silent minutes, I opened my mouth to ask about his day.
That was what I’d intended to ask.
But what shot out was, “Did you call other women little dove, too?”
I didn’t have time to regret asking because his patient answer was instantaneous. “Never. Not even dove. That’s all yours.”
The last of the tension flowed from my body. Past or not, I wanted to be his only dove.
I hoped my voice was nonchalant and super casual when I said, “Cool.”
Nailed it.
I both felt and heard his chuckle. “You’re fucking cute.”
Okay, maybe I didn’t nail it.
Oh well.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Rattle The Cage
Maximo
IT’S GOING TO be a good day.
After I’d spanked Juliet’s ass the week before, I figured she’d shove a wedge under the door to make sure it didn’t close an inch. It’d been wide open that morning when I’d popped in to taste her mouth and tell her the men and I would be gone until late.
Unfortunately for her, my mind had been on her sweet mouth and I’d left the house without my cell. I’d stopped home between meetings to find her door closed.
I was willing to bet she’d closed it as soon as my car had cleared the driveway.
I opened the door, but she didn’t notice—her headphones were on and her music was cranked so loud, I could hear it. Working at the side of the L-shaped desk, her head was bent over the fabric as she carefully slid pins into place.
I leaned against the jamb and crossed my arms, taking the minute I didn’t have to study her profile.
Fuck, she was beautiful. Her high ponytail bobbed as she mouthed along with the song. A small smile curved her lips.
After a minute, she finally glanced my way before doing a double take. My already thickening cock quickly hardened as her expression morphed from surprise to fear to panic.
“What’re you doing here?” she shouted. I gestured to my ear, and she slid her headphones off before quietly repeating, “What’re you doing here?”
“The more important question is why was the door closed?”
Ballsy girl didn’t try to lie or claim she hadn’t noticed. “I closed it.”
“Why?”
“Ms. Vera’s off for the week, and you said the men were going with you. I didn’t think it mattered since the house is empty.”
“You thought wrong.”
Her face set in the prettiest pout as she muttered, “I know that now.”
“Let’s go, Juliet.”
“Don’t you have a meeting? I don’t want to keep you. We can pencil this in for a later date.”
“And when would that be?”
“February thirty-first?”
Christ, she’s funny.
Even with all the shit Juliet had been through in her life, she was still soft. Still happy. She could’ve justifiably turned bitter and jaded, but she hadn’t. She stayed sweet.
Too bad that didn’t make me lenient. It was the opposite. It made my need to control and keep her even stronger.
“Here or our room?”
She sighed, her shoulders slumping. “Our room.”
Dramatic as she was acting, she didn’t put up much of a fight as she followed me into the hall.
If I didn’t know any better, I’d think my little dove was just rattling her cage to see if she could get away with it…
Or maybe she wants to receive the punishment as badly as I want to give it.
As we entered the room, her steps slowed. She wrapped her arms around herself. “I don’t get why it matters that the door was closed.”
“Because I said so.”
“Yes, but why?”
I wasn’t used to explaining myself. I said something, it was done.
Simple as that.
But treating Juliet with those same expectations had been a misstep. She wasn’t used to it, and until I had her trust, she wouldn’t blindly obey.
There’d be other orders she’d need to follow without explanation, but the door rule was one I could clarify.
Curling my hand around the side of her neck, I used my thumb to tilt her jaw up. “I want it open so when I’m sitting at my desk, I can see you.”
“But you weren’t even home,” she pointed out.
“And look how long it took you to notice me standing there.” My jaw clenched. “It was dangerous.”
“This place is locked down like Fort Knox. Cole installed that panic button on the wall literally a foot from my desk.”
“If you’ve got the door closed, how would you know you needed to push it until it was too late? And while we’re at it, no wearing headphones when you’re home alone. I’m adding to the rules.”
Surprisingly, she smiled and stepped closer. “The only person after me is a big, angry Daddy who