She blinks and hesitates, then answers, “Yes, Daddy. I understand.”
“Good girl.”
She does as I ask the entire drive to my house, and my cock is raging hard and throbbing when we reach my driveway and I punch in the code for the gate to open.
As it swings, I reach over and pull her hand from between her legs, the shimmering juices there glistening in the sun. I bring her fingers to my mouth, feeding the unrelenting hunger I have for her taste.
I moan while driving the car forward, licking each finger clean, then holding her hand as I park in front and turn off the ignition.
When I look over, she is staring out the window, her red lips open. There are vans and work trucks along the other driveway, and that’s only one reason she is here.
“Do you like it?” I ask, and she slowly turns her head so her eyes meet mine.
“Like it?” She laughs. “Is it real? Pinch me. I think I’m dreaming. Who are you?”
“I’m just a man. But I’m a man who now knows what he wants. And I want you.”
I kiss the back of her hand then exit the vehicle, coming around to help her out and guide her by the waist up the steps and into the house. As soon as we step inside, the sounds of the work going on are all around, and the foreman on the job steps out into the hall to greet us.
“Glad you are here; we need to make some decisions.” He extends his hand, which I take and give him a firm shake. When his eyes drift to Esme and I see them flick up and down her body, heat cascades through me and I want to slam him into the wall.
“This is Esme, and she’s here to help me make those decisions.”
He smiles at her, and my rage increases. “Hi there.” He throws the words at her casually, as though he’s entitled to flirt with her. “Didn’t know you had a daughter.” He licks his lips and my hands ball into fists at my sides.
“Esme.” I turn to her, and she looks at me with wide eyes. “Stay right here. I’ll be right back. I need to have a moment,” I growl at the foreman and nod toward the closed door of my office, then walk over and punch in the keycode, expecting him to follow.
As soon as we’re inside, I turn around and slam the door closed.
“Everything okay?” The foreman seems amused.
But I am not.
“No, everything is not fucking okay. You’re going to listen, and then you are going to tell every person on this job what I’m about to tell you. I don’t want anyone’s eyes on her. If anyone needs to speak to her, they'd better show some goddamn respect. Or else they are going to deal with me—and they don’t want to deal with me. Simple. We clear?”
“Yes, sir,” he answers, his jaw muscles going tight. “I’ll spread the word.”
“Good. I’ll be watching.”
We exit the office, and his eyes are on the floor as he slinks down the hall.
“You’re having a lot of work done.” Esme looks at me, and my pulse races at the thought of having her here with me.
“Yes. And I need you to help me make some decisions. I want your opinion. I want you to like the work. I want you to help pick out all the new fixtures and furniture. Paint colors, pillows, everything.”
She looks at me with confusion. “But why?”
“Because it’s what I want. You said you like to decorate.”
She snorts. “For dollhouses and dorm rooms, not this. Vito, this is too much, what if I get it wrong?”
I shake my head and take her arm. “I trust you. I know you’ll get it right. And besides, you can’t possibly make a mistake because...” I fall silent, afraid if I tell her she’s going to be living here, and that whatever she decides will be as much for her as it is for me, I might scare her away.
Instead, I simply smile and place a kiss on her cheek. “They are working on the first floor now. Then, in a couple of weeks when they are done down here, we will work on upstairs.”
7
Esme
VITO OPENS THE DOOR to his office and sets my purse inside before wrapping his arm around my waist to guide me through his house.
House...it’s a palace.
The double staircase inside the front entry is like something out of a movie. The floors are all marble, and the ceilings are so high even my breath echoes. As we pass through a long hall I spot a pool out back that looks big enough to host the Olympics, and if all the grounds I see out there belong to the house, then some countries would be jealous of the amount of land he owns.