The doors to the library fling open again and the heir to the Blackwood fortune storms inside, his dark eyes blazing with fury. “Where is she? Where’s the nosy-assreporteryou’ve allowed onto our island?”
“Good afternoon, Jasper. Nice to see you, too.”
The corner of his lip peels back in a snarl. “Cut the shit, Evander. I still can’t believe you brought her here. Or that Maxwell let you. What the hell were you thinking?”
“You had your way of finding your Little girl, and I had mine.” Without taking my eyes off him, I gesture to Cat. “Jasper,meet Natalie. Kitten, this is your Uncle Jasper. I promise he’s not this much of an asshole all the time.”
“Actually, he kinda is from what I’ve heard. Charming, but an asshole.”
Sighing, I risk looking away from Jasper to pin her with a glare. “Language, Natalie.”
Hunching her shoulders slightly, she flashes me a sheepish grin. “Whoops. Just slipped out.”
When I turn back to Jasper, I have to swallow down the urge to laugh at the pure shock on his face as he looks from my naughty kitten to me. “Are you really going to let her talk to me that way?”
“No. I scolded her. You heard me.” If those words had been aimed at me, I’d already have her on her knees for another round of soap. And perhaps it’s wrong of me, but I don’t feel the same need to punish her right now.
After all, Jasperisan asshole.
It probably shouldn’t give me so much joy to watch that vein pop in his neck, but it does.
“You can’t be serious about keeping her here.”
Cocking an eyebrow, I send him a look that hopefully conveys what an idiot I think he’s being. “Would you rather I send her back to New York so she can write a rather sensational story about the island of kinky billionaires she visited?”
“Fucking hell, Evander.” Running his fingers through his hair, Jasper paces back and forth. “Seriously. How thehelldid you let this happen?”
“It’s not his fault!” Natalie wriggles out of Cat’s arms—or rather, Cat allows her to—and storms right up to Jasper, jabbing her finger in his chest. “If you didn’t want anosy reporterfinding out about your precious island, then you should have kept your kink to yourself in public.”
Any of the other Little girls on the island would be fleeing for safety at the thunderous look on Jasper’s face. But Natalie is either too brave or too inexperienced to be bothered by it.
My money is on the former, and I can’t help but be proud of her for it.
“That’s entirely beside the point, little girl. Evander should have put a stop to yourinvestigationbefore it even got you this far.”
Stepping forward, I pick Natalie up, holding her on my hip as I meet his furious gaze. “As I said. You had your methods. I had mine. Natalie isn’t a threat to anyone as long as she stays on the island, and I have every intention of ensuring that is exactly what happens.”
From the corner of my eye, I catch Natalie sticking her tongue out at Jasper. As much as I don’t want to give him the satisfaction of seeing her punished, she isn’t leaving me with many options.
“Natalie Quinn. What did I tell you upstairs?”
Righteous anger burns in her gaze when she turns her head to look at me. “He’s being a jerk.”
“Andyouare being very rude, little girl. What did we talk about?”
Uncertainty creeps into her eyes. “Ummm, I don’t remember.”
Little liar. “I said you could give your Uncle Jasper hell, as long as you did so respectfully.” Ignoring Jasper’s low growl, I hold my Little girl’s gaze as color creeps into her cheeks. “Do you think sticking out your tongue and calling him names is very respectful?”
“Maybe not,” she mumbles with obvious reluctance. “But he deserved it.”
If I’d known exactly how perfect for me Little Natalie would be, I wouldn’t have waited so long to get her to the island.“Maybe he did. But Little girls who disrespect their elders don’t get any dessert with dinner.”
“Are you serious, Evander?” Shock rings out in Jasper’s voice and it’s all I can do not to laugh at how incredulous he sounds. “If my Juliet spoke to you that way, she wouldn’t sit comfortably for a week.”
“Oh, leave him alone.” Rolling her eyes toward the ceiling, Cat strolls forward and lays a hand on Jasper’s arm. “Our sweet little niece is right. You are a very charming asshole and you were being rather rude to Evander. And your Juliet would be just as indignant on your behalf if the roles were reversed.”
“Perhaps,” Jasper admits begrudgingly. “But she would never be that rude to one of her uncles.”
