Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 72028 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72028 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
“She was being slut shamed?” It was enough to make him see red, but he was going to hold it together because he was so close to finding out her name.
He would go to Dee and ask her why she’d left. He would ask if he could hold her. He would prove to her he wasn’t like those other blokes, and they wouldn’t step foot in The Hideout again. Even if it cut him off from his only friend.
“No,” Carys said quickly. “It’s not like that. Look, I can’t say who it is. I can only tell you from what I understand every Dom there tries to watch out for her.”
“Watch out for who?” a sweet voice said from the kitchen. “Did someone already make toast?”
Aidan sat straight up at the sound. He leaned over, his voice going low. “That’s my sister. We’ll talk about this later. I promise I’ll get Carys to tell me what’s happening, but not around Daisy. If Daisy finds out some sub is in trouble, she’ll decide to intervene and then the club will burn down.”
“I’ll help you, Daisy.” Carys stood very quickly.
“She means well, but… She can be a lot,” Aidan whispered.
Then Daisy O’Donnell was standing there looking adorably sexy in a pencil skirt and flouncy top. She was not the awkward girl he’d known years before. She’d bloomed.
And she was also Dee.
“It’s okay. I think I’ll get breakfast at the office. Aunt Charlotte always has something in the break room,” she said, and then seemed to realize he was there. Her eyes flared with recognition, and he watched as her breath hitched and for a mere moment there was longing in her eyes. Then her expression cleared, and she obviously chose her path. “Hello. You must be Nathan. It’s nice to see you again.”
It was odd. There was anger simmering below his surface, but there was also something else. Excitement. An edge of danger.
Damn. He kind of felt alive. He wanted to see how far the little liar was going to take it. “You, too, Dais. Although I will admit, it feels like yesterday.”
“Oh, shit,” Carys said under her breath.
“Really? It feels like forever to me,” Daisy said with a smile. “So you’re working at MT now?”
Aidan seemed happy he wasn’t pushing it. “He is, but he’s going to be on a different floor. Hey, since you’re going to the same place, do you mind driving her in? It would save Carys and I twenty minutes.”
Daisy’s eyes went super wide. Like he’d only seen those eyes on Pokémon before. “Oh, I wouldn’t want to bother him.”
“Of course.” He would love to get her alone. “We’re going to the same place.”
She just didn’t know the place they were going was right back to bed. Or a desktop. Or a broom closet. He was flexible.
Did she seriously think he wouldn’t recognize her? The mask had barely concealed some of her face. It hadn’t covered her plump lips or the stubborn chin she lifted right before she said something bratty and sassy. It hadn’t done a damn thing to cover all that fucking hair he wanted laid out on a bed again.
“I don’t…” Carys began.
But Nate was already on his feet. “It would be a pleasure. I’m sure you two need to get to work, and it’s been an age since I got to talk to Aidan’s sister. The last time I saw you I think you were pretending to be someone you weren’t.”
“Uh, I did a lot of pretending. I was a kid.”
“I do believe you and Elodie were pretending to be pop stars.” The memory pierced through him. His sister was much younger, and Daisy had been sweet to play with her. Daisy had been the kid who took care of the other kids, who organized adventures for the little kids at The Garden so the older kids could play video games.
Obvious relief flooded through her, and she proved she did not have any instinct for when a predator was stalking her, planning on eating her alive. “Oh, yes. That. We had fun. I would love to hear how she’s doing, but I don’t want to be a bother. I can grab an Uber.”
That wasn’t happening. He knew why she was going in.
Daisy O’Donnell needed a bodyguard.
He happened to be a bodyguard.
The math was simple. One plus one was going to equal that little brat in his bed. “Oh, I’m sure your father would have a problem with you being alone. Come along. We should get in so you can meet your new bodyguard.”
“I don’t…” Carys began.
“No, you don’t”—Nate moved into Daisy’s space—“have to do a thing. I’m a trained guard. I’m going to the same place as a young lady who needs protection. I’ll deliver her straight to her dad.”
“You will?” Daisy asked, looking around like someone would save her.