Ruled by her Daddies

by Roberts, Laylah

  She sighed. Loudly.

  “Perhaps I can get something else for her,” the woman said, staring at Wolfe. “But it would help if I could actually talk to her.”

  He frowned. Why was he acting like this? For some reason, he didn’t want the woman talking to Genevieve. He wasn’t sure exactly why.

  “Wolfe,” Genevieve said more firmly. “Let me talk to the nurse.”

  Wolfe grunted but he stepped to the side. Slightly. Why did the thought of someone else hurting her make him feel so ill? He could hurt her but nobody else could? What the fuck?

  If he’d been Aleki, he’d never have let her leave. No matter what he had to do to keep her.

  Fuck. Stop.

  He was watching over her for his brothers. That was all. They weren’t here. He was. He was in charge.

  Sometimes, leaving him on his own wasn’t a good idea.

  “Where does it hurt, dear?” the nurse asked. She seemed kind and caring. But it could still be an act. So Wolfe remained close. On alert.

  “Just around my temples. I’m fine. It’s just a stress headache. I get them sometimes.”

  What the fuck. How much stress had she been under?

  “I tend to grind my teeth in my sleep,” she was telling the nurse. “And clench my jaw when I’m worried.”

  “Do you usually have a guard?” the nurse asked.

  “No,” she said quietly.

  He wondered why not. He also wondered if a pacifier would have a similar effect? Maybe not, but it would be cute to see her curled up with that stuffed pig she’d been holding when they found her, a pacifier in her mouth. Maybe dressed in a cute little outfit.

  Something that said, Daddy’s baby girl.

  Shit. What was wrong with him? He didn’t even know if he wanted to be a Daddy Dom. And if he did, he didn’t want to be her Daddy Dom.

  Right?

  “Well, I’ll get a heat pack for your neck. That might help. And some massage could be beneficial too.” The nurse shot him a look. “Try not to stress, all right? Everything will be okay.”

  Why the hell would she say that? She had no fucking idea if everything would be okay. Wolfe glared at her. “She needs something that’s easy to eat but nutritious if she’s to build up her health and muscle mass.”

  “I’ll go see what we have.”

  “Wolfe, that was rude,” she scolded.

  “How?” he asked.

  “Well, you could have said please.”

  He shrugged. “I could have. But I find it’s better not to mix commands with pleasantries. Besides, she annoyed me by saying everything will be all right. She can’t know that.”

  “She didn’t mean anything by it.”

  “What?”

  “Saying everything would be okay. It’s something people just say, even if they don’t know. To reassure you.”

  “People shouldn’t lie,” he insisted. “They shouldn’t say things if they don’t know they’re true.”

  “It’s not a lie.”

  “It is.”

  “Still all black and white, aren’t you? No room for any gray in your life?”

  He studied her. “Maybe there’s some room. Tell me why, Genevieve. Why shouldn’t I just convince Caleb and Aleki to leave? To go home and forget about you.”

  He wasn’t certain he could. But she didn’t know that.

  She stared up at him, her gaze shockingly fierce. “You should do just that. Take them away, Wolfe. Forget all about me. Don’t look back. Make them leave and be happy. They deserve it.”

  “And you? What do you deserve?”

  “Nothing. I deserve nothing.”

  The nurse returned before he could press her further. She set down a bowl of soup then helped arrange the heat pack. Genevieve sat back against the raised bed, looking exhausted. If he was a thoughtful, kind guy, he would let her be. Let her rest.

  But he wasn’t that guy.

  He picked up the soup and dismissed the nurse. It was more of a broth, but he supposed that might be better on her tummy. He stirred it then brought some to his mouth, testing the temperature before blowing on it.

  “Did you just blow on my soup?” she asked.

  “It was too hot. I don’t want you to burn yourself.” He scowled. “That woman obviously has no experience with heating soup. I’ll take care of it from now on.”

  He held up a spoonful to her lips.

