“Okay, now let’s find me a dress for the dinner. One that will make Daddy’s tongue loll out but won’t get me fired for looking like a stripper.”

I growl and smack her ass, the pop loud in the empty fitting room. “For the millionth time, you are not fucking my dad, girl. But yeah, let’s find you a dress too.”

Chapter 14

Colton

Last night was godawful. Alone and hard, I considered that Elle wouldn’t actually know if I took matters into my own hands. But I would know, and that would kill the fun of the game. So I refrained, no matter how hard it was . . . and I do mean my cock.

Which is sore and already half-hard at the thought of seeing its tempting torturer upstairs at the office.

I bolt for the elevator but remember to throw a chin lift to Miss Young. Her raised brow is sharp, as if she’s seeing into my soul and finding me lacking. I wonder if she truly is the devil that Elle touts her to be. I’m not saying I believe that, exactly, but I wouldn’t say I disbelieve it, either.

The doors are just about to close when a hand shoots through, and they open once again to reveal Daniel Stryker, of all people. Coincidence or planned ambush?

I don’t believe in coincidences that are this well-timed and fortuitous. He’s up to something, and only the next moments will tell what move he’s making now. I provoked him by hiring Elle, so it’s only polite manners to allow him the next play. And it will tell me where he’s at mentally, professionally, and personally.

He steps inside, followed closely by his two hulking shadows who take up positions behind us. The space suddenly feels inordinately smaller. It’s not just the actual square footage we each take up but the fury radiating in waves off all four of us that fills the box.

“Elle’s working for you.” Clipped and cold, he doesn’t ask but states the fact. He doesn’t even deign to look me in the eye, instead looking at my reflection in the polished wall of the lift.

“Yes. I felt her talents would be better used here.” All business, I remind myself.

A lesser man, one who was truly only using Elle to prod her father, would throw more barbed weapons. Perhaps about how his daughter’s pussy clamped on my tongue as she came crying out my name.

I am not a lesser man, or at least I’m not now that I’ve had a taste not just of her pussy but of her mind and chaotically good spirit. And what Elle and I do privately is not for public consumption, least of all by her father. It’s ours, mine and Elle’s alone.

“I see. I felt the same way,” Daniel says, our eyes locked hard in a battle of wills in the reflection. “She never accepted my offer, though.”

I turn to Daniel, giving him the full heat of my stare and the hard words he needs to hear. “She is an amazing woman.” A flinch of a tell ticks in his jaw. A small victory, but a considerable one, nevertheless. “I can respect that she wants to be known for her own work and mind, free of any familial benefits or charity. She’s not the innocent you believe her to be.”

A pair of growls erupts from Billy and Ricky, and I risk a side-eye glance their way. But as I suspected, they’re leashed, which makes them not the threat. They act on Daniel’s behalf so it’s his reaction that matters.

I explain myself as if I had only one meaning, not the double-entendre they heard, though I’m choosing my words carefully and purposefully. “She knew straight away that my requesting her reassignment to my office was a power play against you. She’s smart, even strategic, when given the chance to be.” The accusation is obvious and sharp.

“I am using her against you, quite well, I might add.” My lips purse, but I’m unsuccessful at holding back the cocky smirk. “But I dare say, she’s using me too. To prove herself . . . to the company, to herself, and I’m sure even to you. She’s not just her daddy’s little girl any longer.”

I do let every salacious thought into my tone for my last zing, knowing that Daniel’s fear is that I’ll corrupt his little girl. I won’t divulge that perhaps she’s the one perverting me, turning me from a cold, clinical corpse of a man to something warmer, and dare I say, more fun?

My words make Daniel turn to face me fully. And I see the truth of who he is, not the driven, ambitious, office-perching executive, but rather the protective papa bear who will devour anything and anyone who threatens its young.

It’s my last thought before he moves, quicker than I would’ve expected a man two decades older than me to be. He fists my lapels in his hands, pulling me nose to nose with him.

Interesting. I would’ve thought he’d have his pit bulls do his dirty work, but I’m rather delighted that he’s gone so far as to do it himself. It actually bumps him up a few notches in my estimation.

“I swear to fucking God, Wolfe . . . if you hurt or take advantage of my daughter, they’re going to ship you back to London in a fucking box. Understand me?” The words are spat into my face with a sneer.

I have no doubt that he would quite literally kill me, maybe not by his own hand, but perhaps so. His daughter is his weak point, but also his greatest strength, as it so often goes. He does what he does for her, and he will literally do anything for Elle.

If I’m honest with myself, I find it a rather beautiful type of love, to be willing to go that far for someone.

Using a nifty little trick from my boxing days, I break his grip on my lapels and push him back in one sweeping move. I hold up a hand to stop his coming back at me again, sensing that Billy and Ricky are on edge and wanting to jump into the fray.

“Stop before this escalates to foolish levels. Daniel, I have no ill intentions toward Elle. I plan on kicking your arse professionally. May the best man win.”

The lift dings for the fifth floor before Daniel can reply, the doors opening and revealing two people waiting. Unwilling to make a scene in front of others, Daniel and I exit with Billy and Ricky hot on our heels. We strut down the hallway like royalty, two princes making a play for the crown. Power crackles in the deafening silence between us.

Just as we pass his office, Daniel stops and turns back to me. Framed by menacing glares from his security, Daniel’s is equally robust and hate-filled.

“Remember, Wolfe. Shipping’s cheaper than plane tickets.”

Having gotten the last word, he goes into his office, and I head down to my suite, shaking my head. It’s such an obvious weakness . . . but a man who’s been cornered, especially both personally and professionally, will most definitely attack viciously. He’s off balance, just as I wanted, but I hadn’t planned on being this intimately involved with Elle myself.

My great plan may be twisting and morphing, making me equally off kilter. I’ll have to play each of the angles carefully or the whole house of cards may come crashing down around me, leaving me the loser in the race to HQ2 and alone without my fun she-devil.

“Whoa . . . you look like your breakfast came with a side of UFC,” Helen says as I enter the outer office. “Everything okay?”

“Hmm?” I ask, looking down and seeing my lapels out of place and feeling my hair a bit mussed. “Oh, nothing to worry about. Good morning, Helen.”

I make a quick decision to not tell Elle about her father’s ambush and threat. I know that she would take it as a lack of faith from the most important man in her life, and I find that I want to protect her from that pain. Working to please a harsh critic can be motivating, at least at first. But it can also be a self-fulfilling prophecy, leading to failure or at least the sense of it, regardless of actual success.