22. Carly

Crossing her arms over her chest, Carly watched as Damian and Nash manhandled the two men who had been following them. If she weren’t seething at just being scolded and spanked by Damian for simply coming out to tell him that she recognized one of the men, she would find it pretty hot how Damian was roughing up the guys on her behalf.

She had no idea why the hell he was being a jerk. She had waited until both of the bad men had been secured, and Damian and Nash had the situation under control. This was exactly the reason why she had wanted to stay away from men in the first place. They just expect you to do as they say and get mad when you go against them.

Whatever. Daddies are dumb anyway, remember?

It felt like forever as she sat in the Jeep and waited. Even once Damian and Nash seemed to be done talking to the two assholes, Damian just stood on the side of the road with his arms crossed over his massive chest. He looked pissed, but she didn’t care. She was pissed too, and she could be just as much of a jerk as he was.

Finally, several police cars showed up, and Damian and Nash spoke with the police for over an hour. Carly really needed to pee, and she was getting more irritated by the second that Damian hadn’t come to tell her what was going on or to check on her.

Big dumb meanie.

The police arrested both men, and a tow truck pulled up to tow their SUV away. She had been sitting in the Jeep for over two hours when Damian finally crossed the street and climbed into the driver’s side. He didn’t say anything to her. Instead, he just started the car and drove toward his house. And that just pissed her off even more. He could at least apologize for being a dick.

As soon as they got to his house, she jumped out of the car without waiting for him to come around. She didn’t even have to look back at him to know that it had pissed him off. She was pretty sure she even heard him let out a growling noise. Too bad. He would just have to get over it. She could take care of herself and didn’t need some big huge sex god of a man to take care of her.

Stomping into the house as soon as he unlocked the front door, Carly beelined straight for the downstairs bathroom and slammed the door behind her. She was already sitting on the toilet mid-pee when the bathroom door swung open.

“I don’t know what is up with the attitude, little girl, but you better knock it off before your spanking becomes a whipping with my belt.”

He was scowling down at her, practically dripping anger from his pores, and yet she couldn’t find it in herself to care. She was pissed, and he had just walked in on her in the bathroom.

“Get out, Damian!” she screamed.

His eyes widened, and she wasn’t sure if it was because she had actually screamed at him or because she had called him by his first name, or if it was because she didn’t seem to be affected by his threat. It didn’t matter anyway because she didn’t care.

“Get out!” she screamed again.

She wasn’t positive, but it seemed as though hurt flashed through his eyes before turning back into anger, and he stepped back into the hall and pulled the door closed. Taking a deep breath, Carly finished her business and took her time washing her hands, trying to figure out how the hell she could get upstairs to pack her bags without dealing with Damian.

There wasn’t even a chance for her to figure out a plan because as soon as she opened the bathroom door to step out, she found Damian leaning against the wall across the hall. He looked just as upset as he had been earlier and obviously not ready to apologize for being a jerk, so she stomped right past him and into the living room toward the stairs.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

His voice was low, and it caused a shiver to run through her. Ignoring the feeling that it caused, she swung around and glared up at him.

“I am going to pack my shit so I can get out of this fucking prison and go back home.”

Damian looked at a loss for words for a moment before narrowing his eyes at her.

“You’re not going anywhere. Just because those assholes were arrested doesn’t mean you’re not in danger. James and Sandra are still on the loose, and who knows how many other goons they have after you.”

She hadn’t thought about that, but also, she was too angry to really care. Damian had treated her badly, and she had promised herself that she would never put up with that again.

“I can take care of myself,” she said stubbornly.

He strode over to where she was standing, only stopping when he was inches away from her.

“What is going on with you? You are acting irrational and pissed, and I don’t know why.”

Carly rolled her eyes dramatically. So he was going to play dumb.

“Seriously? You don’t know why? You scolded me and spanked me in front of those idiots and your friend because I had come out to tell you that I recognized one of the guys which I thought would help you figure out that they were connected to James. I waited until I saw that you guys had them restrained.”

Damian pinched the bridge of his nose and she could see his jaw tighten.

“I told you to stay in the car, Carly. You disobeyed me, and there could have been more danger around us that wasn’t just those men,” he said evenly.

“So you’re allowed to put yourself in danger, and I’m not? Don’t you think that’s a bit sexist?”

Dropping his hand from his face, Carly swallowed when she saw how dark Damian’s eyes looked. She had pushed him too far, and she knew it. She could see it.

“It’s my job to keep you safe!” he roared.

She automatically took a step back, swallowing the lump in her throat that had automatically formed at his words.

“Right. It’s just a job. And now the job is over, and we can both get on with our lives.”

