Chapter 11
11
C ate walked into the kitchen after her shower to find Ethan standing in front of the stove, stirring something.
Something that smelled really good.
But she attempted to ignore the smell as she walked over to the freezer to get a meal out.
Hmm. Bacon carbonara or shepherd’s pie?
“Put the microwave meal back and step away from the freezer, young lady.”
She turned to give Ethan a confused look as he opened the oven and slid a dish inside.
“What?” she asked.
“I told you that I was cooking dinner. I’ve just put the lasagna in the oven. You can go set the table and find some wine.”
“I, um, I . . .” Had she ever had dinner with a man who wasn’t her brother? On her own?
That would be no.
Dinner would involve talking, right? She didn’t know how to talk to people. He’d think she was a weirdo. More than he likely already did.
“Cate? Can you do that?” he asked.
She . . . she wasn’t sure she could. She wanted to. So much that it felt overwhelming.
Everything felt too much.
You’re being so stupid.
Idiot. Deformed.
It’s just dinner!
But she couldn’t. Her body was shaking, and she knew she was headed toward a system overload if she stayed here.
“No. I have to . . . I have to go.” Turning, she spun and ran off to her bedroom. After closing the door, she leaned against it for a moment.
She wished it had a lock, but that was something that Rhodes wouldn’t bend on. She wasn’t to put a locked door between them.
Not that she thought Ethan would force his way into her bedroom. But it would make her feel better to know the door was locked.
She tugged her armchair in front of the door. Sure, it seemed silly, but she couldn’t stop herself.
Then she rushed into her closet.
Cate grabbed her favorite pajamas that Rhodes had bought for her years ago. They had images of ladybugs all over them.
Curling up in her beanbag chair, Cate drew the weighted blanket over her and grabbed her headphone headband. It was red with black dots and had wireless built-in headphones. Turning on her favorite music, she reached for her eReader, which she’d put back in here earlier, and attempted to lose herself in a good book.
Ethan walked through the hallway and sighed as he saw the tray of food he’d left her still sitting in front of her closed bedroom door.
Fuck.
You came on too strong.
And now she hadn’t eaten any dinner. Was she hungry? Upset? He’d tried knocking, but there hadn’t been an answer.
Could he go into her bedroom on the pretext of making sure that she hadn’t left?
There was just one problem with that. He would have been sent an alert if she’d tried to leave.
So that wouldn’t work as an excuse.
You’re being overbearing. She’s allowed to retreat alone into her room.
But he hated that she hadn’t eaten. If he’d left things alone, she’d at least have something in her belly. Even if it was just a shitty microwave meal.
After taking the tray back to the kitchen, Ethan headed to his bedroom. He didn’t think he’d get much sleep, but he had to try. He’d done a last perimeter check, and everything appeared normal.
After getting ready, he climbed into bed with a sigh.
He to fuss over her. To scold her for skipping a meal. Heck, he wanted to feed her himself to make certain that she ate.
But he didn’t have that right.
Just go to sleep. Tomorrow, you can apologize and try to be her friend.
Even if your feelings toward her aren’t entirely friendly . . .
Screaming woke him.
Immediately, Ethan rolled out of bed and grabbed his gun and phone. He quickly checked for any breaches in security.
Nothing.
He ran toward the screaming. It could only be from one person.
Cate!
He paused in front of her bedroom door as the noise quietened. Then he heard her scream again.
Ethan tried her door handle. Unlocked. But when he tried to push open the door, it didn’t immediately move. Had someone gotten in through her windows? But why wasn’t the system showing anything?
Another scream and he shoved the door. It felt like there was something heavy against it.
Finally, he got the door open and ran in, his gun raised, ready to face an intruder. But he couldn’t see anyone except for a figure in the bed, who was thrashing around.
The rest of the room was empty. Breathing heavily, he assessed the situation quickly.
Why had Cate been screaming? Was she having a nightmare?
He quickly checked the bathroom and closet, then moved to the bed as she let out another loud yell.