  “I’m not hungry.”

  He didn’t move the spoon. He wouldn’t until she took it. Finally, she sighed and let him feed it to her. A sense of satisfaction filled him that he decided not to examine too closely. He continued to feed her in silence until she turned her head away.

  “Do you want us to call someone and tell them where you are? What about your father?”

  Her eyes shot open. “No!”

  “Why not? You don’t think he’d want to know that his only daughter was found nearly dead in an alley. That she’s alive and being cared for. I just saw him give a press conference, asking that they leave you alone to mourn. Why isn’t he setting every cop in the city out to find you?”

  “I . . . I . . .” She winced.

  Fuck.

  He settled himself on the bed next to her head.

  “What are you doing?” she asked, stiffening.

  “I’m going to massage your head.” He started rubbing her scalp.

  “How can you touch me when you hate me?”

  He paused. “It’s best not to ask that question.” Mainly because he didn’t know the answer.

  “How can you go from threatening me to helping me?” she asked.

  “Was I threatening you?”

  “You said you’d call my father.”

  “And that’s a threat? What’s going on, Genevieve?”

  She stiffened, remaining silent.

  He sighed. “We’re doing this the hard way, then?”

  They were both silent as he massaged her scalp. She started relaxing into his touch.

  “I left him to keep him safe. All of you safe.”

  “What does that mean? What was threatening us?”

  “I can’t tell you anything more. But you all need to leave. Get well away from me. I’m a disease that will consume you, rot you from the inside out. So please. Just take them and go.”

  He sat in silence for a moment.

  “Wolfe?”

  “Hush. I’m thinking. You need to sleep. Do you need the pig?” he asked.

  She tensed. “What?”

  “To sleep. Do you need your stuffed pig?”

  “How do you know about that?” she asked.

  “You were clutching it when we found you. Told me not to touch it or you’d rip my balls off.”

  “I did not!”

  “Most fierce you were. And over a toy.”

  Jesus. Was he jealous of a toy? Not possible.

  “I don’t need it to sleep,” she told him.

  “But you sleep better with it, don’t you?”

  “Do you think I’m weird?” she asked after a moment of silence.

  “Yes.”

  She sucked in a breath.

  “But not because you need a stuffed toy to sleep.” He climbed from the bed and opened the closet door. He grabbed the pig from her bag. The toy was worn. Obviously old and well-loved. He walked back and handed it to her.

  “But your hatred of lime jello, now that’s weird.”

  She shot him a hesitant smile.

  “My stuff is in there?” She eyed the closet.

  “We sent it all to be washed. It was wet and filthy.”

  “Oh. Thank you.” She grasped the pig and held it cautiously while watching him, waiting for his reaction. He deliberately gave her a bored look before resuming his position next to her so he could continue to rub her head.

  “How did you find me, Wolfe?” she asked.

  “Guess we all have our secrets. You tell me yours, I’ll tell you mine.”

  She was silent.

  “Relax. Sleep.
Nothing bad is going to happen to you.”

  “Now who’s lying,” she muttered sleepily as he massaged.

  “I never lie, Genevieve. You should know that.”

  7

  She awoke to the sound of something crunching.

  Opening her eyes, she turned her head to find Aleki with his hand in a bag of potato chips.

  “Still got hollow legs?” she asked before she could think better of it.

  He shrugged. “Something like that.”

  Sadness filled her. He was so closed off. She got it. She’d be that way too. But it didn’t stop her from missing their old relationship. He hadn’t changed much. His hair still curled at the end when he let it grow out. He was thick with muscle. There were wrinkles around his eyes but that was it.

  He was the same. Except for the cold look in his eyes as he watched her.

  She tried to roll over a bit and Piggles suddenly tumbled off the bed. Whoops. She hadn’t even realized he was lying there.

  Aleki caught him and placed him back beside her. “Careful there, pig. Don’t want you hurting yourself.”

