Page 23 of Spike (Iron Thunder MC 5)
At some point in the early hours of the morning, after tossing and turning in bed all night, I finally fell asleep. When I woke up, it was way past my wake-up time and I jumped in the shower. I was half-expecting Spike to barge into the room again today, but clearly he had become more confident about being able to decipher the sounds inside my bedroom. He wasn’t as suspicious this morning as yesterday.
I was excited to see him. I changed into something casual and stepped out. Spike looked fresher somehow. Did he actually sleep? I decided not to ask him since he told me not to worry about it.
“Your father has summoned you to the dining room for breakfast,” he said. Those were his first words to me. What I really wanted to say was that I’d missed him. I wished we had spent the night together in my bed. I wanted to feel his body against mine.
“Okay,” was all I actually said and he followed me to the dining room. Before I walked in, past Jim and some others who were hovering outside the dining room door, I looked over my shoulder at Spike again. He wasn’t looking at me; he was speaking to Jim.
It was all the proof I needed that he’d not stayed up fantasizing about me the way I did about him.
He didn’t want me in his world.“I’m going to be traveling for the next two weeks, so you’ll be by yourself, sweetheart,” Daddy said when I sat down at the dining table with him. He had no idea how fast my heart was beating. I was thrilled to hear it. This would mean that I could be completely alone with Spike for two whole weeks. No inhibitions.
Despite the no-touch policy that Spike was operating on, I couldn’t help but hope that maybe now, things could change between us.
“Do you think you’ll be okay here, sweetheart? All on your own?” Daddy asked. I smiled sweetly at him. How did he think I usually lived? I was always alone. The only time I ever saw my father was when he wanted something from me.
“Yes Daddy, I think I’ll be alright. Besides, I’ll have my bodyguard.”
“Yes, exactly. This is precisely the reason why I wanted to find someone who could do the job well. Keep you safe while I am away.”
I wanted to ask him what he had personally ever done to make me feel safe.
“Keep me safe from what, Daddy?” I asked and he focused on the food on his plate.
“From anything. There are so many ways that your life could be affected now that we live in the public eye. The mayor’s daughter is always an easy target for manipulation. You know, from the paparazzi and such.”
I knew this was not about the paparazzi. Daddy had never cared about them before. In fact, the more attention I got from tabloids, the happier he usually was. Bad news is some news, was what he always said. He enjoyed seeing those glossy images of me in the tabloids.
“Is he doing a good job?” Daddy continued.
“Spike? Yeah, he’s fine,” I replied. It was my turn to focus on my food.
“I want him to be with you around the clock. Never let you out of his sight. I hope, sweetheart, that you’re cooperating.”
I smiled at my father because it gave me a little thrill to think about all the other ways Spike and I had been close together.
“Yes, Daddy, I understand how important it is.”
“Good, because I know he is not the kind of fellow you’re used to having around. He can be a little…rough around the edges, from what I can see.”
“Spike is fine,” I said, probably a little too firmly this time because Daddy looked at me strangely. But the moment passed and he was smiling again.
“Jim is packing for me now, I have a flight to catch in two hours. I will always be available on email. Call me if you need anything. Or call Jim.”
“Yes Daddy,” I replied and then we continued with the rest of our meals in silence.
I didn’t know what I was going to do when he finally left the house but I knew I wanted to celebrate in some way.The pool! That was what I wanted to celebrate with.
Very soon, Daddy and Jim and the rest of his entourage had left the house. Spike was in the background, I could always sense his watchful eyes on me. I asked Cherie for a big jug of iced tea and then I went to my room.
Spike was close on my heels now.
“I’m just going to change into something more comfortable,” I told him before I went in.
It gave me a thrill to know that I would be walking out in my bikini any moment now. I picked a sexy purple one I had never worn before. It had some trims around the edges that added a pretty delicate flare to it.
