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I nod. “I suppose,” I reply, accepting his extended arm to stand from the bed. “But to be fair, it’s all my moms could afford,” I add, swinging the door open. “They spent most of their savings on Tessa’s wedding reception at your hotel.”
Another grunt escapes Reid’s throat. “Then your moms can consider whatever fees they paid to my resort, refunded in their entirety.”
“Why are you being so nice to them?” I ask, hobbling halfway down the hallway to an elevator. “You don’t even know them,” I add. “You hardly even know me, yet—”
Don’t say it Kragen. It’s silly to say the ‘L word’ within the first week of meeting somebody.No sooner do I bite my lip to shut the fuck up, when he interjects.
He raises a brow above those tightened, caffeinated irises. “Because I really like you, Kragen,” he mutters softly, pressing the elevator button. “You’re my Banana Boy and I’m your Island Daddy, remember?”
I grasp hold of his wrist, staring straight into his pure soul. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard those words come out of a guy’s mouth before,” I admit, briefly glancing down to the floor. “Typically, the only thing I hear is sexual caterwauling and a huge sigh of relief, followed by—‘don’t let the door smack your ass on the way out,’or some equally degrading statement.”
The elevator ding is accompanied by a loud hiss from Reid’s lips. “That’s appalling, little boy,” he says, sweeping his hand through my dense hair. “You’re a fucking darling,” he moans at a low decibel, leaning in to plant a kiss directly on the lips.
No sooner do the doors swing open like the gates at a horse race, when we hear Candace clearing her throat. “We’ve been waiting downstairs for half an hour, sweetie,” she says. “I came up to make sure you guys were coming down.”
Reid’s shapely lips instantly draw apart from mine. “Yes Ma’am,” he says, clearing his husky throat. “Gordon’s already waiting to take us to my property.”
Candace rolls her eyes in the similar fashion she did at the hospital. “We aren’t invalids,” she snaps. “It’s not even a fourth of a mile around the corner.”
My Island Daddy bites his tongue, as I can tell he wants to sass back. “I figured Kragen’s condition requires special consideration,” he replies graciously. “Besides, it’s one in the morning, Mrs. Darling,” he adds, shooting me a wink. “You ready, kiddo?”
I nod, paying attention to the glint from a hallway light dancing around his pupils. “Let’s go.”
* * *
The short ride to Reid’s property afforded me time to gather my internal thoughts. Almost as if my brain needed re-compartmentalized, like I remember older generations would say whenever they had computer issues.“Maybe you need to run a defrag.”Yet nobody ever liked performing them, because they took half of a fucking century to complete.
I don’t think I have the mental fortitude to confess what I’ve been assigned to do. My feelings for the man I’m being paid to expose to the world, are far deeper than any amount of money. And it’s clear to me now. The kiss and reassurance of his deep feelings for me in front of the elevator, pretty much seal the deal.
Climbing the floors to his private living quarters has my emotions on the precipice of flattery. Reid’s strong arm is wrapped tightly around me, almost supporting the ache in my back. Since I’ve just wished my family goodnight as they each located their private suites, I’m left to contend with the last ten percent of my mental defrag. Though, hunger has overpowered my ability to think with such clarity.
“Reid,” I blurt aloud in his elevator. “I’m absolutely starving,” I admit, grabbing my gurgling tummy.
An elevator ding announces our arrival to the hotel’s penthouse level, all the while Reid catches my stare. “Okay then,” he says, bending forward to lift my suitcase. “You wait right out here while I toss your luggage in my closet, then I’ll take you down for some grub.”
I nod in agreement. “Sure,” I reply. “With my decrepit body, I couldn’t get very far if I tried running away.”
Daddy Reid chuckles lightly on his way inside the door. Not but a minute later, he returns to the small vestibule to summon the elevator again. The man’s visage is alight with admiration, as he scoops me up in his arms. He carries me back into the chamber, pressing on a button to whisk us back downstairs.
“What are you in the mood for?” He asks, his warm breath bouncing from my neck. “I’m no Emeril Lagasse or anything,” he adds, licking my earlobe. “But I know how to fire up the flat-top in our kitchen and toss a couple of steaks on.”
A smile warms my face. Certainly half of this relief is because I’m about to eat for the first time in God only knows how long. As for the other, I’m quite enjoying this level of pampering. If this is what it’ll be like in his constant care, then a bitch better sign me up.
Being born to lesbian mothers hasn’t been all that bad.But having a Daddy to hold me in his arms, showing me what it’s like to have my needs put before his own? Well, this feels like I’ve won the jackpot of a lifetime.Fuck the lottery system. Daddy Reid is more than just money. His heart is that prize at the bottom of a cereal box.
“A steak would be just fine,” I admit, tracing the outline of his ear. “I think whatever that doctor gave me is causing my stomach to knot up with hunger.”
He nods. “Yes,” he says. “Dr. Davis gave you a shot of Toradol, so that explains it.”
Downstairs, Reid gently places me on the stainless steel countertop of his hotel’s commercial kitchen. He points up a forefinger, briefly leaving my line of sight to step inside a walk-in cooler. At least it feels like a cooler, judging by a whoosh of frigid air wafting around the corner. Not but a minute later, he returns with two objects wrapped in brown paper.
“Is a sixteen-ounce too big for my little Banana Boy?” He asks, shooting another grin while powering-on the grill. “Me thinks you need a little protein brewing in that sac of yours.”
That couldn’t have been any more of a subtle yet flagrant sexual innuendo. If he thinks I’m in any shape to fuck like rabbits, then it’ll take a lot more than some strong anti-inflammatory to make me forget about the pain for even a minute. But, there’s no way I can have anything stronger than Tylenol and Motrin.
I smirk in kind, scratching the nape of my neck. “I think in a usual instance, that’s about half a pound too much,” I reply, caressing my tummy. “But in this moment, I could probably eat the whole damn cow.”
“That’s a good boy,” Reid mutters, unwrapping the steaks from their wrappers. “As for vegetables, I’d likely slice my fingers plumb off if I had to use that big of a knife,” he adds, winking.
