Claudia made a sound through her nose halfway between a snort and a huff if he had to guess. He hoped it hurt. “This is the twenty-first century, Daniel. Women are capable of doing anything a man can do.”
Daniel looked her in the eye and said in his deadly quiet voice, “Never met a woman capable of taking me down.”
Claudia shivered and something like terror flashed through her eyes. Daniel tried to feel bad that he made her feel fear so closely after her terrible ordeal, but he needed her to step away from his space. Security was his area of expertise and he was good at what he did. He was sure she was good at sucking cock. He didn't need her using her skills to push King into making a bad decision.
“Okaaay,” she said. Beyond her obvious beauty, Daniel wondered what his boss saw in the woman. If he were forced to put up with her in his bed, he would likely end up murdering her. “Do you know of any men that are capable of taking you down?”
She had a point there. Daniel had yet to meet the person, man or woman, that could take him down in hand-to-hand combat. He simply looked at Claudia and waited for her to eventually make a point.
Her jaw was set in a mutinous line that Daniel was certain didn’t bode well for King’s future happiness. “What if I need my bodyguard to go pick up some tampons?” she snapped.
“Then he’ll be a professional and pick up tampons,” Daniel said without missing a beat.
She snorted. “Fine. Then what if I need an escort into a women’s washroom when I’m out shopping? It would be safer to have an actual woman with me. I heard a story from my friend Anya about her friend Shania who took off on her male bodyguard by using the women’s washroom.”
Daniel had not heard about about that piece of gossip. Next time he saw Asher Bowles, he would have to give him a hard time about how the supposedly sweet and submissive Shania Mahdavi got the drop on him.
Claudia continued. “What about when I’m changing in a change room? Again, a female bodyguard could be a lot closer to my actual body for the guarding part. Not to mention it would look a lot less conspicuous for me to be out and about with another woman than being trailed about all day by some guy who looked bored out of his mind.”
Claudia actually had some valid points that Daniel hadn’t considered. He’d never been responsible for the care of a woman before and it did make sense to have a woman on staff for her convenience, now that she was outlining some of the more delicate variables. He could have done without her customary attitude while she made her argument though.
Daniel’s mind went to Addison and the ways in which he would punish her if she dared to use her sharp mind and tongue against him the way Claudia used hers. He almost hoped the lovely brunette would try. The sadist in him revelled in the chance to bring his new toy to heel.
He nodded shortly. “I’ll consider it.”
He didn’t bother looking to King for acknowledgment – he would bow to Daniel’s expertise. Daniel had always had free run of the King’s security. Occasionally, there would be requests, but he rarely strayed into Daniel’s territory. It was an unspoken rule that neither man crossed. Probably because King knew he would lose the best head of security money could buy if he ever started making decisions for himself.
Daniel turned to leave. He would check in with his men and then go seek out Addison Sterling. He’d received a text earlier letting him know she’d left the security floor alone. It was time to clip his bird’s wings.
Chapter Nine
Addison snapped the lid to the laptop shut, but the electronic voice still echoed in her head. She didn’t know how long she stood in her kitchen with one hand covering her mouth while the other clutched the two halves of her robe together at the neck. Her sightless eyes stared into the shadows of her apartment where she rarely turned on a light.
She didn’t hear the deadbolt slide back, nor did she hear the door open, but all at once she felt warmth at her back and the subtle yet familiar scent of soap and hard male. She shivered in response, both fear and arousal coursing through her veins. Not for the first time, she wished she could see in the presence of such a predatory man. She turned around to face him and turned her eyes up at him boldly, knowing he liked it when she did that.
“As a security expert, you should know breaking and entering is against the law,” she said softly, hoping her voice came out sounding stronger than it did in her head.
He reached out and took hold of her jaw, flexing his fingers against her tender skin. He dragged her forward until she was standing in his space. She had no idea how tall he was but sensed he was closer to 6’ than her 5’5”. He slapped the hand that was clutching the lapels of the bathrobe. She let go with a gasp, dropping her hand to her side, and let the material gape at her breasts.
“Good girl,” he growled.
She frowned and shivered. Her pussy creamed with moisture in reaction to the slap and deep growl of his praise. What was wrong with her? It had been an automatic response to drop her hand when he smacked her. She didn’t have to like it, for the love of god! She really needed to get control of herself. The last thing Addison wanted right now was to respond so readily to this sociopathic, stalkery, threatening, non-musical jerk.
“What were you upset about when I came in?” he asked quietly.
She shrugged. “It’s nothing, just work stuff.” Feeling too vulnerable, Addison reached to cover her chest and neck where the robe gaped open. He slapped her hand again.
She gasped. “Stop doing that!”
“You like it,” he said.
“I do not!” she snapped angrily.
He reached out, nudged the robe open and flicked her bare nipple. Addison gasped again and would have jumped back, but he caught her arm in a steely grip. She felt a flush cover her pale skin from neck to nipples, which were pebbled and begging for attention. He snatched her close, his hand sliding from her arm up to her hair and gripping hard. He used the grip on her hair to press her hips against his.
“You do like it,” he growled, his mouth inches from hers, his warm breath rushing over her lips. “Can feel your heat. I would bet every last dollar that your cunt is dripping for me. Don’t lie to me.”
Addison whimpered and brought her hands up, but wasn’t sure where to put them. Daniel was so overwhelming, so dominating. From one moment to the next Addison wasn’t even sure what was happening to her. Did she want to pull him closer or push him away?
