the turn to the row of cards, it was obvious one of the men lost by his curses and glower. He’d had more chips than his opponent, so he wasn’t out, though his stack was significantly diminished.
Anticlimactic.
“I think I preferred when you were locked away at home,” Maximo said, pulling me tighter against him.
“Why?”
“I’m greedy. I like having you all to myself. For only me to see.”
Sure, he was a caveman level of possessive. And, yes, he was over the top. Insane. Straight up dysfunctional.
But I loved it.
“If anyone is looking at me,” I put my hand to his chest, “it probably has something to do with you palming my ass like a basketball.”
“No, they’re looking because seeing you in that damn skirt makes a man wish he could pick you up and slam into that sweet pussy.” As if his own words pissed him off, his eyes grew cold as he scanned the room.
The antipathy in his dark gaze should’ve scared me.
And it did, but in a good way. I liked the thrill. The power. The danger.
The fire.
So I played with it.
Stretching my leg out, I inched my skirt up a little. “This isn’t even as short as the one I packed for tomorrow.”
“Juliet,” he warned.
“I’m not even sure that one covers the bottom of my ass.”
“That ass is gonna be burning hot and red if you keep this up.”
I tilted my head like I was thinking, but it was just to give him a clear view of the love bite he’d left on my neck and to draw attention to my ponytail—two things that drove him wild. “And now that I’m thinking about it, it might be too tight to wear panties.”
“I hope you’re having fun, Juliet, because now I’m replacing all your clothes with my sweats and tees so no one sees what’s mine.”
I was having fun. An immense amount of it.
Leaning into him, I whispered, “You know you’re the only one who’s ever seen me, Daddy.”
His hold on my ass tightened, and there was no holding back my whimper. “And I’m the only fucking one who’s ever going to see you.” His voice was low and harsh. “That’s my ass. My sweet pussy. My little dove.”
Danger, danger, danger.
I couldn’t take it when he said stuff like that.
Ignoring the way my heart swelled at his words, I gave him an innocent smile. “Anyway, the skirt still covers more than the swimsuit I brought. That thing is basically strings with tiny scraps of fabric.”
That was the last straw.
Gripping my hand, Maximo stormed from the room. I had to practically jog to keep up with his long strides. I couldn’t see his expression, but based on his pace and the rigid set of his muscular body, he wasn’t happy.
Which meant I was about to get punished.
Yay.
Not slowing until we reached the elevator, the doors barely closed behind us when he had me up against the wall.
I love the fire.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Nothing
Juliet
I’VE CREATED A monster.
No, that isn’t true.
He’s always been a monster.
But now he’s my monster.
Sitting in his office the next day, Maximo arranged me on his lap. He tightened his hold, grinding me against his hard-on. Working me through my shorts, he got me right to the edge before announcing, “I’ve got to go.”
“But Daddy,” I breathed, already whipped into a frenzy and ready to explode.
He’d been teasing me all damn day. Calling me to his desk, getting me needy, and then sending me back to the couch.
And even knowing what was coming—or not coming, in my case—I went to him when he called. I let him touch me.
I would let him fuck me if he tried, but, damn him, he never did. He just liked to whip me into a frenzy and let me suffer.
“I’ll only be a couple hours, dove,” Maximo said, his lips and teeth grazing my neck. “You can have Ash take you to check out the shops.”
Yeah, big no to that one. I’d learned after the weekend at Moonlight that checking out the shops was not window shopping. I’d arrived home to bags and boxes of the items I’d eyed with longing—including the studded heels.
“We’ll see,” I hedged, guessing Ash was just as observant as Marco.
Gripping my hips, Maximo ground my ass against his cock one more time before lifting me to stand.
I sat on the edge of his desk and glanced at the double frame he had next to his monitor, smiling at the pictures of us in New York-New York. I’d wanted them