Ethan hated that she sounded so terrified. Was she dreaming about the night that asshole had tried to break into the house?
She hadn’t had a nightmare any other night. But maybe because Rhodes had been here those nights?
There were a couple of nightlights plugged into sockets around the room which added a soft glow. Sitting on the bed, he reached for Cate and gently shook her shoulder.
“Cate? Cate, baby, can you hear me?”
Nothing. Shit.
She whimpered and smacked her hands down on the mattress.
“Cate. I need you to wake up for me. Wake up now.” This time he made his voice stern, hoping it would get through to her. “Wake. Up.”
With a gasp, she sat up. He waited for her to panic at seeing him in her bedroom. To his shock, she didn’t scream or try to get away from him. She just stared around the room as though she was confused, lost.
Fuck.
She was breaking his heart. What had she been dreaming about to induce such screams of terror? And where was her mind now?
“I need Lady.”
There was a strange note in her voice. It seemed softer, warmer, and without the stiff formality it usually had. Although he’d gotten her to lose some of that stiffness this afternoon.
Before you drove her away.
“Who is Lady?” he asked.
She gave him a look. “Lady is Lady. Where is she? Where did she go? Is she lost?”
Was she sleep talking? Perhaps. Or stuck between being awake and asleep?
He really wasn’t sure, and as he brought up his phone to text Rhodes, she climbed from the bed and started searching the room.
“Lady? Lady? Where is you?”
Was Lady an old pet? Shit. He needed some help here, but he also didn’t want her to hurt herself.
She moved to her closet, then turned to look at him. “You stay here.”
This didn’t seem like sleepwalking to him. She seemed too alert and yet not.
Fuck.
What was she doing in the closet?
Fuck. Shit.
He’d just brought up Rhodes’ number when she walked back out, holding a huge ladybug. This toy was Lady? But she’d been talking like she expected Lady to answer. She climbed into bed and sat, cross-legged, staring at him.
“I is hungry.”
Ethan stared at her for a long moment. When he didn’t reply, she slid to the edge of the bed again.
“Wait. Where are you going?” he asked.
“Make food.”
Yeah, no way. He didn’t want her trying to cook in this condition.
“How about I make you something to eat? It’s no wonder you’re hungry, you missed dinner.” Shit. He hadn’t meant to scold her.
“Sorry,” she said in a cheerful voice that sounded anything but sorry. “Where’s Rhodes?”
What to say? Did he tell her the truth?
“Rhodes isn’t here. Do you know who I am?”
“Where is he?” There was a note of stress in her voice now.
“He’s at Samantha’s place.”
“Ick. Her. Don’t like.”
“Yeah, I share that sentiment, sweetheart.”
She tilted her head to the side. “You called me sweetheart.”
“Um, yes, is that all right?”
Cate shrugged. “I guess so. Is you looking after me tonight? While Rhoddy is away?”
“Yes, I am.”
He was starting to have a feeling about what was going on. She may not be sleepwalking exactly.
“Did you have a bad dream?” he asked.
Suddenly, she drew in on herself, hugging Lady tight as she stared around the room fearfully.
Fuck. Okay. Don’t mention the dream or screaming.
“What would you like to eat?” he asked, wanting to change the subject.
She blinked as her gaze moved to him. “Eat?”
“Yes, baby. What would you like to eat?”
“I is not a baby. Big girl.”
“I apologize. Baby was a term of endearment.”
“Endearment. Okay. I likes it. But I is a big girl.” She pointed a finger at him threateningly.
“How big are you?”
She glanced down at her fingers, then held up three.
“Three? Wow, you are a very big girl.”
She wriggled as though happy at his words.
God help him. All of this worried him . . . the fact that she’d regressed like this after a nightmare. And that she seemed content to let him look after her even though she’d never allow it under normal circumstances. What if he hadn’t been here? What if Seth had been the one staying here with her?
Seth was a good guy. He would look after her . . . but that didn’t mean that a shaft of jealousy didn’t go through Ethan at the thought. Plus, he wasn’t even sure if Seth was a Daddy Dom.
