Chapter Tease
That night I stood squirming in front of Warren as he tried to dress me.
"Stop moving, Paige," he ordered and I frowned but did as he said.
"But I don't want to wear this, Warren," I whined as he buttoned up my shirt, "it's stuffy."
"Hush, I wear things like this every day," he waved his hand and straightened my collar.
I pouted, "but I'm not you, Daddy."
He sighed and cupped my cheek, "that's right, babydoll. You're not me but you wanted to come with me so you have to be dressed appropriately."
I pouted some more but nodded my head anyway as he pulled the suit jacket over my arms. After that I remained silent and still so he could finish me up.
When he was finished he took a step back, "you look adorable."
I glared at him and folded my arms over my chest, "when can I take it off?"
"After the meeting. Until then, no complaining," Warren said sternly and narrowed his eyes at me.
I huffed and took his hand in mine, "yes, Daddy. Can we go now?"
He smiled and kissed the top of my head, "uh-huh."
I liked that the whole car ride he didn't take his hand off my knee. It kind of made me feel rooted.
I sucked in a slow breath and looked down at it as I placed my hand on top of his.
He glanced at me, "what is it, Paige?"
I rolled my lower lip between my teeth, "can I hold your hand?"
He turned his attention back to the road and turned his palm over so I could intertwine our fingers. I pursed my lips and squeezed his hand.
"Do I still have to follow the rules at the meeting?" I asked and crossed my ankles over each other.
"Sort of," Warren answered, "I need you to stay with me at all times and you can't talk to anyone else- not even Sage."
I frowned, "we're going to see Sage?"
"No, he's just a neutral party so this event will be hosted at one of his properties," he replied, "the second floor at the restaurant will probably be cleared out for tonight."
"Oh," I mumbled, "I don't have to talk, do I?"
"No, in fact, it would be better if you didn't," he nodded as I brought his hand up to my lips.
"When I'm ready, will you go slow for me?" I whispered, "I'm tired of pretending that I don't like the things you do to me but I want you to be gentle the first time."
He glanced at me, "for you, Paige, I'd give up the lifestyle entirely."
I jumped, "that's not what I meant! I still want you to be my Daddy."
He chuckled, "I know, sweetheart, my point is just that I'll always be gentle when you ask me to. And rough too for that matter."
I giggled and kissed his knuckles again, "I like it when Daddy gets mean."
Warren laughed again, "trust me, I know, babydoll."
The smile never left my face.
As soon as we entered the room I was hit with the ominous tension. There were a lot of men in suits and formal wear and only a few women speckled here and there. At the head of the table though, was a dark-skinned woman with a fierce look in her eye and brilliant red lipstick. She was very beautiful. Intimidatingly so.
Many seats had still not yet been filled at the long table but Warren led me to the end closer to the woman. We took our seats. I was sure everyone there could tell I didn't belong at that table. They gave me all sorts of looks, sneers, smirks, scowls and more.
The woman eyed me and then Warren.
"I see you've brought your pet along, Warren," she noted in a thick Russian accent.
"He's not my pet, Nikita," he narrowed his eyes and answered astutely.
"Pet," she reiterated with a cool look.
"I'm a person," I put in meekly as the rest f the people conversed among themselves.
"You hardly know a thing about this life, mal’chik," she frowned at me, "Warren is the only thing keeping you alive in here so he'd better not let you out of his sight. Keep you on a leash, da?"
Her words irritated me to a degree.
"Don't trifle with me now, demon," Warren sneered, "I'm not in the mood."
She arched a haughty brow, "I lead the families, Petrov. They all answer to me in some way including yourself. Watch your tone with me."
"You recall why Paige is untouchable, yes?" He answered with a steely voice, "I could always do it again."
Now Nikita's expression faltered, "yes... it would be wise not to repeat history in this case."
"I'm glad we can agree," he narrowed his eyes and folded his arms over his chest. After a moment of an intense staring match between the two Sage emerged from essentially out of nowhere.
"Everyone has arrived," he announced and the chatter grew still, "the meeting may commence. Please don't damage my property. Thank you."
Nikita rose from her seat when Sage was finished talking.
"I'm sure we all know who has called us here this evening on such short notice," she began and motioned to Warren, "and I may only hope it is for good reason."
Now it was Warren's turn to speak. He placed his palm on my knee.
"I wiped out Jakob Evanston today," he said flatly, "and his measly faction."
There was charged silence. I decided to be a brat and place my hand atop his so I could slowly slide it upwards. I wasn't comfortable to go all the way yet but I had no qualms with teasing.
"That's against code. What are the grounds?" One man asked suspiciously.
Warren gave him an empty smile, "I'm glad you asked." He gestured to me, "this, as many of you may know, is Paige Merriweather. He is off-limits to everyone in this room."
I moved his hand higher to my mid thigh. He dug his fingers in as a warning for me to stop. I didn't.
"Come on, Petrov, Evanston wouldn't be stupid enough to go after him," Another pointed out.
"Apparently he was because he took Paige from me," Warren's hand tightened on my thigh. I gave it a little squeeze to calm him. "He took Paige and kept him for four weeks. These were my grounds to take him out. He stole something that was mine. He touched something that was untouchable."
The silence grew tense. I parted my thighs a little bit and squirmed in my seat. I saw him clench his jaw when I pushed his hand much higher. His palms lay at the junction of my thigh and pelvis.
"I see," Nikita remarked with a deep frown, "this is troubling. Do you know why he did it?"
I paled. No, Warren didn't know but I did.
"I know," I whispered and averted my eyes from anyone at the table. Their attention all turned to me. "He told me that Warren k-killed his family and that he wanted to make him pay for it by using me."
My voice was soft. I felt nervous. Warren gave me a reassuring squeeze.
"Did he say when?" Nikita inquired.
"Uh, no," I shrugged, "he never said."
"I'm sure we all recall the series of events that took place a few years," she pointed out, "when Petrov first tried to make his boy off-limits. Many of us in this room still resent you for that Warren. Evanston May be one of many preparing to enact revenge."
"I hope you're not threatening me, Nikita," he said lowly, "and so blatantly."
"It was not a threat but merely a warning," she sighed with a shrug.
Warren narrowed his eyes suspiciously, "fine."
The rest of the meeting went off pretty smoothly. They spoke of splitting Jakob's resources and canceling his buyers and distributors. I was pretty bored of all the talk so I focused on teasing Warren beneath the table. With each passing second I could tell he was getting more frustrated and turned on. It nearly made me giggle a few times.
I couldn't wait for the punishment.