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“I’m just going to go find your pacifier,” he soothed.
“I don’t want you to leave me.”
“I’m not. I promise. You can come with me.” He stood with her wrapped around him like a monkey. He moved to the drawers by her platform bed and searched through them, pulling out a pacifier with a dragon on the front.
That one was her favorite.
She reached for it, but he drew it back.
“Uh-uh, you know better. Open for Papi.” He placed the pacifier into her mouth and she hummed happily. “That’s my good girl. Now, do you need to go potty before your nap?”
She shook her head in reflex without actually taking note of how her bladder felt.
“I don’t think I believe you. I’m not even sure why I asked, actually. I should know better by now.”
Yeah, he really should. He carried her into the bathroom and set her down on the toilet.
After she peed and cleaned up, he carried her back into the bedroom. She’d long since given up on getting him to let her pee alone.
Alejandro didn’t want any boundaries or limits between them. And she knew deep down that she wanted the same.
The closeness they shared kept her grounded. Most of her life, she’d felt like she was in freefall. Especially after Mama disappeared. Although with Mama, Cat had felt more like her anchor. As if Mama would have just drifted away if Cat hadn’t been around.
Then she’d left, and Cat had been on her own. Sure, she’d had her friends and Jack and Elsie . . . but it wasn’t quite the same.
Until Alejandro rescued her.
He’d become the thing that held her steady. That gave her someone to turn to when she was scared or lonely. He was her rock. Unmovable.
Like a stubborn goat.
And she’d be lost without him. Being that attached to one person sometimes terrified her. What if she lost him?
You won’t. You won’t ever lose him.
She hoped not. Because she was pretty certain she wouldn’t survive.
She slid her pacifier out of her mouth as he laid her down on the bed. “Papi, you won’t leave, will you?”
“I was just going to get you some pajamas for your nap,” he reassured her.
“No, I mean. You won’t leave me, will you?”
His eyes darkened, his face growing serious as he leaned over her, caging her in. “Never. I will never leave you. What’s brought this on? Is it because you felt abandoned? Preciosa, I’m so sorry—”
“No,” she interrupted, placing a finger over his mouth. “I know you didn’t abandon me. I was just . . . exaggerating.” And perhaps she’d been a tad over dramatic.
It happened sometimes.
Not often, of course.
“It’s just . . . I don’t ever want to lose you.”
“That won’t happen. I’m never leaving you.”
But what if he didn’t have a choice?
Yet there was no way she would tempt fate by saying it out loud. Even though she tried to pretend he was invincible, she knew he wasn’t.
“Are you all right, mi Pequeña?” he asked tenderly, brushing a strand of her thick hair off her face.
“As long as I’m with you, I’m always good,” she told him.
Leaning in, he kissed her again. Then he drew back and smiled at her. “Let me just get you some pajamas.”
“I want this.” She tugged at his shirt.
“What’s the magic word, Pequeña?”
“Now.”
“Hmm, I’m starting to think I didn’t spank you hard enough.”
4
Lord, she was beautiful.
Even when she looked like she’d like to murder him. Slowly.
“Papi! That’s not true.”
“Isn’t it?” He gave her a stern look. It was hard when he wanted to tease that pout right off her lips. “What is the real magic word?”
“Please,” she mumbled.
“Say it like you mean it,” he warned.
“Papi, can I please sleep in your shirt?”
“Good girl. That’s better. That wasn’t so hard, was it?”
She sighed. “You have no idea how hard it was, Papi. Sometimes being Cat is a lot of work.”
“I know. It must be challenging.” He removed his shirt and pulled it over her head. There was never any possibility that he wouldn’t give her the shirt. As long as it wasn’t a threat to her health and safety, there wasn’t much he would deny her.
And the brat knew that too.
He moved the covers and settled her under them, bringing a pillow down behind her back, then another one on the other side, so she’d feel more secure. He looked around for Roger, spotting him on the floor by the chair. Moving over, he picked him up.
“Where is Snuggly?” he asked.
“He’s in the closet in the other bedroom.” She sat up, looking like she was about to climb out of bed. She winced as she rested her weight on her bottom.
Poor baby.
“I’ll go get him for you. Stay in bed.” He gave her a warning look.
“Okay, Papi.” She lay back down with a sigh.
His poor girl. So tired. He grabbed Snuggly from the closet and spotted the blankets she’d dragged in here. Fuck, he hated that she’d been sleeping in here.
