Series: Paige Michaels
Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 45693 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 228(@200wpm)___ 183(@250wpm)___ 152(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45693 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 228(@200wpm)___ 183(@250wpm)___ 152(@300wpm)
“Better?” he asked.
She grinned and nodded.
Daddy helped her snuggle back in the center of the bed, tucked the stuffies into her arms again, and pulled the covers up. “If you get too hot, Daddy will uncover you.” He turned off the light, climbed back into bed, and lined his body up against hers. “Warm enough?”
She nodded. She felt much better. She was no longer shivering, and her heart rate had slowed down to a more normal level. She was cocooned in her Daddy’s bed. No one could get to her.
After closing her eyes and taking a few deep breaths, she fell back asleep.
Chapter Seventeen
Deke was worried about his Little girl. She’d been asleep for hours. Granted, the poor thing was exhausted. Besides the nightmare, she’d been working long hours and wearing herself out for too many nights in a row.
He checked on her every few minutes throughout the morning, and every time he found her still sound sleep. She looked so peaceful that he couldn’t stand to wake her. She was always in the same position, on her back, hugging her two favorite stuffies—one in each arm, suckling the pacifier, with her legs spread open to accommodate the diaper that had to be fully saturated by now.
Deke had called Rose to see if someone else could open that morning. Luckily Rose was able to. She was being very understanding about his new Little girl and her odd rose-sending stalker.
Everyone was being understanding. After talking to Rose, he’d called Mateo, who’d also told Deke he would make things work without Maya for as long as she needed.
It would be best if they both made it into work later that afternoon, but he would judge that over time. So far, she was still dead to the world. If she didn’t awaken soon, he would fix her a bottle and coax her into drinking it from bed.
He was glad he’d put diaper cream on her to protect her skin under the diaper, but she was still going to have to be changed soon.
Deke took the time to get some things done around the house. He started a load of laundry, chuckling at the memory of finding her last night wearing only socks, panties, and the old worn T-shirt she’d found in the laundry room. It was so small that it had been tight even on her.
In order to occupy his time, he cleaned both bathrooms but stopped short of running the vacuum cleaner. The noise would for sure wake her up.
When he checked on her again at noon, she was finally squirming, so he joined her on the bed, sat on the edge, and gently set a hand on her tummy. “Hey there, Little one,” he whispered.
She blinked at him several times before trying to speak.
He plucked the pacifier from her mouth.
“What time is it?”
“It’s noon, Precious Girl. You were in desperate need of sleep.”
Her eyes bugged out, and she tried to push to sitting. “Noon? I was supposed to be at work at ten.”
He slid his hand up between her breasts, holding her down. “It’s okay, Maya. I spoke to Mateo and let him know you would be late.”
She blew out a breath and relaxed. “You did? Was he mad?”
“Not at all. He understands. I told him you had a nightmare, too. He’s as worried about you as I am.”
She squirmed and lifted her head to look down at her body. “I wet myself,” she murmured.
“Yep. Daddy will get that icky diaper off you now.” He unzipped her jammies and guided her arms out of the sleeves.
She shivered. “Cold, Daddy.”
He frowned. “You’re still cold, Little one?” He felt her forehead. She didn’t feel warm, but it concerned him that she was once again cold.
As soon as he had the lion jammies off her body, he covered her chest with a small blanket to help keep her from shivering while he changed her diaper. He considered offering her panties or even putting her in the bath, but she was so quiet and seemed a bit off—not her normal self. Maybe she was coming down with something.
Maya didn’t even argue or say a word as he cleaned her folds and put a fresh diaper under her bottom. If she were fully cognizant, she would have fought him. She’d never spent this many hours in such a young headspace. Although she’d worn a diaper a few times for him, she hadn’t used one yet.
As he was about to fasten the sides, he changed his mind. He stood and patted her thigh. “Don’t move, Little one.”
Deke hurried into the nursery, grabbed the thermometer from the drawer on the changing table, and returned.
Maya hadn’t moved a muscle. She was staring at the ceiling, her arms drawn up to her chest under the blanket. Her legs were spread wide around the open diaper. She was basically limp and out of sorts.