Page 31 of Double Daddies (Dirty Daddies Anthologies #8)
Chapter Seventeen
DD Estate, Dreamer’s Cove
Elle
Eyes flickering, Elle slowly awakened to sunlight filtering through gauzy curtains.
“Damn the man.” Mumbling, she registered the white bars of her crib and the haze of pink chiffon drapes overhead.
Everything she didn’t expect to wake up to this morning.
It most definitely wasn’t Drake’s warm chest beneath her cheek or his strong arms cuddling her close.
Pushing up on her elbows, she scanned the nursery.
“They truly created a paradise… if I was a baby,” she said with a whimsical smile, envisioning sitting on the rocking chair with a little baby in her arms, all snuggled up in a pink onesie.
She had always believed she would be a mother by the age of thirty, but concentrating on the success of the bakery had taken precedence over finding the right man to father her children.
Now, that same yearning flooded her mind as she gazed at the pastel walls, plush animals, and the beautiful ocean view through the floor-to-ceiling windows.
Drake had carried her back here sometime in the night, depositing her in this glorified cage instead of letting her remain curled against him until morning.
“Damn him.” The whispered curse once again escaped before she could catch it. Her palm pressed against her chest, where an unwelcome ache bloomed. “It shouldn’t matter this much.”
But it did matter. Their gentle touches, stern commands, and heated looks were slowly making their way deeper under her defenses. Drake especially had a way of awakening a yearning for things she had no business wanting.
“Keep focused, Elle. Remember, this isn’t real,” Elle said firmly. “You’re playing a role. Nothing more.”
The nursery’s warmth suddenly turned stifling as reality stirred awake.
“I need air.” And out of these infantile clothes, the room, and the mansion that threatened to suffocate her with false security and dangerous promises.
Frantically, she climbed out of the crib and went in search of her suitcases. Not surprisingly, they were nowhere to be found.
“Oh, thank fuck!” Relief flooded her when she discovered a shelf that didn’t consist of babydoll dresses. Quickly stripping off the onesie and diaper, she donned the shorts and t-shirt like armor.
“Running. Yes. It’ll help to clear my head,” she muttered as she laced up the running shoes. It was her daily ritual, the activity that anchored her and where she created new designs in her head for delicate pastries.
Elle winced at the slight creak as she opened the nursery door. The hallway stretched empty before her, but voices drifted up from somewhere below. Her heart rate picked up as she eased out, pressing close to the wall. The thick carpet muffled her footsteps as she crept toward the stairs.
Pausing at the top, she held her breath and listened.
The voices grew clearer. The deep tones warned her it was Drake and Damian in what sounded like their home office.
A maid carrying fresh linens passed through the foyer below.
Elle waited until she disappeared before beginning her descent, taking each step with careful precision.
The front door was too risky since it would be visible from the office. “The French doors in the living room,” she whispered as she hugged the wall and tiptoed across the marble floor. “They open onto the veranda if I remember correctly.”
“Amanda, once you finish your coffee, please check on our babygirl. I don’t want her to wake up alone this morning,” She paused as Drake’s deep voice carried from the office.
“Gmphf, if you hadn’t put me back in that monstrosity of a nursery, I wouldn’t be, now would I?” she grumbled under her breath.
“It’s all very new to her, and it’s going to take time to adapt.”
“Of course, Drake. I’ll make sure she’s ready for breakfast in an hour.”
“Don’t let the sticky honey drown you, Nanny Amanda.”
Elle snorted but didn’t wait to hear Drake’s response. She darted the final few steps to the French doors, eased them open, and slipped outside.
The morning air hit her face as she moved swiftly down the path to the beach and quickly found her rhythm on the packed sand. With each stride and lungful of salty air, the tightness in her chest loosened. The ocean stretched endlessly before her, as powerful and free as she yearned to be.
“You will be soon,” she panted between breaths. “All you need to do is stick to the plan. Don’t let them in. Just keep your cool.”
As the words floated around her, Elle knew it was already too late.
Damian and Drake had breached her carefully constructed walls with a precision that terrified her.
