Chapter 10

Juniper was sated and relaxed as she climbed into bed with her Daddy. He’d told her she could sleep in her playroom if she wasn’t ready to share his bed, but that seemed silly after she’d had sex with him earlier in the day and had now been spanked and fingered to orgasm.

She’d tried to get him to let her reciprocate, but he’d insisted not this time. He’d told her not to bother to keep score because he intended to bring her to orgasm far more often than himself.

Now, she was snuggled up against him, wearing a silky baby-blue cami and short set. She was so tired and so happy she couldn’t stop smiling. Her bottom still stung but in a good way. Every time she moved, she was reminded of the way he’d so carefully taught her to try something new and how hard she’d come afterward.

Magnus kissed the top of her head, held her against his chest, and whispered in her ear. “Sleep, Little girl. Daddy has you.”

Content like never before, she slid into a deep sleep.

* * *

“Come on. Through here!” Sammi encouraged as Juniper skipped along behind her.

Juniper was intrigued and excited as she followed Sammi into the library. A secret passage? She was hesitant, uncertain if she could believe Sammi’s claim, but if there was a secret passage, she wanted to see it.

Juniper loved the library, not so much because of the books but because of the dollhouse and other toys that filled one corner of the room. She and Sammi had spent hours playing with that dollhouse. They would go there when no one else was in the room, mostly because they both believed they were probably too old for dollhouses. But it was just so intricate and amazing.

“Are you sure about this?” Juniper asked skeptically. “We’ve been here dozens of times. I don’t see any secret passage.”

Sammi’s eyes were dancing with excitement when she turned back to Juniper. “You’ll see. Ready?”

Juniper nodded. “Sure?”

Sammi reached for the windowsill and slid her hand along the trim. Suddenly, there was a slight click that made Juniper jump. It came from the bookshelves behind the dollhouse.

Sammi giggled as she glanced at the door to the library. “No one’s coming. Let’s go.” She dropped onto her hands and knees, crawled behind the dollhouse, and pushed on a section of the bookcase.

Juniper gasped as one section of the bookshelves swung into the room, revealing a dark space behind it. She rushed after Sammi, who disappeared into the opening. Pausing at the entrance, she could barely see anything. There seemed to be stairs going down. “Are you sure about this?” Juniper called after her friend. It looked scary.

“Positive. Don’t be a chicken. I’ve been in here loads of times.”

When a light came on, Juniper felt more confident. Maybe this wasn’t the craziest idea. She glanced at the door once more. It was still shut. No one knew they were in here. She hoped they wouldn’t get in trouble.

“Come on,” Sammi encouraged.

Finally, Juniper crawled into the space.

Sammi immediately pushed the bookshelves back into place while Juniper looked around. “Creepy.”

“I know, right?”

So far, all Juniper could see was a tight little hidey-hole. It was kind of fun knowing it was there, but that was about it. But then, Sammi pulled a latch on the floor and lifted some sort of hatch. The hinges squeaked loudly.

“It needs to be oiled,” Sammi said. “Maybe next time we’ll bring something to keep it quieter.”

Next time? Juniper was still uncertain about this time.

Without another word, Sammi lowered herself down into the new hole.

When Juniper leaned over, she saw it was a ladder. Her heart was racing. There could be spiders or rats down there. She wasn’t about to chicken out, though, and risk Sammi calling her a chicken for the rest of the summer.

When Sammi was out of sight, another light came on. Thank God.

“Let’s go,” her friend encouraged.

Juniper took a deep breath and lowered herself onto the ladder behind Sammi. Her father would be furious if he found out about this. It probably wasn’t safe.

“Few people know this is even here,” Sammi told her as she dropped to the floor. “That’s what makes it so fun. These tunnels are all over the place under the resort. I bet they’re like a hundred years old.”

“Where do they lead?” Juniper asked.

“Off the property. They must have been built so the original owners could escape if they ever needed to.”

“Escape what?” Juniper asked.

Sammi shrugged. “How should I know? It was a long time ago.”

“Are there mice or bugs down here?” Juniper asked.

“Maybe. I haven’t seen any. Are you scared?” she taunted.

“No, of course not.” Juniper rubbed her arms.

“Follow me.”

Juniper rushed along behind her friend, who occasionally stopped to flip another light switch. Raw bulbs hung from the ceiling every few yards. They were dusty, but luckily, they worked. She couldn’t imagine how old the tunnels were, but someone had added electricity at some point. The wires were tacked to the ceiling.

They walked for some distance before Sammi came to a sudden stop.

Juniper ran into the back of her.

Sammi twisted her head around and held a finger to her lips. “Shh.” When she turned back to face forward, she craned her ear.

Had she heard something? Juniper’s heart raced as she, too, listened.

There. Voices. She couldn’t make them out, but there were definitely men somewhere, having a heated discussion.

Sammi inched forward.

“Sammi,” Juniper hissed. This was a really bad idea. They might get caught.

Sammi kept going, slowly making her way farther down the tunnel.

Juniper followed her, scared out of her mind as the voices got louder and louder. She was in a near panic when Sammi stopped, tipped her head back, and looked at the ceiling. “Look,” she whispered.

Juniper leaned back, too. She noticed another ladder like the one they’d come down in the dark corner. There was another hatch at the top of it. The voices were coming from above.

Relieved, Juniper let her shoulders lower. No one had found them. It was just that they were directly beneath another entrance to the tunnel. Whoever was above probably had no idea they were standing on or near a secret passage.

“Is that your dad?” Sammi asked softly.

Juniper listened again. It was. Both girls looked at each other when they realized the man Juniper’s father was speaking to was Sammi’s father, Vincent Markham.

“My wife doesn’t like them. They give her a bad vibe.”

“They give her a bad vibe?” Juniper’s father chuckled. “Then let’s start meeting in one of the rooms under the resort.”

“Not a bad idea.”

Juniper shrugged toward her friend as they took off to explore another section of the tunnels.

* * *

Magnus shook his Little girl, trying to wake her up. He didn’t want to scare her, but she was having a very disturbing dream that was making her restless and jerky.

“Juni… Little girl… Wake up, Juni.”

Finally, she opened her eyes and gasped. She sat up so fast it surprised him.

He sat up next to her and pulled her into his arms. She was trembling badly and whimpering even now that she was awake. “You had a bad dream, Little girl.” He rubbed her back.

She sat rigidly as if she wasn’t fully awake yet or maybe didn’t know where she was.

“Juni, it’s me. Daddy. You’re okay. It was just a dream.”

Suddenly, she jerked her gaze to his, far more lucid than he’d thought. “I know where the money is.”