JamesAlone with his daughter, he started getting her dressed. All the while, Aria was watching him with her innocent, childlike interest. A moment later, the little girl couldn’t help herself and asked, “Daddy? What’s wrong?”James pinched her cheek fondly, wondering if he should ask her about Sophie. He wanted to know if she was mistreating Aria. Fuck. He desperately wanted to know whether she was abusing her. Though he couldn’t see any sign of abuse anywhere on his daughter’s little body, but then again, abuse didn’t have to be physical. Condescending tone and words alone were considered abuse enough toward children, especially if those words were meant to hurt them emotionally. And that was what James was worried about. Emotional and mental harm was much worse than the external, physical type.But fuck! How the hell did one phrase those sorts of worries? Especially directed at a six-year-old girl?“Raise your hands for me,” he said as he picked up the light-blue Cinderella dress.

MiaAn hour later, we finally arrived at Disneyland. The moment we stepped through the bustling entryway, the excitement Aria exuded was certainly contagious, and I found I couldn’t hold back my own enthusiasm as we strolled along with the thick crowd. There were mostly kids, ranging from toddlers to young adult, along with their parents and sometimes their grandparents, which was cute.As a pro Disneyland guest, Aria was animatedly acting as my tour guide, pointing out all the different types of adventure rides, if she had ridden on any of them before or not and, if she had, whether she enjoyed them or not.Throughout the next six hours, I found myself by Aria’s and James’ sides, taking ride after ride. First we went on the Radiator Spring Racer, followed by Toy Story Midway Mania, which Aria really loved. After that, it was Hyperspace Mountain and Star Tours, which I found I personally enjoyed. Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Railroad followed that, which were fun. Then the highly r

Mia“No, I wasn’t.” I folded my arms across my chest and coyly cocked my head to one side. “And what are you doing here? Suddenly appearing at the top of the stairs.”“I’ve just finished putting Aria to bed,” he said.My expression softened instantly, and a smile appeared across my lips. “She was having so much fun today. I’m glad.”“And you?” James asked. “Did you have fun?”His query made me blush simply because of the way he’d asked. His tone was deep and dark yet soft and gentle at the same time. This coupled with the question itself made it sound like he really cared about me and my happiness, as if I were truly a part of his family, which tugged deep at my heartstrings. Truth be told, it made me so deliriously happy that my knees became weak in an instant.I nodded. “Yes, I did… Very much so. Thank you for taking me.”He chuckled with amusement and said, “No problem. It was Aria’s idea, but I’ll take the credit nonetheless.”He was right that it had been Aria’s idea, but he had

Mia“Was it really?” he asked, looking doubtful as he rolled onto his back. Then he pulled me into his arms and hugged me tight.Not surprisingly, I loved being in his arms in this position, squished against him. I felt comforted and safe. It was as if I didn’t have to worry about a thing in the world, and if there were anything horrible that should affect me, I felt in my gut James would be there for me. An odd instinct to have for sure for a young woman in my unconventional situation. After all, I was merely his mistress, tied to him via a two-million-dollar debt.I sighed and frowned darkly.“What’s the matter?” he asked.I licked my lips and blushed profusely. Then I shook my head to indicate there was nothing weird I was thinking about right now.James wasn’t buying it. “You’re lying. I can tell when you’re lying.”Huh? He could tell when I was lying? How in the world could he do that when we hadn’t even been together that long?Of course, Andy, my brother, knew instantly when I

MiaReluctantly I turned to look at him, more than a little afraid.“Why do you bring up the subject?” he asked.I blinked. Shit! Why was he asking me this? Wasn’t it obvious I cared about Aria? That I cared about him? That I was head over heels in love with him and I wanted to be more than just his mistress? That I wanted to be more than just a friend to Aria?“Because I care about Aria,” I said, looking into his eyes. I wanted to tell him I meant what I said, that there was no hidden agenda.His face still a hard mask, he asked, “Why do you care about Aria?”I furrowed my brow. God, did he really need me to spell out each word and explain its meaning?“Because I love her, James; that’s why. She’s such a sweet child, and she’s your daughter. Granted, I’ve never been with children before, but with Aria, I feel we just kind of click.”Like it clicks when I’m with you, I wanted to say.“I care about her a lot, James. I’m worried Sophie is hurting her like…”“Like?” He probed.I sighed a