Total pages in book: 141
Estimated words: 141428 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 707(@200wpm)___ 566(@250wpm)___ 471(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 141428 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 707(@200wpm)___ 566(@250wpm)___ 471(@300wpm)
And it made him so damn angry he could hardly breathe.
Nobody would touch her like that again.
No one.
He’d nearly left, but nothing felt right without her.
If he lost Devi after losing May . . . yeah, he wouldn’t survive that. But he decided that he also couldn’t live alone anymore. Either way, his life would be dark and soulless.
Devi lit up his life, as cheesy as it sounded. And there was no going back now. There was no returning to the way his life had been.
All he could do was make sure that nothing happened to her.
Yeah, he was going to be one overprotective bastard.
Should he tell her all this? She was dealing with enough right now, though.
Something was different with her. There was a darkness in her face that had never been there before.
Overloading her was a real possibility and he didn’t want to do that. All of that could wait until she was in a better headspace.
“Come on, baby girl. Let Daddy get you cleaned up.”
She sucked in a breath, then nodded. “Okay.”
“Good girl.” The trust she was giving him made him feel light.
Drawing back the blankets, he lifted her carefully into his arms.
“I can walk,” she told him.
“You tried to walk last night and fell on your ass. You’ve probably got a bruised butt.”
“I do not! And I was just a bit light-headed. I’m fine now.”
“You’re not walking,” he stated as he carried her into the bathroom.
He noticed that she still had her toy squirrel in her arms. It was worn, obviously well-loved.
“You’ve owned Coco for a while.” He set her down on a seat in the large bathroom.
“My mom gave her to me. She’s always been my bestest friend.”
Bestest? Her Little was peeking out. But she was still watching him with those big, worried eyes.
“So cute. Do you have any other toys?” He turned the shower on as she shook her head.
“No?” he asked then realized he’d left the bag of stuff that Donovan had brought with him out in the other room. “Wait right there, baby girl. Do not move. Understand?”
“Yes,” she said.
When he returned she was sitting exactly as he left her.
“You can relax, baby,” he told her as he pulled some items out. Donovan had done some shopping. There were a pair of soft, buttery yellow pajamas as well as some panties still in their packaging.
“Oh, those are pretty,” she said with wide eyes. “Who do they belong to?”
“You.”
“Me? Someone bought them for me?”
“Donovan did.”
“He did?” There was wonder in her voice. “That was so kind of him.”
“I told him to get you some stuff,” he muttered. He didn’t want that asshole getting all the credit.
The smile she gifted him was the first true smile he’d seen from her since she’d woken up in the hospital. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, baby girl.” He turned to her after laying everything out. “Let’s get you undressed.”
She tensed.
“Well, maybe we should get Coco undressed first.”
She stared down at her toy. “Coco is a squirrel!”
“So?” he asked.
“So she doesn’t wear clothes, Daddy!” she cried.
There was some silence as she watched him for a reaction. He deliberately let his face soften.
Surprisingly, considering he was more used to frowning than smiling lately it wasn’t actually that hard.
“That’s Daddy’s brave girl,” he murmured. “Trust Daddy to take care of you?”
“That’s all you’ve done lately. Are you sure you’re not sick of it?”
“Sick of it? I wish I could do more for you.” He helped her stand and then he carefully took off her nightgown, leaving her in just her panties.
There was a soft blush in her cheeks, but he didn’t make any comments. He didn’t want to make her feel more awkward.
Just a Daddy looking after his girl.
He crouched in front of her. “Put your hands on my shoulders.”
“I haven’t . . . I haven’t shaved in days,” she said with a hint of shame and embarrassment.
“Want me to shave you as well?” he asked matter-of-factly as he took her panties down and off her legs.
She let out a strange noise and he glanced up to see she was bright red.
“You . . . you can’t do that!”
Hayes shook his head. “Of course I can, baby girl. I want to give you whatever you need. Maybe next shower, though.”
He tried not to stare too hard at her body. Her flat stomach and the curve of her hips. He could clearly see her ribs and it concerned him.
He kept those concerns to himself though as he helped her sit so he could wrap up her sore arm to protect it from the water. Once that was done, he stripped off his top. He was bound to get wet, helping her shower and he wanted something dry to get changed into.
Another strange noise came from her. This time when he glanced at her, he saw that she was staring at his bare chest with round eyes.