Page 32 of Daddy's Claim
“Snitches get stitches,” she said in a sing-song voice as she lifted her coffee cup to her lips. “I’m not going to tattle.”
“As long as you understand thatyoudon’t need to go around telling people about Adele.”
“What did I just say?” Now I did see her roll her eyes. “I’m not a snitch, Michael. And despite our… rocky start, Adele is family. I’m not going to put your family at risk.”
It stung that she still considered them my family and not hers, but I reminded myself to be patient. “Good girl.”
“Since I’m such a good girl, can I come with you today? I promise to stay out of the way.”
My blood ran cold at the thought of her being anywhere near the danger. “Sorry, princess. Not this time.”
“But Adele’s going.”
“And you know why. Unless you’ve got some secret past you’ve been hiding from me, the answer is still no.” When her face fell into a resigned pout, I brushed a kiss over cheek. “But I’ll tell you what. If you can be a good girl the rest of the day, I’ll take you out tomorrow. We can go do some shopping, maybe get lunch somewhere nice. Sound good?”
“Doesn’t sound like I have much of a choice,” she muttered darkly.
“I know, baby. And I’m sorry. Hopefully things will calm down soon and you can have a bit more freedom. For now, I need you to stay here.”Where I know you’re safe.
“All right. But you’re taking me somewherereallynice tomorrow.”
“Deal”
Nora
Ispent the day keeping myself busy with some trashy television, a walk around the grounds—complete with the guard my mistrusting husband had stuck me with—followed by a dip in the pool. But no matter how I tried to distract myself, my thoughts kept drifting back to my infuriating husband.
I pushed myself in the pool, indulging in my favorite form of exercise as I swam the length of the pool and back again over and over. My mind emptied with every cut of my arms through the water, until all I was focused on was the cool liquid splashing against my skin as I swam.
My mama had taught me to swim. It was one of the few memories I still had of her, and I clung to it every time I dove into the water. In the weeks after her death I’d spent hours in the pool, constantly pushing myself to that point of exhaustion where I was too tired to think nevertheless grieve the loss of my best friend in the whole world. Over time, swimming had become not just my way of coping, but my preferred activity for keeping my ass from growing too big over the years.
Michael didn’t seem to mind my ass, though. In fact, he’d called it perfect. Would he still think it was perfect if I let myself go a bit? Probably. It would just give him more area to spank.
Annoyance pushed me to the surface and I let out a short shriek of frustration. “Ugh! He’s not evenhere! Why can’t he leave me alone for five fucking minutes.”
“Did you need something, Mrs. DeCosta?” The goon who had been tailing me around the property opened the door to the solarium and popped his head in.
“The only thing I need is to be left alone. I’m not going to run, I don’t need a god damned babysitter,” I shot at him, instantly feeling guilty for taking out my aggravation with my husband on someone who hadn’t done anything wrong. Where the hell had that feeling come from?
Michael. Of course. Odds were he’d have blistered my ass then and there for snapping at the guard, and my subconscious obviously knew it. I really couldn’t escape him, could I?
“Sorry, ma’am, I’m just following orders. Mikey isn’t worried about you running, he just wants to keep you safe.”
The guilt wasn’t quite enough to keep me from arguing with him. “So I’m not safe in my own home?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t have to. It was implied. Maybe I should call my father and tell him I’m not safe here and have him come take me to my real home.”
“That won’t be necessary. I’m good at my job.”
His cool, unperturbed tone only frustrated me more. It was sobering to realize I wanted someone to fight back.
Not just someone. I wanted Michael.
Fuck me.
“Whatever. I guess make yourself useful then and get me a towel.”