.”
“How do you know where I live? And don’t you have some red carpet to grace with a bombshell movie star?”
I press my lips together at her obvious jealousy. As soon as she realizes what she’s said, she face-plants into my chest.
“Ignore me. I’m pathetic and a loser nerd.”
“No, you aren’t, baby.” I slide a hand down her back until I encounter the bare flesh of her thighs. My fingers flex. She moans slightly, and I’m almost lost to her. “Come on, that’s enough.”
I break contact, sure I’m going to lose my mind as my cock spurts a bit of pre-cum just from the feel of her soft skin and her moan.
With her hand in mine, I pull her and the dogs back toward her building.
I need to explain some things to her, but I’m fairly certain she’s not ready to hear what I have to say.
She follows along until we reach the building, then pauses. I watch the confusion in her eyes as she looks down at her dogs, then back up at me before focusing on the entrance.
“Come on, babe, let me in.” I direct her, and she puts in the code.
As we make our way to the elevator, her steps slow and drag. She’s stalling, but I get her inside, and she pushes the button for the fourth floor before turning to me.
“I don’t know you, really. You’re basically stalking me, and I’m not sure I should let you in.” Her words are quiet.
Part of me thinks she didn’t mean to say them out loud. I pull her into my body and plaster her against me as I tilt her chin to look up at me.
“Little girl, you’re going to get to know me.
I’m not going to hurt you. I just want to make sure you’re safely in your home before I take off.
I also want you to know I’m not a playboy or player.
” I pause for a moment, trying to decide how I want to explain the next part.
“Yes, I did go out with several different women at a time, but they all knew the rules. It wasn’t a relationship.
It was just for events, because some required I bring a date.
Now I don’t attend those functions, or I go alone, because no woman until you has appealed to me. ”
“Why me?” Her voice is soft and vulnerable.
“Seeing you today lit a fire in me I’ve never felt before. I know you feel it too. I can feel you trembling even now.”
The elevator doors slide open, and I wait for her to lead the way.
She pauses and looks over her shoulder at me.
I know she felt the evidence of my desire against her body when I held her.
She swings her hips as she walks away from me, and I shake my head, a smirk forming at my lips.
The sexy vixen knows exactly what she’s doing to me. She’s going to keep me on my toes.
When we reach her door, I crowd in behind her as a guy walks down the hall toward the elevator. I make sure he knows who she belongs to in that moment.
She inputs the code into the door, and it takes her a couple of tries with me as close as I am. When it finally opens, I follow her inside.
The door clicks shut behind us, and it’s like the starting bell of race has rung.
She drops the leashes and comes straight for me as I pull her into my body.
Pressing Daphne’s back against the wall, I hoist her up my body and she wraps around me as we kiss.
It’s urgent and sloppy, teeth gnashing, but it’s one of the hottest moments of my life.
She moves against me as her hands tug at my hair and neck.
I have one hand on her bare ass under her shorts. My other hand cups her breast.
Daphne’s taste and scent overwhelm my senses, making me quickly lose control. One of her dogs barks, and I pull away, both of us breathing heavily. I press my forehead against hers.
“Little girl, we have to stop, or I’m going to take you right here against this wall.”
Her body jolts, and her eyes flare wide. “I’m a virgin.”
“Fucking perfect.” I kiss her nose and slowly let her drift down my body. She immediately bends down to unleash her dogs. “Next time you leave the house, you better have fucking panties on and more clothes than you do now.”
She snaps upright at my words. “I don’t have to listen to you. My own father knows better than to tell Delly or me what to do,” she says, all sass.
I can’t stop myself. I spin her to face the wall and prop her hips back. Then I smack her ass firmly.
“Don’t you sass me, little girl. I’m in charge.
” I have no clue where this part of me has come from, but she moans, and I watch her fingers flex against the wall.
Leaning into her body, I nip her ear before gently sucking the skin into my mouth.
“Are you soaked for me?” My voice is rough with need for her.
She nods.
“Words, Daphne.”
“Yes.”
Fuck. I groan and step back from her, pulling her with me. I guide her into her bedroom and walk to the bed. Pulling back the pink comforter, I pat the mattress.
“Get into bed. We’ll be together soon, little girl, but until then I’ll show you I’m here to take care of you.”
She nods and climbs into bed, slipping off the cardigan that was barely covering her. With everything in me, I tuck her in, then lean down and kiss her forehead. If I take her lips again, I’ll end up taking her, and it won’t be soft and sweet like she deserves.
I turn off the light and step out of her room. Her dogs are settled on their beds near hers. In the kitchen, I fill a glass of water and grab a couple acetaminophen tablets before heading back to her room.
Her eyes are already closed. She’s softly snoring, telling me just how tired and tipsy she really is. I set everything on the nightstand and slip back out of the room.
After a quick check of the condo to make sure it’s secure, I let myself out and lock it with the keypad.