Ivy allowed the anger brewing inside her to show on her face as Steele escorted her to her car. “I can’t believe that…” her voice lowered to a hiss to preserve her professionalism, “asshole told everyone I went on vacation with no notice and required everyone to work overtime.”
Automatically, she had headed for the driver’s side of the car, but Steele turned her gently to walk around the vehicle to the passenger side. She continued to fume as he helped her into the car and fastened her seatbelt across her lap.
When he slid in next to her and closed the door, sealing them inside, Ivy exploded, “I should sue him for slander. No wonder everyone shunned my greetings. That obnoxious, manipulative man!”
“I think asshole is a perfect name for him,” Steele agreed dryly.
“Right!” she said, turning abruptly in her seat before grabbing the console between them when the world spun around her.
Immediately, Steele’s powerful arm shot out to pin her firmly against the upholstery. “Do not let him have power over you, Little girl. Your soldiers are already at work.”
“What?”
“Calmly look at the window now,” he instructed with a nod toward the drive-through area.
Ivy shifted her view slowly from his face to focus on the area he indicated. The teller on duty in the far right station leaned to the side to whisper something to the next employee as she waved to Ivy with a big smile. The word passed to each in the row. It was overwhelming to feel the emotional response of everyone who saw her reversed in seconds, but Ivy knew it had. She settled back against her seat and returned their greetings with a wave.
“Now, they know he’s an asshole,” Steele observed as he started the car.
“They already knew he was a jerk,” Ivy corrected. “We all did. Now, they know they can’t trust him any more than I have for several months.”
“Want to tell me what’s up with him?”
“No. It’s all boring bank business. I’ll take care of it when I get back to work.”
“You don’t have to do things alone now, Little girl,” he reminded her as he drove from the parking space, heading back to the Shadowridge Guardians’ complex.
“Thanks, Daddy.” She closed her eyes and gave into the exhaustion the brief visit had caused.
A quick turn to the left woke her, and Ivy sat up. Steele might be a daring motorcycle guy, but he drove like a new parent with her in the car. “What’s wrong?”
“I just turned on Main Street and will go two blocks to Lemon Avenue,” Steele said into his phone before touching the screen to activate the speaker function. He set it in the cup holder before squeezing her thigh reassuringly. With his hands back on the steering wheel, Steele divided his attention between the windshield and his side mirror.
When she shifted to turn and peek between the seats, he barked, “Stay where you are, Little girl!”
“Is there a child in the car, Steele?” a calm voice inquired through the phone.
“There are two people in this vehicle—one adult male and one adult female,” Steele answered with military precision. “The white panel van is still following us. License plate YRP 299. Check the report for the Ivy Jenkins abduction on…”
As he talked, Ivy remembered there was a side mirror. She leaned forward to see more clearly and froze. The blood in her veins felt like it had turned to ice. Ivy wrapped her arms around herself and sank back against the seat, her desire to hide urging her to slide onto the floorboards. She reached for the buckle of the seatbelt to release it.
“Stay there, Ivy. I don’t want you to be bashed around.”
Ivy swallowed hard and followed his instructions without argument. They were after her again, but this time, she had Steele. “Okay.”
After several long seconds, the woman Ivy assumed was a 911 operator said, “Sir, are you sure these are the same men that abducted Ivy Jenkins?”
“There are three men in the van. A muscular bald man is driving. In the passenger seat is a male with brown hair. There is one more in the second row of seats. He appears tall with blond hair, but I can’t see him clearly. I believe the first two match the description in the report.”
“Because of a large accident on the north side of town, I don’t have a car in the area to send. If the van makes any threatening moves, drive to the police station for assistance. It is two blocks away.”
The air turned blue with his curses as Steele disconnected the call and placed another. She watched him glance into the rearview mirror and turn immediately to the right.
“Put your head on your lap and wrap your arms over your skull to protect yourself,” he ordered as Storm answered the call.
“Car won’t start?” Storm’s amusement was palpable.
“There’s a white van following us.”
“Where are you?” Storm’s tone morphed to sound hard and alert.
Steele gave him their approximate location as he changed lanes, and Storm’s terse answer followed. “We’ll be there.”
After straightening the car from the next turn, he rubbed a hand over Ivy’s shoulder as she lay folded out of view. “I’m sorry, Little girl.”
“Can the Guardians help?” she asked in a muffled voice.
“Yes,” he answered in a clipped voice that revealed his stress.
Continuing his avoidance and attempt to lose the van, Steele weaved through traffic and the roads he obviously knew like the back of his hand. When he slowed, she started to sit back up, but he held her in place. “Almost safe, Ivy.”
