“Bribing me?”
“Of course. Is it working?”
“Yes.” She also wanted to do whatever was necessary to get out of this place.
“Good girl. Now, would you like your treat?”
Ooh, she forgot about that. “Yes, what is it?”
He drew something from the other duffel bag and opened a small container. Inside were some bright red, plump strawberries, the ends coated in dark chocolate.
“I figured a little bit of chocolate was all right. A reward for being a good girl.”
“Yum!”
He picked one up and held it out for her. She reached for it and bit in. Juice ran down her chin and she let out a giggle. He reached up with a napkin and wiped the sweet berry juice away. Her heart caught, skipped, and she swallowed heavily. “Thank you. So much. For everything you’ve done.”
“You deserve to have someone do nice things for you, sweet pea.”
Sometimes, she wasn’t so sure. She figured eventually he’d get tired of looking after her. But she was selfish enough to take his care. They ate the berries quietly. And they were the best strawberries she’d ever had.
“Right, do you want to see what I brought you from home?”
“Yep.”
He brought out a pair of lightweight pajamas, a clean dress, a pair of shoes, and three pairs of knickers, which made her blush even though all he did was pack them away in the hospital drawers. Then he drew out something which made her clap.
“My eReader! Oh, thank you.”
“Saw it sitting there and I thought you might like it. I brought the charger too.”
“Yay! That’s awesome. Watching mindless TV is already driving me insane.”
“I’ll leave it here on the nightstand, then.”
“Thanks so much. I love reading in bed before I go to sleep at night.”
“As long as you don’t stay up too late,” he told her sternly. “I expect lights out at nine-thirty.”
She gaped at him and he ran his hand over his face. “Shoot. Sorry. Sometimes my daddy side just comes out.”
She didn’t point out all the other times he’d slipped up already. She just nodded. “It’s okay.”
“I did bring you someone else, though.” He drew out the koala that had been sitting on her bed.
She stared at Kiki, the only thing from her childhood she had. One of the few toys she’d ever had and the most precious thing she owned. And he’d thought to bring it for her.
He really was good at this daddy stuff. He tucked the koala in against her without another word about it. Then he leaned over and kissed the tip of her nose.
“Don’t stay up too late, all right? You need rest.”
“I spent most of today napping,” she pointed out.
“And do you feel better because of it?”
“Yeah. I guess,” she said reluctantly.
“You need to pace yourself, sweet pea. Get plenty of rest so you don’t wear yourself out.”
“I know. It’s been difficult this last week.”
“I get that,” he replied softly. “Now, let’s get you into these PJs, yes?”
“I can get changed myself,” she protested. No way was she letting him help her.
“You’re not doing it alone,” he informed her.
In the end, they got one of the nurses to help her. He said goodbye to her shortly after, telling her he would be in tomorrow morning for the doctor’s rounds.
She couldn’t help but feel sad and lonely once he was gone. But that was silly, she’d only known him a few days.
He couldn’t have made that much of an impact on her life in such a short time, right?
Somehow, she wasn’t so sure.
6
The next few days continued like that. Macca would come in for morning rounds, listen intently to everything the doctor had to say then he’d go visit his grandmother then end up back with her each evening. They were monitoring her kidneys. Thankfully, her headaches had stopped and she was gaining more energy with each day that passed.
She’d even tested walking on her ankle and found it wasn’t too bad as long as she went slow. Not that she’d told Macca that.
But all that served to do was increase her impatience to get out of there. She wanted to see Penny. Macca wasn’t saying much, but she could tell from the way his shoulders seemed to slump further each day that things weren’t great.
She grew more short-tempered as each day passed and the doctor refused to discharge her.
Well, the doctor wasn’t around now and neither was Macca. She was going to go for a walk. By herself. It was ridiculous. She felt so much better. If the doctor didn’t let her leave soon, she was going to discharge herself.
“That will go down well, Gigi,” she muttered to herself.
Macca wasn’t shy about letting her know what he thought. Or handing out the commands. She didn’t even think he realized it when he went into daddy mode. But she was recognizing it more and more.
She’d managed to get onto the hospital’s Wi-Fi and buy some new eBooks. She’d had to stop herself from spending too much. She needed to be careful with her money.
What she’d read had turned her on so much, she’d had to fight the urge to touch herself. It wouldn’t do for a nurse to walk in while she was in the middle of pleasuring herself. She blushed at the thought. But boy, those books were hot. Especially the spanking scenes. Holy hell. CJ Bennett was her favorite author by far. The woman was a genius.
“Okay, Gigi. Chill. You’re getting a hot flush or something.” She walked slowly into the bathroom. Her ankle was barely sore anymore, having several days off it had really helped. She’d walked around the ward yesterday afternoon without any real problem, other than a little swelling in her ankle that night. She’d been certain to keep her foot hidden under her blankets so Macca’s eagle eyes wouldn’t spot anything.
She needed to build up her stamina and strength. Lying around all day was just making her lazy. So today she was going to push herself. She tamed her wild hair and decided that with the sweater on, her pajama bottoms could pass for shorts. Maybe.
