Broken by His Hand - Piper Stone Page 0,64

series of views, but this wasn’t the kind of place that I felt comfortable in. I was determined to finally yank myself out of my comfort zone. I deserved to enjoy a fabulous room with all the expensive trimmings.

Uh-huh. And if I believed that then I could believe anything.

Cringing, I moved to the suitcase, my hands shaking as I tried to remember where I’d put the most basic necessities. After a few frustrating seconds of being unable to find a decent pair of underwear, I leaned against the wall, fighting tears.

Tears of all fucking things.

Now?

I hadn’t been able to cry after hearing about my brother’s tragic death. I hadn’t felt the kind of burdening sadness my parents had experienced, enough so my mother had to be placed on anti-depressive drugs only hours after hearing the news.

She remained on them today just to keep her functioning.

Jesus. What was wrong with me? Now I was crying over fucking underwear?

This time I didn’t feel his presence until a hand was placed on my arm, a warm body pressed against mine.

“What’s wrong?” Michael asked in a tone of voice I’d never heard. Gentle. Concerned. Determined to be a hero.

“Nothing.”

“Don’t lie to me, sweet Sophia.”

There was the dominating man I’d met, the one who’d forced me to watch a submissive as she was disciplined before doing much the same in the middle of his freaking office. I jerked around to face him, allowing him to see my frustration. “I have nothing to wear.” The words were not the ones I’d intended to say. “I mean... You didn’t give me a chance to...” What the hell was wrong with me? I was an intelligent woman, for God’s sake, who’d made life and death decisions for years and I couldn’t figure out what to say? I rubbed my hand through my hair. “I don’t have any panties.”

After saying the words, I couldn’t help but burst into laughter, slapping my hand over my mouth.

His eyes twinkled in a way I hadn’t seen, the grin on his face mischievous. “Well, then that is something that must be taken care of. I can handle that right now.” When he took his phone from his pocket, I wrapped my hand around his wrist.

“Don’t. I wasn’t asking for you to demand some poor store clerk bring me a box of thongs. I can take care of myself. It’s just... I don’t expect anything from you just because you’re richer than God himself. Honestly. I have money. I can figure out a way to get a few pair to get me by. That is if you point me toward a store. If one is close. And another thing. I don’t want to go to a fancy dinner. I’m not the kind of girl who dresses up, not really. I enjoy jeans and tee shirts. I even like wearing a ball cap from time to time, especially when I go to a Nationals game.” I could see the continued look of amusement in his eyes as if what I was saying was coming from a Martian. “Oh, hell. I’m going to stay inside the room.”

He cocked his head, giving me the same incredibly sexy look that always made me swoon. When he slowly rubbed his index finger across my cheek, every part of me tingled. “You are right in that I have very few joys in my life. You aren’t a woman with any expectations, which makes you truly special. Giving you a gift, even something a small as underwear is a pleasure. Besides, I need a change of clothing or two.”

While I had no way of knowing whether he was concerned about the unknown enemy following us to New York, I’d been observant. He’d paid far too much attention to the rearview mirror on the way to the small airport, even taking back roads in order to get us to the destination. He’d made certain no one had followed us. If they had, I suspected he would have used the weapon he’d brought with him.

There was no huge acknowledgment from the hotel staff as he checked in, barely any conversation at all. We were swept into a private elevator, a special key needed in order to get to the top floor. While there was a small hallway outside of the suite and what appeared to be maintenance rooms, there were no other guests on this floor. Clout certainly had its privileges.

From what I could tell, all precautions had been taken to ensure our