Page 122 of Daddy's Naughty List

Who the fuck did this woman think she was? He better not catch her using her snide-ass remarks on Bliss. He didn’t care if she thought her shit didn’t stink, he wasn’t going to have her looking down her crooked nose at his girl. “Connor Davis, Bliss’s fiancé.”

Bliss froze but remained quiet. That was his girl.

Sheer disbelief bloomed across the woman’s face. “Miss Carpenter didn’t mention being engaged. It’s not in my paperwork.” She gave a pointed glance to Bliss’s ring finger. “And I don’t see a ring. When did this engagement take place?”

“I’m not sure that’s any of your business,ma’am.” Connor poured as much derision into his tone as he could. “But if you’d like to call her sister, I asked Bliss to marry me last night at her house, surrounded by all our friends.” He took his phone out of his pocket. “I can bring up the number if you want to talk to her.”

He held the phone toward her, waiting for her answer. He’d taken it one step too far, but the woman was a bitch and a bully. There was no way she’d chance being wrong in front of them. The front door opened behind her, though she didn’t appear to notice. Raleigh arrived, suit and tie in place.

“That won’t be necessary, Mr. Davis. As I told your fiancé, I need to look through the house and check the children to make sure they are well.”

“I’d like to see your warrant before we agree to that.” Raleigh stepped between the woman and Bliss. “Miss Carpenter has worked with children for over a decade, and no complaints have ever been registered. I’d like to hear the allegations.”

The woman didn’t like being challenged. She puffed up like a peacock and rummaged through her bag. Raleigh turned to Bliss and winked. Connor could forgive him this once when she relaxed against his chest.

Drawing out a paper, the woman handed it to Raleigh.

Raleigh took the paper and began to read. “Thank you, Mrs. Talon. Oh, Mrs. Talon, this doesn’t appear to have your name. If I could get that from you, along with your title and phone number, as well as your supervisor’s name and number, I’d be very much obliged.”

Mrs. Talon snatched the paper back, scribbled the requested information, and handed it back to Raleigh.

After Raleigh read the complaint, he asked Mrs. Talon to step outside so he could confer with his client. After she complied, slamming the door behind her, Raleigh turned to Bliss.

Connor didn’t like the look on Raleigh’s face. He braced himself for bad news and it was a good thing.

Bliss didn’t know Raleigh as well, so before his friend could speak, she whipped around to face him. “How could you tell her that we’re engaged?”

Yeah, that hadn’t been his most brilliant play. He’d gotten so angry at the things the CPS lady had been spewing at Bliss he’d lost his head. He never lost his head unless he was around Bliss.

But the condescending tone and smirk on the woman’s face had thrown him straight into protection mode. He’d wanted to put her behind him and get in the woman’s face. So, he opened his mouth and made a bad situation worse.

Raleigh’s gaze shot to Connor. “You did what?”

“I told the woman that Bliss and I got engaged last night.”

“She doesn’t have a ring,” Raleigh pointed out.

“You’re not the first person to point that out.” Connor wanted to pound his head against a wall. Bliss’s face was paler than when he’d arrived, and that was on him.

“What are we going to tell her?” She turned to Raleigh. “Is she going to be coming back again? What’s she going to think when I don’t get a ring? Not to mention the fact Connor is never here.”

Damn it. She was going to work herself into another panic attack if he didn’t do something. He grabbed her chin between his fingers and turned her to face him. He was going to tell her he’d take care of everything. If he needed to tell the lady he’d panicked and lied, that’s what he’d do.

But the anger and resentment in her eyes hit him like a punch to the throat. She stared up at him, waiting for him to explain himself. Even after the blunder he’d made, he needed to see faith in her eyes. Faith in him and his ability to fix everything.

So he kissed her. Not a peck on the cheek, or a brush of the lips, but a full-on kiss, deep, hard, and wet. After a moment’s surprise, she tried to shove him away. The struggle didn’t last long, though, before she was kissing him back. If they had nothing else, the physical attraction they had was intense.

It was more than physical, though. He wasn’t sure what it was, but he knew he wanted more than her body.

“Um, guys. There’s a lady waiting on the porch to inspect the house and the longer she’s out there, the madder she’s going to get. So, if you two could put that on pause for later, I have a few things to go over with Bliss.”

Bliss held a trembling hand to her well kissed lips. With one last glare at him, she turned to Raleigh. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know what came over me.”

Connor knew what came over her. The same thing that had come over him. He started to speak, but Bliss elbowed him in the stomach. Since Raleigh was right, he decided to let that go until later when they were alone.

Eyes twinkling, Raleigh held up the paper the Talon woman had given him. His smile faded. “Bliss, who have you left in charge of Sophie and Sadie since you’ve been in Darling?”

Bliss jerked at the question. “No one except Winnie. Why?”

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