Chapter Nine

"Davina."

I glance up from the file in front of me, fighting a groan as Stanley stops in front of the desk Micah had set up for me. Sharon pauses typing beside me, casting a furtive glance in my direction before quickly bending her head back to her own work.

"I need to speak to you privately."

I cast a quick glance around, searching for an excuse to blow him off, knowing Micah won"t like this…but Micah isn"t here right now. He and Gemma are in a meeting with a client. Some sort of financial emergency that couldn"t wait.

I wasn"t paying attention to the details. We only have one more day here before we"re back in our office, and I still have way too much work to finish before then—mostly because Stanley has argued over every minute detail of every single contract even when Micah made it clear that he didn"t want certain things in them.

I don"t think he realizes that Micah"s on the verge of firing him. Or maybe he does, and he just doesn"t care at this point. I don"t know. But my boss really hates my daddy. The feeling is mutual. I think Micah would have fired him on day one, except firing him would have meant leaving me to face Stanley"s wrath on my own.

I"m already dreading Monday. It"s going to be brutal. Honestly, I think I"m going to beg Corey to work his magic and transfer me before then. I know nothing about criminal law, and the thought of working with some of his clients is literally terrifying, but I"d rather face my fear than face Stanley alone on Monday morning.

It"s not going to go well.

"Hello?" He snaps his fingers in front of my face like I"m a disobedient animal instead of a human being. "I said I need to speak to you in private."

"Of course." I paste a bright smile on my face and hit save on the file before pushing my chair back and reluctantly climbing to my feet.

Stanley turns on his heel and marches across the office, stabbing the button for the elevator.

I turn and make a face at Sharon.

"Good luck," she mouths.

I nod, swallowing the lump of fear in my throat, before I follow Stanley into the elevator. The door closes behind me with an ominous thud, trapping me inside this small, confined space with him. My heart beats a frantic rhythm against my ribcage as I keep my gaze trained anywhere but on him.

He doesn"t speak until we reach the parking garage, a level of hell with concrete walls and harsh fluorescent lights.

"Start talking, Davina," he spits out my name like it"s a curse. The harshness of his voice echoes off the cold concrete walls.

I swallow hard, staring at him. "I don"t… I"m not sure what this is about," I say carefully.

"I saw you going into the Sterling Rope last night," he says.

I gasp, my eyes widening in horror. Micah and I did go to the club last night. We had drinks at the bar with Gemma and Bronx and that was it…at least until we got home. Yet I know Stanley won"t believe me if I tell him that.

His voice slices through the silence like a cold, cruel blade. "What the fuck were you thinking?"

I wince at his harsh words, hating how they make me feel small and insignificant—a feeling that"s become unfamiliar ever since Micah came into my life.

"I went to a bar, Stanley," I say calmly. "That"s not illegal."

He scoffs, his disdain palpable. "You and Micah? You"re letting him…" he trails off, unable to find the words. His face distorts in disgust.

"Yes," I say simply, offering him no further explanation. I know anything I say will only fuel his rage, and there"s no sense in denying that I"m with Micah. If he"s already seen us together, he knows. I"m not going to lie about it.

His laughter bounces around us—dark and derisive. "What does he do to you? Tie you up? Let his buddies take turns? Beat you?" His crude words turn my stomach.

I force myself to hold his gaze. "It"s not like that."

Stanley doesn"t deserve an explanation, but there"s something so satisfying about standing up to him after months of his condescension.

"It"s about trust and respect," I add quietly.

"Respect?" He sneers, flicking ash onto the concrete floor. "Just wait until they find out about you and your little fetish…"

He has no right to judge me because I choose to embrace my sensuality and express it differently than he does.

"I"m not ashamed of who I am or who I love," I tell him, my voice trembling slightly. He looks taken aback by my sudden boldness, but he quickly recovers, his face hardening into a mask of bitterness.

"You should be," he spits. "You think I don"t know that you call him daddy while he fucks you? I heard you the first day we were, Davina. I came back to see what you were doing and heard the two of you in his office." His gaze is cold and cutting as he sneers at me. "You let him treat you like a filthy little whore, and you loved it."

I don"t know what comes over me, but I watch in horror as my hand shoots out, and I slap him across the face. The sharp sound echoes around us, the sting in my palm immediate.

He jerks backward, his expression contorting with rage as he grabs my wrist. "Oh, you little—"

"Stop it!" I cry, my heart jolting against my ribcage so hard it hurts. I yank my hand away from him, taking a quick step back before he can grab me again. "Just stop it! If you ever speak to me that way again, I swear to God, I"ll tell Micah."

"Micah?" Stanley shakes his head, a twisted smile overtaking his face. "You think he can protect you? From me? From everything people are going to say when I tell them about your filthy little fetish?"

"You"re not a threat to me," I whisper past the lump in my throat.

His laughter is short and hollow—a chilling sound that echoes eerily in the parking garage. "We"ll see about that, Davina." He strides back to the elevator, glancing over his shoulder at me. "No need to come back up. In case it wasn"t clear, you"re fucking fired."

