“Greedy little girl,” he said with a low chuckle as he resumed stroking her, working her into a frenzy right up against the tile wall. Touching and teasing until she shattered, her screams echoing around the bathroom as she slumped against the wall, her chest rising and falling with deep, shuddering breaths.
“Come on, babygirl. Let’s finish getting you cleaned up.”
Daisy
* * *
Tell me your secrets, babygirl.
Those words haunted her well into the night, long after he’d fallen asleep and she remained awake, rolling the events of the evening around in her brain.
When she’d set out on this revenge plan, she hadn’t expected him to be so… sweet. None of the men her mother dated were ever sweet. She couldn’t imagine any of them ordering the entire room service menu just so she could have her pick of food when she woke up from a nap after being showered with more orgasms than she could count.
Then again, maybe that’s why her mother was still hung up on him twenty-plus years later. The love of her life, the one who got away.
She had a feeling she was going to be pretty hung up on him, too.
Like mother, like daughter.
Ugh.
Phone in hand, she stared down at the empty screen, debating her next move. She knew what that move was supposed to be, but after getting to know Tiernan, it just felt wrong. Like it somehow diminished everything they’d shared tonight.
But if she didn’t do it, then the whole night was pointless. Well, maybe not pointless considering she’d had some of the best sex of her entire life. And even if her mother never found out, she would know that she’d gotten her revenge.
Maybe that was enough.
Sighing quietly so she wouldn’t disturb him, she opened her phone and, as she often did, clicked on one of her many social media apps for her regularly scheduled doom scroll.
Weddings… babies… food… more food… even more food… cute cat videos… her mother straddling Daisy’s ex-fiancé in a hot tub, grinning over her shoulder at whoever was holding the camera.
Fuck.
The pain of seeing them together was like a physical blow to the stomach, just as deep and raw as it had been that first night she’d caught them together. In the bed she’d shared with Derek, in the apartment she’d been paying for all on her own the past twelve months while he 'found himself’, whatever the fuck that was supposed to mean.
Clearly the universe was telling her to go ahead with her plan. Flipping on the camera, she turned it around to selfie mode, giving herself a few minutes to fluff her hair so she looked appropriately rumpled. Wishing she still had her ruined makeup to show off, she positioned herself next to Tiernan so both their faces were openly displayed.
And took the damn picture.
Technically she took about twenty, until she was sure she had one that would be social-media worthy. Ignoring the pangs of guilt as she did so, she set the phone aside and slipped from the bed to gather her clothes. Her panties were nowhere to be found and she didn’t want to risk turning the lights on, so she abandoned the search and resigned herself to making the drive of shame back home pantie-less.
When she was dressed again, she gave herself a long moment to simply watch him as he slept. Fucking hell, he was gorgeous. And she knew, deep in her soul, that once she walked out that door, she’d never find another man like him. Not just the physical beauty, but that combination of ruthless sadism and sweet caregiving she’d already fallen head over heels for.
Yeah, she was definitely more like her mother than she cared to admit.
Leaning over the bed, she brushed a kiss across his stubbled cheek.
“Goodbye… Daddy.”
Chapter Nine
Lochlan
* * *
He knew something was wrong even before he opened his eyes.
Years of honed instincts kicked in, his other senses surveying his surroundings and coming up empty. Couldn’t feel the heat of her, the weight of her pressed against his side. Couldn’t smell the lavender in her hair or the tangy bodywash on her skin.