The sunlight vanished from the interior of the car. Steele turned off the car and slid out rapidly. With no one to stop her, Ivy sat up and looked around. She was inside one of the motorcycle bays. Twisting in the seat, she looked behind and the seatbelt seized, following her sudden motion.
With a curse, she unfastened it and turned around to see a line of Guardians standing in a row at the entrance of the repair shop. Each was armed with a gun of varying forms. She tried to get out, but Steele had parked next to the wall so her door banged against the concrete, making her wince. There’s no way she could fit through there.
Sending mean thoughts his way before she scrambled over the console into the driver’s seat, Ivy remembered he’d saved her again and remorse crashed over her. She peeked out the door and saw a barricade of hard bodies separating her from the road. The throb of motors filled the air and wheels squealed on the pavement.
“They’re running,” a deep voice announced, and the tension visibly ebbed from the men in front of her.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
Everyone shifted, moving their guns down to their sides as they turned around. Ivy saw Steele secure his handgun in the back waistband of his jeans.
“Do you always carry that?”
“Yes, Little girl. Let’s get you inside,” Steele answered evenly as he wrapped an arm around her while he dug a hand into his pocket to throw the closest man the key fob for her sedan.
“Wait! What’s going on? What happened to the van?” Ivy dragged her feet, trying to look back at the others until Steele scooped her up in his arms and carried her out the back door.
“Little girl.” Steele shook his head.
“What? I don’t understand. The van was following us?”
Steele remained silent as he opened the door to the clubhouse. The chatter of the few people inside ceased completely for a couple of seconds as he stalked through with Ivy cradled to his hard body. Their talk revived behind them as they entered the hall to the apartments.
Ivy pushed at Steele’s chest. “Let me down!”
He completely ignored her protest until he entered his space. Then Steele placed her feet on the floor and pulled her into his arms as his head lowered to capture her lips. The kiss set a fire within her instantly as he took absolute control of the exchange, stealing the breath from her lungs and the strength from her legs. Ivy curled her fingers into the fabric of his shirt and clung to his powerful form as the fierce kiss overtook her thoughts.
“No,” popped from her mouth when he lifted his mouth to step slightly away from her. Ivy bit her bottom lip in anticipation when Steele ripped her T-shirt over her head.
Air wrapped around her breasts, making her shiver. The heated desire in his gaze as it meshed with hers made her squeeze her thighs together. Her need skyrocketed as Steele unfastened her pants and thrust her jeans to the floor. Within minutes, she sat naked on the bed as he stripped inches away from her.
Focusing on every inch of the chiseled man's flesh as it appeared, Ivy dismissed his move to set the gun into the nightstand drawer. Steele leaned forward to yank free the laces of his battered work boots before toeing them off and stepping out of his jeans and boxers.
Ivy traced every muscle and groove in his form with her gaze. Steele was so comfortable in his skin, she loved to look at him. He stalked forward like a jungle cat on the hunt. She shivered at the thought that she was his prey.
He wrapped a massive hand around the back of her head and drew her lips forward to meet his. Ivy expected a savage kiss, but his lips wooed hers, nibbling and tasting as he explored her mouth. Encircling his neck with her arms, Ivy arched her back to plaster herself to his body. His heat radiated to warm her as he hugged her to him with a supportive arm around her back.
Slowly, he lowered her to the surface of the bed. Supporting his weight on one muscled forearm, Steele nipped at her lips before gentling his kisses once again. Unable to lie still, Ivy rubbed her pelvis against his, fully engaged in the seduction he lavished on her. Her focus so complete, her breath came hard and fast when he released her mouth to press fiery kisses to her jaw and the sensitive column of her neck.
Her eyes closed in utter bliss as his touch explored her, teasing and tantalizing a trail of arousal down the length of her body. His kisses followed leisurely, as if Steele had all the time in the world to taste her. She’d never been the complete focus of anyone’s attention. The world around them shrank to the edges of the bed that supported them as his mouth moved lower to taste the length of her collarbone.
Ivy threaded her fingers through his thick hair. Completely focused on the zings of pleasure his touch sent through her body, she squeezed her thighs together, feeling herself becoming wet and needy. “Please,” she whispered as his mouth hovered over her breast. His heated breath radiated to warm her skin, building her anticipation with each fraction of a second he delayed. Arching her back, Ivy thrust her chest upward to press against his lips.
“Daddy’s in charge, Little girl,” he growled against her breast.
She shivered at the dominant command in his voice. “Yes, Daddy,” she whispered before exhaling in relief and excitement when he captured her nipple between his lips and rolled it tenderly.
