Page 211 of Daddy, Take Me Away
“Seriously? You never notice how incredible your world is, so why would you notice the food?”
She shoveled in another mouthful, moaning her pleasure. If she kept that up, I’d be hard as a rock and forcing more of those lovely sounds from her. She’d given me an accurate assessment though; until her, I’d never noticed anything. I was living like a man in a dream then she popped the bubble and woke me up.
When we were done with our meal, I laid out the plan for the day and, as expected, she was happy to hear we’d be spending time with Donna and Graeme. “It’s like a double date!” she cried, clapping her hands excitedly.
“Aye, it is, but there is a purpose, so let me explain the second half of the plan.” By the time I was finished, she had just enough time to get ready to go. While she did that, I booked a private appointment for the women at the Jimmy Choo store in Edinburgh. If that’s what her clients liked, that was what they would get.
We pulled up in front of Donna’s flat, and she waved excitedly through the window at Luna, who returned her wave with equal enthusiasm. A small smile tugged on Graeme’s lips, the first genuine one I’d seen in a long time. If nothing else, I hoped this little outing would prove fruitful for both he and Donna.
He jumped out of the car and tugged open the passenger door. Once Donna was tucked into her seat, he did up her belt and kissed her hand.
“Awww, that is so cute,” Luna commented from beside me. Donna barely stifled a laugh at Graeme’s groan. He closed her door and got in the driver's seat, sending Luna a look of annoyance in the rearview.
She just giggled.
True to her word, Luna took advantage of filming her feet in various Choo shoes, but only offered a picture of the shoes she chose, telling everyone who wanted to see her wearing them to sign onto the link she’d sent.
We all agreed that the limited-edition Jimmy Choo/Jean Paul Gaultiers in silver were stunning and looked amazing on her. Donna almost cried for joy when Graeme purchased her the matching pair in black.
At Harrods of Scotland, Luna found a Jenny Packham turquoise-and-silver evening gown that hugged her curves and showed off her cleavage. My jaw almost hit the floor when she came out in the revealing mermaid-esque dress. Donna, as her biggest supporter, clapped and cheered when Luna modeled it, while I wanted to find a shawl and cover her up, but in the end, that dress won and Donna settled on a shimmering black design by Stella McCartney.
With everything ready for tomorrow evening, we could relax. I ordered a private dining room at The Kitchin for the four of us. Donna and Luna giggled and shared stories and experiences, and became loose-tongued the more wine they drank.
Graeme and I exchanged looks several times, mostly when their stories involved reckless behavior, which most of them did. I could only imagine what Donna’s night would be like after we were dropped off. Graeme and I were very similar-minded, which had made our employer/employee relationship pretty much seamless over the years, although we’d never been on a double date before. I pondered the reasons why we’d never been social, which brought me to thinking about the rest of my staff. What did I really know about them? Not as much as Luna, who they all seemed taken with.
A few hours later, Graeme dropped us off at home and Luna was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. I was a bundle of nerves and stayed up late in my office going over details. This is where my OCD reared its ugly head. I was very mindful of my issue, but knowing the statistics of what happened to women the world over made me determined to keep Luna safe at the Gala and reiterating the details in a loop was actually soothing.
The next afternoon, Graeme’s cousin, Percy arrived in the limousine right on time. Graeme and Donna were already inside, having been picked up first. He looked way more relaxed than yesterday, and I surmised they’d gotten over whatever issue they’d had.
I helped Luna into the vehicle, wishing I could keep her home and safe instead of taking her into danger, but my logical brain agreed that this was an opportunity to rid her of her stalker once and for all.
Luna had checked her account just before we left. Nine of her top ten clients had registered. Alan had already checked out those nine, and all of them were clean. It had to be the tenth account that belonged to Blacktop, but we couldn’t do anything until we had proof.
When we arrived, I took Luna’s hand, holding it firmly in mine. “No matter what, lass, don’t leave my side.”
She tried to make light of my words. “Aww, would you miss me?”
I tugged her to a stop, letting Graeme and Donna go ahead of us. “Don’t even pretend this is just a gala, and your safety and future aren’t at stake. I need you safe, Luna, because yes, I would miss you.”
Her eyes softened as she gazed at me. “I would miss you too, Artair.”
I claimed her lips, putting all my internal strength and intention to keep her safe behind the kiss. When I pulled back, her eyes sparkled with mischief.
“Come on, Daddy, let’s go catch a bad guy.”
Despite the seriousness of our situation, I chuckled at her daring. If I got the honor of keeping her, she’d be the death of me, but what a glorious death it would be!
Chapter Eleven
Luna
I was doing my best to not lose my shit, but the strain of acting ‘normal’ when I wasn’t even that on a good day, was taking its toll. Somewhere, either inside the packed gallery, or outside hiding behind one of the many trees or bushes lay someone waiting to corner me.
Ha! If I was lucky, they only wanted to corner me. My gut said they wanted way more than that. Despite finding out that it was an organization apparently backing the culprit, we suspected I was being pursued by one rogue player within the larger framework, using their high-powered resources for their personal gain.
Donna was blissfully unaware of the danger behind this outing as Graeme didn’t want to ruin his blooming relationship with the tour guide by sharing the real reason she was attending the exclusive event. She was quite happy to film me doing all kinds of fun things with my feet in the beautiful heels. Being the same size, we also exchanged shoes for several videos and even I had to admit, being around her was making my evening more enjoyable.
Servers were constantly circulating through the crowds, offering glasses of champagne. I’d already indulged in a few and was beginning to feel the effects. It wasn’t as good as what Artair had in his private collection, but it was still far superior to anything I’d tasted in my old life, as I’d started calling it. Pre-Scotland and Artair, I’d lived the life of a barely grown adult with all the typical angst of a college student, including being broke most of the time. My money earned from FeetingFans was for my education first. Any luxuries were secondary, but those had been very few and far between.
