Page 5 of Paying Daddy's Debt Collector

So there’s no wife and kids after all. That thought excites me more than it should. What’s wrong with me? He and my father made a deal and traded me like some kind of property. I should be mad as hell right now…but I’m not…not at him at least. My father, however, is an entirely different matter.

Besides, if Chris is planning something nefarious, I doubt he’ll bring me to his home like a guest. He’ll trap me in a dungeon somewhere if that’s his plan. I can’t exactly fight him. I’m not even half his size, but despite how dangerous he is, I can’t find it in me to fear him. I just can’t. Based on what I’ve seen so far, I doubt he’s going to hurt me.

He comes back into the room, carrying a white tee shirt. He walks straight up to me and holds it against my body. His big hands on my shoulders make me feel all warm and tingly inside, and my core clenches.

Something crackles between us, the air now thick and charged, and his hands tighten. I let out a breathy sigh and his nostrils flare.

“It’s big but it’ll get you through the night.” A vein protrudes on his forehead, and he looks like he’s on the verge of telling me something but ultimately decides against it. He steps back as though I’ve burned him.

“What about tomorrow or the next day or however long you plan on keeping me?”

“I’ll have someone take you shopping in the morning.” He turns to leave but stops and adds, “After you feed the dogs and take them out.”

Once he leaves, I breathe a sigh of relief. He can feel the tension too, right? It’s not just me, right? I’m not supposed to be attracted to this guy who essentially bought me, but that’s exactly what’s happening.

With nothing else to do, I begin to poke around. The bathroom has a floor-to-ceiling cabinet and I open it. I pull out a towel the size of a bed sheet and rub it against my cheek. I didn’t know towels came this soft and smelled like lavender. There are soaps, shampoos, bath salts, and even lotions in the cabinet, so I decide to try out the big fancy tub before bed.

As I lie in the warm, bubbling water, I close my eyes and try to make sense of my situation. If Chris Cassella wanted to hurt me, he wouldn’t put me in a room like this. He’d have me sleeping with the dogs or worse.

It’s crazy but maybe my father thought I would be better off. Maybe that’s why he gave me away. No, he’s certain that this man is a cold-blooded killer and a criminal. So I guess he just didn’t care. His life will be much easier without me around anyway.

Man, it’s hard realizing that the only person you have in the whole world doesn’t even want you. Hard and painful. Dads are supposed to protect their daughters and keep them away from dangerous men. Yet, my own father threw me to the wolves to save himself. As if my life isn’t tragic enough.

Fine, if this is my fate, then I’m going to take advantage of it. Chris said that if I behave, nothing bad will happen to me so I’m going to do everything he asks of me. If that means I can live like this, it’s worth swallowing a little of my pride. He’s going to pay me to care for his dogs. There are things way worse than that.

I dry off and turn down the covers on the huge bed. I’m about to get under the covers when I hear a knock on the door. I’m just about to open it, but before I can grab the knob, Chris barges inside. He starts to speak but stops, pinning me with a look I’ve never seen before, something that has my insides twisting.

“Damn, maybe you shouldn’t go shopping tomorrow. Maybe I’ll just keep dressing you in my shirts.”

I try to ignore the throbbing down there. Instead, I cross my arms and raise a brow. “Why bother knocking if you’re just going to barge in?”

He responds with a smirk so sexy I almost launch myself to him. “The knock is a courtesy. If you want me to wait for you to open the door, then get there faster.”

“Sorry, my legs aren’t as long as yours.” I look down at the huge calves exploding out of the legs of his shorts. He’s not wearing a shirt and I can’t take my eyes off his tan skin, washboard abs, and bulging muscles. Looking this good should be a crime.

“I just came back to tell you that if you need anything, the third floor is mine.”

“Okay, I was about to go to bed.”

“Just in case, then. Good night.”

“Good night.”

He’s already halfway out the door when he says over his shoulder, “You can come to me for anything, Cassidy. Anything. Even if it’s in the middle of the night. Whatever you need, I’m here.”

Great. How am I supposed to sleep now that a Roman God has exposed himself to me like this? I wonder if he noticed I was drooling like a kid in a candy store. Someone who looks like that must have women falling all over him every day but that doesn’t stop me from dreaming about what it’s like to be with him.

I sink into the big bed and pull the lush covers over me. I lay my head on the billowy pillows and my mind goes blank. I thought I’d be up all night fantasizing about Chris but being in this bed is like lying on a cloud. I’m out as soon as I close my eyes.

3

CASSIDY

“It wasn’t all a dream,” I whisper as the sunlight comes streaming through the drapes. I’m really here in this house, sold by my father, to a handsome and dangerous man called Chris the Collector.

I think back to everything that happened yesterday and realize with a pang that my life will never be the same, my relationship with my father will never be the same. Who knows how long Chris will let me stay? It doesn’t matter. He’s not asking anything else from me except taking care of—

“The dogs!” I leap out of bed and check the time. It’s still early and Chris didn’t specify when the dogs needed to be fed, so maybe I haven’t screwed up on day one.

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