4. Carly

Seriously, what the hell. Her brother sent her the hottest man she’d ever seen to protect her from her asshole ex-husband, and now he expected her to go to his house and stay with him and his winning personality? His looks made her panties damp, but his attitude sucked, and she wondered if he was always such a jerk.

Shit. Look what you’ve gotten yourself into.

She’d probably have a better time if she just put a target on her back and sent James her location. What had she been thinking when she had touched herself the night before while thinking about Damian? If he hadn’t opened his mouth and spoken, she would have probably fantasized about him for the rest of her life. Oh, who was she kidding? She would still fantasize about his body.

She set her phone back down and glared at the scowling man. How the hell could a man who was so grumpy-looking also be so damn sexy? And while she knew she wasn’t a Little, her insides had fluttered a tiny bit when he called her little girl. How ridiculous was that? A grown, independent woman getting all giddy over being called little girl? Pfh, as if.

“How much do I need to pack? Should I call a moving company and just move all my shit to your house?”

“Pack enough for a couple of weeks and watch your language,” he answered firmly.

Carly rolled her eyes and walked past him, running up the stairs to her bedroom.

“No running!” he called out.

“I’m pretty sure my brother didn’t hire you to protect me from the stairs,” she snapped back.

She smiled to herself, proud of her comeback as she began throwing clothes into bags. A half an hour later, she lugged several bags down the stairs. She would have been winded if she weren’t so used to carrying her work tools with her.

Damian stood at the bottom of the stairs frowning. Apparently, there was such a thing as “resting dick face”. She smiled at that thought, and when he raised his eyebrows as though questioning her smile, she glared at him. If he was going to be a big meanie, she was going to be a brat.

“I’ll take those. You should have called out for me instead of carrying them down the stairs. You could have tripped,” he said softly.

Her mouth dropped open, and she gaped at him as he took the bags off her arms. He went from being Mr. Meanie to worrying about her tripping. After he took the bags from her, she went upstairs again to finish packing the rest of what she needed. When she packed two more bags and turned around to take them downstairs, she screeched in surprise to see Damian standing in the doorway to her bedroom. Her hand flew up to her chest, trying to calm herself down from the heart attack that she was sure he had nearly caused her.

“Could you maybe warn me that you’re behind me instead of sneaking up like a creeper?”

Damian didn’t say anything. Instead, he reached out and plucked the bags from her arms as though they weighed nothing. She picked up the long bags that held her ring light and other filming equipment that she used for her makeup tutorial videos and ignored the look of intrigue on Damian’s face.

“Is this it, or should I order a moving truck?” he asked dryly.

As soon as he turned his back to her, she stuck her tongue out at him. Childish, yes. But it made her feel better.

“That’s everything I need.”

She followed him downstairs and looked around her home. It wasn’t much, and she didn’t own it, but she had made it hers after she’d moved in following her divorce. Now she was being forced to go to some sexy stranger’s house for who knew how long.

He came back into the house and waited as she got her purse and phone from the living room.

“I need your address so I can put it into my GPS,” she said as she locked the front door.

“You’re leaving your car here and riding with me. You can’t go anywhere alone right now, so there’s no point in bringing your car. Besides, there might be a tracker on it or something.”

She really didn’t like this man very much. He was too damn bossy. And paranoid. But also, why the hell was her pussy being a traitor and making her panties even damper? And why did she feel the urge to stomp her foot? It was all so confusing.

Carly scoffed, “So basically, I got away from one prison, and now I’m moving into another?”

Damian halted at her words, and she collided into his broad, rock-hard back. If it hadn’t been for his large hands reaching out to catch her, she was sure she would have fallen on her butt. As soon as he steadied her, he released his hold.

“You are not moving into a prison. My house doesn’t look or feel like a prison, nor will I treat you like a prisoner. I realize this is not the ideal situation, but I don’t have a clue at this point who your ex is or what he’s capable of.

