Chapter 1

Chapter One

Eleven months ago - Jan 17

Connor

In all his years of tracking criminals, Connor Davis had never missed his Hellcat more than he did at that moment. He’d never needed a car to go two hundred miles an hour or more.

But no. He’d been racing against the clock to try and catch up with Bliss, Winnie’s younger sister, so he’d settled for taking his brother, Gage’s, truck. If he got shot because he couldn’t outrun two angry Russians in a Bentley sedan, he would never let Gage live it down.

One glance in the rearview mirror and he couldn’t hold back a growl. He floored the gas, but it earned him nothing. Hell, his grandmother could push this damn truck faster with her bare hands. He was never going to outrun the men on their tail in this thing.

Not that there should be angry Russians on their tail. He took his eyes off the road long enough to glare at his passenger, ignoring her sniffles since she was the cause of their current predicament.

He should have known better than to look her way. When his gaze hit her, it was all he could do to turn his attention back to the situation at hand. Why she affected him the way she did, he had no idea. But he’d wanted her since the first time he’d studied her picture as it trembled in Winnie’s hand.

Bliss Carpenter was just as exquisite in person. She looked nothing like Winnie, with her deep caramel skin, sleek black hair, and palest aquamarine eyes that stole his breath. She was the perfect blend of beauty, wariness, and unpredictability.

She'd keep a man on his toes. Or, like now, drive a Daddy insane.

The icy silence made a vain attempt to cool his temper. If Bliss was smart, she’d keep silent. He’d been a Daddy for a long time, but he had never wanted to wear someone out as much as he did the Little girl sitting next to him, doing her best to become invisible.

That was a good call on her part, too. Lucky for her, his top priority was her safety. If not, she’d have been over his knee twenty minutes ago when she’d blown their getaway.

The memory shoved his temper right over the edge. “What the hell were you thinking?”

Man, he needed to get a handle on himself before he gave into the urge to yank her over his lap and give her the spanking she so richly deserved. Ignoring his itching palm took all the control he’d developed through the years.

Bliss flinched and scrunched her nose. Cute. He wasn’t in the mood for cute. Then she turned those hypnotizing eyes his way. The wounded expression punched the Daddy in him right in the gut. “I said I was sorry.”

The tremor in her voice tried to tug at his heartstrings, but he refused to allow them to be tugged. He was a grown-ass man. He could discuss her actions without resorting to shouting. Or cursing.

With all the calm he could gather, he tried again. “That’s not what I asked. We could have slipped right by Egoradov’s men and gotten a solid head start. But, no, you had to scream… What did you even yell at them?”

A quick glance in the rearview showed the Russians still keeping pace. At least they weren’t in shooting range yet. He returned his attention to Bliss.

A lovely pink flagged her cheeks. She shook her head but caved when he raised his brow. “I called them a pridurok .”

He continued to stare.

“It’s Russian for douche canoe.”

If she was trying to interrupt his train of thought, it worked. “You know the Russian word for douche canoe?”

She shrugged her shoulders. “Yes.”

Fury—no, frustration—gripped him too hard to make note of the way those delicate shoulders hunched forward. “When did you learn—never mind. You shouldn’t have yelled anything. And with you busting out the window of their Bentley, you can bet your sweet ass they’ll chase us all the way back to Tennessee. Not to mention, you lost me my best gun safe.”

Yeah, she was one lucky little vigilante. He was a man of restraint. At least his gun hadn’t been in the safe when she’d smashed the window of their luxury car. Thank god for small favors. The least she could have done was hit one of the Russians instead.

He’d tracked Bliss all the way across the country before spotting the Russian pumping gas. He’d snuck her through the back window of a cringe-worthy women’s bathroom while Thug Two guarded the door in a six-thousand-dollar suit.

They’d almost made it out of the parking lot, her kidnappers none the wiser, when she bellowed out words that would get her bottom toasted and her mouth soaped if she were his.

But she wasn’t and never would be. Still, if she pulled anything else that reckless, she’d wind up over his knee just the same.

Something popped against the back of the truck. Were those assholes shooting at them? Another glance in the mirror showed the Bentley gaining ground, gun hanging out the window. Connor glared at Bliss again. He deserved a medal if they lived through this.

“You held the gun safeso you’d have more room in the floorboard while staying out of sight.” His voice increased in volume with each word. Damn it.

He was not going to feel guilty about being off his game. No one in the world would blame him for shouting.

She stiffened, and her bottom lip trembled. The sheen of tears in those iridescent seafoam green eyes reminded him of the shores of the Caribbean. Fitting since the woman was just as hard to predict as those seas.

Navigating life with her would be one exciting exasperation after another. But it wouldn’t be boring. For some other Daddy, somewhere. Not for him. Why did he have to keep reminding himself of that?

At least the road that stretched out before them was predictable. Straight, flat, and endless in both directions. The Bentley creeping ever closer from behind proved it. They were only fifteen miles west of Las Vegas. Once they hit the city, he could maybe lose them in the traffic.

Bliss shivered and drew her knees up to her chest. Most likely, her chills had more to do with shock than the temperature. Still, to be safe, he kicked the heater up another notch.

She’d changed from the warm clothes she’d worn when she’d left Winnie’s. Now she wore a dress that looked more like a white swimsuit with a sheer white overlay. It did nothing the provide comfort or protect her modesty. The clothes she wore couldn’t be doing much to keep her warm. They were heating him up, though.

Stop perving on the girl and focus on the road and the killers chasing you.