Slowly, she stepped out of her room. No one was at the nurses’ station as she slipped past. She felt a small twinge of guilt. But what Macca didn’t know couldn’t hurt him. Or her, as the case might be. She entertained herself with thoughts of him putting her over his knee as she waited for the elevator.
She didn’t know why the idea of being spanked that turned her on. Especially after her childhood abuse. Did that make her extra weird? She rubbed at her head, annoyed to find a headache was developing.
She hadn’t had a headache since after that first day. Her rash was gone, thank God. She hated having people stare at her, she’d had enough of that growing up.
The weird, dirty, poor girl.
Stepping out of the elevator, she moved towards the gift shop. She was in the mood for something sweet. She’d had days of eating hospital food in the day and the healthy food that Macca brought her each night. She needed something to cheer herself up.
Looking around the small gift shop, she picked up a magazine and a chocolate bar. Her eye was caught by this really cute bunny in the corner. It had big loopy ears, and kind eyes. She ran her finger over it. So soft. She kept Kiki in her bag during the day, just bringing her out at night. She was still a little embarrassed that Macca had brought it for her.
She couldn’t afford to buy the bunny. She shouldn’t even be getting the chocolate and magazine. They were treats she didn’t often allow herself. Especially at the gift shop’s inflated prices.
She turned back towards the desk where an older woman with a kind smile sat. “Here, let me get you a bag for that, love.”
“Oh no, thanks. . .I. . .” Her voice trailed off as her headache grew worse. The room spun and sweat broke out across her brow. She was so hot.
“Are you okay? Love?”
The voice was coming from a distance away as the ground rushed up to meet her.<
br />
Shit. Macca would not be happy.
* * *
“I am not happy.”
Yep. Just as she’d thought. Macca was not impressed with her.
“I’m really sorry they bothered you,” she told him tiredly. Would he decide he didn’t want to deal with her anymore? What had she been thinking?
Selfish, Gigi. Really selfish.
“Do you really think that’s what I’m upset about?” He placed his hands on his hips.
Um, well. . .
“Gigi, you disobeyed the doctor’s orders! You left your room without telling anyone. You fainted. What if you’d hit your head? What if you’d passed out when there was no one around? You were just lucky the lady in the gift shop acted so quickly.”
“I didn’t really faint, just got a little light-headed.”
He glowered at her. He definitely looked like a warrior right now. An enraged one. Maybe she ought to be worried about how angry he was, but he hadn’t once raised his voice. Of course, that could be because they were in a hospital and he didn’t want to disturb anyone. But she thought it had more to do with the fact that she’d told him that being yelled at terrified her.
So even mad, he was protecting her.
Your own knight in shining armor.
Whoa. Enough of that. He was here because of his grandmother. Because Penny asked him to watch out for her. He wasn’t her anything.
And this is why you shouldn’t get closer to him. You’re going to get hurt.
Yeah, well, she was starting to wonder if it would be worth it just to experience being his. Just for a little while.
She sighed.
“Gigi. Are you paying attention to me?”
“Yes, Sir.” Whoops, that just dropped out of nowhere. Her cheeks went red even as his eyes warmed.
“Don’t think you can charm me.” He waggled his finger at her. “Hearing you call me Sir is sweet, but it’s not going to get you out of trouble.”
That wasn’t why she’d said it. Was it? Oh, she didn’t know. She was second guessing everything right now. She didn’t know what she wanted.
“I just sort of collapsed. I didn’t mean to.”
“Nobody means to faint, sweet pea.” He sighed and shook his head.
“I was fine when I went for a walk yesterday afternoon through the ward. I just wanted some things from the gift shop. I’m going insane, cooped up in here.”
His gaze narrowed. “You went for a walk yesterday without telling me?”
Um. Whoops. Good one, Gigi. Give him more ammunition for his ‘Gigi is a bad girl chat’.
Okay, did she really just think that?
“Just the once,” she admitted. “And I felt fine!”
He growled. He actually growled. And it was sexy as fuck.
You have got it bad.
“I just don’t know why I’m still here. I feel a lot better. I don’t have a temperature anymore. And my ankle isn’t even swollen.”
“You don’t look it,” he snapped at her.
Charming.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that the way it sounded.”
He sounded so tired she felt terrible. She’d scared him.
“You need to be here because your blood pressure was so high, they were worried you’d have a stroke. Because you are being monitored to ensure your own body doesn’t attack your kidneys. Because you were dehydrated and exhausted. That’s why. And as for your ankle not being swollen,” he whipped back the covers and gently slid down her compression bandage, “that is no longer the case.”
She winced as she stared down at her larger left foot. Crap. He put the bandage back into place.
“Gigi, no more trips downstairs alone. You know I didn’t want you walking around without me.” He waggled that finger in her direction. It should have made him look silly. Instead, she just found herself kind of melting.
“Sorry,” she told him.
“Uh-uh. Sorry isn’t enough this time. You put yourself in real danger, Gigi. If you’d wanted a magazine and some chocolate, you should have asked me.”
