Page 21 of Her Dream Mafia Daddy

“Well, this is my barn and since I’m the boss, I can go wherever I want, whenever I want.” The smug look on his face pissed her off.

“Whatever. I am leaving now.” She turned to storm off, but he blocked her from leaving.

“I know you are mad at me for spanking you because you felt like I didn’t have consent. I felt like I did because your brother gave it to me. Regardless, I am sorry I spanked you and I won’t until you give me your consent. But I really need you to drop the major attitude. I am trying to keep you safe from your ex and I can’t do that if you fight me at every turn.” His calmness unsettled her.

“No, I’m sorry. I’ve been an insufferable bitch this whole time. I promise I will be less difficult to you. I know you are trying to keep me safe, and Damian is one tantrum away from coming out here and busting my ass himself. I told him he couldn’t do that because he was my brother and he reminded me he was my step-brother and he would absolutely do that.” She rolled her eyes and caught the smile tugging at his lips. “There is a lot no one knows about and stuff that I don’t want anyone to know about, but it’s no excuse to behave the way I have been and I’m sorry.”

“Does this mean I have your permission to spank your ass if you need it?”

“No.” She glared at him and went to leave. “Connor, I would like to go back to the house now. May we please leave?”

Once back at the house, she got a snack with Kiera, and they planned their afternoon.

“What do you want to do today?” Kiera was just a bubble of energy no one could turn off. She wished she could be more like her.

“I dunno. Maybe we could paint?”

“Oooooo, yes! Auntie Freya, can we do the balloon painting, please?”

“I think that sounds like a wonderful idea. Why don’t you and Daphne get dressed in clothes you can get dirty and I’ll get everything set up in the studio.” Auntie Freya shooed them to their rooms to get changed. She had left her phone on the charger while she was at the barn and stopped to check to see if Emma or Damian had messaged her. There was a notification, and her hands shook as she read it.

I know where you are, bitch. I am coming for you. Tell anyone and Kiera dies too. I have eyes and ears everywhere and I’ll know.

Attached was a picture of her and Kiera in the barn.

Fuck! She threw the phone on the bed. She knew she had to get out of here, but she didn’t know how she could even pull that off. She had to tell Eamon and Liam. She quickly got dressed for painting. She needed time to think but being Little might be the best thing for her this afternoon.

When she walked into the studio, she couldn’t help but smile. There was a giant white canvas against the wall and a tarp on the floor. There were buckets filled with balloons, and Kiera was practically vibrating with excitement.

“Ok, so I’m gonna go stand there and you throw the balloon over my head and the paint will streak down on me and create a Kiera silhouette. And then throw another one, and then we can switch and I do it to you!”

Before she could even respond, Kiera had plastered herself against the canvas, pulled her safety glasses down, and put her right leg up and her left arm up. Daphne grabbed a balloon, took aim, and let it fly. The balloon bounced off the wall and splattered at Kiera’s feet, earning a high-pitched squeak.

“You has to throw harder than that!”

“Ok, ok, ok. I will!” She took aim again and this time the balloon broke where it was supposed to and pink paint ran out all over Kiera. She did this a few more times before there was the beginning of a Kiera shape on the canvas.

“Your turn!”

She took her place beside her and closed her eyes as she braced herself for the paint to splatter all over her. Kiera was giggling so hard that the first balloon landed so far in front of her, the paint didn’t even touch her. The next one landed beside her arm and the paint exploded all over her. She couldn’t help but laugh. Being Little and carefree soothed her soul in a way she didn’t fully understand.

By the time they were done, there was paint all over the canvas and all over themselves. They were making paint angels on the floor when Liam and Eamon came in.

“Looks like you girls are having a messy good time.” She looked up and saw the amusement on their faces as they took in two very messy girls.

“Daddy!” Kiera leaped up and was about to hug her Daddy when he held out his hand to stop her.

“As much as I want a hug from you, hugs will wait until all paint is removed from your body. Let’s go take a shower.” She could feel her cheeks turn bright red as they left the room. She wanted that. She wanted someone to look at her the way Liam looked at Kiera. She wanted someone who would love her enough to put her in her place when she needed it. She wanted that more than anything. It was her ultimate fantasy and dream. Her Daddy only existed in her dreams, though. No way she was going to have that.

“I should probably take a shower, too. Thank you for the fun afternoon, Auntie Freya. I had a really great time.”

“You are so very welcome, sweet girl. Now go get changed again, and we’ll eat dinner soon.” Auntie Freya patted her head and headed to the kitchen.

“I’m glad you girls had such a fun afternoon. Maybe tonight we can watch a movie and have hot chocolate after dinner.” Eamon was different. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but he was different.

“Yeah, sure. That sounds fun.” She hurried to her room, not wanting to get paint anywhere. She stepped into the shower and let the hot water scald her skin. As she stood there, the weight of the message came crashing down around her and she lost it. Heaving sobs wracked her body as she sat on the shower floor. Her heart hurt as she thought of the danger she had put everyone in. Eamon was dangerous, but Callum was unhinged dangerous. What she saw in him, she would never know. She hated herself for falling for his charismatic, narcissistic ways. She would never forgive herself for getting sucked into his brutal world, a world no one but her knew about. She knew she had to tell Eamon, but she didn’t know how or when. When her sobs slowed, she washed her face and body before wrapping herself in one of the softest towels she had ever used. She was appreciative that Eamon had large towels that would fit any girl and this one covered her entire curvy body. She could get used to this level of luxury.

Still wet from her shower and in her towel, she flopped back on the bed groaning. Fuck Callum and fuck his edict. She would not listen and she had a plan. She would be smart, but fuck him for trying to control and scare her. She would not be weak anymore and she would not leave the first place she felt safe.