Tempted by her Daddies: Chapter 30

Tamsyn stood outside Roman’s closed door, debating what to do.

What if he was busy?

He had important stuff he was working on.

But it was Sunday . . . he shouldn’t be working on a Sunday. And he hadn’t come down for breakfast so he shouldn’t skip lunch.

It couldn’t be good to work on an empty stomach, right? He could make mistakes.

Mistakes that she could prevent with this sandwich.

She glanced down at the pathetic lunch on the tray she held. It was so sad. A single sandwich, an apple, and a glass of orange juice.

He’d no doubt be horrified by her lack of culinary skills.

And who could blame him? She was horrified too. It just wasn’t a skill she had in her repertoire.

Unlike Salem.

That man could cook and he seemed to like it. She should have asked him to prepare Roman a tray. But now he was in his office and he’d said he had an important phone call . . .

Right. Why don’t you own up to the real reasons you want to see him.

One . . . she was lonely. Alexei had woken her up this morning with his mouth on her pussy.

Honestly, the man was obsessed.

She might have to look at whether there was a Pussy Eaters Anonymous that she could sign him up for.

But now he was off for a run. She should probably be trying to listen into Salem’s important call, but . . . she hadn’t seen Roman all day.

So as well as being lonely, she missed him and wanted to see him.

So here she was with her pathetic lunch as an excuse to hunt him down. Before she could fully talk herself out of it and walk away, the door to his bedroom opened.

He blinked at her as she gaped at him.

Well. Heck.

She hadn’t been expecting that.

“Tamsyn? Are you all right, darling girl?” he asked.

“Um, yes. I, uh, brought you lunch.”

“You did?” He glanced down at the tray she held like he’d never seen a sandwich before.

“Yes, but I’m just going to take it back to the kitchen and get something else.”

“Wait!” he called out as she turned away.

She spun back and the glass of juice that she’d poured him and very carefully carried up the stairs went flying. Juice landed everywhere, including on his very white shirt.

“Oh no! Oh shit! I’m so sorry!” She took several steps back out of habit, gaping at his shirt in horror. “Sorry. So sorry.”

“Tamsyn?”

“I can’t believe I did that. I’m normally so careful. And now it’s on your shirt and on the carpet. Oh God! It’s going to stain the carpet. This is the bird poop incident all over again!”

She headed toward the stairs. She needed to get some cloths to clean that all up.

How old was the carpet? Probably ancient and worth a fortune. She really couldn’t be trusted with stuff this expensive and precious!

“Tamsyn, hey, stop!” A surprisingly firm arm wrapped itself around her waist as she reached the top of the stairs, pulling her back.

She stiffened and he quickly let go. But he kept one hand on the small of her back. A light touch that let her know he was there without trying to hold her or trap her.

Taking a deep breath in, she let it out slowly. “I just acted like a complete idiot, didn’t I?”

“Well, just a bit of a nutter,” he said. “Turn around. Please.” She turned and he took the tray from her. “Follow me. Please.”

Hmm. He said please all polite like and in that posh accent of his. But it was clear that it really wasn’t a request. And she found herself following along obediently.

“I need to clean up the stain on the carpet,” she said as they walked into his office and he shut the door. It was clear that his office was actually the main bedroom. His office was the private living room that was attached to the bedroom.

His bedroom was the biggest in the house with tall ceilings and an actual mural painted on the ceiling. The first time she’d entered his bedroom, she’d laid down on the floor for twenty minutes and stared at it.

She really wasn’t the best cleaner. Speaking of which . . .

“The longer I leave it, the worse it will get,” she said, turning back toward the door. What was she doing?

“Stop. Do not leave the room.”

She froze.

“Thank you. Now, come back here. And stop worrying about the carpet staining. That carpet has been absorbing and hiding stains since well before our grandparents were born.”

God, it was really old.

“Are you sure? It won’t take me a moment.”

“How were you planning on getting the stain out?” he asked.

“Um, by, uh, dabbing at it with water?”

Roman shot her a look. “Pretty sure I can do that. I’ll need to do that for my shirt, anyway.” He set the tray on a coffee table that sat in front of his sofa.

She loved that sofa. It was wide and soft and when you sat in it, it kind of swallowed you up. Nothing like the stuffy furniture that was found throughout the rest of the house.

“I’m so sorry about that. Here, let me take your shirt. I’ll clean it up.” Without thought, she reached for his top button and started undoing them.

“Uh, Tamsyn,” he said.

