by Stella Moore
For the first time in the year she’d been working there, MaryAnn grinned. Not just the polite, timid smile Olivia was used to, but a full-on grin that lit up her entire face. “I have a date tomorrow night.”
“Oh! How lovely.” Genuinely excited for her, Olivia leaned against the front desk. “First date?”
“Third, actually.”
“Third, huh?” Looking around to be sure they were alone, Olivia dropped her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “Well, let me know if you need me to cover for you with James on Monday.”
“Oh, I’m sure that won’t be necessary. I don’t drink much and I’ll have all day Sunday to rest.”
Olivia stared at her, certain she was being played. But MaryAnn’s expression was open and honest, without a hint of guile. “Right. Well, have a good weekend, MaryAnn.”
“You too, Mrs. Monroe!”
Shaking her head, she pushed through the front doors. And got her second shock of the evening when she stepped outside and found James waiting for her. Holding a giant bouquet of flowers, he was leaning against the hood of a sleek, sexy convertible.
“Run away with me, Olivia,” he called, gesturing to the car.
“What is all this?” she asked as she slowly descended the stairs in front of their office.
His grin flashed, quick and boyish, a grin she hadn’t seen in far too long. “I thought we could get away for the weekend. We’ve had a rough week.”
Stopping in front of him, she tilted her face up for a kiss. Her heart sighed when he obliged, laying his lips on hers in a kiss so gentle and sweet it reminded her of when they’d first started dating.
“How about it, beautiful?” he asked when he lifted his head. “Run away with me for a couple of days.”
“I don’t know.” Pretending to think about it, she tapped a finger on her chin. “My boss is kind of a tyrant and I have tons of work to do.”
“I think I can smooth things over with the tyrant. Here.”
He handed her the flowers and she buried her face in the colorful bouquet. “They’re gorgeous. You know you didn’t have to do this.”
“I know, baby. I wanted to.” Another quick kiss, then he gave her a playful swat. “Get in the car so we can get on the road!”
With a squeal of delight, she ran around the side of the car and tossed her bag in the backseat. She hopped over the door, something she hadn’t done since high school, and immediately buckled her seatbelt.
“Where are we going, Daddy?”
“It’s a surprise. Here.” Leaning over her, he opened the glove compartment and pulled out a pair of sunglasses.
“Oh, my God. Oh, my God.” She stroked the rose gold frames with reverence. “The Tom Fords I’ve been drooling over. Oh, my God. But you said they were too expensive.”
“I said you couldn’t buy them. I never said you couldn’t have them.”
“That’s a distinction without a difference,” she said, slipping them on and immediately flipping the visor down to admire her reflection. In the waning sunlight, they were even more gorgeous than they had been in the store.
“Maybe. Do you like them?”
“I love them.” As much as she loved the surprises, she couldn’t help but feel there was something she was missing. “James, what’s going on? Is everything okay?”
“Everything is fine.” He slipped his hand into hers and lifted his fingers to his lips. “Can’t a daddy spoil his little girl every now and again?”
“Spoiling me is letting me have ice cream for dinner. This is... extravagant.”
“Livvy, just relax. I thought we could use a quick vacation and I wanted to buy you something pretty. End of story.”
“Okay.” It most definitely was not the end of the story. But she also knew that tone of voice; her daddy was done talking about it and if she kept pressing, she’d just end up getting in trouble. Not wanting to ruin their weekend before it even started, she let it go.
Since he was intent on spoiling her, she took the liberty of hooking her phone up to the car’s Bluetooth so she could blare her ‘Road Trip’ playlist. James shook his head, but she caught him singing along with nearly every song.
They passed their usual exit and she turned to him, raising her voice to be heard over the music and the wind. “Aren’t we going home?”
“Nope. Already packed your bags.”
“But what if you forgot something?”
“I didn’t. Just relax and enjoy the drive, Livvy.”
Oh, well. If he forgot something, it would just give her an excuse to go shopping once they got where they were going. She settled back against the soft-as-butter leather seats and sang along with the playlist at the top of her lungs while they drove.
Their destination became clear about twenty minutes into the drive, and Olivia bounced excitedly in her seat. “The beach? Are we going to the beach?”
James glanced over and winked. “I thought we could check out some of the houses I’ve been looking at.”
“We haven’t been to the beach in forever!”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
It wasn’t the words so much as the tone that had her looking over. “I didn’t mean it like that, Daddy. We’ve just been busy.”
“I should never be too busy to take my little one to her favorite place.”
“Well, we’re going now, so that’s all that matters. Can we go to that little seafood place we like tonight?”
“Whatever you want, Livvy.”
Satisfied with his answer, she settled in again. The drive only took a couple of hours, and they didn’t talk much. He seemed happy to let her control the radio, which hardly ever happened, so she took advantage and played all of her favorite songs.
When they pulled up in front of the huge blue house, Olivia gasped with delight. “Isn’t this one of the ones you showed me the other night?”
“Yup. The owners are still renting it out while they’re trying to sell and they happened to have an opening this weekend. I thought it would give us a chance to see if we really liked it.”