  She wished she could hug the toy for comfort, but she didn’t want to look like an immature dork. Aleki studied her quietly. Then he nodded at the toy. “Give him a cuddle if you need to. I won’t think you’re weird.”

  Funny, Wolfe hadn’t either. Most people would. William certainly had.

  But she didn’t need prompting twice. She cuddled Piggles close.

  “Want a chip?” he asked.

  “No, thank you.”

  “You used to love them.”

  “I’m not hungry.”

  He grunted.

  Well, this conversation was going well.

  She bit her lip, wincing. They were still chapped and painful. Aleki obviously spotted her grimace because he opened the top drawer beside her bed and pulled out some Chapstick.

  She gasped at the sight of his hand. It looked swollen and the knuckles were red. She hadn’t noticed it earlier.

  “What happened to your hand?”

  “Had a disagreement with a dumpster,” he replied. “Wolfe got this for you earlier.”

  “That was nice of him.”

  He snorted. “Nice isn’t a word I’d use to describe to Wolfe. But he’s always been observant.”

  She reached for the Chapstick but he held it back, away from her. She gave him a shocked look. It wasn’t like Aleki to be petty or mean.

  “Just lie back. Let me.”

  Confusion filled her, but she lay there as he painted the Chapstick on her dry lips.

  “I can do it myself.”

  “I know.” He put the lid back on and tucked it into his pocket instead of away in the drawer.

  “So why?”

  “Just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you can’t let someone else help you?”

  “But . . . I . . . I’m so confused.”

  “You’re not the only one.”

  Good to know.

  “I’m sorry about your husband,” he said suddenly.

  “Thank you.” She felt ill thinking about William. He was dead. And all she cared about was her safety. And the safety of these three men. Did that make her awful?

  “When Caleb saw he’d died, he got a bad feeling. Wanted to find you. I made him wait. I didn’t want to find you.”

  Ouch.

  “I thought that we would get here and that you’d be fine. But if we hadn’t waited to come find you then you wouldn’t be in this state . . .”

  “It’s not your fault.”

  “It’s my fault you suffered for longer than you should have. So if I need to take care of you to make up for that, then that’s what I’m going to do.”

  To assuage his guilt.

  “Who shot you, Vivi?” he asked suddenly.

  She pressed her lips together. “I don’t know.”

  He sighed. “Right. You know, I find it curious that you haven’t asked to see your father.”

  She stiffened.

  “Your husband just died. Yet you don’t seem to be mourning him.”

  “Maybe I’m a terrible person.”

  “Maybe,” he agreed.

  She winced.

  “How did you find me?” If Wolfe wouldn’t tell her, maybe Aleki would. But he just stared back at her. Shoot.

  “Why did you leave me?” he asked.

  Crap. He wasn’t giving her a chance to catch her breath, was he?

  “I told you why. It wasn’t going to work long-distance.”

  He waved a finger in her face. Ooh, the finger. She’d always joked that he was serious when that came out.

  “Don’t lie. You can refuse to tell me but don’t ever lie to me. To any of us. Fuck, particularly Wolfe. He can’t take that shit. He’ll likely turn you over his knee and spank you until you can’t sit for a week.”

  Her eyes widened as she stared up at him

  “Fuck. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

  “You didn’t.”

  Aleki was such a sweetheart. He felt everything so strongly. Which is why his indifferent attitude hurt so much.

  “I need to go,” he told her abruptly. He stood and left without another word.

  Sadness filled her. Loneliness. Every time she woke up, one of them was there. She wasn’t sure whether they had a schedule or what. But it was obvious they didn’t want her alone.

  Probably worried you’ll leave.

  She should try to sneak out. It was the right thing to do, but she didn’t know if she had the strength to do it.

  She lay back, feeling exhausted. It was all too much. It wasn’t just her body that was done in. It was her heart. Her mind.

  She was drained. Completely.

  So tired of making decisions. Of trying to second guess everything. Of always being on alert.