He strides back onto the elevator, leaving me alone in the silence of the parking garage. For several long moments, I just stand there, shaking in fury, shocked.

No one has ever spoken to me the way he just spoke to me. I knew he was vile, but I didn"t know he was pure evil.

I wrap my arms around myself, whimpering.

Is he right? Will everyone treat me the same way when they know? Will they treat Micah that way? I hid my desire for so long because I was so afraid of what people would say. And then Corey forced me to confess and led me to Micah, who taught me that it was okay to feel the way I do and want the things I want.

But just because he accepts me doesn"t mean the rest of the world will. It doesn"t mean they"ll accept him, either. He"s older than I am—a forty-two-year-old billionaire. I"m a twenty-four-year-old paralegal. I know how it looks, what people will think. They"ll say he preyed on me. They"ll accuse him of vile things.

They"ll turn what we have into something dark and ugly instead of the beautiful, loving thing it is. He"ll be branded a pervert because I call him Daddy. Being with me will ruin his life, all because I"m his little girl.

I feel the sting of tears in my eyes as fear coils inside me. The thought of Micah being subjected to the cruel judgment of society because of me is unbearable. The thought of him suffering because he gave me the love and care I long for is a wound too deep to heal.

Suddenly, I can"t breathe. The walls of the parking garage close in on me. Is it guilt that"s choking me? Or shame? Or both?

I don"t know what else to do, so I run.

I sprint past my car, past the rows of Mercedes and BMWs, trying to outpace the misery clawing at my insides. My heels click-clack on the concrete floor, echoing loudly around me. The sound bounces off the walls and comes back at me, sharp and intrusive.

I have no idea where I"m going, but anywhere is better than here, where I"m just going to destroy everything. I burst out of the garage and hurry down the street, tears blinding me.

An alleyway looms up on the left, and I dart toward it, desperate for an escape.

The buildings rise high above me on either side, pressing in close, but this time, I don"t feel like they"re closing in on me. Instead, they feel like a comforting embrace, shielding me from the harshness of reality.

At the far end of the alley, I stop for a moment to catch my breath, leaning my head against the side of the building as sobs wrack my body.

A low growl rumbles behind me. The menacing sound sends ice-cold shivers down my back.

I turn around slowly, fear gnawing at the edges of my mind, fully expecting to see a vicious dog, a bobcat, or some wild animal ready to eat me.

Instead, I find Micah standing several feet behind me, unmistakable in his fury and raw masculinity.

Even though he"s mad, seeing him standing there, so strong and commanding, sends a strange sense of calm crashing through me. Even if I can"t trust myself right now, I know I can trust him. He"ll fight for us. He"ll protect what we have from the world and keep me from messing it all up. He"ll fix this. He has to fix it.

"Daddy," I whimper.

"Davina." His whiskey eyes crackle with fury. "What did I tell you about running, little girl?"

"I…" I gulp, his rule about running slamming into me like a brick wall. I"m supposed to run to him, not from him. I"m supposed to bring my tears and my fears to him. "I"m sorry."

"Not good enough." He crooks a finger, calling me forward.

I stumble toward him on shaking legs.

As soon as I"m within his reach, he"s on top of me, pressing me back against the wall out of sight of the road, his hard body pinning me in place.

"You ran from me," he growls.

"I"m sorry!" I sob.

He boosts me up into his arms, his hands already delving beneath my skirt. "You can say sorry with this perfect little cunt." My panties are flicked aside, no match for my daddy. One finger runs through my folds, homing in on my clit.

I cry out, arching into him.

"Get my cock out, little girl. Now."

He sinks his finger into me, pumping, twisting, already driving me toward the brink of an orgasm. I shake in his arms, ripping at the button of his slacks.

The zipper slides down under my trembling fingers, the fabric parting to reveal his hard length. I can"t help but gasp in anticipation.

"Good girl," he praises me, but there"s nothing sweet or gentle in his tone. It"s dark and dangerous, promise and warning all wrapped up in two words. "Now, put me inside you."

I understand that this is my punishment, yet why does it feel so much like a reward? Why does the thought of sinking down onto him make my heart flutter?

With a shaky breath, I guide him to my entrance. I feel the head of his cock nudging against my sex, the intimate contact making my heart speed. His gaze burns into mine—unblinking whiskey eyes filled with savage hunger.

A cry wrenches from my throat as he fills me, stretching me wide. He grunts in satisfaction as I take him deeper, inch by inch—giving myself over to his possession.

"Fuck," he growls, suddenly lifting me higher onto his hips before slamming me back down onto his hard shaft with punishing force.

The surprise has me gasping, stars exploding behind my closed eyelids as pleasure rockets through me.

"You broke the rules, little girl," he grits out between clenched teeth.

I can only whimper in response, clinging desperately to him as he fucks me ruthlessly against the wall. Each thrust rocks my body, sending shocks of pleasure through me. My world narrows to this—to him caging me in with his body, claiming me with each brutal drive of his hips into mine.

