Ruled by her Daddies

by Roberts, Laylah

  He grasped hold of the back of her neck and kissed her with a passion that stole her breath. Damn, she’d missed him. She placed her hands around his neck, holding her tight.

  “You taste so fucking good. So delicious. I need you.”

  “I need you too,” she whispered. Her nipples were pressing against her bra, her clit throbbing. She wanted him inside her.

  He nuzzled into her neck. “Do you?” He kissed his way down her neck then undid her overalls, pushing them down. Then he grabbed her T-shirt and carefully pulled it off over her head.

  “Fucking bras. Why do you need them?” He reached around her and unclasped it. Drawing her bra off, he stared down at her breasts. “Damn, I’ve missed these.”

  He’d always been obsessed with her breasts. Leaning in, he sucked on one nipple, making her gasp. She wove her fingers in his hair.

  “Aleki!”

  “I’m sorry, baby girl. I never meant to worry you.”

  “Give me two of your Tim-Tams and I’ll forgive you,” she teased.

  Raising his face, he gave her a firm look. “What? My Tim-Tams? Them’s fighting words.”

  “And one of your special hot chocolates.”

  He narrowed his gaze at her. “Wolfe is going to kill me if I overload you with sugar.” He grinned. “It’s a deal.”

  She giggled.

  Caleb walked in then and she gasped in surprise. She glanced down at her naked breasts. Should she cover up? Would he join them? But then she saw he was frowning, his hand tightly gripped around his phone.

  “What is it?” Aleki asked just as Wolfe walked in from outside. His face could have been carved from marble from all the expression it held. But his eyes, they were like two raging, dark orbs.

  “That bitch, Marilyn, poisoned Vivi!”

  What?

  Aleki gaped up at Wolfe as Vivi grabbed her T-shirt, pulling it over her head. Now that was a damn shame. But he only had a moment to regret the fact they’d been interrupted.

  Christ. Just the thought of someone hurting her made him feel ill.

  Like she’d been hurt for all these years. Pain wasn’t just physical. And emotional pain could be far harder to heal.

  She moved off his lap, facing the others.

  “What do you mean Marilyn poisoned Vivi?” he asked frantically as he stood then helped Vivi up. He drew her against his chest, running his hand up and down her back.

  “Caleb?” he asked.

  “It’s true. The lab rang me after speaking to Wolfe. Apparently, he hung up on them.”

  “I wanted to send someone to her apartment immediately,” Wolfe muttered, pacing back and forth, his cell phone in hand. “The lab was backed up which is why it took them so long to test that bowl. She put a damn laxative in the porridge.”

  Aleki gaped at Wolfe then down at Vivi who looked pale and frightened.

  “A laxative?” she asked.

  “Yep, likely something she had on her since she wouldn’t have had time to plan this. Bitch must be all blocked up,” Wolfe stated.

  “Wolfe, I know you’re upset but watch your language in the playroom,” Caleb said calmly.

  Wolfe whirled to point at Caleb. “Why aren’t you more upset?”

  “It was just a laxative,” Vivi offered gently. “It wasn’t really poison and it didn’t hurt me.”

  “You only ate half a bowl. What if you’d eaten the whole thing?” Wolfe spat out. “What if you’d been so weak afterward that you’d fainted and hit your head? She could have made you very ill.”

  Aleki felt horrified just thinking about it. Once more they hadn’t protected her. This couldn’t keep happening.

  “Oh, don’t mistake my calm for condoning what she did,” Caleb told Wolfe with a ferocity that surprised Aleki.

  It obviously surprised Vivi as well as she turned big eyes on Caleb.

  “I want her brought in,” Caleb said. “I want her questioned.”

  Wolfe nodded. “I’ve already put in the request with Beta Team to bring her in and inform us when they have her.”

  “I need to speak to Kassim,” Caleb said, frowning. “This breach in security is our fault. She should never have been hired on.”

  “There was nothing in her background or reports that indicated any instability,” Aleki told them. “How was this missed?”

  “Maybe she’s never done something like this before,” Caleb offered. “Perhaps there was something that set her off. Pushed her over that edge. Something that we did.”

