Aleki saw her give him a tremulous smile back. Relief flooded him that she was responding. The door opened and Wolfe raced in. His hair was mussed and his glasses were falling down his nose. He shoved them up and studied Vivi with his obsidian eyes. “What’s wrong with her? Does she need a hospital? I knew we should have gone straight there.”
“She’s fine,” Obian told him. “Just in a bit of shock. Let me know if there are any problems. I’ll see myself out.”
Obian left and Wolfe shot his gaze to Aleki. “What the fuck happened?”
Vivi buried her face in his chest.
“Watch your tone, man,” Aleki told him. “You’re scaring her.”
Caleb walked over and hugged her gently. “Poor baby. Been in the wars, haven’t you?”
“Marilyn shouldn’t have gotten anywhere near her!” Wolfe snarled. “Why weren’t you watching her?”
Vivi let out a small whimpering noise. Aleki ran his hand up and down her back soothingly, shooting Wolfe a look. Didn’t he think he already felt terrible? That he wasn’t questioning every move he’d made?
“Wolfe, go run her a bath.” Caleb pointed at the bathroom door.
Wolfe glared at them both.
“Now,” Caleb commanded. “And take a minute to calm down because you are not helping anyone, least of all Vivi.”
Wolfe scowled at them all before stomping off to the bathroom. They heard the sound of water running.
“I’m sorry,” Vivi whispered suddenly, moving her head so she was facing Caleb. “I don’t want to upset all of you. I just need a minute.”
Caleb crouched in front of her. “You take all the minutes you need. Okay? Can I get you anything? Maybe some orange juice. You could probably use a bit of sugar.”
Aleki could feel her trembling and agreed.
“I’ll be back in a minute,” Caleb said.
Wolfe returned, staring down at them both, his face unreadable.
Vivi reached her hand out to him. Aleki waited. If he rejected her, then Aleki was going to kick his ass. Instead, Wolfe moved forward and sat on the bed, facing them. Then he slid his hand into hers. She let out a breath, relaxing slightly.
“A whole hand this time?” she asked quietly.
Wolfe just nodded. Aleki raised his eyebrows, surprised that small touch was enough to help her relieve some of the tension riding her.
He guessed they all had their ways of helping her.
Caleb walked back in with some orange juice. In the same sippy cup she’d used the other day.
“Figured this might be easier than a glass.” Caleb knelt on the floor next to them and held the sippy cup up to her lips. “Take a few sips for Daddy. That’s a good girl.”
She drank some down before handing it back.
“Do you want Daddy, Wolfie, and Papa to give you a bath?” Caleb asked quietly.
Was this the best idea? Shouldn’t they be talking about what happened?
“Yes, please, Daddy,” she said.
“All right, let’s get you stripped off. Wolfe, can you test the bath? Jelly bean? Can you let go of Aleki so I can help you?”
She nodded again and Aleki laid her back on the bed. He expected her to protest as Caleb started stripping her, but she simply lay there, looking exhausted. His poor girl.
“Bath’s ready,” Wolfe said from the doorway. “We’re all going in?”
“Yeah,” Caleb replied. “She needs all of us right now.”
She was so fucking fragile it scared the shit out of him.
“You guys hop in. I’ll be back in a moment. Gotta take a p—” he glanced down at her and adjusted his language, “use the bathroom.”
“Fine,” Caleb said. “But come straight back. We’re doing this together. As a family.”
Aleki nodded. He was totally behind that. They were a family.
“Be back in a moment.”
“No!” She grasped hold of his arm. “Don’t go anywhere.”
“Two minutes. I promise.” He cupped her face gently between his hands. “I love you, baby girl.”
“I love you too.”
He kissed her. Fuck. It was never enough. A minute. An hour. A day. A week. A lifetime.
It wouldn’t ever be enough.
* * *
Caleb carried her into the bathroom.
The numbness surrounding her started to fade. However, she wasn’t entirely convinced that was a good thing. That numbness was keeping her sane.
“Oh baby, you’re shaking. Please stop,” Caleb practically begged.
