6. Paisley

6

PAISLEY

I 'm only a few sips into my drink and finally starting to relax and let the liquor do its thing when I'm rudely interrupted.

"Paisley? Is that you?"

Fuck my entire life. I don't have to turn around to recognize the grating voice that belongs to the last person on earth I want to see. Why is he here?

"Paisley," he calls again, more firmly this time.

Every muscle in my neck tightens as I turn to face my past. To face the person I trusted more than anyone. The person who betrayed me. In more ways than one.

My mouth opens, but no words come out. My vagina dries right up. Any trace of arousal left from Kieran's words disappears. Fuck. I need to get away from him. Actually, I need to leave this party completely.

"I thought that was you." He pulls me into a hug that makes my skin crawl.

"Jeremy," I say quietly.

I don't hug him back. In fact, I don't move at all. My arms feel like they're weighed down by concrete.

When he steps back, his disapproving gaze travels over my body. Every insecurity he gave me comes roaring back to life.

A woman glides up beside him, and he wraps an arm around her. "Who is this?" she asks in an overly sweet, fake voice.

Jeremy stares at me as he moves his hand down her side, settling it on the slight curve of her tiny hip. The woman is so thin I'm worried she might blow away if there's a strong wind. And I kind of wish we were outside right now so the snooty bitch would blow away.Like that house from the movie Up. Or better yet, a storm will appear that she'll get swept up in and end up in Oz somewhere. Then, get crushed by a house, of course. It wouldn't be a happy ending without that.

"This is my ex, Paisley. I told you about her. Paisley, this is Mercedes, my girlfriend."

Mercedes' eyes shine with pure venom. "Oh, right. Paisley."

My hands tremble at my sides, and I'm struggling to focus. I'm pretty sure this is the woman he cheated on me with. The one who knew about me but still chose to sleep with him for months. The one who sent me photos of them fucking in our bed while I was at work.

Oh, God. I'm going to be sick.

"Do you have a date here?" Mercedes looks around dramatically like a random guy is going to pop out from behind me.

Fuck. Why didn't I bring a date? How pathetic that I came to this fancy event alone.

Movement out of the corner of my eye pulls my attention away from them for a brief second as Kieran shakes another man's hand. As soon as my gaze lands on him, he looks at me, and his eyebrows furrow slightly.

An idea pops into my head. It's an absolutely horrible one, but I can't tell these assholes I'm here alone. They made me their laughingstock before. I won't allow that to happen again.

I flash a fake smile. "Actually, I do and he's right over there, so if you'll excuse me."

Leaving my drink on one of the high-top tables, I stride over to Kieran, interrupting the conversation he's in with two other men.

I grab the front of his suit and lift onto my toes to whisper in his ear, not missing the disbelief written all over his face.

"Please be my date for the night. Please, Kieran," I whisper quickly, the desperation coming out as I speak. "I'm begging you. Act like you're my boyfriend. I'll never be mean to you again. Please."

He tenses for a beat, but thankfully, he recovers just as fast. Without hesitation, he snakes his arms around my waist and lowers his face to mine.

"Are you in danger, princess?"

Looping my arms around his neck, I smile and act like I'm nuzzling into him, trying to ignore the fact that he's warm and smells so fucking edible. Jeremy and Mercedes are moving our way, and I'm terrified.

"No, but my ex and the woman he cheated on me with are here. Please, Kieran."

He tightens his hold on me and presses a kiss to my shoulder before lifting his head to check out our incoming guests.

"Of course, baby girl," he says loud enough for the people around us to hear.

I shift to move beside him, startling when he brings his enormous hand up to the back of my neck, squeezing slightly at the sides before running his thumb over my pulse.

The men he was in conversation with smile at me, and my stomach drops when I realize that one of them is Cullen Blake. He's in the Irish mafia. Shit. He knows Kieran and I aren't together.

"Cullen, you remember my woman, Paisley."

Without blinking an eye, Cullen smiles and nods. "Yes. It's great to see you again. I've never seen Kieran happier."

Kieran squeezes my neck, and I take it as a silent disagreement with Cullen's statement. I'm sure the last thing Kieran is right now is happy. But as long as he's willing to play along, that's all I care about.

"Are we interrupting?" Jeremy asks.

My stomach is in knots when I look up and meet Mercedes' stare. Fuck. Can she tell it's not real?

"Yes," Kieran replies firmly, his tone bored and annoyed.