  “But it was Genevieve she attempted to hurt,” Wolfe pointed out. “Could Marilyn have something to do with her father?”

  Caleb shook his head. “It doesn’t seem likely. Like you said, she didn’t have time to plan this. And if Vivi’s father was trying to harm her then it wouldn’t have been with a laxative. No, this feels more spur-of-the-moment.”

  “She had the hots for all of you,” Vivi told them.

  They all frowned at her. Then Wolfe’s face cleared. “She flirted with Aleki and Caleb. That’s when you decided I was your favorite because I didn’t pay her any attention. I have always told the two of you that you should be more like me.”

  Aleki just snorted. “We didn’t flirt with her. I’ve never in any way led her on. If she thought there would or could be anything between us then that’s some delusion she has cooked up.”

  “Guys, don’t you think you’re overreacting?” Vivi said gently, looking around at the three of them.

  Aleki shook his head and turned to Wolfe and Caleb. “We need to protect her better.”

  “Fuck yes, we do,” Wolfe added.

  “She’s obviously got something wrong with her,” Vivi told them. “We should find her some support or something.”

  His soft-hearted baby girl. This is why she needed them. He could see that more clearly now. She’d help everyone if she could. She might have sequestered herself away, but hadn’t she done everything that her father and husband had demanded from her to protect them?

  “We need to lock her up somewhere dark and nasty. Then fucking leave her there to rot,” Wolfe said darkly.

  “Amen to that,” Aleki added.

  “Guys,” she said. She turned to look at Caleb. “Caleb, tell them they’re overreacting.” She stared at Caleb, obviously expecting him to be the voice of reason.

  “They are absolutely not overreacting.”

  Her mouth dropped open. “Caleb!”

  “Once she’s brought in, hold her in interrogation for a while. Let her wait. It will make her nervous and unsure.”

  “Caleb!” she said again.

  “After we talk to her, we’ll decide what to do.”

  “Can’t you just fire her?” she asked, sounding confused.

  Aleki shook his head then lifted her into his arms, worried about her standing for so long on her foot. He set her on his hip. Fuck yes. This was where she was meant to be. Right with him.

  She stiffened and he thought she was going to demand he put her down. But then she relaxed into him.

  “There are laws here in Escana about harming women,” Caleb told her. “All females are well protected. Guarded fiercely. Especially by their harems. Anyone who harms a female, well, their harem has the right to demand a severe punishment. It’s a bit trickier since it’s a woman who attempted to hurt you. And it wasn’t technically in Escana. Although I think the fact that it was the princes’ private airplane and she is their employee means that Escanaian laws apply. She’s lucky she is a woman. She wouldn’t want to suffer the punishment a man would be given.”

  “I just don’t want to create any more issues,” she said quietly.

  “This isn’t your fault,” Aleki told her gently.

  Caleb eyed her then stepped forward to tilt up her chin. “You look tired, jelly bean.”

  “She needs a nap,” Wolfe stated.

  “I wouldn’t be able to sleep. I already had so much on my mind. Now there’s this. Plus, there’s the funeral tomorrow.”

 
; Caleb cleared his throat. “Tonight.”

  “What?” She stiffened.

  “The funeral is tonight our time. At ten,” Caleb said gently.

  “Let me down, please.”

  Aleki reluctantly set her on her feet, holding onto her hips.

  “You weren’t going to tell me?” she asked.

  “We just did,” Wolfe said.

  Uh-oh.

  She narrowed her gaze then pointed her finger at Wolfe. “Wolfe Callahan, do not think that you can keep important things from me. I needed to know this.”

  “You’re not supposed to be stressing,” Wolfe pointed out.

  “I’d rather know what is going on than be kept in the dark and have things sprung on me! Can I watch it? Has my dad made any statements about me? Shit. He has to be looking for me, right?”

  “Vivi, calm down,” Caleb told her.

  “You can’t keep this stuff from me, Caleb.”

  Caleb held his hands up. “Nobody is keeping things from you.”

  “I don’t believe you.” She glared up at him.

  “Cranky, she needs a nap,” Wolfe commented.

