“I’m not nearly done with you, baby,” I growled as I grabbed her hips and gently, but firmly, pushed her back down onto the chair.
My phone vibrated in my pocket once again, and I almost ignored it, but I didn’t want to miss the call if it was Dash with news from his interrogation.
“Stay put,” I ordered as I yanked out my cell. A glance at the screen showed Dash’s number, so I stood and walked to the patio doors as I answered.
“Yeah?”
“Done with that motherfucker,” he spat. “Didn’t seem like he knew anything about Alyssa.”
“Find out his interest in Alyssa?”
“He thought she was the one who called in the tip about his brother.”
I yanked out the bun on my head and ran a hand through my hair. “Doesn’t mean Alyssa is off the hook,” I grunted adamantly. “Still needs to be looked after.”
“I suppose,” Dash agreed. Then he was silent for a few beats before asking, “Change your plan of just keepin’ eyes on her?”
Fuck, yeah. I didn’t want anyone’s eyes on her but mine—I didn’t trust anyone else to protect her. Besides that, I had my other plans for her…ones that involved her screaming my name in ecstasy while I planted my seed inside her. I didn’t explain any of that to Dash, though.
I snarled, “Just get someone to dig into those shitheads and find out if cops were taking a cut. I’ve got Alyssa handled.”
“I’m not a child to be handled!” Alyssa snapped as she jumped up from the chair again.
I turned around to glare at her and put my phone against my chest to muffle my response. “You may not be a child, baby,” I grunted in a low, gritty tone. “But you obviously don’t know how to stay out of trouble. So yeah, you need your man to handle shit. Now, sit your ass back down in that chair, or I will tie you to the fucking bed.”
Shock and desire flitted across her face before she scowled at me adorably and plopped back down.
When I put the phone back to my ear, Dash was silent, and I had no doubt that he was suppressing laughter. Jackass. “Have someone text me when they know something,” I grunted before hanging up.
4
Alyssa
After listening to Garrison’s side of his phone call, I kind of got why people raved about how awesome angry sex was. I was super pissed that he had talked about me like I was a child but still incredibly aware of how turned on I was. My panties almost spontaneously combusted when he’d threatened to tie me to the bed.
If I ever had any hope of something happening between us, I needed him to see me as a woman, not a kid who needed to be looked after. And I was also beyond irritated that nobody seemed to appreciate the role I had played in getting a human trafficker off the streets.
When he dropped his phone on the side table, I jumped up again. He glanced at the chair, sighing in exasperation, and I planted my fists on my hips. “Just because I’m younger than you doesn’t mean I’m weaker. My dad taught me how to look after myself.”
“Not good enough. Someone put a trace on the last email you sent to Mac, and two of the douchebags that hung out with Leon at the crack house were talking all kinds of shit about you,” he growled as he prowled toward me. “If your dad had done his job right, you would’ve known better than to land your eighteen-year-old ass in the crosshairs of some seriously fucked-up guys.”
I was freaked out to learn that one of the human traffickers might be looking for me, but I felt safe with Garrison.
What did bother me was how he’d brought how old I was into this. Again. There was no way he didn’t feel the chemistry between us, and I couldn’t help but worry that he mentioned it as a reminder to himself. “Age is just a number.”
“You couldn’t be more wrong, baby.” He moved close enough for me to feel the heat coming off his large body. “There’s a world of difference between all the shit I’ve seen during my years and what you’ve experienced in the short amount of time you’ve been alive.”
I jutted my chin out and narrowed my eyes. “Just because you’ve had more time to do stuff doesn’t make you the boss of me.”
“But what if I want it to?” he rasped, pinching my chin between his thumb and forefinger as he tilted my head farther back.
My breath caught in my lungs as I stared up at him, stunned by his question. I couldn't possibly have heard him right. “What?”
“You damn well heard me, Alyssa.” His other hand tangled in my hair at the back of my head. “Someone needs to take you in hand before you get yourself killed.”