Page 7 of Daddy Devious

Five minutes can be the blink of an eye, or it can be a lifetime. Right now, waiting for my little thief to spring the last part of the trap I’ve set for her, it feels like a hundred lifetimes.

Standing in the empty lobby just outside my office, I pull a small screen from my pocket and watch as little Victoria leaps to her feet, pacing the length of my office. Her movements are sharp and jerky, conveying the nervousness she must be feeling as she walks back and forth.

Need wells up inside me as I watch her move. The need to claim, to conquer.

To own.

But I promised her time to make up her own mind, and for all my faults I am a man of my word. So I force myself to wait and to watch.

Finally, those hundred lifetimes end with the buzz of the timer I set on my phone. I can’t help but smile as I watch her jump at the sound, her head whipping around to stare at the device. She rushes over and taps the screen, as if she cansomehow delay the inevitable with the simple act of silencing the alarm.

Naughty girl.

Tucking the monitor back into my pocket, I school my face into a more suitably stern expression and open the door to my office.

She’s sitting now, her hands clenched tightly in her lap, an adorable flush on her cheeks. My little thief looks every bit the naughty Little girl I am sure she is deep down inside.

“Have you made a decision, Ms. Finch?”

Even with her head bowed, I can see the pink in her cheeks turning darker. “I have a question.”

“If I can answer, I will. What would you like to know?”

In her lap, her knuckles turn white as she clenches her fingers even more tightly. “A-are you going to kill me?”

The question is asked in a whisper, so soft I almost miss it. Poor scared little thief. She’s right to be terrified; a man doesn’t gain the kind of success I have without making—and disposing of—a few enemies along the way.

I can’t in good conscience promise her all will be well. What I have planned for her will test her limits, push every boundary she believes she has. But perhaps I can ease some of her fears.

“Look at me, Victoria.”

At the quiet command, her head lifts, her bright, terrified eyes meeting mine. Her chin tilts up, a hint of defiance I can’t wait to break. “Well? Are you?”

“No, I am not going to kill you. In fact, you have my solemn vow I will do anything and everything within my power to keep you from harm. If you agree to my proposal, your safety will be my top priority.”

I can see the doubt swirling in her eyes. But after what seems like another hundred lifetimes, she nods.

“Okay. Where do I sign?”

Victoria

Pages and pages of legalese swim before my eyes as I sign my life away.

At least, it feels like that’s what I’m doing. I’m not exactly sure what the contract I’m signing says, other than committing myself to thirty-one days “in the care of” one Maxwell Stone.

Whatever that means.

The non-disclosure agreement is several more pages of initialing and signing my agreement to a vow of silence when I am returned home. Not that it matters. Even if I wasn’t promising under threat of legal action to never tell a soul about this, I would be far too ashamed to admit my crimes to anyone, even my closest friends.

It’s the last page, however, that gives me pause. I read it, then reread it, and again a third time before I look up at Mr, Stone.

“I don’t think this final page here is correct.”

A ghost of a smile tugs at his lips. “You have an objection, Ms. Finch?”

“No, well, maybe. I must be reading it wrong because it looks like it says if I stay the full thirty-one days, I get to keep the money I stole.”

“Ah, I’m afraid you did misread that bit.”

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