Page 60 of Midnight Dissonance

“I know. I’m a little ray of sarcastic sunshine.”

Josh chuckled low. This woman, with her quick wit and willingness to laugh at herself, was damn refreshing. She didn’t refrain from answering questions honestly. She might defer her responses for later, but she was brave enough to face anything.

They pulled into the parking garage and his spot near the elevator. His parking spot had been something he had negotiated in the contract before he bought his place. Living downtown, he didn’t want to park on the other side of the garage and have to carry groceries or anything else up.

But he’d actually negotiated for two spaces. And it was time he showed Lexi what she would be driving to and from work, or wherever else she needed to go when he couldn’t take her.

“I have something to show you before we head upstairs.”

“Oh yeah? What’s that?”

She looked gorgeous tonight. And on the drive, her body had relaxed from its earlier stiffness. “Get out of the car, and I’ll show you.”

“Oooh, kinky.”

He snorted. “Get your mind out of the gutter, woman, at least until we get upstairs.”

“I can’t help it if I like what I see.”

The compliment threw him. He knew he was good-looking. He wasn’t being egotistical. Women threw themselves at him because of his looks and money. But coming from Lexi, his stubborn, independent sub, it was different because it was unexpected and so offhand. And she looked at him like he was her favorite treat.

“Likewise, lass. Now move your arse.”

She cackled as they emerged from his car, and she opened the back door to retrieve her duffel bag.

“Leave it for a minute. We aren’t going far.”

She eyed him with suspicion. But she approached, and his gaze slid over her form in the jean skirt and black knee-high boots. He wondered if she was wearing any panties.

She took his hand. Josh pulled her to the red BMW sedan in the space beside his Mercedes, then pulled out a key. “This is for you to drive. Insurance is in the glove box. And I’ll get you the access code to get into the garage. This is the assigned parking space.”

“You bought me a car? Josh, just no. I can’t drive that. It’s expensive. It’s—”

“A car I had already been looking at buying. And since I can’t drive two cars at once, the most practical thing to do is have you drive this one.”

And yeah, he knew it was setting a precedent. But she needed a car to get to work. She made peanuts. And since he wanted her with him, he had to bend. While he didn’t want her in this relationship for the money, she fought him at every turn when it came to paying for things.

“Josh, I—don’t understand you. You could have gotten me a gift card for one of the rideshare companies. But a BMW?”

“No, those things aren’t safe. This will get you to and from work and band practice. When is that, by the way?”

“Tuesdays and Thursdays. I can’t—”

“Yes, you can. Stop being difficult. You won’t win this argument. And so help me, if I find you taking one of the rideshare deals, you won’t sit pretty for a week from the spanking I’ll give you.”

“I think you just want an excuse to discipline me,” she murmured with an arched brow.

She wasn’t wrong. Any time he could get his hands on her, whether for pleasure or to dole out some pain, he would take it. She had bewitched him with her siren song. The Ryan click had turned his world upside down. And he would stop at nothing until she was his in every way.

And he had to protect her, even from herself at times. Put her in a rideshare with a complete stranger? Over his dead body.

“You’re not wrong. Any time I can touch you, I will. Because you’re mine.” He tugged her close and pressed the key into her palm. “Why don’t you sit in the driver’s seat and let me know how it feels.”

She begrudgingly accepted the key with an eye roll and then got behind the wheel. He enjoyed the way her skirt slid up her toned legs. And fuck it all, but he was dying to learn whether she was wearing any panties.

He spent the next ten minutes showing her all the features and getting her phone connected to the Bluetooth. That way he could call her, and she only had to press a button on the steering wheel to answer.

He helped her out. And she walked right into him and wrapped her arms around him. “Thank you. It’s still too much. I’m not looking for a sugar daddy. But I do appreciate having a way to get to work. Even if I don’t have insurance.”

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