“I’ll soak it and uh, I don’t know, look up what you do for orange juice stains. There has to be something.” She started pulling off his shirt, tugging it down his arms.

“Tamsyn,” he said sharply as she finally got it off.

“Yes?” she asked, looking up at him.

And then she really looked at him.

“You’re half-naked!” she blurted out.

“Really? Wonder how that happened,” he replied dryly.

She looked at the shirt in her hand then back to him.

“Oh my God!” she cried. “I can’t believe I just started stripping you! What is wrong with me?”

She put her hands over her face in mortification.

“Nothing is wrong with you. Look at me. Hey, look at me now.” He pushed her hands gently away from her face and cupped her face between his hands so she had no choice but to stare up at his gorgeous face. “You know you’re not to speak about yourself like that. It’s bloody bollocks. I am constantly gobsmacked by how beautiful and amazing and smart you are.”

She made a noise of dissent.

“Now, listen up. You keep this up and I’ll have Salem punish you,” he told her sternly.

Whoa.

Stern Roman still caught her by surprise. And turned her on something fierce.

Especially half-naked stern Roman.

“Now, may I have my shirt back?”

“Umm.” She couldn’t think, her gaze was stuck on his bare chest. “Pecs.”

“Pardon?” he said.

“You have the dreamiest pecs. And the most perfect nipples. Why are you all so beautiful?”

“Not sure I’d call myself beautiful.” His lips quirked. “Have you looked in a mirror lately, darling girl? You are stunning.”

She wasn’t so sure about that.

Then again, she’d never really properly looked at herself, had she? Or cared all that much about her appearance. However, she was wearing one of her outfits that she’d bought with Salem yesterday, so she did think she looked rather fine.

“I am looking pretty good today.”

And the fact that the three of them were attracted to her had to mean something, right?

“You are looking uniquely gorgeous,” he said, glancing down at her, his lips twitching again. “Are those riding pants under your skirt?”

“Uh-huh.” She wore a pale pink tutu that ended just above her knees. But it was see-through so she’d added some black horse-riding pants that had sparkles down the sides. She’d put on a long-sleeved T-shirt in neon green that had a sequined frog on the front and a fluffy scarf in bright orange topped off the outfit. “The skirt and pants weren’t very bright, so I decided to add some color in my top and scarf. What do you think?”

“I think it works. The colors suit you.”

“Aww, thanks, Rome. That not wearing a shirt suits you too,” she told him. “You should do it more often.”

“Maybe I will.” He grinned. “Now, sit down while I get a new shirt.”

She pouted and he tapped her lower lip. “Put that away. I need you to pay attention. And somehow, I don’t think you’ll be able to do that properly if I have my shirt off.”

“I don’t know. I might be able to pay better attention,” she countered. “And it seems to be a crime to cover up those nipples.”

He shook his head, but there was a slight tinge of pink on his cheeks so she decided to leave him be.

But she hadn’t been lying. His nipples really were the prettiest she’d ever seen. And she hadn’t even realized that she could find nipples attractive.

“Sit,” he said firmly.

With a sigh, she sat down and waited for him to return.

“Right. See? All good.” He walked in wearing a deep blue T-shirt which really brought out the color in his eyes.

“You’re so gorgeous,” she said before slapping her hand over her mouth.

He smiled, blushing slightly. “And you’re beautiful.”

Sadly, not as pretty as him.

But she figured she wouldn’t say that. These guys didn’t like it when she spoke the truth about herself.

“Yeah, I’m awesome.”

And a liar.

He watched her steadily for a moment, then sat next to her on the sofa.

“So, what did you make me?” he asked.

“It’s pretty terrible. You don’t have to eat it. I think we should just go down to the kitchen and see what else there is.” She tried to stand, but he reached out a hand and laid it on her thigh.

She froze. Touch from Roman was kind of rare. She tried not to touch him unless he touched her first. Even though she longed to.

“No. I want to eat what you made me,” he said.

“But what if it’s not very nice? It probably won’t be. I don’t really know what I’m doing.”

“Then I’m glad you didn’t try to cook anything,” he said with a smile.

She shook her head. “No way! I’d likely burn the house down.”

“That bad, huh?”

“Uh, yep.”

“All right, no cooking for you unless you get lessons first. Understand?”

“Believe me, that’s one rule I can easily follow.” She watched as he picked up the sandwich and went to take a bite.

“Wait!” she cried.

He froze and looked at her.

“Ummm . . . shoot, I have nothing. Go ahead.” She winced as he took a bite.

