Which is perfectly fine by me. Once I have her back on the island and in her nursery where she belongs, I can show her once and for all that I am, indeed, the boss of her. The fact that she’s giving me so many reasons to spank her naughty little bottom is just icing on that particularly delicious cake.
So when she slips away from me while I’m caught in conversation with a pair of particularly dull doctors wanting to delve further into the talk I gave, I pretend not to notice. And when she grabs a second flute of champagne before inserting herself into a conversation between two fresh-out-of-med-school physicians, I force myself to stay put even though every cell in my being is on alert, waiting for the moment I finally make her mine.
But when she lays her hand on the broad chest of one of her suitors, the leash of my self-control frays at the edges. And when she tilts her head back, inviting him to kiss her and he lowers his head to oblige, that frayed leash snaps entirely.
“Excuse me, gentlemen.”
Without waiting for their response, I make my way through the crowd, sliding my hand into my pocket to palm the tiny pill I’d hoped I wouldn’t need tonight. I pause just long enough to snag a fresh flute of champagne, grabbing it by the top so the pill drops into amber-colored liquid as I flash a smile to distract the waiter from the sudden fizzing in the glass. It’s another of my own concoctions, designed to mimic the effects of too much alcohol while preventing the potential respiratory effects traditional narcotics can have.
By the time I make it over to Camilla, her cheeks are flushed from her stolen kiss, and it’s everything I can do not to haul her up over my shoulder and carry her bodily from the room.
But that would make a scene. One people would remember, and one guaranteed to cause problems for me down the road. Better, by far if it appears as though she’s just had a little too much to drink. Then I get to play the hero, escorting my poor assistant back to her room so she can sleep it off.
A bit more embarrassing for her, certainly, but she’s really left me no choice, has she?
“Camilla.” I deliberately keep my voice smooth, free of the violence boiling in my veins as I join her and her would-be suitor. She turns, that rebellion I remember from earlier flashing in her eyes. “You got away from me, little one.”
The use of the endearment is deliberate, and it’s enough to have Dr. Harrison’s eyes going wide. And when he looks from Camilla to me, I smile, letting my teeth show in a gesture that has nothing to do with pleasantries and everything to do with showing him I’m far more dangerous than he could ever imagine.
But to his credit, young Dr. Harrison doesn't immediately bolt. He lifts his chin, meeting my gaze head on with more boldness than is actually wise under the circumstances. “Dr. Graves. I attended your talk on ethics in private practice. It was… thorough.”
Boring. He means boring. Which it was, intentionally, so I’m not offended in the least. “Thank you, Dr. Harrison. I was just looking for my assistant. It’s our last night together, so I thought we could share a toast. I apologize, I didn’t grab one for you.”
“No problem. I’m flying out rather early in the morning, so I’ll need a good night’s sleep anyway.”
Suspicion plays across Camilla’s face as she accepts the glass of champagne I hand off to her. But when she looks back up at Dr. Harrison, she’s all beaming smiles again, no trace of rebellion or doubt in her open expression. “Dr. Harrison was just telling me about his work in rural West Virginia. Helping those who generally can’t afford decent healthcare.”
Has he told her, I wonder, that he’s only doing so because he was offered significant help in paying off the massive pile of student loans he accrued during his time in medical school to work there? There’s no altruism in what he’s doing, but judging by the way she’s smiling up at him, she has no clue.
Telling her now will only put her on the defensive, so I let it slide, congratulating Dr. Harrison on his work, and listening to him extol the virtues of such. While he speaks, Camilla drinks her tainted champagne, and with every sip I am one step closer to claiming my naughty Little girl.
The drug I put in her champagne takes a while to kick in, but that’s fine. If it happened too suddenly, it might be cause for alarm. But as it is, she slowly becomes more and more inebriated as the night drags on. Nearly an hour after I handed her the tainted champagne, she’s hanging from her wannabe date’s arm, giggling wildly as she sways on her feet.
As for poor Dr. Harrison, he’s looking rather panicked, and when they approach the group I’ve inserted myself into, close enough to keep an eye on my Little girl without obviously hovering, I have to force myself not to laugh at the desperation on his face.
“I don’t know what happened. She must have had too much champagne.”
Handing my own half-empty flute off to one of the members of my group, I slide my arm around Camilla’s waist, taking the weight of her luscious body as she slumps against me with a giggle. “No worries. I’ll ensure she makes it to her room.”
Gratitude flickers across the other man’s face as he hands her off to me. “Thanks, Doctor Graves. I hope she’ll be okay.”
“Camilla will be just fine. She’s in good hands.”
The naughty girl at my side just giggles and waves as we say our goodbyes. Somehow, she has the presence of mind even with the drugs and alcohol in her system to wait until we’re alone in the elevator to speak. “Have I been very naughty, Daddy?”
Daddy. It’s like a lightning bolt of need, electrifying the blood in my veins. Even though I know she doesn’t mean it, that she’s just saying it to be a brat, those dark, possessive parts of me roarin triumph at the sound of it. “Yes, little one. You’ve been very, very naughty.”
“Are you gonna spank me?” There’s a cheekiness to the question that tells me she wouldn’t entirely object if I tried.
But most of this night will be nothing but a blur to her come morning, and when I discipline my Little girl, I want to ensure she remembers every single swat. So her punishment will have to wait. “Not tonight, little one. You need to rest.”
“Awww. But I wassovery naughty. And tomorrow you won’t be the boss of me anymore.”
“We’ll talk about it in the morning, Camilla.”
The elevator stops on our floor with a ding and I help her down the hall to our room. Once we’re inside, she crawls onto the bed and grabs Cobie, cradling him to her chest as she curls up on her side. And despite her insistence that she wanted me to spank her, she’s out the second her head hits the mattress.
Watching her sleep, I pull my phone from my pocket and make a call. “Send the car. We’ll be ready to go in just a few minutes.”
