Page 51 of Ruin Me, Daddy

The warning in his tone clearly said she was skating on thin ice. “I was just wondering… Could you hold me for a bit? At least until I fall asleep?”

“Of course, baby.”

He climbed into bed with her, pulling her into his arms and pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “I’m proud of you for asking for what you needed. Thank you for trusting me to take care of you.”

“Shouldn’t I be thanking you for taking care of me when I’m such a mess?”

“Never. It’s my job.”

Ace never would have done any of his. The few times she’d let him see what an emotional mess she was after what he considered a scene or even worse, a punishment, he’d just told her to stop sulking. And as she drifted off to sleep, she wondered if Ace had any clue what it really meant to be a Dom.

Or, perhaps more to the point, if he even knew what it meant to actually love another person.

CHAPTER 19

ICE

He gave her the hour, and used the time to make some phone calls. And somehow managed to occupy himself enough that he resisted the temptation to call Ace and read him the fucking riot act for not taking better care of the woman he’d claimed to love.

The more he learned about their relationship, the more he wondered if he actually knew anything about the man he called his best friend. Because the Ace he’d grown up with, the Ace he thought he knew would never have done the kind of damage he’d come to suspect Ace had done to Silver. There was no reason for her to not understand sub-drop, to have no clue how to combat it when it did hit. At the very least, she should have been able to tell him what Ace used to do to care for her, if he’d done his fucking job as her Dom. If he’d loved her, cherished her the way she deserved.

But that was a battle for another time. For now, he was damn sure going to show her what it really meant to be owned by someone, so that when they inevitably went their separate ways, she wouldn’t fall for someone who gave her less than the bare fucking minimum again.

And he would be keeping a much closer eye on her in the future. Anyone she dated after they returned to California would have to prove themselves to him before he allowed her to get in too deep.

Because the thought of her being with anyone else made it difficult to breathe, he pushed that idea away for the time being and made his way to the bedroom to rouse her. He found her already awake, staring up at the ceiling as though it held the answers to all the questions her busy brain could think of.

“How long have you been awake?” he asked, sitting on the edge of the bed. Being so close to her without touching her was its own kind of torture, so he took her hand in his, running his thumb over her palm.

“Not long.”

“Feeling any better?”

“Some.” Her smile wasn’t as forced as it had been earlier, but it still wasn’t her usual bright happy grin. “Thanks for making me rest.”

“Anytime. But you need to get up now, baby. We’ve got company coming.”

“Company?” Pushing up onto her elbows, she frowned. “What kind of company?”

“I invited Lottie and Frankie over for a girls’ night. When I explained why, Lottie suggested Cordelia and Ivy, as well. And I figured I’d invite some of my friends over, and we’d have ourselves a little party.”

“A girls’ night,” she repeated slowly, as if the words were foreign to her. “You invited my new friends over for a girls’ night. And you’re having friends over, too.”

“That’s the plan. So you better get your butt up and dressed unless you still want to be in your pajamas when they get here.” He let his lips curve. “Actually… I wouldn’t mind that at all. Maybe I’ll call Lottie back and let her know it’s a pajama party.”

“Oh my god, don’t you dare, you perv.” Laughing wildly, she launched herself out of bed. “I’m putting on real clothes. What’s the dress code?”

“Super casual. It’s not a dinner party or anything fancy. Just hanging out with friends.”

“Got it.”

He was sad to see the pajamas go, but the leggings she swapped them out for, paired with an oversized t-shirt from their first world tour still had his mouth watering. The shirt was too big to be hers or Ace’s, but maybe she’d picked up one a few sizes too large. For reasons that escaped him, women seemed to enjoy swimming in their clothes.

Not that he was complaining. The shirt was large enough that it fell off to the side, exposing a shoulder, and the sight of that patch of bare skin was far more tempting than it had any right to be.

Seated on the couch, he snagged her wrist as she walked by, pulling her down to straddle him, and grinned at her shriek of surprise.

“Ice! Let me go.” Her sweet giggles filled the room as she playfully fought to be freed.

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