“More, Daddy,” she begged and gasped as he nipped at the tight peak.
“Be careful what you ask for, Little girl.”
He trailed kisses and caresses on her skin, stopping frequently to taste her as if he had all the time in the world. She couldn’t wait for the next sensation as the anticipation grew inside her. When he moved between her thighs and settled on the floor, she held her breath. Would he kiss her there?
Steele hovered over the silky curls between her legs. She watched his nostrils flare as he inhaled deeply to savor her essence. The animalistic act carved itself into her mind. The passion etched on his face revealed how arousing he found her scent. Her embarrassment evaporated as he tugged her hips to the edge of the bed before lowering his lips to tease her.
Ivy shifted her thighs apart in a silent plea for him to taste her. Steele glided the tip of his tongue down the cleft of her pussy. His “mmm” of appreciation at her flavor deepened her desire, and she yielded without reservation when he pressed her thighs farther apart and sat back to study her.
“Damn, Ivy. You’re beautiful.” Each second he gazed at her built the anticipation of his next kiss.
When he finally lowered his mouth to her, Ivy trembled as sensations cascaded over her body. Steele explored her pink folds with his lips and tongue. When he sucked her clitoris into his mouth, a keening wail of delight seeped from her lips. When he pulled his mouth backward, maintaining the suction, those feelings magnified, becoming almost too much until he released her with a pop of suction.
Hovering on the edge of an orgasm, she protested and tried to raise her hips to chase it. Steele’s hands tightened over her thighs, pinning her hips to the bed as he devoured her. She understood immediately that he was in control. Not her.
He thrust two callused fingers into her tight channel and she screamed as an orgasm crashed over her. When she thrashed her head to one side, he released one thigh and firmly gripped her throat below her jaw to hold her steady. The primal hold pushed her arousal higher than she’d ever flown before as he continued to devour her. When the sensations overwhelmed her, Ivy screamed with pleasure, the sound echoing in the room.
“Little girl,” he groaned, rising to his knees between her legs. He pressed a wet kiss against her stomach. “Stay.”
Ivy didn’t move a fraction of an inch as she watched him reach for a sealed box, unseal it, and rip the packet open with his teeth. When he pulled out the protection, she giggled at the sight of the neon yellow rubber.
He winked at her. “Safety first, Little girl.”
Laughter tumbled from her lips. How many sides were there to her Daddy? The vision of him gripping his thick shaft to roll the condom onto his cock wiped humor away from her mind, and Ivy bit her lip. Could she take him?
“It’s okay, Ivy girl. Trust me?” he asked, holding her gaze.
“Yes,” she squeaked.
“Good girl.”
Steele rubbed his hands down her thighs and lifted one thigh over his shoulder. Fitting the broad head of his cock against her opening, he pushed forward gently, leaning forward to collar her throat once again to hold her head steady as his shaft stretched her. The pressure was breathtaking.
Tentatively, she tried to shift her head, and his hand tightened, warning her. He was totally in control. Being frightened didn’t enter her mind, Ivy was so turned on. She sucked in a breath as Steele filled her. The pressure built inside her. Could she take all of him?
Steele tightened his hand around her throat, interrupting her anxious thoughts. Her body reacted to his dominance, relaxing her muscles around him. His gaze held hers captive, not allowing her to look away. So intimate, she felt he could see into her soul. Without warning, Steele surged forward, filling her completely. He paused for a moment to allow her to catch her breath.
“Move, damn it!” she demanded, unwilling to wait for the pleasure she knew awaited.
“Language, Little girl,” he reprimanded sternly before granting her wish.
Taking care not to rock her too abruptly, Steele pressed into her body over and over. A sheen of perspiration glistened on his skin as he held himself under rigid control. Even as their bodies moved together, building the sensations inside her, Steele controlled her movements as he targeted the sensitive areas he’d discovered.
Tracing the muscles of his chest and abdomen, Ivy stared at his masculine beauty—the scars scattered here and there added menace to his look. Steele could snap her in half with his brutal strength. More turned on than ever before, Ivy caressed his hard body to return the delicious caresses he lavished on her.
Steele’s skill pushed her into climaxes that blended together until she could do nothing other than feel. His fingers tightened on her throat and he quickened his thrusts. A climax burst over her and she contracted around his shaft, drawing a low groan from his lips and a surge forward as he emptied himself inside the condom.
A slow smile spread across her face as he draped himself over her. His hand still firmly supported her neck to protect her head. Ivy loved feeling his heartbeat against her chest. The attraction between them was compelling and fierce. She loved it.
Her eyes flashed open. No. I love him.