Page 116 of Merciless Daddy

My body remained furious about it.

The warmth in my ass had softened into a steady reminder. Every movement against the seat rubbed the tender skin beneath my trousers. Sal’s hand around mine made the memory sharper.

I wanted his palm there again.

Not striking.

Holding. Spreading. Touching the heat he had made.

I shifted.

His eyes moved to my face.

“Comfortable?”

“Yes.”

His thumb stopped. The silence thickened. I stared through the windshield and imagined putting his hand on my thigh. Imagined sliding it upward until his fingers felt how wet the memory had made me.

Instead, I squeezed his hand once.

He squeezed back.

Eventually, we arrived. The house stood beyond a long private road bordered by leafless trees and old stone walls. It was not grand in the way my father preferred. No columns. No gates built to impress.

Dark timber. Grey stone. A broad porch facing the lake. Bare branches framed cold water bright beneath the morning sky.

Two guards waited near the garage.

Sal exited first. He scanned the drive, the roofline, and the trees before opening my door.

“You may stay in the main bedroom,” he said. “It has a lake view and an interior lock.”

“Where are you?”

“Across the hall.”

“Not with me?”

“No. It’s safer that way.”

The disappointment came hot and unreasonable.

He lifted my private bag. The blanket showed through the open top.

“Kiryl arrives this afternoon,” he continued. “Guest wing on the other side of the house. You may inspect it before he comes.”

“Of course I’ll inspect it.”

“I assumed as much. You’re the most protective older sister I’ve ever met.”

He carried the bag inside.

The entry smelled of old wood, cold stone, and a fire someone had lit before our arrival. No staff waited. Only guards and quiet. I followed him upstairs.

The bedroom had windows facing the lake. A wide bed. Plain cream walls. A chair beside the fireplace.

Sal put my agreement in the nightstand drawer. It felt important that I was near it. The coloring pencils went on the desk. He laid the scratchy blanket across the foot of the bed and smoothed it once with his broad hand.