Page 39 of Submitting to Them
Frowning, I tug the sheet free and kiss across her chest.
“What day is your birthday?”I ask.
“April fifth.”
Just a couple of weeks away.
Her legs move over mine through the sheet.Greedy girl, she’s already angling for another round.
I yank the sheet away from her and kiss down her smooth belly, removing her panties as I go.If my greedy girl wants another round, who am I to deny her?
Kingston
A week goes by.The detectives—both the San Esteban PD and the Ironwood private investigation team—are losing hope for Kristin.No ransom has been called in, no new clues have been found.The eyewitness and traffic cam footage of the van with the people who took her haven’t given us any solid leads.
I’ve been drowning in work, fielding calls from both the press and from an increasingly irate Marco Ruberetta, who doesn’t seem to understand that “the pretty little thing” who’d been managing his accounts has been fuckingkidnapped.
All of the work, though, means that I’ve once again been neglecting the person who is most important to me.
And I aim to fix that.I’ve checked in with Grant and a few of the other higher-ups at Tyler Analytics, and they can steer the ship for a few hours this morning.Ella has the day off, so I go into the bedroom where she’s still sleeping, and wake her up with a kiss.
“Morning, Kingston,” she murmurs, opening her eyes and stretching.
“Good morning, sweetheart.Bash is spending time with his uncle’s family today,” I say, “but I wanted to treat you to something.”
“What is it?”she asks, sitting up.
“An early birthday present.”
She looks around the room, where there are no presents to be seen.Giving me a sly, flirtatious look, she says, “Is the present hiding in your pants?”
I laugh.“No.We’re going shopping.Get ready and we’ll go.”
I have Garth drive us so I can sit close to her and cuddle her in the back seat.I don’t want any distractions.
“Do you know what time we’ll be done?”she asks.
“What else do you have going on today?”
“A post-lunch coffee date with Natasha, to celebrate her new job.I can ask her to reschedule, though—she won’t mind.”
“We’ll only need a couple of hours,” I say.“Then I can take you to lunch and be done in time for your coffee date.”
“Sounds good.”
Her phone chimes with a notification and she tugs it from her handbag.After swiping and jabbing at the screen for a moment, she frowns.
“What is it?”I ask.
“Another thanks-but-no-thanks from a restaurant job I applied to.”
“You’re still applying to more jobs?”I ask.“I thought you were monetizing your VideYou channel.”
“I haven’t even been paid from my VideYou income.There’s a delay between earnings and actual pay-out.”She shakes her head.“What if they shut down my account?What if VideYou implodes?It could all come crashing down.It’s not a dependable way to make money.”
“Not yet, it’s not,” I agree.“But Ella, there’s more to go.This is just the beginning.”
She gnaws on her lip.“I guess.”