“Obviously, if your brother contacted me, he’s capable of a lot, so maybe you should quit complaining about how unfair this is and be thankful that you have someone who loves you enough to want to do whatever is necessary to make sure you’re safe. Think you can do that, princess?”

Gosh, he was an ass. Her shoulders slumped; she hated feeling like a chastised child. She knew she was being an ungrateful bitch, but she didn’t want this man to see her fears or weaknesses. She didn’t want to have to depend on him. During her marriage with James, she had learned that those things get used against a person.

Damian turned and made his way to his lifted Jeep Wrangler, which looked like it was equipped to handle an apocalypse, and opened the passenger door for her. Her mood softened a little at the kind gesture. She made an ungraceful attempt to climb into the lifted vehicle but couldn’t quite get herself up that high until large hands wrapped around her waist and moved her up into the seat.

Carly glared at him and took the seatbelt that he held in his hand before he could buckle her in.

“I can do it,” she snipped.

She needed to chill out. He was just being polite, and she was being rude, but the tingle he was causing in her nether region was irritating her. She didn’t need a man. That’s what she had a vibrator for. After her marriage had ended, she’d sworn off men.

Don’t react to him, Carly.

Damian raised his eyebrows and whistled as he rounded the front of the Jeep and climbed in.

“You know we’re going to be together twenty-four-seven for a while. It might help us both enjoy our time better if you weren’t so snappy with me,” he said casually.

She rolled her eyes.

“Maybe you shouldn’t be such a bossy jerk, and I wouldn’t be so snappy.”

Damian didn’t respond to that, but out of the corner of her eye, she could see him shaking his head as he started the car.

Carly stared out at the city in silence as he drove. She had no reason to hate Damian or be mean to him. Well, except that he was also kind of a jerk when he’d first shown up at her house. But everything felt so out of control, and she didn’t know what to do to fix it. Her ex-husband was an asshole, and he had made her life hell while they were married. Why did he insist on continuing now that they were divorced?

They had been driving for about half an hour when Carly glanced over at Damian. The man was walking, talking, sex on a stick, but she was pretty sure he was a Daddy Dom like her brother, and she wasn’t into that.

Not that it would stop her from fantasizing about running her fingers through his dark hair that had just a hint of silver appearing at the temples, or from imagining how hard his body was under his clothes. Just because she had sworn off men didn’t mean she couldn’t think about them while she used her toys to bring her to orgasm.

Shit, get it together, Carly.

“Where do you live? I’ll still need to be able to get to work,” she said as politely as she could.

His dark brown eyes didn’t move from the road as he nodded.

“I live about 20 minutes outside of Seattle. I’ll still get you to work every day. It will just be a longer drive than you’re used to.”

Chewing on the inside of her lip, Carly pulled up her work schedule on her phone.

“I’ll need to be on the Seattle News set tomorrow morning at four.”

“No problem. I can wake up early.”

The rest of the drive was silent while Carly did some social media marketing on her phone. As soon as Damian turned down a long winding drive, Carly looked up in surprise. The long tree-lined driveway led them to a massive craftsman-style house with white shutters and cream-colored siding with beautiful stonework detail. Definitely not what she expected for a single man.

Oh shit. She didn’t even know if he was single. Did he have a wife inside that home? Kids? She didn’t see a ring, so maybe a girlfriend?

“This is your house?” she asked.

He parked the Jeep and climbed out easily.

“Yep,” he said before closing the driver’s side door.

Carly unbuckled and studied the stunning home out of the windshield for another moment before she jumped out, landing on her feet. She might need him to get her a step stool to get in and out of the car. Damian was already unloading her bags.

“Does anyone else live here?” she asked curiously as she walked to the back of the car to help.

“Just me. And now you for the time being.”

She grabbed a bag, threw it over her shoulder, and reached out for another one, but he stopped her.

“You have enough. I’ll get the rest. Follow me.”

Chatty guy. This is going to be fun.

She followed him inside and looked around at the simple décor and warm furnishings that made the house a home. It was large but still had a cozy feel to it. The enormous kitchen was open to the living and dining room. She liked the open feel. It was completely different from the type of house James had bought them, which had felt cold and closed off, just like he had been.