“Give her to me,” Wolfe stated. She looked over to find him already sitting in the enormous bathtub. He’d removed his glasses and it made him seem younger. Less intimidating. Although that could be due to the fact that he was covered in bubbles.
“Jesus, man, did you empty a whole bottle in here?” Caleb asked as he handed her down to Wolfe.
Wolfe shrugged. “It’s a big bath.”
He held her on his lap. She was facing outwards, her back against his chest. She stared at Caleb, watching him undress. Why did she feel so detached?
Then Caleb stripped off his boxers and climbed in naked. A flush of heat ran through her body. Okay, so maybe she wasn’t totally detached.
Caleb sat across from them. “Come here.”
She realized this was the first time she’d sat on Wolfe’s lap. Was she making him uncomfortable? Maybe she should move. She started to shift but Wolfe tightened his hold on her hips.
“She’s fine where she is.”
Caleb gave Wolfe a surprised look. She wondered if he was going to object. Would they fight? She couldn’t take that right now. But to her shock, Caleb just grinned.
Aleki strode in. He paused as he saw them all. He looked from her on Wolfe’s lap over to Caleb. “So. That’s new.”
Caleb nodded. “Isn’t it?”
“What?” she asked tiredly.
“Don’t worry about them,” Wolfe told her.
“Okay, Wolfie,” she replied, leaning back against him tiredly. She was exhausted. Completely drained. Today seemed to have overloaded her system. It was like she’d reached that point of breaking and dived over the edge.
But she wasn’t going to let that bitch, Marilyn, shatter her. She was temporarily down. But she wasn’t out. She’d come back tomorrow. But for tonight, she just needed to be a bit broken.
Aleki quickly stripped off and climbed in. She got a flash of that gorgeous ass before he was in the water. “What scent is that?” he asked.
“Jasmine,” Wolfe replied.
“Huh. Better than that floral stuff, I guess,” Aleki said. “I think I’d prefer the cotton candy stuff, though.”
“There’s a cotton candy bath stuff?” She perked up at that.
“Yeah, we’ve got a ton of bath shit in here. Let me have a look.” Aleki climbed out of the bath.
Wolfe sighed. “Can you try not to wave your willy in our faces?”
She giggled. Willy.
Aleki had been glaring at Wolfe, but at her giggle, his face softened. “Vivi likes my willy, don’t ya, baby girl?”
Hopefully, they thought the reason she was so flushed was due to the hot bath.
Wolfe snorted as Aleki walked over to the cabinet.
“Make sure you clean up all the water on the floor,” Caleb demanded. “We don’t want her slipping.”
“Like she’s going to be walking anywhere anytime soon,” Aleki countered.
Caleb’s gaze met hers. His was still filled with a deep concern. But a smile touched his lips. “True. But we don’t want to slip while holding her.”
Aleki grumbled but grabbed a basket of bath goodies. He placed it by the bath then snatched up a towel to mop up before he hopped back in, sending water splashing. Wolfe grumbled about the giant whale in the bathtub, making her giggle again.
“What’s in there, Papa?” she asked.
His face lightened, and he smiled at her. Caleb grasped hold of the basket while Aleki went through it
. “Strawberry liquid soap. Peach bubble bath. Ahh, here it is. A cotton candy bath bomb.”
She reached for it. Ooh, it was so pretty. It was in the shape of a donut. Pink on the bottom and blue on the top with white icing and sprinkles.
“Wolfie, can you unwrap it for me?” She bounced around on his lap.
He held on tighter to her. “Yes, but only if you stop moving so much.”
“Sorry,” she whispered. “Did I hurt you?”
“Not in the way you mean.” Aleki grinned.
Huh? Oh. Wait. It suddenly occurred to her what he meant and she froze. “Oh. Sorry.”
“We’re supposed to be relaxing,” Caleb warned them both.
Wolfe drew off the wrapping, throwing it onto the ground. Which was unusual for him. Generally, he liked everything put away. But she guessed he didn’t want to get out of the bath. He handed the bath bomb to her.
