CHAPTER6
“Meow?”
Belinda blinked her eyes open at the sound and looked straight into a pair of green eyes. “Hi, Tinkerbell. Did you sleep well?”
The cat rubbed his face against Belinda’s nose in response and began purring.
“I’ll take that for a yes,” Belinda answered with a laugh. “Are you ready to go home?”
Tinkerbell turned and swished his tail regally before jumping off the edge of the bed to land silently on the carpeted floor.
Belinda pushed herself up to sit on the edge of the bed and yawned before getting up. Rubbing a hand through her tousled hair, she followed her evening visitor through the apartment to the balcony door. When she opened it, Tinkerbell waltzed out and turned to meow his thanks before heading toward Pedro’s apartment.
Curious to watch the cat navigate from one balcony to the next, Belinda leaned out and froze.
“Good morning, Little girl. Come out and join me,” Pedro invited. He held a steaming cup of coffee in his hand.
Belinda tried to focus on his face but failed miserably. The allure of his rock-hard body dressed only in low-slung pajama bottoms was too much to resist. Damn! At his chuckle, she realized she had stared for way too long and that she probably looked like a mess. Her hands immediately flew to her hair and she tried to smooth her rumpled locks into place.
“You look adorable, Little one. Come out and chat. I’ll share my coffee,” he offered. “How is your bottom?”
“Sore.” Belinda focused on the railing between them, unable to meet his gaze.
“And your mind?” he probed.
“Better,” she admitted. “I slept really well.”
“I’m glad.”
Walking forward slowly, she attempted to fill the silence that followed. “I should have sent you a message that Tinkerbell was with me,” Belinda apologized.
“No need. I watched him dart into your apartment and knew he planned to snuggle with you last night. I was understandably jealous,” he admitted as he offered her the handle of the large cup.
Automatically, she accepted it and took a sip of the dark, rich coffee. “Mmm! This is amazing. This isn’t the normal coffee stocked in these apartments.”
“It is my own special blend. You have found the first of my faults. I am a coffee snob,” Pedro confessed.
“The first of your faults,” she echoed, unable to hide her curiosity.
“I also suddenly find myself possessive and protective.”
The heated look he gave her left no doubt in her mind that he referred to her as the object of his attention. She looked down at the cup and took another sip to give herself time to think.
“Have you had a Little girl before?” she blurted, darting a look up at his face to judge his reaction. To her surprise, he didn’t look guilty, but sad.
“I have. Do you want to hear about her?” Pedro asked softly.
“I don’t want to, but I think I need to,” she confessed.
“Elizabeth was my first love. Not a schoolboy romance as I was already in my twenties. It was, however, the first time I thought I’d found the woman suited for my desires. She was shy and enjoyed being at home. I met her while investigating a break-in for a major insurance company. An actuary, numbers and risk assessments ruled her life. I wooed her for six months before discovering she was the source of the security risk.”
“Was she really Little?”
“She was. Unfortunately, she needed a different type of Daddy. The shy demeanor covered her deft manipulations and misdeeds. I couldn’t trust her,” Pedro admitted, shaking his head. “Our relationship shook me to my core. I didn’t date for two years after that.”
“Do you think you’ve ever gotten over it?” she asked.
“Oh, yes. I was more angry at myself for being deceived than I was angry she’d hoodwinked me.”