It beeped. 103. Shit.
“Am I dying?” she wailed.
“Course not,” he reassured her. “Just a bit of a cold. You’ll be fine.”
“I hate being sick. Being sick is sucky.”
“Eat some more soup.”
“Hot.”
“I’ll cool it down.” He ended up sitting on the bed and feeding her spoonfuls of soup that he checked first to ensure it wasn’t too hot.
When her eyes started to droop, he stopped trying to feed her. She probably needed sleep more than anything.
“Is this your bed?” she mumbled.
“No, baby.”
“‘Cause I can sleep on the sofa,” she added.
He frowned. “You’re not sleeping on the sofa.”
“Don’t mind. Where I always sleep.”
“When you’re sick?” he asked as he tucked her in.
“Nope. All the time.”
He stared down at her for a long moment. She looked so tiny in the bed, her skin pale, her plump lips parted slightly as she breathed, her poor nose looked sore and raw.
And yet, he still thought she was beautiful.
Fuck.
“Why would you sleep there all the time?”
“Comfier than the bed. And warmer. Front of the fire. No money for other heating.”
“Why don’t you have any money? What do you do for a living?”
“Make jewelry.”
She made jewelry. Shit. Obviously, she didn’t make enough money doing that to sustain herself.
Not your business.
Turning, he made it to the door before he heard her whimper. He moved back, wondering if she was having a bad dream. Crap. Should he wake her up?
Then a warm hand wrapped around his wrist. “Lucie?”
Her eyes opened. “Don’t leave, please.”
Fuck.
“Baby, you need your sleep.”
“Just lie beside me for a little while. Please.” He couldn’t resist the begging in her eyes. Sighing, he moved to the other side of the bed and sat back against the headboard. Lucie scooched over until her head was close to his thigh.
Don’t react. Don’t react.
“Will you sing me a song?”
“No.”
“Read me a story?”
“No.”
“Please,” she begged.
With a sigh, he closed his eyes. He couldn’t believe he was doing this. He started to sing her a lullaby. When he was finished, he opened his eyes to find her facing him. Her thumb was half in her mouth and her breathing had grown more even. Thank God.
He carefully climbed off the bed.
“Thanks, Daddy. You’re so good to me.”
Dreaming. She was just dreaming.
Her coughing woke him up.
He lay there for a moment, telling himself that he shouldn’t go to her. That she was an adult. She’d be all right. She didn’t need him.
She’d be fine.
Only, he’d spent all day yesterday taking care of her, and she was basically helpless when she was ill. It was cute. The cold medicine really did make her go loopy. She spent half her time groaning in misery and the rest of the time making silly rhymes with his name and calling him Daddy.
He liked that a little too much.
The coughing stopped. See? Fine.
Then it started again. Shit. Climbing from the bed, he grabbed a T-shirt to pull on with his pajama bottoms, then strode down to her room.
She was sitting up, still coughing. He sat facing her and reached around to pat her back. When she finished coughing, he helped her drink some water.
A misery-filled groan escaped her as she lay back. “So sick.”
“I know, baby. Take your cough medicine.”
“No,” she groaned. “Don’t want it.”
“Tough. You’re taking it.”
“Or what?” she challenged.
“Or you’ll be in big trouble.”
Good threat there, idiot.
“What kind of trouble? Will you spank me?”
He stiffened. “No.”
“No?”
“I’ve only ever spanked one woman. The only woman I’ve ever loved.”
“Oh.” She stared up at him and he wondered how awake she was. Hopefully, she wouldn’t remember this conversation in the morning.
“Now, take your cold medicine and go to sleep.” He made his voice firm, expecting her to obey him immediately.
“What happened to her? Were you her Daddy? I bet you’d make a good Daddy. You probably made her feel really safe. Was she a Little?”
“What do you know about Littles?”
You probably made her feel really safe.
If only he’d kept her safe. He’d failed her. Failed his wife, his Little girl.
And he’d never forgive himself for that.
“I know lots of stuff,” she told him indignantly. “I know that I’m a Little. But I’ve never had a Daddy before. Not many of them around here. I had one I talked to online once, but he didn’t like doing the long-distance thing.”
Jealousy flooded him. Then on the heels of that, he immediately felt guilty. But why should he feel guilty? He wasn’t doing anything wrong. He was just taking care of a neighbor. She didn’t mean anything to him.
Right. You tell yourself that.
He stood. It felt like there were a hundred ants running over his skin. And he had to get away from her. “Take your medicine.”
Then he left, ignoring her calling his name.
She’d be fine. He’d done more than enough. He stomped back to his room, determined to get some sleep.
And forget about the sweet girl sleeping in his spare bedroom.
Chapter Five
Lucie woke up feeling chilled.
For a moment, she was confused about where she was. This wasn’t the sofa in her living room or even her bed.
Then she remembered. She was at Atticus’ place. This was her third night here. She’d spent most of her time sleeping or watching movies while he brought her food or made sure she took her medicine.
She frowned. He’d been kind of distant yesterday. But then, that was how he always was. Probably irritated about having to take care of her.
Well, she’d leave as soon as she could. She glanced around, wondering what time it was. Late, she was guessing by how dark it was.
Why was she so cold?
She moved, then froze. Oh no. Oh no.
With a small cry, she pulled her blankets back, then tried to get out of bed. But in her haste, her feet got tangled in the blankets and she fell onto her knees. Shoot! Her pajamas felt damp too.
Oh no. Oh no.
She stood and patted the sheets. They definitely felt damp. She tugged at them. She’d have to wash them.
“What are you doing?”
She jumped at the gruff question. Turning, she saw him standing there, wearing just a pair of pajama bottoms.
“Nothing,” she squeaked.
“Lucie? Why are you pulling the sheets off the bed?” he demanded.
“They need to be washed.”
“I just put them on there. Why would they need to be cleaned?” He stepped towards her.
“Don’t come any closer,” she demanded.
He froze. “What is it? What’s wrong?”