“I love it! Let’s make an offer.”
James laughed and shut off the car engine. “Let’s take a look around before we make any decisions, Livvy.”
“Do you have the key? Can I go inside?”
“There’s a code in the glove compartment. Go ahead, I’ll grab the bags.”
She popped open the compartment and grabbed the paper. The code was only four digits, something she wasn’t keen on. If they bought the property, she’d see if they could change it to something longer, or if she’d need to get the locks changed out. If they needed new locks, that was several hundred dollars they’d need to consider when negotiating the price.
The squeal she let out when the door opened wasn’t in the least bit dignified, but she didn’t care. The foyer was breathtaking, with tile floors and a high ceiling. Then again, as much as she loved that initial ‘wow’ factor, the high ceilings meant high energy bills. Something else to consider.
Olivia wandered from room to room, noting where updates were needed and cooing over amenities she liked. The Jacuzzi in the master bath was a particular favorite. Maybe she could talk her daddy into a sexy bath later.
James was dropping their bags on the floor of the master bedroom when she walked back out of the bedroom. When he opened his arms, she ran to him, nearly knocking him over when she threw her arms around his neck. “It’s amazing! There are a few upgrades I’d like to make if we bought it, but nothing we couldn’t hold off on if we needed to. Did you see this view?”
Grabbing his hand, she dragged him to the French doors she’d left standing open. The deck looked out over the ocean, with nothing but pale sand between them and the crashing waves. “It’s perfect,” she said with a sigh.
“I’m glad you like it. We can put an offer in tonight.”
“What?” She nearly elbowed him in the face when she spun to face him. “We can what?”
Grinning, he pulled her in
to his arms. “I’ve been thinking about this for a couple of months, and this place in particular has been calling our names. I wanted to be sure we could make it happen before I got your hopes up. I talked to Bryant and he loves the idea of getting a place together. He said he trusted me, and I happen to know the woman listing the house so I told her we were interested. She has the paperwork ready to go as soon as you say go.”
If his arms hadn’t been around her, she very well might have toppled over the railing of the deck. “Are you serious? But we haven’t applied for financing or, or, or any of the million other things we have to do. And this is the first house we’ve looked at.”
“Between us and Bryant, we’d be paying cash. He’s putting up about seventy percent of it, so he’ll make the most off the rentals. But at least this way we wouldn’t have a second mortgage to worry about. And if you want, Melanie is more than willing to show us a few other listings we’ve discussed tomorrow.”
“I think we should at least look at our options. We’re talking about a huge investment. Where the hell would Bryant even get that kind of cash?”
“You know how he is. He lives well below his means. And he’s had a few lucrative cases lately.”
“But still.” Running the numbers through her head, she nibbled at her lower lip. “I saw how much they were asking for, James. Are you sure he can afford it?”
“We’ll lowball it. They’re asking too much and the house has been on the market for almost a year. Between that and paying cash, I think we can cut the price down significantly.”
She let the worry over the finances and the dozens of other details recede to the back of her mind and smiled up at him. “Have I told you lately you’re a genius?”
“You haven’t.”
Looking around, she took a step backward. There were houses on either side of them, but the deck was fairly secluded. And there was nobody on the beach. With a grin, she sank to her knees and reached for his belt.
“Someone’s feeling naughty.”
“I just want to show my daddy how much I appreciate him.”
“Well, I’m certainly not going to stop you.”
Laughing, she pulled the belt free and unsnapped his khakis. By the time she pulled his cock from his pants, he was rock hard. Lowering her head, she sucked just the tip between her parted lips. When he groaned in appreciation, she opened her mouth and took him in as deep as he would go.
“Fuck. That feels amazing, baby. Don’t stop.”
She had no intentions of stopping until she’d swallowed every last drop. He’d taught her how to please him early on, and she used that knowledge to her advantage. Running her tongue along the sensitive underside of his cock, she looked up and met his hungry gaze. Keeping her eyes on him, she opened her mouth and took all of him inside of her mouth. She focused on relaxing and breathing through her nose even as her throat spasmed around his cock. His hand gripped her hair when she held him there for a count of one, two, three.
“Goddamn, Livvy.”
There was nothing more powerful in her world than the knowledge that she could bring him such pleasure. Just her. There was nobody else, and there would never be anybody else, who would give him this. She savored that feeling as she sucked and licked him almost to completion.
“Close your eyes.”
The gruff order was immediately followed by his hand tightening in her hair, and his cock sliding free from her mouth. Even knowing what was coming, she obeyed. Moments later, her cheeks were splattered with a hot, sticky liquid.
“You look so pretty with Daddy’s cum all over your face, little one. Open your eyes.”
She looked up at him, and his grin was worth every bit of stickiness coating her face. “I really like this house, Daddy.”
He laughed and helped her to her feet. “Me too, little one. Let’s get you cleaned up and we can go to dinner.”
* * *
An hour later, she was clean and fresh again, and dressed to kill. James had packed one of his favorite dresses, a short pink number that left little to the imagination. Studying herself in the mirror, Olivia tugged on the hem of the dress, turning side to side and picking out all of her flaws.