He chewed. Then chewed some more. “Um, is this marmite?”

“Yes. Why? Is it awful?” she asked.

Standing, he grabbed his water bottle and drank some down.

Oh no.

It was awful.

“Have you ever eaten marmite before, darling girl?” he asked.

“Uh. No. Is it bad? You had a huge jar of it in the cupboard so I thought you might like it.”

“Hmm. Alexei likes it on toast. He has an addiction to it. How much did you put on?”

“Oh, about two tablespoons. Was it not enough?”

“It was plenty. Maybe a bit too much. It can be overwhelming in large quantities.”

Her shoulders slumped. “See? I told you I didn’t know what I was doing. We should have gotten you something else.”

“Hey, if you’ve never had it before how were you meant to know?” He walked over and crouched in front of her, putting his hands on her knees.

She wanted more of his touches.

“You’re awfully hard on yourself, darling girl. We can’t always be perfect. The world would be boring if we were.”

But in her world mistakes could get her killed . . . or punished.

You’re not living in that world right now.

And this beautiful, lovely man wouldn’t understand your world so don’t taint him with it.

She sighed. “I guess so. I just wanted to do something nice for you.”

“And I appreciate that.” He stood and held out his hand to her. “Come on, let’s go see what we can rustle up. Have you had lunch?”

She held his hand and honestly felt like she’d gone to heaven.

“Um, yes. Salem made me some lunch.”

“Where is Salem?” he asked as they made their way down the hallway and toward the stairs.

“He’s on the phone. Alexei is out for a run.”

“And they left you unattended?” He frowned.

She had to grin. He hovered close to her as they reached the stairs. “I can be on my own, you know. I promise I’m not going to steal all the china.”

“Just give me an excuse to replace it. Dusty old stuff.”

“That stuff is antique and beautiful.”

“Is it?” He sighed. “Well, if you like it, I’ll keep it.”

She shook her head at him. As if she had anything to do with that decision. But it was sweet of him to say so.

“Right, I want you to hold onto the banister going down the stairs, please.”

“You trip over one time . . .” she grumbled.

“Yes, it was one time too many. And now you need to hold onto the banister. Plus, you hurt your foot recently.”

“My foot feels fine now. It’s not even swollen or anything. I even went for a run in the night on the treadmill.”

He paused and tightened his hold on her. “You went for a run last night? On your own?”

“Well, for some of it. Uh, Alexei found me.”

“He found you?” he asked.

“Yeah, he’s such a stalker. He went into my room looking for me because he doesn’t like it when I’m not with one of you. He left me with Salem when he went for a run.”

“He’s probably obsessing over you as he runs,” he said. “I’ve never seen him as obsessed by someone as he is by you.”

That was sweet and scary all at the same time.

But Alexei was kind of a terrifying guy. Until you realized there was a softer side to him.

“Hold the banister please,” he said. Again, that please made it sound like he was asking.

He was not.

“But I’m holding onto you and you won’t let me fall.”

He eyed her. “Well, it’s hard to argue with that. But I still want you to hold both. And when you’re in Little headspace, you’re not to go up and down the stairs on your own.”

Was he serious?

She stared up at him.

Wowsers. He was serious.

Salem had already made that rule, but she really hadn’t expected Roman to say the same thing.

They managed to get down the stairs without her slipping over. She really did have better balance than he thought she did.

It was just bad luck that she always seemed to be slipping over something or falling off furniture.

“I’m really not clumsy, you know.”

“I know,” he said as they walked into the kitchen. “But you’re easily distracted, and you don’t take as good care of yourself as I think you should.”

“And I suppose the three of you would do a much better job?” she asked.

He smiled. “Well, if you insist.”

She groaned. “That was terrible.”

But she liked the way he laughed as he led her into the kitchen. After making sure she was safely sitting on the breakfast bar stool, he set about making himself a sandwich. She kept a close eye on what he was doing so she could make it for him in the future.

“You look very intent there, darling girl. What are you thinking about?”

“Just memorizing how to make you a sandwich next time.”

He stood across the island from her with his sandwich. “You don’t have to make me lunch.”

“I know. I wanted to.”

Roman nodded. “Well, that’s sweet. I just don’t want you to think you have to . . . uh, well, for want of a better word, serve us.”

“What if I was a service sub?” she asked.

“Well, that would be different. We read the book about Claire, she was a service sub. Do you think you’re like Claire?”

Umm.

