Keeping Katie (Syndicate Kings Book 5)

A disgruntled feeling settles over me as I drive her home. I don’t want to take her there. Why is it so important for her to go to her place anyway? The estate is much more comfortable.

“I’ll come pick up my car in the daylight.”

Slowly, I turn to look at her, my eyebrows raised. “And how do you plan to get up here, Little one? Because I think we already talked about you taking a car service.”

I’ve always been protective of the girls in our family, but with Katie, it’s like it goes into overdrive. I want to wrap her in a bubble. My bubble. That way, I can keep her safe forever.

“I can have a friend bring me,” she answers cautiously.

The muscles at the back of my neck tense. A friend. Let her show up with a male friend. He’ll disappear so fucking quickly. The only reason her friend Tom isn’t already on my hit list is because I’m assuming he’s much older if her parents were friends with him.

“I’ll bring your car to you. What time do you go to work?”

“I’m working noon to close today.”

The streets are wet, but the temperature has come up, so it’s not frozen. It’s almost as if it never snowed. Typical for Seattle. We rarely get anything that sticks around. Cali is going to be so disappointed when she wakes up.

“I’ll bring your car at eleven.”

That will give me time to get a new set of tires for her and have a mechanic check it out. If I thought she wouldn’t protest, I’d bring her a whole new car, but I don’t think we’re there yet. At least, she’s not.

“Thank you, Grady. Sorry you’re stuck doing all of this.” She motions to me driving.

I reach out, and her eyes trail to my hand as I run the back of my index finger over her cheek. “I’m not stuck doing anything, princess. I do what I want.”

Her pupils dilate as she lets out a breath, and I lower my arm. My cock is painfully hard. It has been all night around her.

“Tell me why you wanted to come home to sleep so badly.” I’m tired of asking. There is a reason she didn’t want to stay, and I want to know what it is. I want to know every single thing about her.

When she opens her mouth, I hold up my hand to stop her because she’s about to lie to me.

“Just remember, lying is naughty, and naughty girls get in trouble.”

Her mouth snaps shut as she stares at me in disbelief. She’s silent for several seconds while I continue to drive through the dark streets.

“It’s a silly reason.”

“Nothing you say is silly.”

She sighs and turns her head to look out the passenger window. “I have a stuffed rabbit I sleep with. My dad gave it to me when I was a kid. I can’t sleep without it. I know that sounds childish⁠—”

I grab her hand to stop her and stroke my thumb over it. “It’s not childish. There’s nothing wrong with sleeping with a toy. Cali and the rest of them do, too. What’s its name?”

When she doesn’t answer right away, I look over and find her staring at me as if I’m an alien. I squeeze her hand and quirk a half-smile at her.

“Pancake,” she murmurs.

Chuckling, I nod. “Pancake is a cute name.”

Even though a lot of adults have stuffed animals, the fact that she can’t sleep without it confirms my suspicions. She has Little tendencies. I noticed it the first time I met her when she had a cute scrunchie at the base of her ponytail. Then again, when I showed up at the shop the next day, she put rainbow sprinkles on top of her coffee. And tonight, when I covered her up after she fell asleep, she pulled the fuzzy blanket up to her face and ran it over her cheek. She might be an adult, but she’s going to be Daddy’s Little girl one day very soon.

When we arrive at her apartment, I get out and round the car to open the door for her.

“Thank you,” she says as she rocks back and forth on the balls of her feet.

“You’re welcome. I’ll walk you to the door.”

She looks like she’s about to argue but thinks better of it before she turns and leads the way to her apartment.

“How’d your rabbit get the name Pancake?” I don’t know why I ask, but something tells me the name is important.

Katie stops and looks up at me, sadness shining in those pretty blue eyes. “Every Saturday morning, my dad would let my mom sleep in, and he would make pancakes for the two of us. He always made mine in the shape of a bunny. We’d sit on the couch and watch cartoons while we ate.” A slow smile spreads on her lips. “Before he died, he told me to keep the Saturday tradition alive for as long as I could.”

My throat tightens. Fuck. I wish I’d been able to meet her father. He sounds like a good man. “How long did you keep it up?”

She beams at me. “I never stopped.”

I stare at her for a long time before I can swallow. “One day, maybe you’ll let me join you.”

When she doesn’t say anything right away, panic rises within me. Did I push it too far? We don’t even know each other, and I’m already trying to intrude on a tradition she held with her late father. Real fucking sensitive of me.

Then she knocks me on my ass.

“Maybe. It depends how good you are at making a bunny pancake.” She pushes the door open. “See you at eleven.”

