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“I’m sure it is, baby. But it’s Daddy’s job to make sure you’re squeaky-clean everywhere.”
It’s useless to fight. I know it, and more importantly, he knows it. So I simply drop my head and wait for the humiliation to be over.
But I cling to the embarrassment, holding it close to my chest as he finishes my bath and wraps me in a fluffy teal towel. Because it’s the memory of these moments, these little humiliations, that will give me the strength to flee when the time is finally right.
Chapter Seventeen
Jasper
After her bath, I dress my little princess in her outfit for the evening. Including a matching diaper in a lighter purple but with the same star and moon pattern as her dress. It’s a concept Solene has been working on for a while, and I make a mental note to sing its praises the next time I see her. I’m very thankful she had this set ready and in Juliet’s size so I didn’t have to put tonight’s events off any longer than necessary.
Standing in front of the mirror, Juliet twirls in place, her skirt flying up to reveal her diaper, and I can’t help but grin at the adorable picture she makes.
“We should head downstairs, princess. Our guests will be arriving soon.”
She slows to a stop, her gaze meeting mine in the mirror. “How many…unclesdo I have?”
“Let’s see.” Tapping my chin, I make my way over to her, pretending to think hard about it though I know them all by heart. “There’s your Uncle Max, who you met today. He’s sort ofthe leader of our little band of misfits. The island was his idea and he takes his role very seriously.”
I take her hand in mine, giving her another quick twirl and earning myself another of those sweet, high giggles. “Then there’s your Uncle Gideon. He and Maxwell have been friends since they were knee high to a grasshopper as the saying goes. Don’t worry yourself if he seems a bit shy at first. And don’t let it fool you into thinking he’s a pushover, either. He’s even stricter than I am.”
Juliet’s head tilts to the side as we make our way out to the hallway, arm in arm. “Gideon Drake?”
“Yes.” I shouldn’t be surprised she was able to put the pieces together so quickly. She always has had her finger on the pulse of society and despite his preference for the shadows, Gideon’s name alone is enough to thrust him into the spotlight on a regular basis.
“Hmm. I always felt there was more to him than meets the eye. He has an aura about him. Who else?”
“Evander, or Uncle Evan to you. I doubt you’ll know him, as he doesn’t travel in our circles.” In fact, if it weren’t for the island, I doubt any of us would have anything to do with Evander. While we all have blood on our hands, Evander comes from a long line of men who have made their fortunes through blood and death.
Which, coincidentally, makes him the perfect choice for our head of security. I wasn’t sure about him at first, but he’s grown on me over the years.
“Evander.” Juliet rolls the name around on her tongue as we step onto the first stair, a distracted look in her eye. “Wait. You don’t mean EvanderHawthorne.”
Okay, now I am surprised. Pausing on the second step, I look down at her, a frown tugging at my lips. “How do you know of Evander Hawthorne?”
Mischief sparkles in her baby blues as she grins up at me. “I don’t just knowofhim. I once spent a week at one of his villas in the south of France. Our party got cut short by an Interpol raid though and I spent a few hours in a French prison before he and his legal team were able to spring me. Oh, I can’t wait to see him again.”
The thought of Evander putting his blood-stained hands on my Little girl has my vision going red at the edges. A possessiveness I’ve never felt before rises up inside me, clawing at my chest as I snarl down at my giggling stepsister.
“Did you fuck him?”
Juliet’s laughter cuts off as her brows raise toward her hairline. “Does it matter if I did?”
“Yes. I need to figure out how pissed Maxwell will be when I rip his throat out for ever laying a hand on you.”
If I’d expected her to be horrified by my pronouncement, I would have been wrong. If anything, she looks downright excited by my display of Neanderthal level jealousy. “Don’t worry, big brother. I wasn’t there for him. He has a cousin who, I realized later, enjoys using Evander’s name and connections to get his dick wet but who has no real ambition of his own.” She sighs dramatically. “A shame, really. It was a very nice villa.”
I’m still reeling from the thought of her being within a hundred feet of Evander without my protection. I don’t care how long ago it was, or that he never touched her.
She ismine, and some deep, dark part of me that I never knew existed wants to know that any man who has ever touched her, tasted her, so much as smelled her is no longer breathing the same air she breathes.
Luckily, the more rational parts of my brain take over and I’m able to wrangle the beast back in its cage. “Well. Those are your uncles,” I say, returning to our trek down the stairs. “And you’ve already met your Auntie Cat.”
As if I’ve summoned her, Cat appears at the bottom of the stairs, beaming up at us. “Oh, Jasper. She’s so precious. And her hair!”
Juliet tosses her carefully curled ringlets over her shoulder and flashes a smile for her Auntie. “Did you see my tiara, Auntie Cat?”
“I do and it’s absolutely perfect for you. Would you like to come meet your Uncle Gideon and Uncle Evan?”