“No, I don’t think service is my love language. Well, not that sort of service.”

“What do you mean?”

“You know . . . there’s other sorts of service. Like if Salem was to order me to . . . you know what? Never mind.” She could feel herself growing red and Roman’s cheeks were tinted red too.

So he got what she was saying.

Sheesh. That was embarrassing. She couldn’t believe she’d been about to talk about blow jobs with Roman.

“Right. Yes. So what were you planning on doing this afternoon?” he asked.

“I thought I might go roller skating.”

“Roller skating? Really?” He looked a bit ill at the idea.

“Is that . . . is there a problem?”

“You just hurt your foot. I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“But my foot was fine on the treadmill so I don’t think it will hurt it.”

“Right. All right, then. You do realize it’s a bit nippy out there today.”

“Nippy?” She couldn’t help it. Yes, it was juvenile, but her eyes dropped to where his nipples would be.

“My eyes are up here,” he said dryly.

And she was red again. She swore that she never blushed before she spent time around these guys.

Clearing her throat, she glanced up at him as he finished off his sandwich.

“Let’s go get our coats on and you can go roller skating.”

Roman swore that she was giving him gray hairs watching her attempt to roller skate around the tennis courts. It was the only place he would let her skate because he’d set mats up everywhere to cushion her fall.

And he felt it was inevitable that she’d fall, she was awfully shaky.

He shot forward as she wobbled, but she managed to straighten up.

Bloody hell.

Yes, he was definitely going to end up with more gray hair.

“What is she doing?” Alexei demanded.

He glanced over at the big man as he stepped up to him. He must have just come back from his run as he was dressed in a T-shirt and shorts.

“She’s roller skating.”

“I can see that. But why?” Alexei demanded.

“I suppose she enjoys it.”

Alexei winced and lunged forward as she wobbled again.

“She’s not very good at it.”

“I guess practice will make perfect,” Roman countered. Although he had just been thinking the same thing.

“Not if she breaks a leg practicing,” Alexei grumbled. “I’m going to get her to stop.”

But as he moved toward her, she let out a bark of laughter. “Look at me! Look, Rome! Papa! I’m gliding.”

“She’s slipped into Little headspace,” Alexei muttered.

Roman nodded. He hadn’t been expecting that.

“Did I just hear her laugh?” Salem walked up next to them. “I went looking for her and then spotted you both. I figured if the two of you were here then she wouldn’t be far away.”

Tamsyn glanced over with a wide smile, waving frantically. Then she wobbled again.

Roman sucked in a breath.

Stay steady.

“Shit. I don’t know if this is a good idea,” Salem said, tensing. “She could hurt herself.”

“Exactly what I said,” Alexei added. “But then she laughed.”

“You were both distracted by her laugh. This is about safety,” Salem said firmly.

“Well, you go tell her that she can’t skate anymore then,” Roman said. “Because I’m not. She’s having fun!”

“Fine. I will.”

“Whee!” she cried, raising her hands up into the air as she skated past. “Look at me, Daddy! I’m so fast I’m nearly flying.”

“Well, perhaps slow down a bit,” Salem called out. “I don’t want you going too fast.”

“Don’t be such a worry wart, Daddy!” she cried.

Roman cleared his throat. “Aren’t you going to tell her to stop skating?”

“She’s enjoying herself,” Salem said.

And then she attempted to spin. They all yelled out, rushing toward her as her feet slipped out from under her and she landed on a thick mat.

Shit!

What had he been thinking? He shouldn’t have let her come out here in the first place. This is why he would never make a good Daddy.

But as he approached her, he could hear her giggling.

“TWE! That Was Epic!” she yelled as she sat up, pumping the air.

Relief filled him even as he felt the urge to give her a few hard slaps on the ass as punishment.

Wait.

Where had that come from? That wasn’t him. He was still feeling a bit in shock over that thought as Salem and Alexei got her onto her feet and started fussing over her.

Salem was patting her down, while Alexei grumbled at her.

“I’m fine, really,” she said. “You guys have got to stop fussing. First, I’m not allowed to use the stairs on my own, or the gym, and now you guys are getting all worried about me roller skating. You don’t have to be. I’m really good at it. Plus, Rome put out all these mats for my safety because he’s such a sweetie.”

And, yep, he was blushing. “She’s getting a lot better and the mat did keep her from injuring herself.”

Both Salem and Alexei kept fussing over her as they led her inside. But as they turned away, she looked back at him and mouthed the words, thank you.

Which kind of made everything worth it.