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She stared up at him with a hint of wonder. He had no idea how she didn’t know she was beautiful. But he would tell her as often as she needed. He might not be good at this romance stuff. However, he figured all he needed to do was tell her the truth.
He managed to get the nightie on her without exploding. It was close. He’d never felt this close to the edge of his control before.
“Lay back,” he said gruffly.
“I can put them on.” She tried to snatch the panties from his hand.
“No snatching. Naughty.” He rolled her onto her stomach and delivered several smacks to her bottom before rolling her back over. “You’re going to let Daddy dress you.”
“Yes, Daddy,” she whispered. She lay still and obedient as he drew the panties up her legs and settled them on her.
Fuck. Why was that so hot?
He had never put panties on a woman before . . . taken them off, sure. But this felt good in a different way.
Standing, he moved into the bathroom to get the First-Aid kit out. When he returned, she had the blanket pulled up to her chin.
Now, that wouldn’t do. She wasn’t trying to hide from him, was she? Sitting, he picked up her right hand, examining it. Thankfully, it was no longer bleeding. But it still looked a bit red and sore to him.
“They’re fine,” she told him as he put some antiseptic on them.
“You must really like getting your bottom smacked,” he commented.
“What? No, I don’t!” She sent him a disgruntled look. “Fine. I get it.”
Did she? He wasn’t so sure. He put bandages on both palms and then kissed each lightly. “Those stay on there until I say otherwise, understand?”
“What if they fall off?”
Unlikely. But okay . . . he’d go along with it. “Then you tell me. I’ll put new ones on.”
“And if you’re not around?”
“One of the others will be.” A relationship like this worked because they leaned on each other. Owen wasn’t exactly emotionally available, but he knew one of the others would show him how or step up if he couldn’t. Just like he’d do the same for them.
“Are you staying?” she whispered as he drew her blankets back to check on her knees. They didn’t look as bad as her hands. But he cleaned them anyway.
“Do you want me to stay?”
She didn’t answer as he applied Band-Aids to her scrapes.
“Yes. But I don’t know if it’s a good idea.”
“Not what I asked, baby girl. Do you want me to stay?”
“It’s not that simple.”
“It is. Yes or no. No worrying about anything else. Yes. Or no?”
“Yes.”
“Then I will. Because what my baby wants, my baby gets.” He finished with her knees and moved down to her feet. Carefully, he picked up her slightly swollen foot, prodding at it. “What did Obian say about your foot?”
She chewed at her lip.
He sighed, shaking his head. Oh, she was in trouble.
“You definitely need a Daddy. More than one.” That was obvious.
“It’s not that bad. See?” She wiggled it around. But he saw her wince slightly.
“Don’t try to fool me, girl.” He prodded at it. “Slight sprain. But no running on it for a few days.”
“What?”
“Once the swelling goes down, if the pain has gone, you can go for a light jog. But not until then.”
“I won’t last that long without running.”
“No? We’ll just have to find something else to occupy you. And you should have told someone. And iced it.” He looked in the First-Aid kit and found one of the dry ice packs. Cracking it to activate it, he set it on her ankle. Then he grabbed a cushion from the armchair in the room, he set it under her foot.
“That’s really not necessary,” she told him.
“I decide what’s necessary.” Standing, he walked in to the other room to get two bottles of water from the small fridge. Returning, he saw she had her eyes closed.
“Nearly time for sleep, baby.” He grabbed a bottle of painkillers from the First-Aid kit. “Here, sit up and take these.”
It was a sign of how tired she was feeling that she didn’t protest as he helped her swallow the pills and lie back down.
He turned off the lights and climbed in beside her. There was something in the bed. It looked like a toy llama. He set it over on the bedside table in case she needed it.
She rolled on her side, cuddling into him, her hand on his stomach. She rubbed her hand back and forth, sighing.
Shit. That wasn’t doing his raging erection any favors.
Did she know what she was doing to him? He finally put his hand over hers.
“You’re so sexy,” she murmured sleepily.
“Good to know.”
She snorted. “You already know you’re hot. Sizzling.” She put a finger to his chest, made a sizzling noise, and he had to grin.
