Total pages in book: 54
Estimated words: 49961 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 250(@200wpm)___ 200(@250wpm)___ 167(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 49961 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 250(@200wpm)___ 200(@250wpm)___ 167(@300wpm)
“Your heart is beating fast again, Carina. Try to pull your thoughts from everything that happened. Let’s think of cheerful things—your nursery, your friend Karla, French fries, chocolate….”
“You did nothing wrong. They were so close. I got scared that they’d find me, and I’d be trapped in that boxy area. I ran into the shadows on the side of the building.”
“You left where I told you to stay?” he asked incredulously.
“I didn’t know you’d added some vampirey voodoo stuff over that area,” she protested.
The silence that followed made Carina bury her face against his chest. “Don’t send me away! I’m sorry.”
“I’m never going to send you away, Little girl. You are mine,” Marcus corrected her in a deep voice that rang with steely determination.
When they reached the nursery, he walked inside and sat down in the rocking chair with her cradled on his lap. Marcus took a moment to rock her slowly, giving each of them time to recover from the evening’s events. He rubbed her shoulder and arm as she melted against his shoulder.
Is my shirt getting wet?
Her muffled sniff made him pause in propelling the chair back and forth. “Carina, I’m so sorry you were scared.”
Her quiet sounds grew louder, becoming heartrending sobs. Marcus rocked her again to console her.
“Little girl, you are safe and sound. I’ll never let anyone hurt you,” he assured Carina as an ache grew inside his chest. He should have rampaged through everyone like in the old days and never left her side. “I wish I’d done more.”
She turned her tear-streaked face up to face him. Grabbing his shirt, she shook him as much as someone her size could move a boulder. Her spirit enchanted him.
“Daddy. It’s all my fault. If I’d stayed where I was, maybe those guys would be alive. Maybe they would have given up and left. I should have trusted you.”
“Costa’s men chose death the minute they touched you, Little girl. Your actions had nothing to do with their intentions to harm you,” he stressed as he wiped her cheeks.
When she continued to cry, his heart felt like it might tear in half. He had to fix this—to help her understand. Marcus brushed her hair from her face so he could see her clearly. He attempted to gentle his expression from the fierce scowl he normally sported, hoping to show her everything was okay.
“Violence has filled my world for centuries. I head security at Nightfall because that’s who I am. My survival depended on eliminating threats and living while others died. When I became a vampire, I naturally fit into the role I’ve played in our clan for centuries.”
“But you’re not mean most of the time.”
His expression turned stern. Surely she understood, with her he was different. “I’m not mean to you ever. I might be stern, and I might give you consequences for your behavior, but I’m never going to shout at you or abuse you. Well, I might yell if you put yourself at risk by running out into traffic.”
“Kinda like tonight, huh? I really screwed up.”
“You didn’t trust me, Little girl. Part of that is because we’re new. You don’t know everything about me. But I live a dangerous life. I have to rely on you to obey me immediately.”
When she opened her mouth to talk, he suspected Carina would repeat she hadn’t realized he had veiled the area around her hiding spot. He pressed a finger to her lips. “From now on, you can ask me any questions you want after the bad guys are handled. Okay? Do what I say, and we’ll discuss why later.”
Carina nodded slowly. She reached up to wipe the last of her tears away before saying, “I’m sorry, Daddy. Can you forgive me?”
Marcus’s heart melted a bit more. He didn’t understand how he could care about her so deeply. “As soon as you give me a hug and kiss, I can.”
Carina threw her arms around his neck and plastered her lips to his. Marcus braced the rocker to keep it from crashing backward. He allowed her to lead the kiss until she lowered one hand to grab his shirt. Lifting her mouth from his, she glanced down at his chest, avoiding his eyes.
“I don’t think I’ll ever stop blaming myself,” she admitted and tugged the handful of material in her grip. Instantly, he understood she needed him to take control.
“What do you need to forgive yourself for, Carina?”
“I didn’t follow your directions and stay in the shelter you created for me.”
As he considered her words, Marcus stroked his fingers over her back and bottom. His hands had delivered vengeance to so many. He savored her soft curves before smoothing his palm over Carina’s rounded bottom and smacking her butt sharply. Carina jolted backward in surprise. “Are you ready for your spanking, Little girl?”