Was that a tinge of hope in his voice? Probably just wishful thinking on her part. “I’m fine, Daddy. It was just a shock, you know? I never thought he’d end up dead.”
“He probably pissed off the wrong people with that smart mouth of his. Put this all out of your mind, midgie. He doesn’t deserve another second of your thoughts.”
If only it were that simple “You’re right. He doesn’t. ‘Night, Daddy.”
“‘Night, Tilly.”
Chapter Three
Tilly opened the door to her apartment on Saturday night with what she hoped was a convincing smile. The look of concern that crossed Dylan’s face told her that she’d failed to fool him.
“What’s wrong?” he said, stepping inside. She moved back to let him in.
“Wrong? What do you mean?”
He clasped her shoulders and turned her to face him, staring down at her with a mix of concern and firmness.
“You’re pale and you look stressed. Haven’t you been sleeping?”
She cleared her throat. “I’ve had a bit of trouble.”
He just waited quietly. Tilly took a deep breath. She could tell him some of it. Maybe it would help scrub the images she had in her head of Javier being stabbed.
“Shouldn’t we get to the club?” she asked.
Dylan shook his head. “That can wait. What’s going on?”
“Last night I found out that someone I knew died.”
He drew in a sharp breath before taking a seat on the sofa and pulling her onto his lap. “Tilly, I’m so sorry. That’s awful. Was it someone close? What happened?”
She shook her head. “We weren’t close. Not anymore. It was my ex.”
“Your ex? The one who abused you?” he asked sharply. “He was a Dom?”
“I’ve never dated a Dom. Rory started the rumor that I was abused by my former Dom.”
“Why would she do that?”
Because she was a complete bitch. Tilly bit back that answer. Rory had been kicked out of the club and Tilly had been grateful to see her go.
“I think she was hoping to scare everyone away from playing with me. If they pitied me, then they wouldn’t be interested in me.”
And it had worked, to some extent. Some of the Doms had steered clear of her once they’d heard the rumor.
“Why didn’t you try to dispute the rumor?”
“Ever tried to fight a rumor?” she asked. “Usually it just makes everything worse. I figured if I just left it alone then it would lose steam and people would forget. My roommate, Taylor, introduced me to BDSM. He was a good friend, but that’s all. Neither of us were looking for anything more. When he moved to Dallas, I was at a bit of a loss. That’s when I heard about the opportunity at Club Decadence.”
His gaze narrowed. “When you first came to the club you were so quiet and shy. Scared. You were friendly with everyone, but if someone tried to get too close, you would shut down. That’s why I waited so long to ask you out. I figured you needed some time after getting out of an abusive relationship.”
“You should have seen me when I first moved here. I was scared of my own shadow. My ex was very controlling. We started going out when I was seventeen. As soon as I graduated high school, I moved in with him. The two years I lived with him were terrible.”
“He hit you?” Dylan’s face grew dark.
She shook her head. “No, he never hit me.”
Dylan ran his hand up and down her back. “Tell me what he did.”