I smell the brown sugar before I reach her door. Cinnamon and nutmeg linger around it, too. Whatever she’s making, I want some. I can work out extra hard in the gym to make up for some sweets. Especially if Katie made them.

As soon as she answers the door, my protective Daddy side kicks into high gear. Something’s wrong.

She looks at me, her blue eyes a bit wild and confused. “Um, hi.”

My gut twists as I step inside, nudging her back into the apartment. I look around, scanning for danger. Or anything that explains why Katie’s clothes from last night are covered in flour, her hair is plopped on top of her head in a big messy bun, and she has dark marks under her eyes like she hasn’t slept.

When I don’t see anything to be concerned about, I take in her place. It’s cozy. Small. But it screams Katie. Lots of pink and cream shades, all blending together perfectly. Fairy lights and lamps create a relaxing ambiance. This is definitely her safe space. Here and the coffee shop.

“What’s wrong, baby?” I finally ask, furrowing my eyebrows.

She runs the back of her hand over her cheek and leaves a trail of flour on her skin. Unable to resist, I reach out and brush it away.

“What? Nothing’s wrong. I’m fine. Why would anything be wrong?” she laughs nervously, then spins around and goes back to the small kitchen.

I guess we’re going to have to make no lying a clear rule between us because my naughty girl just fibbed, and I don’t like it. If something is bothering her, I want to know. I want her to tell me every single emotion she’s feeling all the time. Because if she’s sad or anything other than happy, I will fix it.

“Katie,” I say in a hushed voice as I follow her.

“Everything’s fine. Just great. I had dinner at a mobster’s house, and I’m pretty sure my friend is trying to hook me up with one of her mobster friends, and I’ve never even broken a single rule in my life, yet I’m pretty sure they kill people for fun, and then I go and blab about my dad and bunny pancakes, and that was something special between us, and I’ve never even had a boyfriend.” She flings a spatula around as she speaks, sending batter everywhere. “And I don’t even know if you like me, that’s how inexperienced I am. I also don’t know anything about being Little or having a Daddy, and they told me you’re a Daddy, and I don’t know what that means. And I have to sell my parents’ house, and the realtor wants me to do a bunch of crazy things before putting it up for sale, and all I want to do is sell it and be done with it so I can move on and maybe start having a life, but I’m also afraid to move on because I can’t remember the last time I didn’t have someone or something to take care of, and I’m freaking out here.”

Before she covers her entire kitchen in batter, I stride over to her and take the spatula. After I toss it in the sink, I grab a towel and turn back to her to take one of her hands in mine. She stares up at me, glass-eyed and sad, and it breaks my fucking heart. I start cleaning her up while I keep my gaze on her.

“Princess, breathe. In and out.” She does while we stare at each other. “Good girl. That’s it. Good.”

I keep wiping flour and batter from her skin. “First, let’s get one thing straight. I am interested in you. I’m trying to move slow, and it’s fucking torture. But I also know it’s what you need, and you come first. Always. Just so we’re clear, though, I’m only going to go at this pace for a limited time before I lose my patience and we start moving at my speed.”

Her mouth drops open. It nearly kills me not to take advantage of that and start kissing her. It’s not the right time, though. If she’s been up panic baking all morning, she’s not in any frame of mind for me to be kissing her. She needs me to take control and take care of her.

“Secondly,” I say, using the towel to wipe her chin, “we don’t kill people for fun. We don’t kill people unless it’s necessary. And you will never be around that. You will never be involved with that side of my life. For the most part, the mafia is just another business. I’m not going to sugarcoat it and tell you I’m a law-abiding citizen because I’m not. I have pools of blood on my hands, but it will never be your blood. You will continue being my rule-following girl because that’s one of the reasons I like you. You’re pure and sweet and a good girl. I need some good in my life, princess.”

She bites her lip and stares at my chest. I think I’m getting through to her. I just admitted to killing people. It’s possible she might decide to call the police on me here in a second.

“You don’t have to be any certain type of Little. You just be you. As far as being a Daddy Dom, yes, I am. I thrive on control. I want to be the one in control of a relationship. I make the rules. I would expect you to follow them. Mostly because the rules are meant to keep you safe, healthy, and happy. I will take care of you, make sure you’re eating, sleeping, not working too much, things like that. The kind of relationship I want isn’t always easy. There will be times when you don’t like my decisions or when you have to face the consequences of being naughty, but that’s just how it is. I’m not easy, princess.”

When I’m finally satisfied with my clean-up job, I toss the towel aside and hook my finger under her chin. “Lastly, I will never intrude on your Saturday morning tradition unless you want me to. I understand that’s something special you had with your dad. I would never do anything to tarnish that. If you want to eat bunny pancakes and watch cartoons by yourself every Saturday, I’ll find something to do elsewhere. Understand?”

