I quickly dab my face with the backs of my hands and spin away so I don’t have to make eye contact with whichever server might’ve come this way.
But a deep voice says my name.“Ella.”
I know that voice.Equal parts dread and anticipation fill me as I whirl around.“Mr.Tyler.”
Kingston
She’s crying.My beautiful little girl is crying.
“What’s wrong?”I growl.
“Nothing.I just…I made a mistake is all,” she says.
I saw Joel come out of here less than a minute ago.I can imagine what the mistake is that Ella made.Its first name is Joel and its last name is the same as mine.
Shit.I knew I should’ve talked to him about her.I should’ve made him listen to a dozen lectures about how to be a good man to a woman, how to treat her right.Ella deserves so much better.
I look her up and down to make sure that the hurt my son inflicted was only emotional.
“Did he hurt you physically?”I ask, although I see no marks.
“What?No, of course not.”
There’s noof courseabout it, not when I’ve raised a little punk who has callous disregard for the feelings of others.Still, now that I’m looking her over, I can’t help but say, “You look stunning tonight.”
Her cheeks flush.She says, “Thank you,” but she shakes her head slightly.
“You don’t believe me,” I say.
“It doesn’t really matter either way.”
“Oh, yes it does.”
Her brown eyes snap up to meet mine, and she bites her lip before saying, “Okay, Mr.Tyler.”
So fucking sexy, the way she says it.Does she know what she’s doing to me?I want to take her mouth with mine, thrust my tongue inside and taste her sweetness.I want to nip that plump lower lip of hers and make her moan.
“Come here,” I say, opening my arms.“You look like you could use a hug.”
Despite the fact we haven’t spoken much, despite the fact that she has no reason to trust me, she comes willingly into my embrace.I settle my arms around her, feeling my instincts jump into gear.I want to hold her always, and I want to protect her.I want to make her smile and watch that dimple pop in her cheek.
“Will you dance with me?”I ask.
She inhales and pulls back.“Dance?With you?”
“Of course.Why not?”
“Because I don’t fit in with any of these people.I’m wearing a hand-me-down dress and I was your son’s cheap secret, the maid he was fucking on the side—”
“Language, Ella,” I say.
Her brown eyes go wide.“Sorry, Mr.Tyler.”
My cock springs to life—well, to be honest, it’s been half-hopeful since Ella hugged me back, and I’ve been struggling to keep things under control.But her breathy “Sorry, Mr.Tyler” has upset the natural order of the universe and if I had my way, she’d be up against the wall with her gorgeous hand-me-down dress hiked up and my tongue in her pussy.
As it is, I say, “No problem, Ella.But as you’ve used some naughty words, it’s only fair that you dance with me.”
There’s no real logic to my punishment, but that doesn’t seem to faze her.She simply puts her hand in mine, winks, and says, “Whatever you say, Mr.Tyler.”