  She wished she could just stop thinking and let someone else take over.

  That’s an impossible dream.

  She needed to figure out if she was strong enough to move around on her own. And her pressing bladder was as good a reason as any to get up. The catheter had been removed earlier and the nurse had said to buzz her if she needed to use the toilet.

  But if she couldn’t go to the bathroom on her own then she certainly couldn’t sneak out of here.

  She pushed up so she was sitting, she slid her legs to the side of the bed. Crap. Her ankle was going to be a problem. Could she even walk on it?

  Using her good arm, she heaved herself up so she was standing. And immediately started to crash to the ground as a wave of dizziness ran over her.

  No, no, no.

  “Fuck! Vivi!”

  Suddenly, two arms captured her gently before she fell onto the linoleum floor. The scent of the ocean hit her. Caleb. She groaned in pain as her injured arm slammed up against a firm chest.

  “Sorry, jelly bean. What were you doing?” Caleb lifted her carefully up then put her on the bed. “You could have really hurt yourself. And you’ve still got the IV in. Has it come out?” He bent over her, checking the needle going into her hand. “Looks okay. What about your stitches?”

  He checked her other arm while she lay there, shaking in reaction to nearly falling and to being so close to him. Had he been so firm before? So muscular? He’d always had a swimmer’s build. Long and lean. But he’d definitely bulked out.

  Then there was his scent. He’d always smelled like the beach to her.

  “They look okay. What about your ankle? Is it hurting?”

  She frowned slightly, thinking. “No more than before, I don’t think.”

  With a scowl, he leaned over her, his hands resting on either side of her on the mattress. “Now what the hell did you think you were doing?”

  8

  Caleb watched her eyes widen. She swallowed nervously.

  What was he doing? It wasn’t like him to be so on edge. He was known for his calm under fire. It seemed that Vivi was one of the few things that could really rattle him. And the fact that she was
under some sort of threat, something she wouldn’t divulge and allow him to take care of . . .

  Yeah, that had him on edge.

  “Sorry. Did I scare you? I wouldn’t hurt you, jelly bean. Not for anything.”

  She blew out a breath. “You didn’t scare me. I’m just a bit on edge.”

  Being shot would do that. But he didn’t say that out loud.

  “I haven’t said it yet, but I’m sorry about your husband.”

  “Thank you,” she whispered. “To be honest, we weren’t that close.”

  He wanted to question her further but sensed it wouldn’t get him anywhere.

  “What were you doing getting out of bed on your own?” he demanded.

  “I needed the bathroom.”

  “Are you allowed to get out of bed on your own?”

  Her eyes widened then narrowed. “I’m an adult. I can do what I want.”

  “Not when your decisions are foolish ones, you can’t.”

  She glared at him. “They’re not foolish.”

  “Really? Do you think it’s smart to get out of bed when you’re weak as a babe, have an injured ankle, and haven’t eaten anything in days?”

  “That’s not true. I had some chocolate. And raspberry jello. And some soup.”

  “Chocolate and jello aren’t really food.”

  “Now you sound like Wolfe.”

  He grimaced at that accusation as he gently picked her up, cradling her in his arms. “Grab hold of the IV pole.”

  “What are you doing?”

  “I’m carrying you to the bathroom.”

  “No, you’re not.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “Unless you’d rather I got a bedpan?”

  She grimaced. “No, I’d rather you let me go to the bathroom on my own.”

  “Or I could send Wolfe out for diapers.”

  “Caleb! I’m not wearing diapers.”

  “Then stop being difficult and let me help you.”

  “I am not being difficult,” she muttered.

  “Yes, you are. You need help, Vivi. You can’t do everything on your own.”

  To his shock, tears filled her eyes. “I know that. I can’t seem to do anything. Everything I do is wrong. I’m useless.”

  He gave her a firm look. “That’s the last time I better hear you call yourself useless, little girl.”

  She stared up at him with shocked eyes. “You’re not my father.”