The shock on Jeremy's face is comical. For once, I want to thank Kieran for his bluntness because this is so worth it.

"We just wanted to come over and meet Paisley's date," Mercedes says with a half laugh.

My entire body is rigid, and the urge to throw up is back. She's making fun of me.

Kieran's hand slides down my back, and he pulls me closer into his side until I'm tucked under his arm, with mine wrapped around his waist. I feel so small next to him. I also feel protected. Which is a strange feeling.

"Paisley is more than my date. She's my woman, and if I have it my way, she'll be my wife." He keeps his hold on me the entire time, and it feels like a blanket of reassurance. "Who are you, and how do you know my girl?"

His question is more of a demand, the kind that could make grown men pee themselves. Satisfaction fills me when I glance up at Jeremy and find him pale and looking regretful that he came over here.

"I'm Mercedes, and this is my fiancé, Jeremy. We're friends of Paisley's."

Her statement is like a punch to the gut. Her fiancé? Friends? What the fuck?

Being the idiot she is and completely unable to read the room, Mercedes keeps talking. "Sheesh, Paisley, you really pull off the whole Morticia look."

Before I can think of a reply, Kieran squeezes me closer and takes the lead.

"She's never spoken of either of you. Maybe your definition of friendship is skewed. And yeah, she does pull it off. Fucking perfection if you ask me."

Mercedes and Jeremy gape at him, clearly unsure how to respond to that. Then, she starts cackling nervously.

Kieran shoots them a glare as he starts to tug me away. "You'll have to excuse us, though. We need another drink."

Without waiting for any kind of response, he leads me away from the group.

"Thank you," I whisper.

He grunts and steers me to the bar, keeping his arm around me the entire time.

"You want another martini, baby girl?"

I turn my head and look up at him, my eyebrows pulled together. "You don't have to pretend anymore."

Turning his emerald eyes to me, he smirks. "Oh, baby girl. You asked me to be your man for the night, so you're getting the full Daddy Kieran treatment. Besides, that fucker is still watching us, and I don't like him or his date. I'm going to rub it in his ugly face that I got the most beautiful girl in the room, and he lost her."

Um. What? Am I drunk? Did he just say? Most beautiful girl in the room? Holy fuck. Did Kieran actually give me a compliment?

"Better close your mouth, baby girl. Otherwise, I'm going to think you're wanting me to kiss you."

I snap my lips closed and continue to stare up at him. Is he drunk? One of us has got to be wasted, right? Because this is not normal.

"Why did you even date that asshole? On looks alone, you're way out of his league."

"Kieran," I say.

The corner of his lip twitches. "I'd prefer my girl call me Daddy, but I guess I'll allow you to use my name for tonight."

A bolt of lightning strikes right through me down to my core. Daddy . That's so hot. I should have known he was a Daddy Dom. The signs have been there, but I've been too busy trying to ignore his existence.

He nudges me up to the bar, where he starts to order for the both of us. When he doesn't say please or thank you, I dig my elbow into his side until he glances down at me with a scowl.

"Manners." I arch an eyebrow at him, and when he finally understands, he sighs and looks at the bartender.

"Thank you," he grits out quietly as he drops another hundred-dollar bill onto the bar top.

"Was that so painful?" I ask as I pick up my martini.

"I'll ask you the same thing after I put you over my knee," he grumbles.

The sip I just took spews out of my mouth as I start coughing. Did he just threaten to spank me?

"Easy, baby girl."

My cheeks heat, and I duck my head. Fuck. People side-eye me as Kieran leads me away from the crowd, but he doesn't seem to notice or care.

He takes my drink from me and sets our glasses on a nearby table. Then, as if my head weren't already spinning, he cups my face.

"Paisley, relax. I was teasing you."

Narrowing my eyes, I purse my lips. "You don't know how to tease."

He smirks, pinning me with those gorgeous green eyes. Holy hell. I've always thought the man was attractive, but when he grins like that, it's a whole new level of hot.

"I know how to tease, baby girl. Now, for the rest of the night, you're mine, and I'm going to treat you as such, so get used to it. By the time this party ends, that dipshit and his bitch are going to know that Paisley McKee belongs to me."

My nipples ache against the fabric of my dress. Even though none of this is real, I let myself wonder for a brief second what it would be like to belong to Kieran.

"It's just pretend."

