Total pages in book: 153
Estimated words: 155903 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 780(@200wpm)___ 624(@250wpm)___ 520(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 155903 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 780(@200wpm)___ 624(@250wpm)___ 520(@300wpm)
“You’re not telling Juliet about Faith,” he barked.
Faith tensed and Xavier frowned at him. “Why not?”
Shit.
He just realized how that sounded.
“Because I want to tell her myself,” Reuben explained.
Xavier nodded. “All right, I won’t tell Juliet if you agree not to send any bodyguards.”
“Bodyguards?” Faith asked, sounding alarmed. “Is everything okay?”
“Everything is fine, baby,” he soothed. “Why don’t you climb back into bed, and I’ll bring you a drink and a snack soon.”
She looked worried but nodded and stepped away. “Bye, Xavier. Nice to meet you.”
“You too, Faith,” Xavier said.
She walked out of the room.
“You aren’t going to tell her about any of this?” Xavier asked.
“Why would I tell her? We don’t know what happened. And it might upset her.” And his number one job was to make sure that she didn’t experience any pain or fear or unhappiness.
“I understand the urge to protect her, Reuben. But if she’s in your life and she means something to you, then you need to open up to her as well.”
“I’ll think about it.”
Xavier sighed. “No, you won’t. Because you’re a stubborn bastard who always thinks he’s right. Don’t you want her to share her worries with you?”
“That’s completely different.” Of course she should share her problems and concerns with him. Otherwise, how would he take care of them for her? “I can take care of any problems that arise. For me or for Faith.”
“You really care about her, then.”
“Would she be in my house, calling me Daddy, if I didn’t?”
“Good point. Just . . . don’t overwhelm her. Sometimes, going slow is a good thing. And just because she is a Little doesn’t mean that she can’t handle things.”
“This has nothing to do with her being a Little,” he said, surprised.
“Because she’s a female?” Xavier asked.
“No. It’s because she’s mine.”
Xavier whistled. “Well, good luck with that.”
Luck?
Since when did he rely on luck?
Never.
“Take care of my sister,” he ordered before ending the call.
42
Reuben fixed his girl a snack and carried it to the bedroom.
He found her sitting on the floor with her new doll. As soon as she saw him, her face grew red.
He didn’t like that. She should be completely at ease with him no matter what she was doing.
“I hope it’s okay for me to play with this stuff. I didn’t think . . . maybe you wanted me to wait.” She stared around at the toys with worry.
“They’re your things, Little Blossom,” he told her firmly. “Why would I tell you that you couldn’t play with your own things?”
“Oh. Right. It just feels . . . surreal. All of this stuff for me.”
“You deserve all of it.” He set the tray down on the nightstand before joining her on the floor.
“Thank you.” Her eyes went wide. “What are you doing?”
“Uh, sitting. Why?”
“On the floor. Do you sit on the floor?” she asked.
“Why wouldn’t I sit on the floor?” He narrowed his eyes. “Because I’m old?”
“Oh, Daddy.” Reaching over, she patted his hand. “You’re not so old that you can’t sit on the floor.”
“I know I’m not so old that I can’t sit on the floor.” He blew out a breath. “You’re teasing me, aren’t you?”
“Sort of. Maybe just a bit.”
“Brat,” he grumbled. “You still owe me some lines.”
“Don’t you think we could forget about those? I thought you would have . . . since you’re so old.”
“I’ll show you old.” He reached for her, dragging her over his lap.
Slap!
His hand smacked down on her bottom. Not hard. He was just playing around.
“Daddy, no! No! You can’t spank me!”
“Of course I can. I’m the Daddy. And I’m not so old that I can’t take you over my knee.”
Slap! Slap!
“Stop, Daddy! You’re young! You’re young! A spring chicken.”
“Well, I don’t know about that. There isn’t much spring in this chicken, unfortunately.” He set her back down on her bottom.
“Of course there is, Daddy. And those gray hairs just make you look sexier.”
“Obviously, I didn’t spank you enough.”
“No, Daddy! You did! I meant it. You’re so sexy. I just . . . you don’t seem like the type to sit on the floor.”
“Guess you don’t think I’m the type to play with you, either.” He reached for Petal and straightened her clothes.
“Um, you don’t have to play with me, Daddy. You’re far too busy and important. Don’t you have work to do? People to terrorize? Small countries to conquer?”
“I was going to take over Holland this weekend, but it can wait.”
She grinned at him. He ran his finger over her freckles. “You’re so beautiful. And I always have time for you, understand? No matter how busy I am.”
“Daddy?” she asked.
“Yes, baby?”
“Is everything all right? Your phone call with Xavier . . . it seemed a bit tense.”
“Really? Seemed pretty normal to me.”
Faith glanced away, and a strange feeling filled his stomach.
Was this . . . was it guilt?