“I can’t wear this. I’ve gained like fifty pounds since I bought it.”
“You have not.” His image, as handsome as the day they met, joined hers in the reflection. “You look incredible.”
“I look like a whale.”
As soon as the words left her lips, she knew she was going to regret them. In the mirror, she watched his eyes harden, and that telltale muscle tic in his jaw.
“Olivia Jane Monroe. What did you just say?”
Shit. “I’m sorry, Daddy, I didn’t mean it.”
“Bend over. You know the rule.”
“But Daddy, I said I was sorry!”
“Am I the person you’re supposed to be apologizing to? Bend over.”
Pouting, she bent at the waist and placed her hands on her knees. She lifted her eyes to meet her own gaze in the mirror, then looked up to where he was standing behind her. A soft whimper escaped as he slowly removed the thick leather encircling his waist. “Do I have to do this?” she whined. “It’s silly.”
“It’s not silly. You know I don’t allow anyone to talk about my wife that way, including my wife.”
She watched, helpless, as he lifted his folded belt and snapped it against her bottom three times in quick succession.
“Apologize.”
Resigned to her fate, she shifted her attention back to her own reflection. “I’m sorry I called you a whale.” Mirror Olivia winced when the belt cracked against her bottom another three times. “I’m sorry I called you a whale.” The final three had tears stinging her eyes. “I’m sorry I called you a whale,” she whispered.
“Good girl. Come here.”
When she straightened, James wrapped his arms around her, rocking her slightly side to side. “I haven’t had to do that in a long time. Is everything okay?”
“Yeah. It’s just with everything with us the past few months, and now with this murderer, I haven’t been watching my diet and I’ve gained some weight. I don’t like the way my clothes fit.”
“Then, when we get home, you can work on it. But this weekend is for us, and the next time I hear something negative from you, you’ll be making your apologies with a mouth full of soap. Understood?”
“Yes, Daddy.”
“Good girl. Ready for dinner?”
“I guess.”
Cupping her cheek with his hand, he tilted her face up so she was forced to look at him. “You look beautiful, little one. I promise. Would Daddy lie to you?”
She smiled. “No, but you might be a tiny bit biased.”
“Biased? Because I’m married to the most beautiful girl in the whole wide world?”
Her insides went to complete mush at the ridiculous compliment, but she rolled her eyes for form. “Haha. I’m ready if you’re done sweet-talking me, old man.”
“Oh, you’re going to pay for that, you little brat.”
His fingers drilled into her sides, making her squeal with laughter. “Daddy, stop! I take it back, you’re not old!”
“That’s more like it. Let’s go.”
Linking her fingers with his, they left the house together. They left the top down on the way to the restaurant, and Olivia didn’t even mind the wind tugging at her carefully styled hair.
“We should get one of these,” she said when they parked.
His eyes were wide with surprise when he looked over at her. “A convertible? No.”
“But we need one! How can we have a beach house without a convertible?”
“Livvy, we already have two cars. We don’t need a third.”
Changing her approach, she shifted in her seat to face him and ran a hand up his thigh. “James. I really love this car. Have I ever mentioned how much sports cars turn me on?”
“Nice try, little girl. We’re not buying a car right now.”
With a defeated sigh, she pulled away. “Can’t blame a girl for trying.”
“I suppose I can’t. Unless a certain little girl is going to pout about being told no.”
“I might.”
“Well, little girls who pout don’t get dessert.”
“Pout? Who’s pouting? I’m not pouting.”
James laughed and leaned over for a hard, quick kiss. “God, I love you.”
Chapter Eighteen
James watched, growing more uncomfortable by the second watching his gorgeous wife enjoy her dessert. She gave the hot-fudge-coated spoon a long, slow lick, and he was reminded of their little episode on the back deck earlier. It was taking every bit of self-control he had to not drag her out of the restaurant and back to the house.
But he had plans for his girl. It had been too long since he’d really spoiled her, and with all the madness surrounding them, he wanted her to have some time to enjoy herself.
“This is incredible. I always forget how much I love this place.” Her eyes opened, mischief twinkling in the brown. “We should pick up some chocolate sauce on our way back to the house.”
If his pants got any tighter, he was going to be in serious trouble. “We can do that. But we’re not heading back yet. How about a walk on the boardwalk?”
Excitement lit up her face like Fourth of July. “Really? All the way to the end?”
The end of the boardwalk housed a small carnival of sorts, a spot he knew she loved. “Absolutely.”
“Oh.” Her face fell into a pout and once again he was reminded of the way her lips had looked wrapped around his cock. Lifting one of her long, shapely legs, she examined the skinny heels he’d packed for her. “I can’t walk that far in these.”
As much as he loved the way her legs looked in the heels, she was right. But a good daddy always came prepared. “Lucky for you, I tossed a pair of sandals in the backseat while you were getting dressed.”
“Then why are we still sitting here? Let’s go, old man!”
Since he’d already paid the bill, James stood and held out a hand for her. Walking out of the restaurant, he put his head down so only she could hear. “Call me old man again, and I’ll be turning that pretty little bottom red when we get back to the house.”
