Chapter 33
Hunter
I’d been locked in my home office most of the day, searching for the inconsistencies in Mystique’s financial documents. Nothing jumped out at me. Wherever Leonard was hiding money eluded me.
I rubbed my eyes and cracked my neck. The last thing I wanted to be doing was going over spreadsheets, especially when Charlotte was walking around my apartment in tiny shorts and a tank top. I should have been bending her over the couch and giving her a good fucking since she decided to tease me by going braless. My cock strained at my zipper every time I thought about her nipples poking through the thin material of her clothes. The girl was nothing but trouble.
“Think, Hunter. Think. Where is the money going?” I mumbled to myself.
“Knock, knock.” Charli appeared in my office doorway with Carina on her hip. “I made meatloaf if you’re hungry.”
I’d been smelling the goodness coming from the kitchen for the last hour, but I didn’t have time to stop. “Can you bring a plate in here? ”
She twisted her lips to the side in disapproval. “You’ve been at it all day. It’s time to take a break. Come have dinner with your daughter and I’ll help you once I put her down.”
I ran a hand over my scruffy chin in frustration. “I wish you could help, but you can’t.”
“Hunter Dorsey, I may not have gone to college but I’m not stupid. I’ll have you know I finished top of my class in high school. I can help.”
High school? Jesus Christ. It was a reminder I didn’t need about our age difference. Not only was I her boss, but I had eight years on her. “Bring me a plate, Charlotte.”
“No. You will take a break. If not to spend time with me, then to spend time with Carina. We’ll be waiting in the kitchen.” She turned on her heel and walked away with a slight sway of her ass.
Dammit! Just once I wished that woman could do as she was told. She wasn’t wrong, but still. It was a dick move to fuck her last night and ignore her today. Plus, Carina deserved better than a dad that put work before his daughter. No matter how busy my father was, he always made time for me. I needed to do the same.
Closing my laptop, I made my way to the kitchen. Carina was in her high chair stuffing puffs into her mouth while Charli plated our dinner. I kissed Carina on the head. “Daddy’s sorry he’s been busy all day, princess.” Then I turned to Charli. “What can I do to help?”
She turned and waved a spoon at me. “Absolutely nothing. Sit with your daughter and I’ll bring the food over.”
I sat down and grumbled, “And you said I was bossy.”
She slid a plate in front of me piled high with meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and green beans. “You are.”
It looked delicious and smelled even better. I’d skipped lunch and hadn’t realized how hungry I was, but that wasn’t the point. “I didn’t hear you complaining last night.”
Her cheeks turned pink. “That’s different.”
I lifted an eyebrow at her comment, but kept my mouth shut. Yeah, she liked my bossiness in bed. The way she screamed my name proved it and I couldn’t wait to make her prove it again tonight, but right now was about spending time with my daughter. I cut a small piece of meatloaf off with my fork and held it out to Carina.
She opened her mouth and gobbled it up, squealing for more while banging her fists on the tray. My little girl had a ravenous appetite for such a tiny thing. Once Charli moved her to more solid foods, she quit spitting everything out, which I greatly appreciated. Couldn’t blame her, most of the jarred food looked and smelled disgusting.
I finally took my own bite of dinner, and it practically melted in my mouth. One thing I could admit was that Charli was a damn good cook. She might have almost set my kitchen on fire, but the food was top notch. “Where’d you learn how to cook?”
She took her own bite and swallowed. “From my mom. My parents are very traditional. She made sure I knew how to cook and clean the house. How to be a good wife.”
“I’m guessing she’s not too happy you ended up in Vegas.”
She let out a self-deprecating laugh. “Not at all. She thought my obsession with acrobatics was a phase. If she had her way, I’d be teaching elementary school with a husband and two kids.”
I didn’t like the picture she painted of herself with another man. “Yeah, that doesn’t sound like you.”
“Don’t get me wrong, I do want kids of my own, but I’m not ready to quit on my dreams yet. It’d be pretty hard to climb the silks being eight months pregnant.” She laughed.
I pictured what she would look like, big and round, carrying my child. It was stupid. I was barely qualified to take care of the child I had, let alone add another one to the mix. “Maybe one day you’ll meet a man who will change your mind,” I said gruffly.
She set her fork on the edge of her plate. “Hunter Dorsey, are you jealous of my hypothetical husband?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. We spent one night fucking. That doesn’t mean I want to marry you, or any woman for that matter.”
Her face fell. “Of course not. I wasn’t implying that.”