  “Grr, I’m not cranky. I don’t need a nap. What I do need is to not have things hidden from me.” Turning, she limped her way out of the door, shutting it behind her.

  “Cranky,” Wolfe stated.

  Caleb stared after her with narrowed eyes. “She’s probably not wrong.”

  They shot their gazes to him. “We didn’t want her to stress, but having things sprung on her is stressful. And we don’t want to make the mistakes of the past. If there’s a threat to her, then she needs to know about it so she can protect herself.”

  “But we protect her,” Wolfe stated.

  “And what about if we’re not here?” Caleb asked gently.

  “Simple,” Wolfe replied. “One of us will always be with her.”

  “That’s fine now,” Caleb replied. “But it might not always be possible.”

  “Why not?” Wolfe asked.

  “Because we work, man,” Aleki reminded him.

  “I’ll quit.”

  “Wolfe, you can’t just quit.” Caleb gave him an alarmed look. “You’ll go insane not having something to do.”

  “I will have something to do. Take care of Genevieve.”

  Caleb shook his head. “Much as I want to keep her safe, we can’t smother her. She might want a job, she doesn’t want one of us constantly following her around.”

  “Dude, she’d kill you within a week. Guarantee it,” Aleki told him.

  Wolfe frowned. “But I’m her favorite.”

  Aleki and Caleb shared a look.

  “Wolfe, she needs some space. I know you want to take care of her, we all do. But some space is good as well,” Caleb told him. “Have you heard anything from Micah?”

  “You know that he tapped her father’s office and his house. Micah overheard him talking to someone, demanding that she be found. He put the funeral off as long as he could. The press is starting to question why it’s taken so long and why they haven’t seen Genevieve. We could send a message to her father, tell him to stop looking?” Wolfe suggested.

  Caleb shook his head. “We run the risk of tipping him off as to where she is. And Micah hasn’t noticed him meeting with anyone shady? Anyone who could be our mystery man?”

  “No. Says he goes straight from work to home. Other than that conversation, there’s been nothing. The call couldn’t be traced, it was too short and to a blocked number.”

  Caleb frowned. “Keep him on the Governor.”

  “What do we do about the funeral?” Aleki asked.

  “One of Micah’s guys has connections and managed to get a way in,” Wolfe told them.

  Caleb looked thoughtful. “Is he going to be wired up?”

  “Yeah,” Wolfe replied.

  “Right, so she could watch that feed if she wants. I assume her father will make some sort of statement about her lack of presence. I thought he might have made it already but maybe he’s waiting in case they find her. We’ll sit down together tonight and watch it. Aleki, can you contact Micah and set that up? Wolfe can you keep on top of Marilyn?”

  They both nodded.

  “What are you going to do?” Aleki asked.

  “Make sure our girl is taken care of. Wolfe, I already said this to Aleki, but we need to each spend some time alone with her. Take her on dates.”

  “A date? What should I do with her?” Wolfe asked.

  “Do something she’d like. Something you like. Whatever you want,” Aleki told him.

  “Hmm, well, we already did something we both liked last night. Maybe we can do more of that,” Wolfe stated before walking out.

  Aleki looked to Caleb. “What do you think he’s talking about?”

  “I have no idea and I think it’s probably best not to ask.”

  31

  Caleb found her in the bedroom, lying back on the bed and staring up at the ceiling. She had Piggles tucked in against her chest. He was proud of her for expressing that she was upset with them. Sometimes he thought she held back out of fear of rocking the boat. Hadn’t her father and husband taught her to be perfect? To suppress her own needs?

  Well, she didn’t have to do that anymore.

  “Piggles, you have a cute little bottom. Piggles, I’m feeling slightly forgotten.”

  He frowned. The last thing he wanted her to feel was unwanted or forgotten. That wasn’t why they’d kept her in the dark over some things.

  It wasn’t the first time he’d heard her singing silly songs to Piggles or about him. She seemed to do it when she was nervous or needed reassurance.

  God, he couldn’t believe that she was here. With him. With his brothers.

  Mine.

  Ours.

