Total pages in book: 46
Estimated words: 47381 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 237(@200wpm)___ 190(@250wpm)___ 158(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 47381 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 237(@200wpm)___ 190(@250wpm)___ 158(@300wpm)
Starting now.
She put the teddy bear down on the nightstand. It felt wrong, like she was rejecting him. But it wasn’t like he really belonged to her; it was more like she was borrowing him.
She’d simply give him back to Derek to give to Sadie.
Okay that worked.
Jolie moved out of the bedroom. She blushed as she remembered Brand carrying her in here. He’d walked with her in his arms through the reception area of Rawhide Ranch, following Derek to her room and carrying her right in to put her to bed.
That was after Nurse Beverly had gone through her care instructions.
Lord. She couldn’t believe this was her life right now.
Walking into the living room, she glanced around for Brand, spotting him out in the small courtyard on his phone.
Wheezing slightly, she moved to the sofa and stared down at it.
Wait. What if he wanted to sit and watch television? She’d be in the way if she made it into a sofa bed.
Shoot.
She really wasn’t thinking that well. And her head was thumping so badly. Was it time for more pain medication? She figured it had to be. Turning, she made her way to the kitchen to look for painkillers.
“What are you doing?”
With a small scream, she jumped and turned. A coughing fit overtook her, and she bent over, trying to gasp for air. Tears filled her eyes, dripping down her cheeks.
“Fuck it.” A warm hand rubbed her back, a solid arm creeping around her waist to support her. “Just breathe, baby. You’re all right.”
As she calmed down, Brand lifted her in the air and carried her to the bedroom, setting her down on the bed. He arranged the pillows behind her back so she was supported while she reclined. It was better for her breathing if she didn’t lie flat on her back. Pulling the blankets up, he tucked them around her.
Grabbing the teddy bear, he placed him under the blankets with her.
She was so amazed that she didn’t say anything as he turned away and walked out the door.
Where was he going? He was just leaving her?
He returned with a glass of water and a bottle of painkillers. He sat on the bed, facing her, and held the glass of water to her mouth. Embarrassingly, some of the water dribbled down her chin.
“Sorry,” she muttered as she clumsily swiped at her chin when he drew the glass away.
“Are you saying sorry for getting out of bed on your own?” he asked as he took two pills from the bottle.
“Uh, no?”
“That’s the only thing I’ll accept an apology for,” he told her. “So why were you saying sorry?”
“For being so messy.”
He shook his head. “You’re not messy.”
“I just dribbled water down my chin, not exactly my most attractive moment,” she grumbled.
He tilted her face up with his finger under chin. “Eyes on me when you talk to me, Bumblebee.”
She gaped at him in shock. Not just at the words, but his tone. How did he sound so firm yet gentle at the same time?
“Open your mouth.” He placed the pills on her tongue and then held the glass up again.
She tried to take the glass from him, but he brushed her hands away. “Hands down, you’re not to touch.”
What was going on here?
He always sounded authoritative, but this was different. It was a side of him she’d never seen.
But she craved it. He was looking after her as though she was delicate, precious.
And she loved it.
“We might need to talk about using a sippy cup or baby bottle,” he said as he lowered the glass onto the nightstand.
“Because I’m so messy?”
“I don’t care if you’re messy; it gives me an excuse to clean you up.” He wiggled his eyebrows, and she found herself blushing for some reason.
Was he talking about cleaning up her mouth? Or something else?
You really shouldn’t be thinking about sex when you feel so terrible.
“But it would be easier for me to keep you hydrated. Have you ever used a baby bottle or sippy cup?”
She shook her head. “No.”
But she wanted to.
“Have you ever been in a relationship with a Daddy Dom?” he asked.
Jolie twisted her fingers together, her gaze dropping to her lap.
“Bumblebee. Eyes.”
She raised her gaze to his. “No.”
He simply nodded.
“But you… you’re not… I mean, don’t feel you have to do anything because of me.”
He grinned. “Again, when have you known me to ever do something I don’t want to do?”
She relaxed. That was true.
“And you want to be a Daddy Dom?” she asked.
“If you’d asked me that a week ago, I might have said no.”
Great. He wanted to be a Daddy Dom because of her? Because he thought that was what she wanted?
“But that’s because I would have spoken without thinking. Sometimes you need to ruminate on things to let them take hold. To know for sure.”