Easier said than done.

Luckily, they hit the outskirts of Vegas at the perfect time. The traffic was heavy but not at a standstill. Relief tickled up his spine and relaxed his shoulders. If there was one thing he knew how to do, it was lose a tail.

Weaving in and out of traffic, he kept an eye on his unwelcome shadow. Every time he changed lanes, he gained distance. If the Bentley fell behind another block, he and Bliss would be home free.

Movement beside him drew his attention to her perfect ass. She’d shifted around so she now knelt on the seat, staring out the back window. Her ass swayed and bounced to the rhythm of the truck.

The seatbelt stretched taut across her thighs, and when he had to hit the brakes, she almost smacked into the front dash. His itchy palm won. He smacked her bottom twice. Hard.

She yelped and spun toward him, hand covering her backside. She had the nerve to glare at him. “What are you doing?”

“Getting your attention. Even toddlers know howto keep their butts in their seats. Now sit your ass back down before you get hurt. If we get hit, you’ll wind up with a cracked head.”

Her immediate obedience went a long way toward soothing his anger. The slaps to her backside helped even more.

Once she was seated and re-belted, he turned his attention back to the men following them. They got caught behind a car at the light, so after he took a curve, he got off at the next exit. He’d never been so happy to be driving toward skyscrapers in his life.

He cursed when the Bentley followed them off the same exit. Taking aright at the next corner and then a left, he spotted what he’d been waiting for.

Gotta love Vegas tourists’ need for glitz and glam. There was a mall on every corner. Malls with huge parking lots filled with people salivating for a new outfit or twenty.

He raced to the far side of the lot and screeched into a parking space. Pushing Bliss flat on her back on the seat, he covered her with his body and waited, doing his best to support his weight on his elbows.

His shirt shifted as he moved, and he almost shot straight up when her cheek brushed against the skin of his abs. Before he could get out the words “be still,” she had turned her head, and her lips branded the skin at his waist.

He willed his dick not to react. Why did she have such soft lips? What would it be like to watch her lick those lips? What was probably minutes stretched like hours of torture as Bliss squirmed beneath him.

If she didn’t stop moving, he was going to cross a line that neither of them wanted to cross. Well, a line they shouldn’t cross.

When she squirmed, brushing her lips lower, he managed to say, “Be still.” His voice sounded like he’d been chewing gravel.

She reached around and poked him in the side. “I. Can’t. Breathe.”

He couldn’t very well suffocate her, so he lifted his hips and did his best to not picture the compromising position they were in. “Just a few more minutes.”

The second he thought they were safe, he sat up. Bliss tried to follow suit.

“Not yet.” Keeping a hand on Bliss’s shoulder to hold her down, he scanned the area for the silver Bentley. There were many luxury cars, but none had a busted-out window. “It looks like we lost them. Are you all right?”

She nodded, even though she looked like she was anything but okay. She was a trooper. He couldn’t allow himself to picture the things she must have endured in the short life that enabled her to hold herself together.

After straightening her seatbelt, he pulled out of the parking lot, hopefully inthe opposite direction from the Russians. Luckily, this wasn’t his first trip to Vegas, so he knew his way around. He took the back streets to a motel on the east side of the city that would give The Getaway Motel back in Darling a run for its money. He pulled in and parked in the back.

His first order of business was to get a room and get her inside. Chances were slim Egoradov’s men would check out this skeevy motel, much less spot the truck behind it. Taking her to the front office would be a bigger risk. As striking as she was, the men he’d seen working the front desk would be able to give a description of her.

He didn’t trust her alone in the truck, but hopefully, the last hour had made an impression on her. “I’m going to get us a room. I want you back on the floorboard so no one will see you. Do not, under any circumstances, get out of this truck. Understand?”

She nodded, but the gears whirring behind her eyes had him bracing for her response.

“I understand, but what if the truck catches on fire?”

Oh, this Little girl had no idea who she was testing. He counted to ten which did nothing but waste ten seconds of the precious time they had to get into a room. His rope was longer than most, but he was at the end of it. “Then I suggest you take a minute to ask yourself whether that fire is hotter than the fire I will light in your bottom if you get out of this car when I’ve told you not to. Am I clear?”

Eyes wide, she shook her head. “I didn't… I mean, I wasn't trying to… I mean…" She lowered her gaze to her knees, but not before he caught the tremble of that lower lip again. "Yes, sir."

Her voice had that same lilting quality most Littles had. He studied her closely. He hadn't spent that much time with her, so he couldn't know for certain, but he’d be willing to bet she was teetering very close to her Little headspace.

Damn if those words didn’t head straight for his heart. Unfortunately, they got hung up around his cock and stayed there. He had the all-consuming need to hear her say, “Yes, Daddy,” instead.

What in all that was holy had happened to his self-control? He never had runaway thoughts. He’d learned a long time ago that control was vital in his life. The effect she had on him was dangerous.

Shaking those thoughts from his mind, he reminded himself he couldn't risk her getting out of this car and getting caught, so he kept his tone stern. “Get down and stay out of sight. I won’t be gone long, but you do not want to test me on this.”

She nodded again without looking up. Good, he’d nipped her smart mouth in the bud. Why did that disappoint him?

Turning to the office, he glanced over his shoulder to make sure she was doing as he’d told her. All he could see was the empty car. Since he hadn’t heard a car door open while his back was turned, he took that to mean she’d finally gotten the message.

He was in charge, and now that she realized it, it would be smooth sailing the rest of the way back to Darling.