There. That sounded reasonable.
“He sounds like a piece of work.” Ink wrapped his hand around the back of her neck. It was a move that smacked of possession. She felt a shiver work its way through her. “I’d never leave my family. When I make a commitment, it’s for life. I take care of those that belong to me.”
God, how she wished she could be his. She’d gotten a taste and greedily, she wanted more. She wanted it all.
He can never be yours.
“What about your mother? She died?”
“Breast cancer. When I was twenty.”
“I’m sorry, babe.”
She turned to face him; aware his lips were mere inches from hers.
“It was a long time ago,” she whispered.
“I want to kiss you,” he told her a low voice. “But not here. I want to go somewhere more private.”
“I…I…more private?” What was happening? This was only their second date. Well, technically. It wasn’t like she hadn’t known him for weeks.
His mouth brushed hers. “Trust me. Say yes.”
Trust him? She couldn’t trust him. Could she?
You trust him more than anyone else and you still need to find a way of warning him.
He blew softly into her ear. “Don’t tense up. I just want to talk. In private.”
She swallowed heavily. What did that mean? What did he want to talk about that he couldn’t say to her here?
Then his mouth moved down her neck and she wondered if she really cared. What did she have to lose? Isn’t this what Forrest wanted? For her to get close to Ink? And even though she had no intention of sleeping with him, it would give her a chance to leave him a note.
“Please. For Daddy.”
Shit. He knew just what to say.
She nodded. He smiled. But for some reason it didn’t seem to reach his eyes.
* * *
He couldn’t believe he’d gotten her to agree so easily. He’d been prepared to use threats. But she’d caved. Almost too easily. He was still suspicious of her. Of what the fuck was going on.
Part of him wanted to get far away from her.
The other part wanted to pull her over his knee, spank her then tie her to his bed until she swore to never lie to him again.
That latter part was winning.
He hadn’t wasted time in getting her out of the restaurant, walking her up half a block to the hotel where rooms had been booked. They’d used his name for the one he’d take her to first in case anyone managed to check the booking system. The other rooms were under false identities. He’d already checked in and had a key card.
The short walk was to give his guys a chance to see if anyone followed them.
His phone buzzed. Brody had already checked his phone to make sure there were no bugs.
He hustled her into the room, shocked again that she’d come so easily. But she looked kind of dazed as if her mind was somewhere else.
“Ink, I—”
“You look beautiful tonight, baby.” He couldn’t call her brown eyes. That name had meant something. He couldn’t use it until he found out what was going on.
How she’d used him.
“Wanted to fuck you from the moment you walked into the restaurant.”
She took in a sharp breath, looking at him in surprise.
“Cat got your tongue? Or is it just that you want something to fill that mouth up?” he murmured to her. “Take your clothes off.”
She shook her head. “I, ahh, I thought you wanted to talk?” She was looking around the room in shock, as though she couldn’t work out how she’d gotten there. He needed to get her to go along with him.
He moved to the table, picked up the notebook that had been left there for him. He wrote a quick note.
Are you bugged?
Her mouth dropped open.
“Come on, baby. You had to know that’s why I brought you here. Don’t be shy. Get naked.”
He wrote another note.
Do it. Or I’ll make you.
He had to resolve himself against the flash of hurt and confusion on her face. It could all be fake. He was on edge. If someone was listening in, and she said something to alert them he’d have to move quickly to shut her up.
Reyes had suggested gagging and tying her up, but it just hadn’t sat right with him. Not knowing her limits with bondage. And yeah, maybe all of that was fake but he wanted to try his way first.
Because there was a part of him that really hoped Sunny was right. That she was a pawn being used, being forced to take part in this and that her note to him had been real. Had been her way of warning him.
She didn’t move and he sighed. He wasn’t one to make empty threats.
“That’s it, baby. Christ, you’re gorgeous.” He kept up an endless stream of talk as he started to move towards her.
She jolted, must have read the intent on his face because she reached shakily for the back of her dress. It was black, of course, and hung off her as though she’d lost weight since buying it. She was so fucking thin, it scared him.
And it annoyed him that he cared so much.
“So gorgeous, baby. Let me see more of you.”
Her hands shook as she undressed. He kept one eye on her as he opened up the laptop Brody had set up. He’d put together some bits of porn to cover for them. And Ink had done some recordings of his voice to make it more believable.
Fucking hell.
When she was down to her underwear, he picked up the bug detector. Yeah, maybe he could have let her keep all her clothing on, but he needed to be sure.
And he was letting her keep her underwear.
“Want some music, baby?” he asked, switching on some mood music. He ran the bug detector over her body. Nothing came up so he handed her the robe.
Quickly, she wrapped the robe around herself. He then ran the detector over her belongings. Still nothing. Good. He took her hand and she flinched back, but he held on tight. Christ, he felt like a pig. When he looked at her, he still saw his Betsy.
His sub.
His baby girl.
You still can’t trust her. Not until you find out the truth. Maybe not even then.