If I was planning on hurting her, which I wasn’t, I’d say I hit the bull’s-eye. “I’m sorry.” She didn’t deserve me reverting back to being an asshole .
“For what? Being honest? I’m a big girl, I can take it. Let’s not make a big deal out of nothing. I was teasing. No biggie.” Her words said one thing, but her actions told a completely different story. Charli pushed the potatoes around on her plate before she scooped some up and fed them to Carina.
My instincts told me it was better not to press the issue. I’d only dig myself a bigger hole. “Do you still want to help me later?”
“Actually, I’m more tired than I thought. After I clean up the kitchen and give the princess a bath, I’m gonna call it a night. I’ve got a busy day tomorrow.”
I wasn’t sure how to deal with this version of her. Usually if I bit her head off, she bit back. Right now, she looked like a puppy who’d been slapped on the nose with a newspaper. “Alright. You want me to help clean up?”
“Nope. I got it. You should get back to your work. I’ll do my job and you do yours.”
The entire mood of the room changed, and we continued eating in silence. The lump of regret in my stomach had me pushing away my plate. “I’m going back to my office.”
Charli carelessly waved her fingers at me in dismissal as she continued to feed my daughter.
Way to fuck things up, Dorsey.
I went back to my office but couldn’t concentrate worth shit. Pots and pans banged in the kitchen, a clear sign I’d royally pissed Charli off.
It was better this way, wasn’t it? The last thing I needed was her getting attached to me, especially when she planned on leaving anyway.
Last night was mutual. We both got what we wanted. It didn’t have to be more than that. Sex was sex. It wasn’t personal. It was a means to an end.
If all that was true, why did I feel like a piece of dog shit?
I pushed the feeling aside and focused on my singular goal since returning to Mystique—proving Leonard Moroski was a thief.
After three hours of scouring documents and finding nothing, I gave up. My head wasn’t in it .
Nope.
My head was still on the brunette I insulted with my crass words. Fucking idiot .
I pushed away from my desk, walked past the kitchen, and headed toward her room. The door was mostly closed, the laugh track of whatever sitcom she watched floating out into the hallway. Like a Peeping Tom, I put my eye to the crack, hoping to get a glance at Charlotte.
She lay on her bed doing some contortionist’s move with her leg next to her head. Her shorts stretched tight against her pussy leaving little to the imagination, although I didn’t need to imagine shit. I knew what was hiding under her clothes and it made my dick hard. I backed away before she could see me being a creeper and went to check on Carina.
My girl was sound asleep, sucking on her thumb with a stuffed rabbit clenched under her arm. She looked like an angel, but one day, she’d grow into a woman, and some sick pervert would defile her the way I did Charli last night. I scuffed a hand through my hair. If I was protective now, I was going to be a lunatic by the time she turned sixteen. There was no way I would let her date until she turned twenty-one.
Maybe twenty-five.
Hell, thirty sounded reasonable.
I’d move us to the middle of North Dakota if it meant keeping her away from an asshole like me.
There wasn’t a single thing I wouldn’t do for my daughter. Mama bears had nothing on me.
I ran my fingers through her soft hair and kissed the top of her head. “Don’t ever grow up, princess. The world is full of fucking assholes. If one ever tries to break your heart, they’ll regret the day they messed with you. I can promise you that.”
Going back to the kitchen, I warmed a plate of leftovers and ate them while scrolling through my phone. If I hadn’t been such a jerk, Charli would have been here keeping me company. I should have been used to the silence after spending so many years alone, but the only thing worse than the silence was knowing I wasn’t alone. That the silence was a choice made by the other person in my home .
I don’t even know why I said what I did. I made her sound like a casual fuck when she was more than that. I screwed up. Big time.
Rinsing my plate, I stuck it in the dishwasher and went to my room. After the events of the last few hours, all I wanted was sleep. I brushed my teeth and crawled between the sheets, tossing and turning because all I could think of was her.
The faint aroma of her perfume and the scent of our mixed arousal wrapped around me like a cocoon. It invaded my senses and sent my head spinning. I could practically hear her screaming my name as her pussy squeezed around my cock. I remembered how her body molded to mine and her contented sigh as she snuggled in next to me at the end of the night.
Sleep didn’t come.
Instead, I spent the night staring at the ceiling, thinking of how to repair the damage I’d done. How I could put the smile back on her face. Because if I didn’t… someone else would.
And that? I’d be damned if I let that happen.