Tempted by her Daddies: Chapter 8

“Salem? Is everything all right?” Ryiad’s voice came through the phone.

“Yeah, everything is fine. Well, sort of.” He’d been putting off making this call to Ryiad, one of Alina’s men. But Riordan had already asked him twice about it.

So he had to at least make the call.

“What is it? Can you not convince your mum to come to the wedding?”

“I’m working on that,” he told him. “No, this is a work matter. It’s about Pinky.”

“Still no luck, huh?” Ryiad said in a dark voice.

“No. And my boss is pushing me to ask you if we can set a trap for him. Pinky seems to have it out for you guys since you thwarted his plans to get a hold into Escana using Jeric.”

Ryiad was silent, then he sighed. “I want to help you get him, Salem. But . . .”

“No, I get it. I said I would ask, but I never expected you to agree.”

“What sort of trap?” Ryiad asked.

“I’m not sure. I don’t think Riordan’s got that far. He just wants to know if you are open to the idea.”

“Hmm. Let me talk to my brothers and cousins.”

“Thanks. I don’t expect you to do anything and I wouldn’t ask, but I need to find this bastard.”

“I get it,” Ryiad said grimly. “He’s been a problem for too long. I am glad you called; we have been getting news reports about all of the unrest in Ireland.”

“Ahh, yeah, it’s becoming concerning.”

“And seems to be helping O’Connor’s popularity.”

“You know him?” Salem asked, surprised.

“No, but my uncles do. They went to University together. Stirring up trouble, even back then. He had conservative views in public but was completely different behind closed doors. There were a couple of women who accused him of sexual assault, but they were silenced.”

“What? Seriously?” That wasn’t good and something that should really be passed on.

“Yes. Jonan has been doing some research into him, but we’ve come up with nothing incriminating. I just thought it was worth mentioning.”

Shit.

He glanced at the time and saw it was well after nine. Had Tamsyn arrived? He hadn’t heard her.

“I’ve got to go. Talk to you later and I’ll work on mum.”

“I appreciate that. It is upsetting Alina.”

Something that wasn’t allowed.

He got it.

“Brr, it’s so cold out there.”

Salem held the door open as Tamsyn stepped inside.

He hadn’t been pacing by the front door, wondering where on earth she was.

Nope. That would be a ridiculous waste of time.

“It’s only seven degrees out there,” he snapped.

“Yep. Like I said, super cold.”

“And you’re wearing a hoodie.”

A black hoodie. All he’d ever seen her wear was black and it really didn’t seem to suit her personality. She kept recycling the same clothes and he was starting to worry about why that was.

“Yep. I am.”

“Where is your coat?”

“Hmm?” she asked as she tried to step by him.

“I didn’t give you permission to leave and you haven’t answered my question, young lady.”

Urgh. Really?

Permission to leave?

Young lady?

Could he sound any more like a dick?

“Permission to leave? I need permission to leave?” She sounded kind of breathless.

Or was he reading too much into this?

“I apologize,” he said stiffly. “I shouldn’t have said that.”

“You apologize a lot,” she told him.

“Around you, I seem to. Where is your coat?”

“I don’t know. I seem to have misplaced it.”

“How do you misplace a coat?”

“See . . . there was this old homeless lady outside my apartment and she looked so cold.”

“I get it,” he said quietly. “You gave her your coat?”

“Yes.”

“And you don’t have another one.”

“No.”

“So how were you expecting to keep warm as the weather grows colder?”

“Well, I was going to roller skate, but Rome said I couldn’t do that anymore. Especially without safety gear. Although he said he was going to put some mats out on the tennis court so I could practice. With the correct safety gear.”

“You were roller skating without safety gear?” he cried. “Do you know how dangerous that is?”

“Ahh. Rome pointed that out, yes.”

Good. That was good.

Pick your battles.

“You shouldn’t walk around without a coat, you’ll get ill. Also, I would appreciate it, if you are going to be late, you would let me know.”

“Right. Sorry. My bad.”

Silence fell between them.

“Do I have permission to leave now?”

He was definitely losing the plot. And this girl was the problem.

“Yes.”

“Perfect. GGC!”

GGC?

Would he ever understand her?

“You’re leaving?” Salem stepped out of the kitchen as he heard Tamsyn in the entrance later that day.

“Yep. Rome just finished the last chapter of our book.”

He raised his eyebrows. “Our book?”

“Well, his book. But he reads it to me. We just finished it.”

“What was the book?” he asked in a low voice, knowing what Roman liked to read.

“It’s called Three Daddies for Teresa. Have you read it? It’s excellent. By CJ Bennett.”

“I haven’t. You enjoy books about ageplay?” he asked.

Could she be a Little?

There were some clues that pointed to it. But it was hard to tell.

“Well, I haven’t read any before, but I like this one. How do you know if you’re a Caregiver or a Little?”

“You’re definitely not a Caregiver,” he told her bluntly.

“I’m not?”

“No, Little one.”

Oops. Was that a slip of the tongue or on purpose? He wasn’t quite sure. But he noticed how her lips parted and a pleased flush filled her cheeks.

Similar to when he called her Pet.

This was getting more and more interesting.

“Here.” He thrust the coat he held at her. It was beige-colored and made from a mix of wool and cashmere. It cost an absolute bomb, but it would keep her warm. “In the pockets are a hat and gloves. Wear them. And no giving them away.”

“This is . . . it’s for me?” she asked, looking at him in amazement.

“Yes. Work bonus for a good job done,” he lied.

Because she really was a shit cleaner.