Page 37 of Daddy's Reluctant Queen

Tomorrow, I’ll have a clearer head. I’ll go to her then.

With some sleep, I’m sure I’ll be back on track.

13

SOFIA

There’s a little time stamp in the top corner of my television’s home screen that I’ve been using to keep track of time. It’s wrong. It shows a date that’s about three years back and it’s stuck on blinking the wrong time, but the date still changes daily. I’ve been using my handy safety pin to scratch tally lines in the side of my vanity based on that.

I first tried to go with a day-night cycle, but there are some times when Titus has his way with me for so long that I actually lose track. That’s happened at least five times since I’ve been here. All that said, by my estimation, it’s been about two weeks since the day I overheard him talking about my brother.

In a way, I kind of wish I hadn’t decided to eavesdrop. There’s a part of me that wants to believe that Titus might be developing some affection for me. And as much as I hate to admit, there are parts of being around him that I’ve come to enjoy, like when he starts telling me about the history of things, casually working in the origin of the food or wine or even the flowers on the table sometimes. At first, it was just little things like that.

Since I’ve been assigned to entertain his son, I’ve started to see shades of another side to him. He doesn’t talk to anyone else the way he talks to his son. His tone softens without losing its strength. He behaves… well… like a father.

Lately, I’ve been spending my afternoons with Luka in his room or sometimes in mine. He’s always got little study sheets that we go over together. I’m no teacher, but that’s all right. We study them and sometimes, I find out things that I somehow missed when I was in school. Titus watches over us sometimes and… and I think he enjoys how well the two of us click.

It all makes me wonder… what would this life be like if he weren’t responsible for killing my father and my family? If he weren’t holding me hostage here? What would it be like if when we fucked, it felt like love instead of sex?

I’m running all this down while I drink coffee and watch one of the reality shows I’ve become addicted to. I’m not in a position of entertaining flights of fancy like that. I’ve got bigger issues.

Like Adam. As far as I know, he hasn’t been caught yet. It makes me wonder if what his people said was actually true all along. That he actually ratted. If they haven’t found him yet, it could be because the Feds have him. Adam isn’t street smart enough to avoid the Bratva for as long as he has.

God, I hope he hasn’t done something stupid. I keep thinking back to one of our last conversations.

“We could go to the Feds ourselves. Turn states evidence… I know the rules, Sof. I know it’s a cardinal sin to rat, but we’re out on a limb. We can’t sustain this.”

The thought was there already. I hope he remembers how much worse it could get if he goes to the Feds. I hope he understandsthat running from one Bratva is better than having to run from them all.

At least if he didn’t, I can work on Titus. I can try to convince him not to kill my brother. It’s a small chance, but that’s better than no chance.

I hear the door unlock and I look up. A moment later, Titus walks in.

“Good morning, Princess,” he says the way he does every morning.

“Good morning, Sir,” I say. Weird how ‘Sir’ just rolls off my tongue now. I set my coffee down and stand up. He glances past me to the television and grimaces.

“Turn that off.”

I do, turning to get my remote and turning it off. When I turn back around, I see him looking me up and down. I already know what’s going on behind his eyes. He’s walked in here and I’m in my pajamas. No makeup. My hair is hanging loose around my shoulders and down my back. It’s midmorning. By this time, I should have showered and dressed, put my hair in his favorite long ponytail.

I didn’t this time… and I can see his annoyance with me. I smile and say, “Something wrong?”

“Why aren’t you dressed yet?”

“I didn’t feel like it,” I tell him. “I wanted to sleep in.”

He tilts his head and a little smile appears. “I don’t remember giving you permission to ‘sleep in’. You know you’re supposed to be ready for me every time I come in here.”

I throw him a mischievous grin and say, “Who says I’m not ready? If you want me, I’m right here.”

He walks up to me and caresses my face, his fingers tracing my jawline. Chills run up and down my spine as he brushes my hand over my ear.

Then, without warning, he grabs the back of my neck, yanking me to him. My heart jumps as I gasp with surprise.

“So, today you want to be a little brat? I’m clued into this little game you like to play with me, Princess.”

My heart is racing as his gold eyes move over my face, visually devouring me. His mouth is just a few inches away from mine. If I stood on my tiptoes, I could steal a kiss. Instead, I say to him, “Are you going to punish me, Daddy?”