Page 71 of Defended
Kawan grinned. That she did—he made sure of it.
In fact, tonight he was thinking that a fun Disney movie, popcorn, and cuddling on the couch would be a good way to end the evening. Unfortunately, Melody had other plans, and when they got home, she said she had some things to do on the computer for a bit.
It wasn't suspicious in and of itself, but thewayshe said it made him think that something was up. He knew he was right when he sat down on the couch to watch some television and, instead of settling in next to him the way she normally did when she needed to use the computer, she put her laptop down on the dining room table and sat there. Screen facing away from him.
Fighting the frown that wanted to form on his face, he made himself focus on the television when he saw her glance over her shoulder… as if she was looking to see if he was watching her. He was, but the surreptitious way she checked on him was suspect.
Everything about her body language screamed guilt, but he couldn't figure out why.
She practically jumped out of her seat, her head jerking up, when he got up a few minutes later to go to the bathroom, only relaxing when she saw he was headed in the other direction. Something was definitely up and he was going to get to the bottom of it.
Rather than using the bathroom, he stealthily moved through the house, taking the roundabout way back to the dining room so that he could come up behind her and see what she was doing on the computer. He didn't think it would be nefarious, but something had her acting out of the norm, and he was determined to discover what it was.
While the instinct to text Sienna and ask her what she and Melody had talked about in the bathroom was still present, he'd prefer to talk to Melody directly. Well, direct in a sneaky way, since she was trying to hide whatever was wrong from him.
Creeping up behind her from the darkened hallway—and trying not to feeltoomuch like an actual creeper as he did so—he peered over her shoulder to look at the computer screen.
His brow furrowed when he realized she was browsing apartment listings. Why was she looking at those?
"What are you doing?"
* * *
Her heart jumpedfrom her chest into her throat, stifling her scream, when Daddy’s deep voice suddenly came from behind her. And it was definitelyDaddy’svoice. The particular intonation he used in the bedroom, when he was dominating her, and not his usual speaking voice.
Immediately, her hand shot out to try and close the laptop, but it was too late. He had her by the wrist before her fingers even touched the screen.
“What are you doing, little girl?” he asked again. This time he sounded even more displeased, the way he did right before she got a spanking. He was looming over her, looking at her like she’d been naughty.
But she wasn’t doing anything wrong!
“I… just… I…” she stammered out the words before tugging her hand away from his and finally turning to face him. The dark expression on his face didn’t help bolster her courage at all, but she managed to get herself together anyway. “I was just looking for apartments or rooms for rent.”
“Why?” His expression flickered. “Are you unhappy here?” The second question was asked in a very different tone, a much less certain one. Melody didn’t at all like the change in his demeanor, as he went from confident Daddy to insecure and slightly hurt man. That wasnothow she’d meant to make him feel.
“No!” She was horrified that he might think so. Now it was her turn to grab his hand “I’m very happy! But… well, it’s so early in our relationship, and I know this wasn’t meant to be a permanent thing…” Her voice trailed off nervously as he began to look very thoughtful.
“It is early, but it’s been working. At least it has for me; are we moving things too quickly for you?”
For some reason, and she wasn’t sure why, she felt like the reasonableness of his tone was a trap. Especially when his hand flipped hers around, so that he was the one holding on to her again, his thumb making little circles around the center of her palm. Melody did her best not to fidget in her seat.
“No… I mean, it’s a little quick, but it hasn’t felt that way.”
Daddy’s eyebrow quirked upward. “Then why the rush to leave? And why are you being so sneaky about it?”
“I don’t know,” she said, starting to feel irritable. “Why the inquisition? I just thought I should look at what’s out there, so you don’t end up thinking I’m using you for housing or anything.”
His dark eyes sharpened, focused, and Melody felt a little bit like a mouse, caught by a cat.
“Sienna said something about Krissy to you,” he surmised.
“So what? It just made me realize that you offered me a place here, but it wasn’t supposed to be permanent, and then we haven’t talked about it since I started staying here—”
“That’s right, baby girl,” he said silkily. “Wehaven’ttalked. Instead, you decided to sneak around behind my back and start doing things without talking to me about it at all.”
“I haven’t actually done anything yet,” she protested. But he had a point. She hadn’t wanted to bring it up to him because she hadn’t wantedhimto think that she was using him for housing, but that wasn’t fair to him either. Deep down, she’d known that she should just talk to him.
Otherwise she wouldn’t have felt so guilty about looking online.