Their stern corrections, praises, and her unconscious surrender to their demands carved deeper grooves into her heart with each passing hour.
That in itself was concerning. Elle didn’t believe in insta-love, and yet…
“Yet, nothing. It’s not happening.” But the words sounded hollow. Maybe all the experts were right… A heart didn’t wait for permission, except her stupid heart didn’t factor in the kind of demands falling in love with the Double D Duo held.
“Focus on the finish line,” she coached herself as she increased her pace. “You fucked up. Do what you signed up for and get out. No falling in love. They’re way too old for you, anyway. See, easy peasy.”
The sun climbed higher as she ran, painting the water in shimmering golds and silvers. Despite her inner turmoil, Elle couldn’t help but appreciate the raw beauty surrounding her. This slice of paradise would make anyone believe in magic and possibilities.
“And that’s why this entire facade is so dangerous,” she muttered.
This fantasy they were weaving together felt too real, too right. Elle knew better than most how quickly beautiful dreams could shatter. She wasn’t prepared to take such a chance.
The ocean breeze cooled Elle’s heated skin as she jogged back toward the house. The run had helped settle the chaos in her mind and restored a measure of control… until she noticed people scurrying across the grounds, calling out and peeking behind bushes.
“What the devil is going on?” she whispered, slowing her pace as she took in the scene. The entire household staff moved with urgent purpose. Even the groundskeepers had abandoned their usual tasks to join what appeared to be a search party.
Drake’s tall frame emerged from around the corner of the house. Their eyes met across the distance, and for a heartbeat, raw relief flashed across his face. It vanished as quickly as it appeared, replaced by thunderous rage as he strode toward her with purposeful steps.
His fingers clamped around her upper arm as he yanked her toward the patio, barking out with anger rife in his voice, “Where the hell have you been?”
Elle gestured to her running clothes with her free hand. “As I do every morning, I went for a run.”
“You don’t ever leave this house without one of us by your side or, at the very least, asking for permission.” His jaw was rigid as he ground out each word.
Elle was fascinated by his anger. It ran deeper than simple concern over her whereabouts—like she had shaken something fundamental in his world by disappearing. For a brief moment, warmth spread through her chest at how much they seemed to care.
Then indignation sparked. She wasn’t a child who had no common sense. Hands planted on her hips, she glowered at the congregation of frowning faces.
“What am I? A prisoner? A brainless nitwit with no will or common sense of her own? Is that the life you offer? That I’m not allowed to do anything or have a second of time on my own? To let my brain rot?”
“That’s enough, you little twit!” Amanda’s usually composed voice quavered. “Show some respect. Everyone was very worried, and your Daddies have been beside themselves.”
Elle’s gaze darted between Drake and Damian, noticing how rigid their postures were.
They wore twin expressions of anger. Amanda’s words struck deeper than she expected.
These powerful men had mobilized their entire household to search for her.
The housekeeper’s reminder of who they were to her and that they all cared because of that made her stomach clench with guilt.
She opened her mouth to apologize as defiance crumbled in the face of their obvious concern. Maybe she had overreacted. Maybe?—
“That’s not what we said or expected at all,” Damian cut in as he responded to her tirade, “but unless we know where you are, we wouldn’t know if something happened.”
She gestured wildly. “We’re on an island in the middle of the godforsaken ocean. What danger can I be in here?”
“You could fall and injure yourself, a snake could bite you and?—”
“Snake?” She cut Drake short with her voice turning thin as she glanced around. “There are snakes here?”
“In certain areas, yes, so until we have explained all the dangers, you are not to go outside the perimeters of the house or the beach area. Is that clear?”
She pressed her lips together. “As crystal.”
Drake’s dark frown deepened, transforming his handsome features into an intimidating mask. Gone was the gentle man who had held her through the night.
Rolling her eyes with deliberate insolence, she added with an elaborate sigh, “As crystal... Daddy .”
The title dripped with defiance, but Elle couldn’t shake the guilty knot in her stomach as Amanda nodded with approval. She was a businesswoman and an A-rated baker, yet here she stood, being scolded like an errant child. The contradiction made her head spin.