Page 128 of The Daredevil

“Lily needs her mom. Her mom needs her. I want Brittany to receive treatment. She was a victim of this child pageant industry too. I could’ve ended up like her. I dealt with my monster. She didn’t deal with hers too well. If we lock her up, her daughter will develop an inner monster—I can already see it.”

Royce pulled over to the side of the road, parked the car, and shifted to look at me.

He cupped my face in his warm hands. “Most people would want their enemy locked up, punished. But you? You’re an angel.” He kissed me lightly on the lips and pulled me into his arms. “Are you sure that’s what you want?”

“Yes, I’ve been thinking about it a lot. Imprisoning a sick person isn’t going to make me feel better.” I cut my eyes toward him. “Remember the favor you owe me for agreeing to be your fake girlfriend?”

“Yeah.” Warmth and love filled his eyes.

“I’d like to redeem the raincheck. Can you help Brittany?”

“If that’s what you want, I’ll make it happen. We’ll get her the treatment she needs here in America. You just saved her and her daughter.”

I hope so.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” His eyes sparkled with mischief. “What did you say to my mom earlier?”

He’s been thinking about that?

A smirk tugged at my lips. “Oh, nothing unusual. Just that she should get a nice whip for your dad too.”

Royce laughed as he drove back onto the street, heading home. “You’re such a sex hellion.”

“I learned that from my daredevil sex fiend.”

He offered his panty-melting grin. “I dare you to go on an adventure tonight. But as far as I know, you don’t have any whips.”

I reached over to his thigh and walked my fingers to his crotch, loving how he flinched at my touch. His arousal grew, pushing at his fly. “Viking, I’ve got a list of adventures ready for us to try. And a bag of toys you haven’t seen yet. You gave me free rein for this ‘private excursion,’ remember?”

“I’m yours tonight and every night. Do as you please.” He sped home at a speed that could get us a ticket at any moment, but he didn’t seem to care.

Neither did I.

EPILOGUE

TWO MONTHS LATER

Michelle

I finally unpacked the last box of my belongings and settled comfortably into Royce’s massive apartment. He had two guest rooms, and I took the bigger one with the eggshell-colored walls for my office. After all my books, binders, and decor had filled the office, I placed the wish bottle on the middle bookshelf beside the picture frame of us. Standing back, I studied it.

Thank you for bringing me Royce.

I ran my fingers along the glass surface, appreciating everything it had given me and continued to give me. There was so much hope and love in this bottle.

Royce coming to save me from the thunderstorm had triggered something in my psyche. I didn’t know it then, but I understood it now. Something in me released, a veil that blurred my reality, perhaps. He was the powerful storm that rolled in and cleared the surrounding energy, allowing me to see clearly.

He’d done so much for me. It was time he knew how I felt about him.

I went to look for Royce. He’d been talking to someone in his office earlier. The front door opened, and he walked in with a stack of mail in his hands, wearing the T-shirt with Nerd Lava splashed across it—a T-shirt that had cost him two hundred thousand dollars.

Smiling like a fool, I leaped into his arms, making sure my face rubbed against the super-expensive shirt that cost more than what I made all year.

He dropped the stack of mail to catch me, and the envelopes scattered all over the floor.

“I love this kind of greeting, but what’s the catch? Pun intended.” He squeezed my ass.

---