“You’d buy me chocolate?” He was stricter about her diet than the hospital. She knew it was just because he was worried about her. But he needed to ease up a little.
“Well, not that crap.”
The lovely lady in the gift shop had sent up the chocolate and magazine she’d had to leave behind when she collapsed.
“It wasn’t just the chocolate and magazine. I wanted to get out for a bit.”
“And now you may well have put your health at further risk and will have to stay in here longer. Your recovery could be delayed.”
Well, shit.
She sighed. “I know. I wasn’t thinking.”
He tilted her chin up. “No, little girl. You weren’t. You disobeyed me. You put yourself at risk. That deserves some punishment, don’t you think?”
“Are you going to spank me?” she blurted out.
His gaze narrowed. “Is that what you want?”
“Of c-course not,” she spluttered out. Even she didn’t believe herself.
“Lying is very naughty, Gigi,” he reminded her in a soft drawl.
Oh hell. She was in so much trouble. And she wasn’t talking about whatever punishment he came up with.
“I shouldn’t want it, right? That’s weird.”
“Nothing is weird about your needs, Gigi. Lots of people have needs that are considered outside the norm. But who gets to say what is normal? As long as your needs don’t hurt anyone else, how can they be wrong?”
He ran his hand over his face, looking exhausted. “But now isn’t the time to talk about this. I haven’t gotten to see Nan yet today and I need to go if I’m going to get back here in time for dinner with you.”
She noticed how tired he looked. Stressed. Guilt flooded her. He didn’t need worrying about her on top of all this. She shouldn’t be taking time away from his beloved grandmother. She’d been thinking only of herself.
This isn’t you, Gigi.
It wasn’t. She never wanted to cause trouble. She just hated being ill. Relying on other people. She’d been frustrated and hadn’t thought.
“I’m really sorry, Macca,” she said quietly. “I didn’t mean to worry you or have you race over here. It was selfish of me and I feel terrible.”
His face softened and he reached for her hand, squeezing lightly. “It’s all right, baby. I know you are going crazy trapped in here. I would be too. But you have to take care of your health. I don’t want anything bad happening to you.”
“I know. You shouldn’t come back here for dinner,” she blurted out.
“What? You don’t want me here?” He looked shocked and his hand drifted from hers.
“What? No! Of course, I want you here.” It was the highlight of her day. “But you’re tired. And I’ve already mucked up your day and taken time you should be spending with Penny away and—”
“Gigi, stop,” he told her gently. He placed a finger on her lips. “Of course, I want to visit my nan, but I want to be here with you too. Truth is, I enjoy our time together.”
“Me too,” she whispered. “I just don’t want to be a nuisance.”
He smiled at her. “You are not a nuisance, little one. I don’t want to hear you say that again, understood? Stop worrying about me. I can look after myself. So, I’ll be back tonight, all right?”
“All right,” she whispered.
He leaned over and kissed her gently on her forehead. “Rest, baby. No more going for walks without letting the nurses know. And don’t eat all that chocolate.”
She wrinkled her nose. “You can’t have chocolate sitting there and not eat it, that’s against the rules or something.”
“Your rules are different, sweet pea. Eat all the chocolate and discover the consequences.”
She knew she could tell him he was going too far with his bossiness. Except she didn’t want to. She hated that she’d worried him, but loved that he cared about her.
And she wasn’t willing to give that up. Not yet.
7
She woke up aware that she wasn’t in the room alone. With a gasp, she sat up. Macca glanced up from the tablet he held. Concern filled his gaze.
“Easy, baby. It’s just me.”
“Oh, you gave me a fright.” She frowned at him. “What are you doing here?”
“It’s nearly time for the doctor’s rounds. You slept in.”
“Did I?” She looked at the clock on the wall. “Sorry.”
“When I came in you were dead to the world with your eReader on your tummy.”
Her eyes widened. “Oh no! I must have fallen asleep while I was reading last night. I’m lucky I didn’t knock it off.”
“And just what time did you fall asleep?” he asked in a low voice.
She licked her lips. “Um, I’m going to plead the fifth.”
He let out a small chuckle. “You do realize the fifth amendment doesn’t exist in Australia.”
She grinned back. Yesterday, things had been a little tense between them after she’d nearly fainted in the gift shop. She still felt really guilty for worrying him.
“Semantics,” she replied.
“You’ve got some interesting books on here, baby girl. This CJ Bennett writes some really good age play stories.”
“What? You can’t read those!” She’d just realized the tablet in his hand was her eReader.
“Why not?” He looked confused.
“B-because I didn’t give you permission. They’re mine.”
He frowned slightly. “Am I going to have to teach you how to share?”
“W-what no! Macca!” She reached for the eReader but he snatched it back.
“Calm down. I don’t know why you’re so upset.”
“Just. . .because. . .I. . . it’s personal.”
He tilted his head to one side, studying her. Damn it, why did he have to look so gorgeous? “You’re embarrassed? Baby, I’m the one who brought this all up. You know what I am. Why are you embarrassed?”
All that was true. And she had no idea why she was so embarrassed. She shrugged.
“Did you buy these after I told you about me?”
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