“I won’t see it fizzing.” She bit her lip.
Aleki and Caleb pushed some bubbles away from the center and she placed the bomb down. It immediately started fizzing and the scent of sugar filled the air.
“Yay!” she cried, moving off Wolfe onto her knees. She reached out and ran her fingers through the pink water. “It’s pink and sugary. I love it! Is there more?”
“Only one at a time,” Caleb told her.
She pouted.
“Meanie,” Aleki whispered.
She grinned at him. Oh, he was bad. She glanced over to see if Caleb was upset but he just rolled his eyes.
“Look.” Aleki pulled out a packet. “Bath slime. It’s glittery.”
“Aw, hell,” Wolfe sighed.
“Let her use it,” Aleki warned. “She wants to.”
She glanced back at Wolfe with a pout.
“Fine,” he relented.
They poured out the powder. For a moment she didn’t think it would do anything. Then the water started to turn into glittery, pink slime.
“This is so much fun!” she squealed, using her good hand to run her fingers through the slime. She scooped some up. She eyed Aleki and threw it right at him.
Plop! It landed on his chest.
He froze. “Little girl. Did you just throw slime at me?”
Oops. Had she made a mistake? But then she saw the way his eyes shone.
“Uh-huh. What you going to do about it?” she challenged him.
“Oh, baby girl. You should know better than to dare me. Slime fight!”
37
“I’ve got glitter in places that glitter should never go,” Wolfe grumbled.
“Shh.” Aleki held his finger to his lips as he lay next to Vivi on the bed, watching her sleep. After the slime fight, which had made a huge mess in the bathroom, they’d gotten her cleaned off in the shower and tucked her into bed.
She’d tiredly told them everything that had happened in the marketplace. Aleki was still furious about taking his eyes off her. Why did she keep getting hurt? It was killing him.
“Family meeting. Living room,” Caleb stated.
Aleki frowned. “She might have a nightmare. I don’t want to leave her.”
“Short meeting.”
Aleki nodded and followed them out, leaving the door open so he could hear her if she got upset. When he reached the living room, Caleb was standing. Wolfe sat on the armchair, while Aleki sprawled out on the couch.
“We need to update a few things in her file,” Wolfe said. “The rules need to state that she cannot leave our side when we are out of the house.”
Caleb nodded. “Seems we need another chat around safety. She put herself at risk today. I know she was trying to help a child. But she can’t just act impulsively like that.”
“I’ll deal with it,” Aleki told them.
They both stared at him. “You sure?” Caleb asked.
“I’ve got this.”
Caleb nodded. “It was on your watch.”
Aleki winced. “I should never have taken my eyes off her. I just thought she’d stick close by.”
“Perhaps we need some sort of safety harness,” Wolfe suggested. “Don’t parents use that with children who run off?”
Oh. He could just imagine Vivi’s reaction if Wolfe tried to put a leash . . . on her.
“Perhaps we’ll hold off on that,” Caleb said calmly. “Although it wouldn’t hurt to mention it so she gets an idea of what’s in her future if she does any more running off from us.”
“She was trying to save a child,” Aleki pointed out.
“I know,” Caleb said. “But she still could have yelled for you. Or for help from someone else. If that little boy hadn’t come and found you . . .”
Aleki had panicked when he found her gone. He’d been searching for her and had been about to call Wolfe to track her when the young boy and his sister had found him and explained what happened, showing him to the alleyway where Marilyn was holding his girl at knifepoint.
“Did anyone find those kids?” he asked.
Wolfe shook his head. “Beta team has been asking around, but so far nothing.”
“And Marilyn?” Caleb asked.
“Locked up nice and tight,” Wolfe said. “If she wasn’t a woman . . .”
“I know,” Caleb said. “But we’ll let a judge decide her fate.”
“I don’t like what she was saying about getting revenge,” Aleki said with a frown.
“They could have been idle threats,” Caleb suggested.
“Yeah, but she said she’d seen to it, as though she’d done something.”