Turning on her heel, Carly ran up the stairs two at a time and slammed the playroom door behind her, making sure to lock it so he couldn’t burst in on her, and then she threw herself onto the bed and cried. Burying her face into one of the stuffed animals, Carly sobbed as quietly as she could, not wanting Damian to hear if he was outside the door.

She hated feeling so hurt. She was only a job to him, and now that job was over. It would only be a matter of time before James was arrested, so there was no reason for her to continue to stay at Damian’s house. It had only been a temporary arrangement.

Lifting her head, she looked around the room that he had helped her turn into a magical space, and knowing she had to leave it all behind, more tears streamed down her face.

Lifting herself from the bed, Carly went to the closet and pulled out the bags that she had brought all of her belongings in when she had come to stay with Damian. Little by little, she went through the drawers and closet, only grabbing the things that she’d come with and packing nothing that Damian had bought for her Little side.

When it came time to pack her toiletries and makeup, she hesitated before opening the bedroom door, unsure if Damian would be waiting out in the hallway for her. It had surprised her that he hadn’t come pounding on the door, demanding that she talk to him, and it also made her feel a little sadder. He wasn’t even going to fight for her to stay.

Opening the door, she looked up and down the hall. Damian was nowhere to be seen, so she tiptoed across to the bathroom and began packing her bathroom items. By the time she was done, Carly felt exhausted and numb. She hadn’t heard him moving throughout the house for a while, so she assumed that maybe he had left.

Pulling up the Uber app on her phone, Carly ordered a car and started carrying her bags downstairs. With each trip down, she wondered where Damian was, and her heart felt as though it was squeezing in her chest knowing that he obviously didn’t care.

When the car arrived, she lugged her bags out as quickly as she could, not wanting Damian to come home when she was in the act of leaving. She didn’t think she could bear the pain of him rejecting her or not even trying to stop her from going.

It took three trips to get all of her bags out to the Uber, and she was pretty sure her driver was annoyed that she had so much stuff with her. It wasn’t like she had asked him to help her carry her stuff, so she ignored his attitude and rode in silence over to her townhome.

It was a strange feeling going somewhere without Damian. He had been by her side non-stop for weeks, and she had become so used to his presence that it already felt lonely. It was strange how such a short time with someone could change your entire world.

By the time the Uber arrived at her house, Carly was second-guessing her decision to leave Damian’s. He hadn’t told her he wanted a lifelong commitment from her or anything like that, but she couldn’t deny their chemistry and how well they got along. She also couldn’t deny how much she loved being his little girl. But he had said himself that it was his job. Greyson had asked him to do a job, and that’s what he had done.

Three trips from the Uber into her house later, Carly shut and locked the front door and went to the living room to slump down on the couch. A moment later, her phone rang, and when she looked down at the caller ID and saw Damian’s name, she frowned. Why the hell was he calling her?

Deciding not to answer, she tapped ignore and got up from the couch to carry her bags upstairs. She hadn’t even gotten to the entryway before her phone sounded off again. Irritation surged through her. He left her at his house, and now he’s calling because she wasn’t there when he got home?

Stomping back down the hall to the living room, Carly picked up her phone and swiped at the screen.

“What?”

“Where did you go?” he demanded.

If she weren’t so pissed, she probably would have laughed. He had the nerve to ask her where she went after he left without so much as a word.

“I came home. Where I belong. What do you want, Damian?”

“My name is Daddy, and you will do well to remember that. Why the hell did you leave? I told you that you weren’t going anywhere. You still aren’t out of danger.”

She could hear the anger in his voice, although he kept his tone low and his reminder about his name being Daddy caused a shiver to go down her spine.

“Are you kidding me right now? You are the one who left first.”

The phone went silent for a moment, and she thought that maybe he had hung up on her.

“What do you mean I left? I’ve been here the entire time! I’ve been in the garage beating up the fucking punching bag because I was so pissed and didn’t want to come to talk to you until I’d gotten some of my anger worked out.”

Carly blinked several times, trying to process what he was saying. She knew he had a workout area in his garage. She had seen it every time she climbed in and out of the Jeep when he’d had it parked in there. Why hadn’t she even thought that he might have been in there?

Because you assume the worst in men, idiot.

It really didn’t matter either way. This had all just been a job to him, and now it was over, so there was no point in fighting about it.

“Whatever.”

Nice comeback. You sound like a teenage girl.

“Caroline Elizabeth, you are in so much trouble. I’m on my way.”

“No!” she shouted.

She was pretty sure she could hear Damian grinding his teeth through the phone.

“Don’t tell me no, little girl. It is for your own safety.”

Yeah, because that’s all that mattered. Her safety. The job.

“I don’t need your services anymore. Don’t come to my house. You are not welcome here. Goodbye, Damian,” she said right before hanging up the phone.