“What? Me?”
He let his hand drop from my neck and nodded.
“You’re the expert. Make sure everything’s the way you want it, Angel.”
I glanced back at all the men and nervously reached out to take his hand.
“Come with me?”
Something warm passed over his face as he nodded.
“We just need to be back inside before the kids wake up.”
There was something so domestic about that and it made an unhealthy part of my brain fill with hope. I knew better than to start thinking of my bosses in that warm, domestic, lovey kind of way. Unless I wanted to have my heart shattered into a million pieces I’d need to shut that part of myself down fast. There was no other option.
On our way back inside Dominic stopped and ran his hand over his buzzed hair. His tattoos moved as his muscles flexed and for a moment he was a graphic novel come to life.
“We aren’t taking you to the club tonight. We have some business to handle and we probably won’t be home until late. There will be guards outside and Theo’s cameras, of course, but don’t go out after dark.”
I frowned at the warning note in his voice but nodded. I wouldn’t have a reason to cart the kids around outside after dark. They went to bed super early anyway. Curiosity filled me over what kind of business would keep them away that late at night. Was it really business? What kind of business? Was there a woman?
“Sutton.” Dominic growled my name. “Did you hear me?”
I nodded. “Yes.”
His eyebrows raised.
“Yes, Sir.” I wanted to stick my tongue out at him when he turned and walked away from me but I had a feeling he’d know that I’d done it somehow. It’d also be a little hypocritical to take that little bit of revenge for myself when I couldn’t even pretend to not like his bossy side. It was all so complicated.
It was strange putting the kids to bed that night without any sign of the guys. The kids didn’t seem all that bothered by it, especially since Naomi was there, too. It seemed like it’d be a normal night without any heat-filled interactions or exciting revelations. I managed to fall asleep early and was sleeping hard until a small voice jolted me awake.
I sat up and found Charlie standing next to my bed, her eyes wide and her hands clutching her nightshirt in tight little fists. I blinked myself fully awake and scooted to the edge of my bed.
“What’s wrong, Charlie? Are you okay, sweetheart?”
Her face twisted back and forth between fear and her normal hardened expression of apathy.
“Um. When’s Theo coming home?”
I cleared the sleep from my voice and patted the bed next to me while glancing at the clock to see that it was already two in the morning.
“Are you sure he isn’t back already?”
“He’s not. When he goes out he comes to my room to let me know he’s okay. He didn’t come to my room. He’s not back. W-when is he supposed to come back? Soon?” She sat on my bed but she was practically shaking. “Can you check? Please?”
The only thing I knew to do was check the tablet but it only took a second for me to see that Theo wasn’t there. I put it down beside me and looked around. I didn’t have a number to message or call Theo on. I didn’t know if it was even allowed. I was just their employee. It would be weird if I called to check up on them when they were maybe playing in their sex club with some willing, eager, and beautiful woman. Even if I said I was calling for Charlie.
“How about you stay in my bed tonight? I’m sure Theo will be home soon and he’ll find you in here just as easily as if you’d stayed in your own bed. We can help each other relax.” I scooted over and stretched out. “I’ll tell you one of my secrets.”
She was hesitant but eventually she lay down and rested her head on my pillow. Her lips quivered like she was close to tears and it broke my heart to see her so anxious and scared.
“I’d stay up late when I was little, waiting for my mom to come home. My dad was always grumpy about it because he said it made me a cranky little girl the next day. So, we came up with a game. If I couldn’t sleep and was worried, I’d drag a blanket to his room and get in his bed. We’d stare up at the ceiling, pretending we were looking up at the night sky with all the stars, and we’d point out the stars we were imagining ourselves seeing. Dad always tried to say he was seeing the biggest and best stars, bigger and better than mine. I’d be so focused on finding betterstars than him that I’d eventually forget how scared I’d been and I’d fall asleep so fast.”
Charlie scowled.
“But there were no stars.”
I reached out and gently tapped her nose.
