Page 38 of Oh My Secret Christmas Baby
"Don't play games with me," she snips. "You're pushing me away, and I don't understand it." Candy puts it right out there and makes it clear she's not happy with me. Thank fuck. I wantto know all these things even if I don't like them. How else am I to take care of her properly? To make sure she is truly getting what she needs?
"I promise you. The last thing I'd ever want to do is push you away, Candy. If I could, I'd cuff your adorable ass to me." Her expression softens.
"Then why are you turning cold on me?" She places her hands on my chest.
"Cold?" Cold is the last thing I am when it comes to her.
"Yes, when it has to do with me touching you." She starts playing with the button on my shirt again. It's a habit of hers. One I rather enjoy. I think this is one of those small things in life people tell you about.
"I don't want you doing anything that you don't want."
"I'm not!" she snaps, hard this time, and I hear her foot stomp too. Even mad, she's still sweetly adorable.
"You don't have much of a choice but to stay here." If I were a better man, I wouldn't have pushed her into my bed and would have let her have room to grow and settle in at her own pace.
"I bet Kindred would say otherwise." That chin of hers now goes up in a challenge.
"Is that so?"
"You doubt that?"
"No." Kindred would do that. "Do you want to stay with her?" I pray she says no because again, I would burn down Kindred's place before I let Candy leave and not be under my roof each night.
"What if I did?" Candy seems to be getting good at reading me. I'm usually an expert at hiding my emotions. You learn to mask them when you spend most of your life in negotiations. “Answer me.” She pokes my chest. "And the truth." My precious girl is getting upset. I should de-escalate the situation, but I like that she’s getting riled up over me.
“Candy.”
“You don’t want me to stay, do you?” Tears start to fill her beautiful eyes. “All of this is becoming too much, and you won’t have sex with me because you’re a good man. You won’t take it there because you’re not sure you’re still all-in on this.”
“What?” I bark a laugh but lock it down when she pushes at my chest. “You think I’m letting you leave?”
“You’re laughing at me.”
“Not trying to hurt you, but you’ve lost your mind if you don’t think I’m all-in.” I step farther into her, making her back press firmly to the door. “You should worry about how far I’ll go to keep you.”
She studies my face. I’m not sure what she sees, but her little pink tongue swipes across her bottom lip, wetting it.
“I’m no better than Maxwell. I’d do far worse to keep you.”
“Really?” Curiosity takes over her expression. “Like what?”
“Candy,” I try to warn again.
“I want to know, and you’re going to tell me.” I raise my brows, but she doesn't back down, holding my stare. Those tears are now gone and replaced with determination.
"Maxwell is a dumbass. You never would have gotten away from me. I would have been on you the second you left our home."
"I left my phone behind."
"Fuck the phone. Too easy to get rid of."
"Then what, how would you make sure I didn’t escape you?" I swear her words sound breathy now. As though the thought of me being obsessed with her is turning her on. I’m here for each and every moment of it.
"Now that, I can't tell you." You can put trackers on anything these days. In fact, I had no clue how much my investment into a company that made them is now paying off. They come in all shapes and sizes to choose from. You can place them anywhere.
"You have a tracker on me?"
"Yes." Her eyes widen a fraction. "What else would you do if I tried to leave?" Again, she licks her lips. This is definitely doing it for her. Her cheeks start to warm.
