I kept a smile on my face so she wouldn't guess at my intentions or of the rage that was beginning to boil inside me. I rolled down the window between us and the driver."Change of plans. Instead of taking us straight to the office, we need to swing by the shopping district.""Yes, sir." I rolled the window back up before turning to her."How would you like to go shopping with me?" She looked down at her uniform."Don't worry about that. Your dad already knows that you're with me. You don't need to be home until after dinner.""I still don't understand how you got my dad to agree to this...""That's not for you to worry about. Just know that when you're with me, we can do anything you like, like go shopping for lip balm and anything else your little heart desires."Really...that's...oh no wait, I can't..." She was back to gnawing at her lip, and I subconsciously pulled it out from between her teeth with my thumb."Why not?""Because then you might think that's the only reason

This is your fault Gideon, you knew what type of man this was, and still, you let her go there. How could you? I will have to beat myself up later; right now, my only thought was getting to her. I didn't call my driver. I took the Aston out myself; I needed speed.I reached the house in less than fifteen minutes; as I walked up to the door, I could hear her father railing against my men. I kicked in the door and walked in on my worst fucking nightmare.One of my guards had the asshole sequestered in a corner of the room while the other sat on the stairs with a crying Ashley. Without uttering a word, I walked over to the stairs and picked her up. Her little body was trembling uncontrollably, and I wanted to commit murder. I had to shake the blood from my eye before I could see to her. I took deep, calming breaths so I wouldn't scare her any more than she already was before kneeling at her feet and drawing her into my arms.I checked her over for any sign of physical harm, but there

I had one of the best night's sleeps since I was a kid. The weight of her on my chest felt like she belonged there and when I kissed her brow gently it felt like the most natural thing in the world. I laid still breathing her in, enjoying the feel of her against me, willing myself not to turn her on her back and fuck her the way I imagined doing since the first day I laid eyes on her. Not yet, she was in no way ready for me, I have to ease her into that side of things. Didn't want to scare her by moving too fast, besides I wanted to court her, and ain't that a kick in the fucking balls? Think of something else quick Thorpe before you fuck this up.I wondered if I should keep her home just for today, maybe her father would try something stupid since he'd proven that he had no sense. He couldn't possibly if he'd decided to take me on. Then again he couldn't have known I would find out, he had her terrified of him so he wouldn't expect her to tell me what he'd done. She has been hi

I cleaned up before going to work and at about one I left to pick her up from school. Our house hunting will have to wait one more day. Today I'm going to fill every closet in the penthouse with shit for her. I thought of calling my sister over to get her input but changed my mind. I'm just not ready to share her with anyone else as yet not even family.She walked out with the rest of the kids and headed for the car, the down look on her face disappearing as she climbed in next to me."How was your tests love?" I drew her in to get a fix it felt like forever since I'd dropped her off. I looked at her to make sure she was okay and that there were no lingering effects from her ordeal the night before. I'm sure that shit's gonna fuck with her for a while but I'm gonna do all that's in my power to cut it out like a cancer."Easy." She seemed more at ease than when I dropped her off as she clutched my arm while I drove. Maybe I was worrying for nothing. Damn, if one morning of freedom co

I'll keep an eye out for the next couple of weeks at least and if I notice anything off I'll handle it. Her life had been drastically changed overnight I'd literally swooped in and taken her over. I have to be sure not to overcrowd her, she already had one overbearing male figure in her life she didn't need another. But the way I felt about her, I know it's going to be tough keeping myself in check.I do want to take her over, dominate. I have this uncontrollable need to be a part of every aspect of her life. Maybe because I know she'd been hurt by her father for so long, I don't know. What I do know is that no one else has ever made me feel this possessive. Like I needed to own her and that just sounds so sick. But it's the truth, whether it's her upbringing, her youth, or that innocent air about her I just know she makes me want to take over every aspect of her existence; like I have to stand between her and the rest of the world.With Lynn and anyone else that came before her we