  The way it should have been for all these years. But he shouldn’t think of lost time. They had her here now.

  “Taking Wolfe’s suggestion, I see.” He walked over and plopped down next to her, staring up at the white ceiling.

  “Hmm? What do you mean?”

  “To take a nap.”

  She snorted. She was even cute when she snorted. “That wasn’t exactly a suggestion.”

  “With Wolfe it never is.” He rolled onto his side. After a few moments, she followed, rolling over to face him.

  He tucked some hair behind her ear.

  “You can’t keep things from me, Caleb.”

  “You’re right.”

  Surprise filled her face then she quickly wiped it clean. “Yes, I know.”

  He had to grin. “You sound as arrogant as Wolfe.”

  She narrowed her gaze suspiciously. “Is that an insult?”

  “Hmm.” He pretended to think about it.

  “Hey!” She whacked his chest lightly.

  “Oomph. Got a punch on you. Those guns are tough.”

  “Told you.” Her face grew serious. “But I need you to tell me stuff. I’m not helpless or dumb.”

  “Nobody said you were either of those things. And if anyone does, I’ll kick their ass. Yours included.”

  Her eyebrows rose in surprise.

  “Okay, I’ll just spank it, not kick it.” He reached over her to whack her bottom. Hard.

  “Ouch!”

  “No putting yourself down.”

  “I didn’t! I said what I think you guys think.”

  “We don’t think that. But you’ve been through a lot and I’m an overprotective male who loves you. I’m bound to make mistakes. You just need to call me out. Call any of us out when we go too far. All right?”

  She froze, staring up at him as he leaned up on one elbow, watching her.

  “What?” he asked. “Are you okay?”

  “You love me?”

  Caleb thought over what he’d said. “Oh. I didn’t mean to say it like that.” He could feel himself growing red.

  “Are you blushing?”

  “Maybe. I’ve loved you since the moment we met. I freaking adore you. I think you’re s
mart and courageous and beautiful. I want to keep you safe so sometimes I do stupid things to achieve that. But as long as you stay with me, I’ll always put you first.”

  She sniffed, a tear coursing down her cheek.

  “That wasn’t meant to make you cry, baby.”

  “Happy tears.”

  “Don’t do that with Wolfe, he won’t understand,” he joked.

  She tried to smile and he rolled over to grab some tissues, wiping her cheeks gently.

  “I love you too. I love all of you.”

  Leaning in, he kissed her. Hard. Consuming. “Good. Then you’ll forgive us for making mistakes sometimes in our need to protect you.”

  She nodded. “I make mistakes all the time.”

  “That’s how we learn.”

  A grin crossed her face.

  “What’s so funny?” he asked.

  “Oh, nothing. Just Wolfe said a similar thing.”

  “Humph, stealing my lines, is he?” He winked at her.

  “I just don’t want anyone to think that because I’m a Little that I want to be kept in the dark and coddled twenty-four-seven.”

  “I understand,” he agreed. “I still get to coddle twenty hours out of the day, though, right?”

  She giggled. “All right.”

  “There’re a few things we should have told you. Remember how you heard someone else when you were being shot at?”

  She nodded. “Yes. Did you find out anything about him? Is he all right? Was he a reporter? Could he have been William’s friend?”

  “Okay, I’ll answer those in order. Yes, we discovered who it was. No, he’s not all right.”

  She blanched white. Christ. This is why they’d avoided telling her. He hated upsetting her. But he understood her need to know what was going on.

  “He died. Two shots to the chest.”

  “Oh God. I should have stayed. Should have helped him.”

  He drew her in tight against him, hugging her. “No, if you’d stayed you would have died as well. And his injuries meant he died quickly.”

  A small white lie wouldn’t hurt.

  “But he wasn’t a reporter and as far as we can tell, he wasn’t connected to William. Unfortunately none of the inside cameras were working so we couldn’t get a visual of the shooting. Aleki hacked into the traffic cams outside the entrance but the only car matching your description had tinted windows and stolen license plates. No leads to follow up. Micah made some inquiries but it seems the cops are just as stumped. Nobody had mentioned you, though.”