His eyes darken, and his brow tenses slightly. "Tonight, it's not pretend. You're mine right now. You begged me to play along, so I am. Now, be Daddy's good girl and drink your martini."

When I start choking on air again, he shoots me an exasperated look. "Jesus, Paisley. Relax, baby. Fuck, why are you letting this asshole get you so uptight?"

Biting my bottom lip, I debate how much to tell him. It's humiliating. But something tells me Kieran will see it differently.

"He cheated on me with her, and she sent me photos of them fucking in our bed. There's more, but that's the big picture."

Kieran's entire expression turns so thunderous that I shiver. I've seen the man in a bad mood, barking out orders, being a pain in the ass to me, but I've never seen him like this.

"I'm going to kill him and make her pay dearly." His voice is low and deadly, and fuck, why is it turning me on? What is wrong with me? I need to talk to Chloe about this. Except, he's her brother. Shit. Well, she married her brother's best friend so she really can't have a problem with it. Hopefully.

"Kieran, it's fine."

He stares at me, his jaw flexing and his eyes lit with rage. "It's not fucking fine, Paisley. Real men don't fucking cheat on their women. He's dead."

I don't have a chance to argue because a couple walks up to us and starts talking to Kieran. It takes me a moment before I realize it's the CEO and his wife. Shit.

"John, I'm sure you already know Paisley. She's one of your firm's top account managers. She's also my woman."

Something flickers in John's gaze. A couple of things, actually. The first is that this is the first time he's heard my name. And second, he knows he fucked up for not knowing it. Especially since Kieran just claimed me as his.

"Right, Paisley. It's nice to meet you in person finally." John smiles and holds out his hand, and then his wife does the same thing, greeting me kindly.

"It's nice to meet you both," I say. "This is a beautiful party."

Kieran wraps his arm around me again, making it obvious that he's claiming me. Or pretending to claim me, at least.

"Paisley was at the top of her class in college and has been working for your company for almost two years. It's really a shame you haven't gotten her working directly with you yet. She'd be a real asset."

I shoot Kieran a look, trying to hint that he should shut the hell up. His only response is a gentle squeeze. Cocky bastard.

John swallows and nods. "It is a shame. One I'll definitely be rectifying. It was nice meeting you, Paisley. I'll be in touch soon."

When John and his wife saunter away, I reach under Kieran's tux jacket and pinch his side. Well, I try to anyway. The man has no fat on his body so getting a hold of skin is a challenge. And he doesn't even freaking wince.

"Little girls who pinch and elbow their Daddies get their bottoms spanked with his belt."

I let out a gasp. It's hard to breathe. Why is he having such an effect on me right now? And why is he calling himself Daddy? I don't need to envision Kieran as my Daddy. Not now, not ever, and definitely not when I'm in my bed with my vibrator tonight.

Then, he turns his face down to look at me and winks. Fucking winks at me!

"You're really enjoying this. So proud of yourself right now, huh?"

He laughs, deep and rich. For a brief second, I forget that I'm irritated with him. My chest warms, and I grin at him. Most of the time, he's so serious and stoic, but the tiny glimpses of the real Kieran he's shown me are a special treat.

"I didn't want to come tonight, but this is turning out to be the most fun I've had in a while."

For some reason, that statement makes me sad. Kieran is usually pretty serious, but I've seen him smiling and laughing when he's around Chloe, Cali, and Scarlet. And surely, he has fun at other times. Right?

"I'm also going to have fun when I torture your ex before I kill him. That will be a good time."

Um. What? He didn't mean it when he said he was going to murder him. Right? That would be crazy. Although, if Kieran is anything like the stories I've heard about Bash, Killian, and Declan, I might need toconsider that he's totally serious right now.

"You don't need to kill him. He'll get his karma. I'm sure it won't be long before she's cheating on him with someone hotter like he did to me."

If storm clouds could appear over Kieran's head, they would be booming with thunder. Slowly and deliberately, he leans down and hooks a finger under my chin, then moves until we're only inches apart.

"If you think that skank is hotter than you, I'm taking you to the eye doctor because there isn't a single person in here more beautiful than you, Paisley. Fuck! Do you see all these assholes looking at you? I want to kill all of them. And I can tell you that if you were mine, there wouldn't be a woman on earth I'd ever consider cheating on you with. Real men don't cheat. You're a fucking pain in my ass, but you're a twenty out of ten. Got me?"