Total pages in book: 153
Estimated words: 154595 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 773(@200wpm)___ 618(@250wpm)___ 515(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 154595 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 773(@200wpm)___ 618(@250wpm)___ 515(@300wpm)
She snorted. “I’m hardly a princess.”
He drew the blankets down and cupped the side of her face. “My princess. My girl. And no one will hurt you or make you feel like a freak again. Things will be easier once we’re not constantly interrupted.”
Another knock on the door emphasized his point. He sighed as an orderly came in to take her to the MRI scan. He nearly tripped over his feet as he saw Gray.
Gray frowned. This guy was in charge of pushing his girl around? Yeah. Not happening.
“You better not bump her into anything,” he told him as the guy put the wheelchair next to her bed.
“I . . . I . . .”
“Gray,” she scolded lightly. She turned to give the orderly a smile. “Don’t worry about him, he took extra grumpy pills today. Hi, I’m Maeve.”
Gray sighed as she started to chat to the orderly. She was far too friendly. It could get her into trouble if someone tried to take advantage of her. But then, that was up to him to protect her, wasn’t it?
And he took that very seriously.
As the guy went to help her into the chair, he let out a menacing noise of irritation and he swore the guy nearly wet himself. Stepping forward, he picked her up, along with Squish, and placed her in the wheelchair. Squish was put in her lap, then he grabbed the handles.
“Show us where we’re going,” he demanded.
“Um, well, sir, I’m supposed to push the wheelchair.”
Gray just stared at him.
Maeve turned to give the other man a wink. “Like I said, grumpy pills. You’re best just to let him have his way.”
“But it’s against policy.”
“I don’t care,” Gray told him. “You showing us the way or am I getting there myself?”
The orderly swallowed, then shook his head and led them out of the room.
Maeve turned to look up at him. “You all right, Grumpy Bear?”
He grunted. “Having trouble not controlling everything when it comes to you.”
Maybe it was because she’d disappeared on him and he had no idea where she was. Or perhaps because when he found her, she’d stopped fucking breathing. Or because he was taking a Daddy role and he was just overprotective and controlling.
Likely all of those things.
He waited for her to tell him to back off. That he was smothering her. Instead, she nodded.
“All right, Grumpy Bear.” She reached back and patted his hand, then turned back around.
He stared down at the top of her head in amazement.
Huh.
If it hadn’t been written in stone before, this just cemented it.
He would never let her go.
By the time Maeve had the MRI and then was wheeled by Gray back to her room, her eyelids were drooping. She’d gotten a few curious looks when people noticed she had a soft toy, but nothing bad.
A lot of people jumped out of their way as soon as they saw Gray coming toward them, which amused her.
“Remind me to take you with me to Black Friday sales,” she muttered as he tucked the blankets around her.
“What?”
“You’ll stop me getting crushed in the crowds and scare everyone away from the good sales.”
“You won’t be going anywhere that you might get crushed,” he dictated as he turned off the lights.
Oh, that was better. She didn’t realize it until then, but her head was thumping.
“Sore head?” he asked.
“Just a bit.”
“I’ll call the nurse.”
“No! Please don’t. I just want . . . I just want you.”
“All right, baby. Here, lie on your side and I’ll massage your neck.”
She rolled over, then scooted back so he could sit on the chair and reach her neck.
He started lower with her shoulders and she moaned.
“Poor girl, you’re all tense.”
Yeah, she was. And he had magic hands. They moved up to her neck and she groaned in a different sort of pleasure.
“Does my girl need some other sort of release?”
She hadn’t before. But each time he brushed his fingers against that spot on her neck . . . holy heck. Her entire body filled with need. With pleasure.
“I wonder if we could train your body to come on command when I touch you here and order you to come?”
That was crazy.
Right?
But it almost felt like it was possible.
“Do you want me to make you come, girl?”
“I . . . I . . .”
Yes.
But that would be awfully selfish of her when she was too tired to do much more than lie here, right?
“I’m not feeling up to much. Sorry.”
Smack! The tap on her ass was light. It didn’t hurt. And yet it put his point across effectively.
“You do not say sorry for not feeling well because you almost fucking died. Got me?”
She glanced over her shoulder at him in surprise. “I didn’t . . . I mean . . . I was more saying sorry because I can’t . . .”