“This way. There’s a bathroom down that hall along with my office and the laundry room. The bedrooms are all upstairs.”

She followed him up the stairs and nodded her head as he gave her directions to where everything was.

“This will be the bathroom you’ll use. Help yourself to whatever you need in there. I think there might be some bubble bath or salts under the sink. If you forgot to bring anything, we can pick it up later.”

Carly peeked into the massive bathroom that she’d be using and stared at the tub that would easily fit two people. She couldn’t wait to take a bath in it. The tub at her townhouse was shallow and barely covered her lower body even when she filled it up to the brim.

“Here’s your room. Again, make yourself at home. I don’t want you to feel like you’re in prison or anything.”

She scowled at him, and as if the heavens above opened up, a small smile spread across Damian’s mouth.

“Wait. Is that a smile I see there? Are you in pain?” she asked.

He made an exasperated sound.

“Wait, is that sarcasm I’m hearing instead of snarling? Do you have a fever?” he retorted.

Damn, he was a jackass. A really freaking hot jackass.

She tried to glare at him, but she couldn’t stop the grin spreading across her lips, giving away her amusement.

Damian grinned in return, showing off his wide, pearly white smile.

“That’s the Carly I’d like to get to know,” he said, winking at her.

Carly rolled her eyes dramatically and tried to act irritated, but her body was being a traitor and she could feel herself blushing.

“Why don’t you get settled in and then meet me downstairs in ten minutes. I need as much information as you can provide to me about the situation so I know what I need to do. Don’t dawdle, little girl.”

He disappeared out of the bedroom before she could agree or decline. He just assumed she would do whatever he said. And while she hated that, it also turned her on.

You’re losing your mind. You hate dominant guys.

Carly left her bags on the floor, not wanting to unpack anything because she didn’t plan on staying long. As soon as the police arrested James, she could go back home. She just hoped that would happen sooner rather than later.

Unzipping one of the bags, she dug her hand straight down to the bottom where she knew she’d packed her stuffed dolly, Annabelle, that she’d had since she was three. It was a little ratty from being thrown in the washing machine over the years, but she loved the toy, and it had provided Carly with a lot of comfort throughout her lifetime. Her mom had bought the doll for Carly when her parents were trying to break Carly from sleeping in their bed. It had worked, and Annabelle had become her best friend throughout her childhood.

Carly hugged Annabelle to her chest and sighed while sitting down on the bed. She needed to figure out how to be nice to Damian while she was staying at his house. He really was helping her, even if she didn’t like it, and she knew without a doubt already that he would protect her with his life.

Her phone vibrated in her back pocket, and when she pulled it out, she smiled when she saw her brother’s name.

Be good. Damian is a good man. Do as he says. I mean it. Love you.

She quickly typed a response.

He’s a big meanie. I am a grown woman. I don’t follow orders. Love you.

She didn’t sound childish at all. Not one bit.

Caroline, I am warning you right now. You will not like it if I call him and instruct him to discipline you. BE GOOD. Love you.

Discipline her? She knew Greyson was into that sort of stuff, and if her feelings were right about Damian being a Daddy Dom, he was probably into that sort of thing too. But threatening to discipline her? She should have been pissed and cursed her brother out for even making such a suggestion. But instead, she realized she was squeezing her thighs together. What kind of discipline would Damian give her?

Love you. Be safe.

Stuffing her doll under the pillow, Carly made herself leave the comfortable bedroom to go find Damian. She hated talking about James and everything that he’d done to her during their marriage, but he said he needed to know more about the situation. Maybe she could just leave all of the humiliating things that happened out of the conversation.

Carly found Damian in his office with the door open. He was staring at his laptop screen when she approached the doorway and knocked. When he looked up at her, the expression on his face was dark and she almost backed away from the room, but he crooked his finger, motioning her to come into the room.

“Your ex-husband is the former mayoral candidate James Wheeler?”

I should have known he would do his research. So much for leaving out the humiliating stuff.