“Is this where you live?” she asked breathlessly, a gorgeous smile on her plump lips. Her tone inspired images of heavy breathing and sweaty, writhing bodies.
“No, baby. Just borrowing it from a friend.” The flash of disappointment in her eyes was unexpected, and I filed it away. Had she been anticipating spending time where I lived? I’d seen the attraction burning in her eyes, especially when her cheeks had flamed adorably.
“Oh,” she responded, drawing my attention from my thoughts. “Well, whoever lives here must really love it. I couldn’t dream up a more perfect house on such a beautiful piece of land.”
I wanted to promise to buy her the home. I made excellent money working for Hack and had almost no expenses for the past fifteen years, so I had a very, very nice nest egg. But a house that was sure to be priced in the multimillions was still out of my budget. Perhaps, I could find something similar, though. I’d do anything to put that smile on her face again.
My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I dug it out to see a message from my prez.
Mac: You deal with Bartley’s girl yet?
Me: Working on it.
Mac: She emailed me again this morning, and Hack found a trace on it. Likely that someone is on to her. Put the fear of God into her so she doesn’t get herself killed. Or worse.
Cold seeped into my veins at the thought of some evil son of a bitch getting their hands on my girl. It ignited fury inside me, so my voice was gruffer than I’d intended when I said, “Let’s talk.” I gestured to the doorway that appeared to lead to a comfy family room, but she hesitated just long enough to make me lose my patience.
I closed the distance between us in two strides and tossed her over my shoulder before stalking to an overstuffed chair and dropping her onto it. She bounced once on the thick cushions and glared up at me. “I was going,” she snapped.
“Not fast enough.” I grabbed the matching chair beside her and dragged it around so I could sit facing her.
She folded her arms under her small but mouthwatering tits, lifting them up and nearly distracting me from my anger. Except, mixed with fear, it was too strong to be ignored.
“You’re gonna stop playing amateur sleuth right now, baby. Is that clear?”
“Excuse me?” she huffed, her eyes narrowing.
“Gonna get yourself killed, Alyssa.”
“I can take care of myself.”
I snorted. “If that were true, you’d have told your daddy about the trafficking and butt out after that.”
“He can’t give them what they deserve,” she insisted with a stubborn tilt to her chin. “I couldn’t just stand by and let them get away with what they were doing just because I was too scared to speak up.”
Her courage was admirable, but I didn’t like her lack of self-preservation. I scooted forward until her legs were trapped between mine and bent my torso so that my face was within inches of hers.
“You think you know what you’re risking, but you really have no clue. Too sweet and naïve to even imagine how evil and depraved these people are. Oh, I’m sure Daddy did his best to prepare you, but I doubt he could convince himself to paint you a real picture.”
“I—”
I cut her off before she could argue and piss me off even further. “Do you know what would happen to a little girl like you? Especially one with such a sweet cherry?”
Alyssa’s face flushed, and she squirmed in her chair. I was taken aback by the flare of heat I’d seen in her eyes when I called her a little girl and the reaction that elicited from my cock…interesting.
She licked her lips and asked, “How do you know—?”
“I can practically smell it. The air’s thick with the scent of your innocence.”
She swallowed hard, and her green eyes burned with a desire she probably didn’t understand. But it was obvious by the way her nipples poked through her white blouse and the flush of her skin that her body knew exactly what it wanted. Something I fully intended to give her. After I made sure she wouldn’t do stupid shit anymore.
“I want you to promise me that you’ll stop interfering. You’re in enough of a mess right now, don’t need you makin’ it worse.”
“Um…I’m not a little girl.” She tried to look indignant, but she couldn’t pull it off when she was so obviously turned on. “And I want to help.” She stood and tried to nudge my legs away so she could get out, but I didn’t move a single centimeter. “If that’s all, I’ll just go home now.”
There was a determined glint in her stare, though, and I mentally sighed. She was gonna be a handful. Not that I wasn’t looking forward to the challenge.