Obviously Rhodes knew this happened, since it didn’t seem like this was a one-off thing. Why hadn’t he said anything to Ethan, though?
Shit. Cate is waiting for you to say something.
“But even though you are a big girl, you aren’t old enough to make your own food.”
She sighed. “Okay.”
“Would you like to come to the kitchen while I make you some food?”
He really didn’t know how far to take this. It didn’t feel right to Daddy her when she wasn’t able to give consent. He wasn’t entirely sure what was going on. And would she remember this tomorrow?
But what else could he do? Let her get food herself while she was like this?
You could call Rhodes.
What could Rhodes do, though? He could come back here. But that would take a while and Ethan would still have to feed her. Take care of her.
So perhaps it was better to not contact Rhodes.
Except he was being selfish, wasn’t he?
Because all he wanted was to take care of her.
“I wants ice cream!” She flung her hands up in the air.
God. She was so different from adult Cate. That Cate was guarded and careful. This Cate was completely open.
And vulnerable.
No. He had to do what was right for her. And that was contacting her brother to let him know what was happening.
“Ice cream! Ice cream!” she chanted.
Yeah, he didn’t think ice cream at two in the morning was a good idea.
“Ice cream in the middle of the night? Not happening, Little Catie-pie.”
She stared at him, her mouth open.
Uh-oh. Had he broken her with his refusal to get her ice cream?
“My name isn’t Catie-pie.”
“It should be. Like cutie-pie but Catie.”
“Oooh, but you don’t want to eat me, right?” She eyed him suspiciously.
Well, he wouldn’t say that, exactly.
But he couldn’t go there right now.
“Not in the way you think,” he said to her.
Fuck. Maybe it would be better if she didn’t remember this tomorrow? He didn’t want to get fired.
“No ice cream? That seems mean.” Her bottom lip dropped out and he nearly moaned at the sight.
This was wrong. It was so wrong to look at her delectable mouth and imagine what he could do with it.
Especially when she had regressed like this. He had to get himself together and take care of her.
First things first. Get dressed. Text her brother. Feed her.
“Does Rhodes let you have ice cream in the middle of the night?” he queried.
Hopefully, it wasn’t a mistake to talk about her brother. He didn’t want her to get upset that Rhodes wasn’t here.
“Rhoddy is a good brother. He lets me do whatever I like.”
Ethan wondered how often this happened. And whether she always woke Rhodes up. Mind you, if she always screamed like that, then there was no way he’d be able to sleep through it.
“Does he? Well, I’m not as easygoing as your brother. I don’t want you to end up with cavities or a sore tummy.”
“I don’t gets sore tummies.”
“Don’t you?” he asked.
She patted her tummy. “Cast-iron. I can eats as much ice cream as I like.”
“What about cavities? If you get a hole in your tooth you’d have to go to the dentist.”
As he spoke, he quickly sent a text off to Rhodes. Not that he’d likely be awake. He sent a message to Seth as well. Although he didn’t tell Seth anything that was going on.
He had to protect Cate’s privacy.
And you want to keep this to yourself.
That too.
“I’m not scared of no dentist. He won’t get me.” Despite the bravado, she hugged Lady tight and stared around. As though she was expecting a dentist to jump out and grab her.
“Well, there’s also the fact that you didn’t eat any dinner. Little girls who don’t eat dinner can’t have dessert.”
Fuck.
He was enjoying this far too much.
And part of him still thought it was wrong. She hadn’t agreed to let him Daddy her.
Suddenly, his phone started ringing.
Rhodes.
Thank fuck.
Standing, he looked down at Cate. “I need you to stay here, Catie-pie, while I go get dressed. Can you promise to stay?”
“I don’t like being on my own.”
“All right. I’ll just be in the hallway, watching you. You can see me. Okay?”
“Okay,” she replied as his phone stopped ringing, before it started again.
“That’s my good girl,” he told her before turning away and heading out of the room.