“We’ll have to be extra vigilant,” Caleb told them both. “Let’s get back to our girl. If we leave her too long, she might have a nightmare. Who’s sleeping with her tonight?”
Both he and Wolfe called it at the same time then glared at each other.
Caleb sighed. “Let’s all sleep with her tonight. There’s enough room, and I don’t think any of us can be away from her.”
* * *
She awoke to the scent of sandalwood and sugar, the ocean, bergamot and mint. An interesting mix. Her men.
She attempted to open her eyes. She felt kind of sluggish and slow.
“You awake, jelly bean?”
A smile crossed her lips at his words. “Yum, Caleb.”
His chuckle filled her with more warmth. “I’m yum, am I?”
“Yep. You know it.” She moved closer, pressing her face into his chest. He wrapped an arm around her and she rested her head on his chest.
She raised her head. Her hair was across her face and she shoved it back with her hand.
“Hi,” she said huskily. “You slept with me last night?”
“Actually, we all slept with you. But the others got up about an hour ago.” He ran a finger over her face. “You scared me yesterday.”
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“I know. Sorry to wake you up, but I need you to do something.”
“What’s that?”
“Speak to Aleki. He’s been baking since five this morning.”
She chewed her lip. Shit. She hoped he wasn’t blaming himself for what happened yesterday. “I should have stayed closer to him. I should have yelled out when that little boy was trying to get me to leave with him.”
“Yes,” he said sternly. “You should have. But I’m going to let Aleki deal with that since this happened on his watch. Right now, you need to go to him. Wolfe is at the palace, dealing with Marilyn and I’ll be in my office.” He left the bed after giving her a mind-altering kiss.
After using the bathroom and quickly brushing her teeth, she pulled on some panties, shorts and a T-shirt then wandered out to the kitchen.
Before she even reached it, she heard the sound of something being banged around. She winced. Not a good sign.
She walked into the kitchen right as he slammed a bowl down on the counter. It cracked and he swore.
“Guessing you didn’t like that bowl?” she asked, moving towards him.
He turned to glare at her.
�
�You want another one to break? Maybe that will make you feel better?”
“No,” he growled. “It won’t make me feel better.”
She reached into a cupboard and pulled out a plate then threw it on the ground. “Ooh, that actually is kind of fun. I want to try that again.” She grabbed another plate. “Fuck you, Dad! You asshole!”
She’d never realized how therapeutic this could be. Another plate went smash. “Fuck you, mystery man!”
Another plate. “Fuck you, William!”
All right. She was on a roll. She glanced up at Aleki to find him gaping down at her.
“What?”
“I . . . you . . . fuck. That was hot.”
“Umm. Okay.” That wasn’t the response she was expecting.
“What’s going on in here?” They both looked over as Caleb ran in, looking frantic. “I went outside for a minute. Just a minute. And when I came back in, I heard smashing. Why the fuck are you throwing plates with her standing right there? She could step on a shard and hurt herself!”
Aleki dropped his gaze to her bare feet. “Fuck!” He stepped towards her, grabbing her around the waist and lifting her onto the counter. He was smart enough to be wearing shoes.
“Does someone want to answer me?” Caleb snapped.
“We’re fine,” Aleki replied without taking his gaze off her. “We’re working through some issues.”
“By breaking all our plates?”
“Yes,” Aleki bit out.
“Vivi?” Caleb asked.
She glanced over at him. “We’re fine, Caleb.”
Caleb still looked unsure.
“I promise,” she told him. “Please, I’ll clean it up. Just give us a minute.”
Caleb frowned but nodded. “I hear anything else breaking and I’m coming back in here. And both of you are in trouble.” He stormed away.
“We just got told off. Do you think if he has to come back, he’s going to spank us?” Her attempt to lighten the mood didn’t work as Aleki continued to stare at her.
“Do you feel better? After doing that?” he asked.
She gulped, looked around at the mess. “I’ll clean it up.”
He grabbed her chin, raising her face up. “I don’t give a fuck about the mess. Do you feel better?”
Ruled by her Daddies Page 35