He turned on the porn, the noises of fucking filling the room. She was trembling and he had to stop himself from reacting to her fear. Grabbing her arm, he herded her into another room and closed the door behind him.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
“Not yet.”
He moved them into the next room where Duke, Reyes, Brody and Razor were. Brody was sitting in front of a few computer screens he’d set up earlier. Reyes was leaning against the wall behind him, while Razor and Duke stood across the room.
Betsy gasped when she saw them all, moving closer to Ink which satisfied the caveman inside him.
Shit. Not now.
“Got eyes everywhere?” he asked Brody as he moved Betsy over to a chair.
“Yep, we’re clear. For the moment. There was someone following her. They’re down in the lobby, talking on their phone, probably trying to get instructions on what to do next.”
“Good. I didn’t find any bugs on her but I put the porn on just in case.”
“What …what’s going on?” Betsy asked. “Who are you all?”
He braced himself for her fear, but when he turned to her that mask was on her face. She held herself stiffly.
Question was, which was the real Betsy? The shy, sweet princess or this cold ice queen?
“I’ll be down by the elevators in case the guy waiting downstairs manages to get up here,” Razor said before leaving.
“Ink?” Betsy questioned, watching them all warily.
He paced back and forth in front of her. “I’m asking the questions now, babe.”
She winced at his harsh tone.
“Got your note.”
“Oh. Then why did you ask to meet with me?” She waved at her robe, at the hotel room. “Why do this? You could tip them off. Oh God, if they find out that I
warned you, they’ll…”
“What? They’ll what? And who is ‘they’?”
She looked ill. “I shouldn’t tell you. I told you too much. If they find out…” She wrapped her arms over her stomach. Gone was the ice queen.
In her place was a scared little girl.
And it tore at him.
He heard Duke grunt behind him, and knew he wasn’t the only one affected.
“Fuck, if she’s acting, she’s damn good at it,” Duke muttered.
“A-acting? You think I’m lying? Is that why you did this? Because you think the note was a lie!” Her voice raised. Fury pushed aside the fear and it shocked him into silence. He couldn’t remember her ever being angry.
Well, except at Zac when she thought he was going to hurt Lara.
That hadn’t been an act. He could tell. She’d been running on gut instinct.
To save a friend.
It settled more firmly inside him, the idea that she was trying to warn him.
But why?
“Who is doing this? Who is trying to set me up? And why are you working with them? Are they threatening you?” The last question was a growl.
“Ink,” Duke warned.
He knew the other man didn’t want him saying much. Wanted to hear what she had to say.
“Me? You think I care about me?” She let out a chilling bark of laughter. “I long since gave up caring what happened to me. I’m just a pawn to be used, dragged out when I’m useful. My expiration date is coming. I know that. I don’t care what they do to me.”
Her voice was bitter. Frail.
He frowned. “Then why? What do they have over you?”
Her gaze narrowed. “What makes you think they’re forcing me to do anything?”
Ink moved closer, then crouched down and grabbed her chin. “Don’t think that just because we have an audience that I will not put you over my knee and spank you for lying.”
He wouldn’t. Not because of the audience. That wasn’t an issue. But he could almost taste her fear. The bravado was an act to hide something.
But he wasn’t certain if she was protecting herself or him.
Him.
Because as she’d said, she’d long since stopped caring what happened to her. That was so wrong. He wanted to change that. She should fucking care. Because he did.
She should care because he needed her.
“Why did you basically disappear after your mother died? How did you get here? Where have you been living? How have you never had a job? Got no bank account?”
Her breath grew faster. “How do you know all that? You ... you shouldn’t ask. You should just stay away from me. I’m toxic. I’m poison. I will hurt you.”
“Hurt me? I don’t think so.”
“Ink,” Duke rumbled again. Ink shot him a look as Betsy stiffened, the other man’s voice a reminder of their audience.
“I got this, Duke.”
“Who are they?” she asked him, her gaze moving from Duke to Brody to Reyes.
“Don’t worry about them. Worry about me. I’m the one you answer to.”
“Not anymore,” she said.
“I am your Dom, Betsy. You do as I say.”
Her eyes narrowed. “That’s not the way it works.”
He was proud of her. When they’d first met, she wouldn’t have dared stand up to him like that. She’d likely have gone along with anything he said.
“You’ve been lying to me, Betsy. Keeping things from me. Not telling your Dom that you’re in trouble is a huge issue.”
“We don’t…we don’t have a contract. You’re not really my Dom.”
“Am I not?” Christ. Hearing those words coming from her felt so wrong. His entire body rebelled. This was it. The decision that could change everything.
“Look me in the eyes, Betsy and tell me it was all a lie. Tell me your submission wasn’t a gift but rather a trick. Tell me that connection isn’t there. That you don’t want to be my sub. That you never were my Little girl. Tell me that it wasn’t real and I will stop. There will be nothing between us again. I will stop acting as your Dom and your Daddy. We’ll just talk Betsy to Ink.”
Her breath was loud. Her eyes wide. Skin pale and despite her attempts to hide them with make-up he could see the dark smudges under her eyes.
