Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 81930 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 410(@200wpm)___ 328(@250wpm)___ 273(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81930 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 410(@200wpm)___ 328(@250wpm)___ 273(@300wpm)
“PJs?” she asked.
Poor baby. She wasn’t keeping up, was she?
“Yep. PJs. I’m a bit bigger than you are, so we’ll have to make do. You need PJs for our pajama party. Unless you want to have a naked party.”
“I-I… pajama party?”
If she’d been fully herself, then he’d probably have a fight on his hands. But as it was, she let him gently steer her into the bathroom. She stood, watching with wide eyes as he turned on the shower.
A tremble rocked her body as she stood there.
She was in shock.
Was he pushing her too hard? But he couldn’t see how leaving her on her own would help. Nope. That wasn’t happening.
Shoot. But how did he get her into the shower? He tested the temperature. “It’s warm. You can get in now.”
“In now.” She stepped toward the shower. Still in her clothes.
“Whoa, there.” He gently took hold of her arm, holding her still. “La-la, do you want me to help you take a shower?”
His dick was all too eager for that. Which wasn’t a good thing right now. Last thing she probably needed to see was his erection. Not that she hadn’t seen his cock before. Being naked helped him think.
He couldn’t help it if other people didn’t understand that and took offense at seeing Marcus Junior.
He might be biased, but he happened to think he had a damn good-looking dick.
“Help me?” she asked.
“You need to get naked, sweetie.”
“Oh. I, um, I’ve got it.”
He wasn’t sure she did. But he backed away. He better find himself some pajamas. Normally, he slept naked unless he was in Little headspace, but he figured he’d make this sacrifice for her.
Damn. He was really good at this caretaking stuff.
Isla slid down onto the floor of the shower. She’d hoped that the warm water would wash away this feeling of being violated. But it had seeped under her skin, taking permanent residence.
One breath. Two.
It didn’t help much. She wrapped her arms around her bent legs. She had to get out of here. If she took too long, she knew Marcus would barge in here to check on her. He didn’t have many boundaries. If he could, he’d probably spend all his time naked. She was kind of surprised he hadn’t tried to push her into letting him stay.
Maybe he was trying to give her some space. Question was, did she want space?
There was a knock. “Hey, La-la, you finished yet? You all right?”
She raised her head. Yep. Time was up. But she couldn’t move.
“Isla?”
Suddenly, the door to the shower opened and he was there. Sympathy filled his face.
“Oh, La-la.”
She hadn’t been aware that tears were running down her cheeks until Marcus reached for her, drawing her out of the shower. He pulled her against him, not seeming to care about the fact that she was getting his pajamas all wet.
“It’s going to be okay. It will be all right.”
“H-how do you know?”
“Because I have faith. And I’m not going to let you be anything but okay. Just… trust me?”
She stared up into his gorgeous eyes, framed by impossibly long, dark eyelashes.
She said it before she’d even thought about how to reply. “Always.”
A look of determination filled his face. “Good. I’m never going to betray that trust. I’m going to get us a happy-ever-after, La-la. I promise you that.”
And she believed him. Because there was nothing that Marcus couldn’t do when he put his mind to it.
Chapter 4
Eliot Baird walked along the pathway from the stables back to the main house at Rawhide Ranch.
Anna had loved it here. Which is why he hadn’t been able to visit since her death three years ago. He hadn’t intended to come now. But something had urged him to return.
Find happiness again, Daddy.
Don’t mourn me forever.
He shook his head at the memory of her words. She’d been in such pain. He’d had such mixed feelings when she’d died.
Relief she’d no longer be in pain.
Utter devastation that she was gone.
Yeah, it had taken him three years to work up the courage to return. He wasn’t here to find someone to replace her, though. That would never happen. She was the love of his life.
But maybe he’d needed to be around people who cared about him.
“Eliot!”
He stilled at the familiar voice, turning with a smile as he saw the owner of Rawhide Ranch, Derek Hawkins, walking toward him. He was a good man. One of the best.
Skipping beside him was his sweet Little, Sadie.
“Elly!” she called out. Rushing toward him, she wrapped her arms around him. He grinned.
Derek reached them and gently drew Sadie away from him. “Easy there, babygirl.”
Eliot patted her back once before Derek managed to draw her away and secure her against him.
“I’m so happy you’re back, Elly.” A hint of sadness entered her face, but she pushed it away. “Are you going to read to the Littles today?”