Tears fill her eyes, wetting her long lashes. I tug her into me, wrapping my arms around her softness. When she slides her hands around my waist and hugs me back, the only thing that exists is her.

“I’m scared,” she whispers.

“I know, baby. I got you, though.”

“You don’t even know me. Do you really want to get involved with this?” she asks, stepping back and motioning to herself.

I look her up and down, a grin curving my lips. “Yeah, baby. I sure the fuck do. And if you question me again about wanting you, we’ll talk about it with you over my knee.”

Her mouth drops open, and I chuckle. Then she yawns, and all my laughter disappears.

“Have you been baking since I dropped you off?”

“Um, yes. I stress bake, and well, do you want a muffin? Or a strudel? I also made banana bread, a lemon loaf, two different kinds of cookies, and a coffee cake.”

Jesus Christ.

She turns toward the counter. “I could pack some up to send home with you to share with Bash and the rest of the guys.”

Grabbing the edge of the counter on either side of her, I pin her in place, her back to my front and lean down so my mouth is close to her ear. “If you ever try to share your sweets with my friends, you won’t like the consequences, Little one.”

Pleasure rips through me when she shudders and pushes back against me. “It’s just food,” she murmurs.

I nuzzle her neck, scraping my short beard against her skin. “I don’t care. I don’t share. Ever.”

She sucks in a breath, and when she finally nods, I take a step back. “Come on, princess. Time to get into bed.”

“What? No, I can’t. I have to go to work.”

“No, you need to go to bed. You only slept for two hours at Declan’s last night. You’re not working on a couple hours of sleep.”

She bites her lip and peers up at me. “I have to. One of my employees is out of town, and the other has class today. I can’t ask my opener to stay until close.”

Shit. I need to tread carefully. She’s the owner of the shop, which means she’s the boss. A good one at that.

Fucking lightbulb.

I pull out my phone and call Bash.

“Yeah?” he answers.

“What are you and Chloe doing today?”

“We don’t have plans. She slept in and is just now having breakfast.”

“Good. Can she do a shift at Twisted Bean? You can go with her and keep your stalker eye on her all day.”

Katie shakes her head and tries to reach for my phone, but I step back.

“Grady, no,” she hisses.

“Why? Was she a bad employee?”

Her eyes widen like I’ve slapped her. “What? No. She was a great employee. I can go to work. I’m fine. I’ll rest tonight.”

Bash chuckles in the background. “Daddying her already, huh? Nice, man, nice. Yeah, we can be there in an hour. Chloe’s excited. She loved working there.”

“There. That’s taken care of. Bedtime,” I say after I hang up.

Katie stares at me, unblinking. “Did you really just do that?”

“Yes. Come on, baby.” I gently grab her shoulders and nudge her toward the only bedroom, checking to make sure the oven is off and there’s nothing in it before I leave the kitchen.

“Is that… Is that how this is going to work? You do whatever you want and think I’m going to go along with it?” she asks.

Now she’s catching on. The sooner she gets with the program, the better. She can fight it, but the end result will still be the same.

“Yes, baby.” I look around her room, taking in everything I can. Just like the living room, it’s done in soft pinks and creams. Her bed is made, and right on top of her pillow is an old, tattered bunny I assume is Pancake.

“Where are your pajamas?” I doubt she’ll let me change her clothes for her, even though I’d prefer to be the one to do it. It’s a Daddy’s job, after all.

“Um, I’ll get them,” she answers as she fidgets with her hands. “I really am fine to work. I’ve gone in on less sleep than this before.”

A growl escapes my throat as I glare at her. “And that will never happen again going forward. Are we clear? If you don’t get a full eight hours of sleep, you don’t go to work.”

She stops and stares at me like I’ve lost my mind. Then she starts laughing and waving her hand in the air. “Oh my gosh. I just realized that Chloe’s pranking me. This is all a prank. Oh, God, I can’t believe I thought this was real.”

Her laughter turns into a cackle, and I can’t help but smile. My sweet Little girl is living in denial.

“It’s not a prank, princess. This is all real. I’m real. Now, unless you want to find yourself over my lap before you go to sleep, I suggest you pick out some pajamas and get changed.”

Almost immediately, she stops laughing. “You can’t threaten to spank me all the time.”

This time, I laugh as I cross the room to her and capture her chin between my fingers. Her pupils dilate, and she stops breathing for a second. My cock aches for her. It’s torture taking my time. Especially when I want to bury myself deep inside her pussy and never leave it.

“I can threaten to spank you whenever I want, baby. Don’t worry; some spankings you’re going to love and want more of. Some of them will even end in screaming orgasms.”