Mia“No, I wasn’t.” I folded my arms across my chest and coyly cocked my head to one side. “And what are you doing here? Suddenly appearing at the top of the stairs.”“I’ve just finished putting Aria to bed,” he said.My expression softened instantly, and a smile appeared across my lips. “She was having so much fun today. I’m glad.”“And you?” James asked. “Did you have fun?”His query made me blush simply because of the way he’d asked. His tone was deep and dark yet soft and gentle at the same time. This coupled with the question itself made it sound like he really cared about me and my happiness, as if I were truly a part of his family, which tugged deep at my heartstrings. Truth be told, it made me so deliriously happy that my knees became weak in an instant.I nodded. “Yes, I did… Very much so. Thank you for taking me.”He chuckled with amusement and said, “No problem. It was Aria’s idea, but I’ll take the credit nonetheless.”He was right that it had been Aria’s idea, but he had
MiaOnce we were inside, James shut the door with his leg with a decisive click. I found myself trapped between him and the door. Not that I disliked that feeling. In fact, I loved it. Loved that James was intimately close to me while I was leaning against the solidity of the doorframe. Loved that he was kissing me ardently while his hands were frantically ripping my dress to pieces, as if he couldn’t wait to touch me and feel my naked skin or taste my bare flesh with his hot tongue and kiss me with his sensual lips.The thrilling heat and excitement was hard-core and raw within me as I listened to the music of James’ eager groaning combined with my dress being torn from my body.“Oh, James,” I groaned in pleasure.He chuckled at my soft moaning, as if he were pleased. Then he paused and drew back a little. There he gazed down at me, his dark eyes taking in my person, scrutinizing me with so much intensity it made my core burn hot with adoration.I noted a dark smirk was playing about
Mia“Was it really?” he asked, looking doubtful as he rolled onto his back. Then he pulled me into his arms and hugged me tight.Not surprisingly, I loved being in his arms in this position, squished against him. I felt comforted and safe. It was as if I didn’t have to worry about a thing in the world, and if there were anything horrible that should affect me, I felt in my gut James would be there for me. An odd instinct to have for sure for a young woman in my unconventional situation. After all, I was merely his mistress, tied to him via a two-million-dollar debt.I sighed and frowned darkly.“What’s the matter?” he asked.I licked my lips and blushed profusely. Then I shook my head to indicate there was nothing weird I was thinking about right now.James wasn’t buying it. “You’re lying. I can tell when you’re lying.”Huh? He could tell when I was lying? How in the world could he do that when we hadn’t even been together that long?Of course, Andy, my brother, knew instantly when I
MiaAs I sat there in the park, I watched Aria enjoying herself, playing with James and their dogs Sammy and Alfie. James was currently chasing after Aria, who had a fifty-count advantage starting the game of tag.I knew James would catch up to her in no time, just as he had previously. Once he had seized her in his arms, he’d again kiss her repeatedly and tickle her, which would make Aria laugh gleefully.My eyes followed James’ lean, fit form as he sprinted across the field. I couldn’t help but marvel at how handsome he was as he laughed delightfully while chasing after his daughter. To me, this scene made me again wonder about James’ character. When he was acting so down-to-earth and carefree like this, it just didn’t feel that he was in actual fact a ruthless billionaire who ruled an underground business world and dealt with various brutal gangs.Here he was, behaving so normally, like any other father with a young child would, pampering his daughter and enjoying spending time wit
MiaReluctantly I turned to look at him, more than a little afraid.“Why do you bring up the subject?” he asked.I blinked. Shit! Why was he asking me this? Wasn’t it obvious I cared about Aria? That I cared about him? That I was head over heels in love with him and I wanted to be more than just his mistress? That I wanted to be more than just a friend to Aria?“Because I care about Aria,” I said, looking into his eyes. I wanted to tell him I meant what I said, that there was no hidden agenda.His face still a hard mask, he asked, “Why do you care about Aria?”I furrowed my brow. God, did he really need me to spell out each word and explain its meaning?“Because I love her, James; that’s why. She’s such a sweet child, and she’s your daughter. Granted, I’ve never been with children before, but with Aria, I feel we just kind of click.”Like it clicks when I’m with you, I wanted to say.“I care about her a lot, James. I’m worried Sophie is hurting her like…”“Like?” He probed.I sighed a
MiaAria furrowed her brow for a moment as her eyes stared off at Alfie and Sammy in the distance. The naughty duo was still energetically chasing each other near the park bushes.“Not really,” she said finally.Her answer made my heart ache. To have a person you didn’t much like watching over you and controlling your every move wasn’t pleasant; that was for sure. Aria must have felt very constricted and unhappy.“Why?” I asked weakly.Aria made a face and said in distaste, “’Cause she’s weird. She makes me do things I don’t like.”“Does she?” James asked.From the corner of my eye, I could see he had a hard expression on his face again.“What type of things, Aria?” When he saw his daughter was about to evade his interrogation, he continued. “Sweetheart, Daddy wants to know everything. I love you, you understand? I don’t want anyone to hurt or upset you.”Aria made a face again before succumbing to her father’s inquiry. “You promise you won’t tell on me?”I frowned at this remark. Ser
MiaI widened my eyes in shocked surprise at the sight I beheld. The place was a dreadful mess with some of my brand-new dresses flung everywhere in disarray, destroyed and torn in shreds.“What the hell happened?” I muttered, flabbergasted.The place had been perfectly clean and my clothes intact before I’d left the room this morning. So how did this happen?Instantly Sophie popped in my mind. I knew without a doubt it was her who was behind this distasteful trick. What the hell was wrong with the woman? Surely this was uncalled for. Why was she behaving like a child?I sighed in frustration. Was she declaring war on me? Was she in her very obnoxious way telling me I wasn’t wanted here?Yeah, right!I picked up the shredded dresses as I muttered in irritation under my breath. While I was cleaning up the place, I told myself that if the bitch desperately wanted a showdown between her and me, because it was clear she had gone this far to secure one, then it’d be coldhearted of me not t
MiaDinner had been delicious, and my company wonderful. Of course, it was even better that Sophie had excused herself from joining us by informing James she had a dinner date with someone else. This meant I had a fine time enjoying my meal with James and Aria and not having to worry about the woman hurling insults at me whenever she had the chance.Now that dinner was over, I was once again in my own bedroom, getting changed into my sleeping garments. As I was doing so, I suddenly felt exhausted and simply wanted to drop into bed and sleep. The day had finally caught up to me.Thinking back, a lot had happened today.My mind drifted back to the park this morning, where I’d blurted out my dark past to James. I simply couldn’t believe he’d understand, that he’d comfort me like that, as if he really cared about me.That thought made my heart once again glow with delight, and I couldn’t help but smile like a loon. Then I thought about Aria and how the little girl truly craved her father’