“Hey!” Someone shouts from far away, and everyone in the room laughs.
As the laughter dies, Daddy nudges me away, gripping my chin so he can force me to look up at him. There’s a smile on his lips, and the panic recedes even further, and I finally feel like I can breathe again.
“You are my perfect babygirl, Tabitha Grace. And nothing will ever change that. Not even a little bit—or a lot—of naughtiness. Understood?”
I want to believe him. All my life, I’ve clung to the belief that if I can just be good enough, quiet enough, sweet enough, nobody will ever leave me. The idea of being loved for who I am, exactly as I am?
It’s more than I can wrap my mind around at the moment.
“Not really,” I confess quietly, worry creeping up my spine. What if he’s angry at me for not believing him?
But Daddy’s smile only widens. “That’s okay. You don’t have to believe me right now. We’ve got our whole lives for me to prove it to you.”
CHAPTER 12
COLT
Rage.
It consumes me, threatening to burn me alive as I hold my sniffling babygirl in my arms, helping her to calm down from yet another panic attack. There is no doubt in my mind now that someone hurt her, very badly. And I want nothing more than to find that someone and carve their spine from their body to remind the world what happens to spineless cowards who hurt helpless Little girls.
But right now, I have a babygirl who needs me, so I shove the rage as far down as I can and tighten my hold on my sweet Little girl. My family sits with us, worry on their faces as they watch her breathing slowly return to normal.
My own churning emotions calm somewhat when she sighs softly and snuggles into me. I press a kiss to her hair and give her bottom a gentle pat. “Let’s go get you cleaned up so Auntie Gray and your cousins can help you get ready for the ceremony.”
Without waiting for anyone to agree, I rise from the couch with Tabby in my arms, and carry her to the small bathroom off the kitchen. Well, I suppose it’s only small compared to the other bathrooms in the house. In reality, it’s rather spaciousconsidering it has to contain not only a toilet and bathtub for emergency baths—which are more frequent than I’d thought they would be with Lanie around—but a changing table as well.
Sitting my babygirl on the wide counter of the sink vanity, I turn the faucet on, making sure it’s not too hot as I crouch to search the cabinet for a washcloth.
“Daddy?”
Her soft voice pulls my attention back upward. “Yeah, baby?”
“Are you mad?”
Fuck, she sounds so sad. Grabbing a cloth, I push back to my feet and cup her face, brushing at her tears with my thumb. “No, little one. I was never mad.”Not at you, anyway.
Her bottom lip trembles and fresh tears well in her eyes. “Promise?”
“Of course, little one. Daddy would never lie to you. Lying is very naughty.”
In a surprise move, her mouth twists up into a wry smile. “Kidnapping is fine but lying crosses a line?”
“Sassy little girl,” I grumble, narrowing my eyes at her while I wet the washcloth. “For the record, I didn’t kidnap you. You’re my wife and this is your new home. No kidnapping needed.”
“That’s not exactly how I remember it, but okay.”
Shaking my head, I swipe the wet cloth over her face, taking care not to press too hard. “You say kidnapping, I say taking care of what’s mine. Tomato, to-mah-to.”
A sweet, high giggle fills the room, soothing some of the rage still bubbling deep inside me. But then she sobers, her wide, wounded eyes staring into mine, and my stomach twists again.
“Do you really mean that?”
“Mean what, baby?”
“The part about taking care of what’s yours. Am I really yours?”
Setting the cloth aside, I cup her face in my hands, meeting her worried gaze head on. “You are mine, until death do we part, Tabitha Grace. And even beyond that, if I have anything to say about it.”
