Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 32664 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 163(@200wpm)___ 131(@250wpm)___ 109(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 32664 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 163(@200wpm)___ 131(@250wpm)___ 109(@300wpm)
"Morning," I rumble, reaching for her, and she looks at me over her shoulder, biting her lip. Oh, that bottom lip does powerful things to my insides.
"Good afternoon," she corrects with a smirk. "It's 12:15."
I grunt in response, not caring what time it is, or even that I have a full afternoon of work ahead. All that matters is the beautiful woman in bed with me.
"Come here." I pull her back down, and Daisy laughs, setting her phone aside. She puts her hands on my bare chest, her palms cool on my heated skin. I'm hard as iron, which isn't anything new when I'm around Daisy, and I have the most intense hunger to spend the entire day in bed with her.
And then I remember that she's a virgin. Dammit.
I groan, shifting, and Daisy frowns. "What is it?
"Sweet girl, as much as I want you right now, I know that we have to take things slow. There's no reason to rush."
Daisy's cheeks turn pink, and she worries her bottom lip between her teeth. It makes my dick twitch, and I roll away from her before she can tempt me further.
"Come on, let's have brunch."
"Actually, I was hoping I could ask a favor. Which you can totally deny, because you've done me so many favors already that it's ridiculous. But I was hoping maybe we could go get coffee at my old job. I want to get my last check and figure out some way to explain myself for disappearing. Plus I left my laptop in the safe."
I can hear the anxiety in her voice. "Of course, sweet girl. Whatever you want."
Daisy smiles, and my heart squeezes painfully. Goddamn, she's so fucking pretty.
"Let's get something to eat and we can go."
"Oh, and Dom?"
"Hm?" I turn back to her, and Daisy reaches for me, her hand cupping my cheek and pulling me close. When she kisses me, it's not the frantic, hungry, eager kisses we've shared before. This one is slow and gentle, her lips brushing across mine with sweetness. She's new at this, but her earnestness makes it all the better. I groan, grabbing her and kissing her back, but she pulls away, laughing, and slides out of bed. "That's for teasing me earlier."
We eat a quick meal of fresh fruit and toast before heading out the door. Ashton is up too but has no new news on the Carlo situation. Just to be safe, I wait until Daisy is distracted and slip my pistol into the holster hidden under my suit coat. Just in case.
The coffee shop, like Il Fiore, is in the city proper and it takes some time to get there. I don't mind, considering I get to spend all these moments with Daisy, but she seems uneasy.
"Tell me what's wrong."
Surprised, she turns around from where she was looking out the window. "Oh! I…um…I guess I just feel bad about quitting my barista job and basically abandoning my apartment for these last few days. It feels like I just got up and left my entire life."
I take a deep breath, reaching out and taking her hand in mine. "Sweet girl, your entire life was in danger. You did the right thing."
She hums thoughtfully. "I will have to start all over."
No, you won't, I think, because you're mine, and there's no way in hell you're going back to living in that apartment alone. But I can't tell her that out loud without spooking her, so I just stay silent, stroking her knuckles with my thumb to comfort her.
"Okay, Dom. We're here." Daisy straightens her spine, clearly trying to psych herself up. "How do I look?"
I rake my gaze over her. "Beautiful. Sexy. Irresistable."
Daisy rolls her eyes, blushing, and pushes open the door. The little bell on the inside chimes, announcing our entrance, and the man behind the counter looks up. His eyes narrow in on me, and Daisy quickly steps forward, her hands raised.
"Before you say anything, Jack, I need to introduce you to Dominic. Dom, this is Jack, my manager."
I nod once, but Jack doesn't even look at me, his gaze flicking back to Daisy.
"You disappear for days without a word, and then you stroll back in here to what? Get a latte? You really left us in a lurch, Daisy."
"Jack, I'm sorry. I got wrapped up with Carlo and—"
Jack snorts. "Looks like you’re doing fine, though. Got you a sugar daddy, huh? You know, if you just wanted to be a kept woman, I would have been up for the job.”
It goes so silent that it’s almost suffocating. Fury, red and scalding, rises inside of me. Surely this asshole didn’t just say what I think he said? When I speak, it’s low and dangerous. “Only because we’re in public, I’ll give you one fucking opportunity to take that shit back.”