BULKY

Well.

Except for a couple of major secrets I’m keeping. But I don’t plan to keep them much longer. Just a little while more. Just until I’m confident he won’t freak out when I tell him I want to be with him. Forever. Without being paid. Without him sending me gift after gift.

Speaking of…

I push back from the desk in my bedroom and flit across the cushy white rug. Sunlight glints off the Olympic-sized swimming pool in the backyard and pours into my room, warming me in my belted robe as I make my way out into the hallway and down the stairs, so I can answer the front door. As recently as a year ago, one of the maids would have answered and informed me of the guest, but they’ve all been released because my father can no longer afford to pay them. I can’t have Paul or any of my friends over—they would notice the lack of help immediately. But compared to our staff losing their income, it’s not a serious hardship, so I don’t complain about not being able to entertain. Besides, if I wasn’t home alone right now, there would be a lot of questions regarding the suited messenger on my front porch holding a shopping bag from Cartier.

“Thank you,” I say, shaking my head while accepting the silver-and-white bag. I’m smiling all the same, though, because I love knowing Gunner is thinking about me.

Over the course of the last week, he’s showered me in jewelry and designer clothing.

Just yesterday, a man arrived with a box containing two sets of keys. One to a Rolls Royce and one to a penthouse apartment, both of which are waiting for me near my college campus. It’s as though I’m right on the cusp of true adulthood and a new life is waiting for me to step into. I don’t want to wait. If possible, I would move out of my parents’ house today, but I have another month before I’m scheduled to move out. Eventually, I’ll have to answer questions about my new lifestyle, but I’d like to delay that as long as possible. There’s no way I want to rock the boat when everything is so perfect. When my evenings belong to Gunner, just like I’ve been dreaming about for so long.

I bring the Cartier bag into my bedroom and close the door, pulling out boxes one by one and gasping over the contents. A sapphire necklace, a diamond choker, an array of tennis bracelets and cocktail rings that must have cost him a small fortune.

I’ve just finished closing the final box when my phone rings.

Gunner.

Just like that, my body turns to molten liquid, my erogenous zones pulsing at the memory of how he took me last night, my palms flat on the panoramic window, dressed in nothing but five-inch heels while he grunted and groaned, thrusting ferociously into me from behind, the force of his drives lifting me off the ground.

Now, I roll over onto my back and let the silk material of my robe fall open. “Papa,” I whisper into the receiver. “I miss you.”

His breath is unsteady in my ear. “I miss you, too, baby. Did you get your presents?”

“Yes. Thank you, Gunner, they’re beautiful. My favorite is the emerald cocktail ring. I’m already wearing it.” I look down at the hand resting on my belly, the huge rock on top. “It matches my panties today.”

“Does it?” Was that the sound of him gulping? “Josie, I don’t think…” His footsteps signal that he’s starting to pace. “I don’t think I can wait until tonight to see you.”

Slowly, I sit up.

This is a first.

Gunner works like a machine during the day, taking endless meetings and phone calls, making large-scale decisions. The fact that he’s stopping in the middle of his work day to call me is unusual in itself, but wanting to see me? That’s definitely unexpected.

And my heart is fluttering up into my throat.

Does this mean his feelings for me are…expanding? Getting more serious?

Don’t make a big deal out of it. “I can bring you lunch, if you want. I’m working on my class schedule, but I still have a few days to finalize. I need every minute of them,” I mutter, wrinkling my nose in the direction of my desk.

“You need help with it?” Gunner asks, then continues briskly. “Bring it with you. We’ll work on it.”

Okay, I can’t just let this go without comment. “You are going to cease conquering the universe in the middle of a weekday to help me with my class schedule?”

“Of course I am.” He pauses for an extended moment. “Josie…I am aching.”

My lips part on a silent moan, thighs cinching together. “I ache, too, Papa.”

His breath begins to rattle in my ear. “I’m not just talking about my cock. I’m aching everywhere. My chest, my gut. You’ve…done something to me. I can’t describe it. Since we agreed on you being mine, my world looks different. I’m less cynical. Less impatient with people. I…it’s you, Josie. You’re having this effect on me. And I want to see your beautiful face in the daylight. I want to hold you, make you smile. Do I sound ridiculous?”