But he had to know.
She was his. Sure, they had some big hurdles to overcome and it would take him a long time to trust her, but he still wanted her.
Whatever mess she’d gotten herself caught up in. He could fix.
He would claim her.
And what he claimed stayed his.
No. Matter. What.
All right, rein it in a bit, man.
“You tell me that it wasn’t an act. That you are my sub, my Little, and I will fix this shit. I promise you. We got shit to work out, like trust and communication. That’s all fucked up so much that it’s not going to be easy. But you ask for my help, you tell me that it was real and I won’t let anything happen to you, Betsy. I’ll wrap you up in so many layers of protection that nothing will get through to hurt you.”
She shook her head. “You should hate me.”
“Because you lied to me? Because meeting you was all a set-up? Because you’re working with whoever is trying to set me up?”
“I’m not working with them,” she spat out.
“Tell me, Betsy. Tell me I’m your Dom. Let me help you.”
“God. God. How can you say these things to me? They make me want…want what I can’t have.”
“And what can’t you have?”
“You.” Her eyes blazed now. “I can’t have you. I can’t have anyone. Anyone I care about they threaten them to get me to do what they want.”
“Who are they threatening, Betsy? Who is at risk?”
“My sons.”
13
She saw his eyes widen. She waited for him to draw back. All the things he was saying…he didn’t mean any of it. He couldn’t still want her. He was probably saying what he thought she wanted to hear so she’d tell him everything.
Truth was, if this was just about her then she would have told him all this the night they met and damn the consequences.
“Your sons? What sons?” he asked.
“I don’t have any records of her giving birth,” said the messy-looking guy who was hunched behind several computer screens. “She can’t have had them in a hospital or else someone erased the records.”
How did he know that? How did they know so much about her?
She glanced away from the guy behind the computer to the man with the cold, gray eyes who leaned against the wall across from her, glaring down at her. He hadn’t said anything, but he didn’t need to. He was intimidating enough. Those gray eyes of his seemed to have sized her up.
And found her wanting.
Join the club.
Then there was the guy he’d called Duke. He wasn’t covered in tats like the cold guy. And he wasn’t as friendly-looking as the guy behind the computer.
Who were these guys?
Friends of Ink, obviously. Maybe part of his MC. They’d staged all this to speak to her. Because of the note. Why couldn’t they have just let her be? She figured he’d see the note and realize that she’d been lying to him. He’d be furious at her, she knew that. But if it meant he was safe it was worth it.
Instead, he was promising to take care of her if she just admitted to the truth of her feelings. And she wanted to do that more than anything. But what then? He couldn’t take on Forrest. It would be a suicide mission.
And if Forrest found out about this meeting…
Her breath grew fast.
“Betsy! Betsy!”
“She’s panicking,” Duke said. “You need to calm her down.”
“I…I…”
“Betsy. Look at me. Look at me.”
Even the guy behind the computer screen glanced up to give her a concerned look. “I have a paper bag. Here.” He reached into his computer bag and
pulled one out.
Duke grabbed it and walked over to her. She shied back against her chair.
“Don’t touch her,” Ink snapped, grabbing the bag. “She doesn’t like to be touched.”
How could he still be protecting her? Why?
He blew the bag out then placed it over her mouth. “Big, easy breaths, brown eyes. That’s it.”
Brown eyes. She hadn’t realized until then that she’d been worried she might not ever hear him call her that again.
“Doesn’t like to be touched?” Duke asked incredulously. “How’s that working out for you?”
“Seems like it’s working just fine for him,” computer-guy muttered.
“Brody,” Ink snapped, turning to glare at the other guy.
Brody’s cheeks went red but his eyes flickered to where Ink had one hand on her thigh, the other on her arm, helping her breathe into the bag.
The one leaning against the wall still hadn’t said a word. He just continued to watch her.
“It’s not my touch she has a problem with,” Ink snapped back. “It’s everyone else.”
That was so true. She loved Ink’s touch. Craved it. Needed it.
Needed him.
You can’t have him. You can’t have anyone.
Why had he done this? Why hadn’t he just walked away and written her off?
“Deep breaths, brown eyes. Work on calming down for me. That’s it.”
Why was he being so nice now? He’d been cold earlier. When he’d ordered her to strip, her insides had frozen. She’d known he’d be angry. She’d betrayed him. Lied to him.
But now, he was acting gentle.
She reached up and drew the bag away as she felt her breaths even out. She still felt ill. Off-balance. But she could breathe.
“Do you always carry paper bags around?” Duke asked Brody.
Brody nodded. “I have panic attacks too.”
He did? They all looked over at him.
“Usually over spiders,” he admitted.
Ink sighed. “Brody.”
“What? Spiders are scary as fuck.”
“Watch your language,” Duke snapped, slapping Brody upside the head.
Brody looked over at her and winced. “Sorry.”
“I’ve heard a lot worse.” A few swear words wouldn’t be enough to worry her.
Hero Daddy Page 14
