Page 21 of Shades of Loyalty
While he stays calm and looks down at me, my eyes widen. Suddenly, his body is all over mine, making me feel smaller than ever as he firmly presses himself against me.
My lower back is pressed against the desk, and I accidentally knock over a picture with my hand.
“Oh, God, I’m so sorry, I—” I look back to make sure nothing’s broken when he lifts his hand to grab my face, forcing me to look back at him.
At this handsome face of his.The black curls, the dark eyes, the sharp jaw.Fuck.
His strong, yet firm grip makes me blush as he practically stares into my eyes.
“You’re such a pretty woman. Don’t act up now. Your daughter will be here soon. You don’t want me to punish you and correct your behavior, do you now?”
My eyes widen at his words. “What do you mean? You said you wouldn’t hurt me,” I whisper, afraid of saying a single wrong word.
Worried about triggering a side of him I haven’t seen yet. I keep forgetting he’s a stranger. I also keep forgetting how he could literally grab the gun from his waistband and shoot me before I could even move out of the way.
It terrifies me. And yet, I can’t help but wonder why he would take care of my daughter if he’d actually be the dangerous man I expect him to be.
He said he wouldn’t hurt me. But I can’t trust his words. Not yet.
We both stand there in silence for a few seconds before footsteps and voices fill the corridor outside. I let out a huge sigh the second I hearhervoice.
She’s safe, and that’s all I’ve been waiting for all day. For hours.
I push Daniel away just seconds before there’s a knock on the door, and to my surprise, he doesn’t seem to care that I basically just shoved him away from me with full force.
“Come inside,” Daniel says, this time with a much softer voice. I don’t know if it’s because his mother is about to enter or because of my daughter.
But the dark, scary aura he had just seconds ago completely disappears.And while he freaked me out with that aura, fuck, he looked so hot. Those dark curls, those eyes…
…I should stop thinking of him like this.
The door opens, and I look straight into three faces—two of them, I know.
I smile as soon as I see Mary. Her eyes light up, and she giggles, running towards me and right into my arms. I hug her tightly, trying hard not to be too obvious about the huge relief I feel.
“Hello, my sweet pea. How was your day today?” I ask her, giving her a soft kiss on her forehead. She giggles again. “It was so much fun! We learned a loooot of things! The teacher said I’m going to be a big artist one day!”
The smile on my face doesn’t leave as I listen to her ramble. Her brown hair is still in the pigtails I braided this morning, though they’re a bit ruined. She’s a child, after all.They play around. Get dirty, everything. I can’t blame her.
“That sounds amazing, darling,” I reply. Mary looks behind her, pointing toward Daniel’s mom and the younger woman next to her.
“They told me they’re friends of you, Mom! And they were so nice, they even gave me some cookies!” I cringe atthe idea of my daughter being with strangers and accepting their food. Fuck, they don’t even know about her allergies.
I’ve met Daniel’s mom, and I’m sure she’s nice, but I’ve only known both of them for a few hours.
God, I hate feeling like this.Helpless. Worried. Scared.
“They are friends of mine, yes. We will live with them for a while, darling. But…” I feel all their stares. Fuck, this is hard.
“The next time somebody tells you they’re a friend of mine, and you don’t know who they are, don’t go with them. Never. Do you understand that, my baby? This was an absolute exception.”
She nods at my words, the huge smile still on her face. “I do, Mommy! Never go with any strangers. Understood!”
I smile back at her. “That’s my smart girl.”
I stand up and look at the young woman next to Daniel’s mom. “Oh. Excuse me, but... I don’t think I met you yet.”
She smiles at me softly. Could she be Daniel’s wife, perhaps?But if she was, he wouldn’t have pushed me and…