"I"m sorry, Daddy," I whimper, the words barely coherent as they tumble from my lips. But he hears them—he always does.

He stills momentarily, his heavy gaze locking onto mine. He"s searching for something, gauging my sincerity maybe. And then he"s moving again, this time even harder. Pleasure and pain mix in a delicious cocktail that has me spiraling toward an abyss of ecstasy.

"Make sure you remember this lesson, little girl," he warns me. "Remember what happens when you break daddy"s rules. You run, Daddy chases. And then Daddy fucks right where he finds you until you remember who you belong to."

"You," I moan. "I belong to you, Daddy." My body trembles as I brace for the exquisite torment of his punishment.

The world blurs around us as he fucks into me with hard, urgent thrusts. His hands move roughly over my body, squeezing my breasts, pinching and rolling my nipples until I"m squirming against him.

My climax hits me like a freight train, a wave of pleasure that washes over me and leaves me writhing in his arms.

He gathers me close and holds me tight against him as I ride out the waves.

And when I"m spent, he presses a soft kiss to my forehead. "You"re forgiven, baby girl," he whispers. "Daddy will always forgive you."

I sob, falling apart in his arms.

"What did he say to you, baby girl?" he asks when I finally cry myself out, his hands gentle as they comb through my hair. "Talk to me."

"He…" I shudder, pressing my face to his throat before I pull back to look at him. "Promise me something," I beg.

"You know I"ll give you anything."

"Promise me that being with me, that t-taking care of me isn"t going to r-ruin your life," I plead. "Promise me, Micah."

"What?"

"Promise!" I cry, needing his reassurance that, no matter what, I won"t mess up his life. "If being with me like this is bad for you, then I won"t be your Little anymore. I"ll just be Davina, okay?"

He goes rigid beneath me, completely frozen. "What the fuck?"

Tears well in my eyes at the pain in his. At the rasp in his voice. I"m hurting him without even meaning to do it.

"He s-saw us go into the Sterling Rope last night," I explain. "He a-asked if you b-beat me. I tried to tell him that it"s not like that, but he already knew. The first day we were here, he heard us t-together. He came back after we thought he"d left. He k-knows that you"re my daddy. He said it"s wrong and that he"s going to tell everyone."

"That stupid motherfucker," Micah growls.

"He said he was going to ruin us." I sniffle, a tear slipping down my cheek. "I don"t want him to ruin you, Micah. If being with me like this is bad for you—"

"Stop."

"But—"

"Stop," he growls.

I bite my lip, forcing myself to stop talking.

He cups my face between my palms, his eyes boring into mine. "Being your daddy is the best thing that has ever happened to me, Davina Dauphine. I don"t give a flying fuck who knows. I"d shout it from the rooftops myself if I thought you would be comfortable living this life so openly. You"re my little girl and nothing—nothing—is going to change that."

"Daddy," I whimper, hope crashing through me in a tidal wave.

"If people want to judge me, let them. I"m a fucking billionaire. Do you think I need their approval? Fuck no, baby girl. I never have. The only thing I need is right here in front of me, crying her eyes out and breaking my fucking heart."

"I need you too. I don"t want to stop being your little girl. I love it so much." I press my forehead to his, letting him ground me.

Being a Little is part of who you are, baby girl. You can"t just deny that part of yourself to please anyone. It"s part of what makes you Davina."

"I"ve never felt this way before," I whisper.

"What way, baby?"

"Peaceful," I breathe. "You make me feel peaceful."

"That"s because you know this is where you belong, Davina. You know this is who you are and that you"re finally safe. You know that Daddy has you." He touches his lips to mine. "I"ll always have you."

"I want to have you too."

He chuckles, his chest vibrating against me. "Yeah? You want to fight my battles for me?"

"Uh-huh."

"Tell you what," he murmurs. "You tell me why Stanley has a handprint across his face, and I might just let you."

I shrink, feeling about two inches tall. "Never mind. Maybe you should fight your own battles, Daddy."

"Davina."

"He ran into my palm?"

Micah chuckles. "You"re a terrible fucking liar, but a cute one. Why"d you hit him?"

"Promise me that you won"t kill him? Because I don"t think we can both go to jail at the same time. It"ll be scandalous."

"You"re stalling, and you aren"t going to jail. If he even fucking thinks about pressing charges against you, I"ll bury the son of a bitch."

"Under the jail?" I ask hopefully.

"Do I need to add another rule?" he asks, leaning back to hit me with a stern look.

"He said you treat me like a filthy whore," I squeak. "So I hit him. And then he g-grabbed my wrist."

Micah steps away from the wall, cradling me carefully. "Hop down, baby girl," he says, his voice deceptively calm.

"What? Why?" I cling to him. "I think I"d rather stay right here."

"Hop down, Davina."

"Micah, please don"t kill him," I plead, suddenly terrified that"s exactly what he"s going to do.

"Oh, I"m not going to kill him," he growls, pure murder flashing in his eyes as he sets me on my feet. "I"m going to bury the motherfucker alive."