Page 31 of Proposition 2

The sight of her flushed cheeks and messy hair caused my cock to twitch in interest, still hard. She gasped, eyes flaring when she felt it.

“I said I wasn’t going to let you go,” I murmured as I leaned down to kiss her again.

***

I watched Cadence’s foot tap to the beat of the music playing below as Roderic went on about something that had happened on a call. I didn’t care who had snubbed him, or even that he’d been snubbed at all, but he didn’t realize that.

All I cared about was the woman under my arm, leaning into the heat of my body as she waited for me to dismiss the men. The others didn’t believe that she didn’t listen in to our conversations, but I was sure she did her best to tune us out.

She was still uncomfortable when she was around anything business related with me, but she’d grown used to it. She’d begun to trust that I would never allow her to be involved in anything that would put her in danger.

Cadence had quit her job at the diner a month ago, and instead came to spend that time with me. Her family wasn’t aware of what was going on, and that’s how she wanted to keep it. She left at her usual time but came to the club instead.

She’d insisted that we set a number on the time she owed me for paying off her debt, but we both knew it was only to make her feel like she was working off the amount. Like I wasn’t serious when I said she was mine.

Tapping her leg, I motioned for her to stand when those deep brown eyes turned to me. She no longer hesitated when I instructed her to do something, and the fire that sparked in her eyes showed me she thought she knew what was coming.

I didn’t wait for Roderic to finish his story. I stood and wrapped an arm around Cadence, his jaw snapping shut when my gaze landed on him.

“Enjoy your night gentlemen, we’re leaving.”

My father was still insisting on meeting her, so he’d planned a family dinner. She didn’t know that’s where we were going instead of my apartment. I didn’t think she’d cooperate if I told her before we got there. Cadence worried too much.

I always found it amusing that she was more nervous being in public with me than she was when we were alone. She practically vibrated with excitement at the prospect of leaving, and my cock twitched in agreement with the thoughts that were likely running through her head even though I knew they were both going to be disappointed.

I held the car door open for Cadence to slip inside, leaning over to buckle the seatbelt for her. Those brown eyes gazed at me with an unreadable expression until I pressed my lips to hers.

Coming around the car, I took my place behind the wheel and started the engine. While the tight nipples poking through the red silk shirt I’d bought her showed she was aroused, I could see her fidgeting in her seat so I knew something else was on her mind.

“Leo?” she asked as I edged the car forward, taking the turn onto the main street beside the club. Her voice was hesitant, not the easy, confident tone I’d come to know.

“Yes, Little Blossom?”

I could see her cheeks flush from the corner of my eye as she ducked her head. I teased her with the nickname Madame had given her, especially after we came across Madame and her pets at the club one night. Cadence was still an innocent soul, but she was exploring her sexuality with a vengeance, and I’d barely gotten her into my office before she dropped to her knees and sucked me off after watching Madame handle her men.

Dominance excited her.

“Leo, I—Where are we going?”

I’d hoped she wouldn’t notice I turned on a different street, but Cadence was sharp. She was looking around, spine growing ridged as she recognized the gates of my father’s property.

“I’m bringing you home to meet the parents.”

I gave her a cheeky grin as her wide eyes locked on my face. Her skin had gone pale, and she wrapped her arms around her middle, shaking her head.

“No. We were keeping this quiet. I can’t…”

I took her hand in mine, rubbing my thumb over the back of it as I cupped her cheek with the other. She nuzzled against my hand, closing her eyes and sucking in a deep breath.

“I want you to meet my family, Cadence. I want you to see that we’re normal.”

We’d done a lot of talking in the time we’d spent together, and I knew how heavily she leaned on the term normal. Normal was her goal, and I wouldn’t burst the bubble by telling her no one was truly normal.

Her snort of derision brought a smile to my face.

“No one with gates and guards around their home is normal.”

I could still see her pulse fluttering in her neck, but she gave me a small smile. The time I’d spent with her only cemented the fact that I could never let her go, but I was still working her around to the inevitable. As scary as my father may seem to her, she needed to meet my family and realize I was serious. I could be patient about meeting hers, but I was working against a deadline.

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