Chapter 5
Camden
It’s taking every ounce of self-control for me not to react to the multiple bruises and scrapes on my girl’s perfect body. The only saving grace is that my anger is keeping me from drooling over her.
I’ve imagined what she might look like naked thousands of times, but she’s even better in person than I could ever conjure up. Fuck me. She’s perfection.
The bruises will heal. The scabs will go away. Nothing is broken. I know she’s not going to want to see herself for a while. Yes, I’m angry as fuck, but damn, she’s sexy. I can overlook the temporary marks that asshole put on her skin.
I take my time washing her hair, mostly because it seems to be calming her. She’s moaning softly. I’m glad no part of her scalp hurts. He probably pulled her hair, but she’s not wincing, so I’m grateful for that one small blessing.
I put conditioner on her hair next and then grab a lavender loofah and pour some body soap on it. She’s shivering. She might be nervous, but also, the water is getting chilly, so I let some of it out and turn it back on.
I start on her back and arms before moving to her front. She takes my breath away. I’m glad she’s not looking at me because I’m gritting my teeth. Her breasts are fantastic. Full and high. They’re also bruised. He grabbed them. There are blue fingerprints all around the globes.
I’m not ordinarily a violent person, but I’m feeling murderous now. Fuck whoever thought he had a right to grab my woman and hurt her. I know I’m going to find bruises on her inner thighs, too, because I heard the officer asking her to spread her legs to take pictures.
Her pussy is shaved bare. I’m furious on her behalf, but I’m also human and a man. I can’t help that looking at her body makes me hard.
She’s mine, dammit. I’ll do everything in my power to ensure nothing like this ever happens to her again. If she thinks Jameson is strict with Natasha, she hasn’t seen anything yet. I’ll never let her out of my sight.
I try to rein in my possessive thoughts, and I’m glad I don’t blurt them out. She might not be as accepting of such deep domination as Natasha is. Simone is a different person with a different personality. She’s sassy and feisty. Natasha is more submissive. She’s not a rule-breaker like my girl is.
I know for a fact that the one and only time Natasha broke curfew to nudge Jameson into Daddying her, it was Simone’s idea. When Jameson told me, I laughed so hard I nearly fell out of my chair.
I’m careful as I wash my girl’s chest and then lower. I do her legs first and then move the loofah between them. I don’t linger, but she squeezes her eyes tighter and purses her lips. I hope it’s because I affect her and not because she’s in pain.
Next, I grab a clean washcloth, hold it under the stream of water, and pour some face soap on it. I cup the back of her head. “I’m going to wash your face, Baby girl. I’ll be as gentle as possible.”
She holds still for me.
It takes me a few minutes to get the mascara off because I’m trying to be careful. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, Sir.” She’s white-knuckling the sides of the tub, but she’s being so brave for me.
I’m more relieved than her when I finish. I rinse off with the cloth several times to make sure I get all the soap. Finally, I pour water over her hair and we’re done.
I turn off the water, unplug the tub, and lift her out. After grabbing a huge, fluffy towel, I wrap it around her. I use a second smaller towel to squeeze as much water as I can out of her hair.
“Are you okay standing while I comb your hair and dry it a bit, Baby girl?”
“Yes, Sir.” She says yes , but she’s swaying. She’s tired.
I comb the tangles out as gently as possible and dry it just enough so she won’t be cold overnight. When I’m done, I remove the towel, rub some Neosporin on a few spots on her back, and pull my T-shirt over her head.
Simone slumps against me, and I scoop her into my arms to carry her to the bed. I pull the comforter back with one arm, settle her on the sheet, and cover her.
The ice pack I set on the nightstand is not as cold as it was before, but she probably doesn’t want it to be freezing anyway. “Let me hold this against your eye for a bit, Baby girl.”
She winces as I rest it against her face.
I stroke her hair back from her forehead. “Thank you for letting me take care of you, Simone.”
“Thank you for doing it, Sir.”
“Is there anyone you want me to call, Baby girl? Parents? Siblings?”
She sniffles. “No.” Her voice is very soft. I can’t tell whether she doesn’t have parents or if she doesn’t want me to call them. I won’t ask for more information now. It’s not important. She can explain better later.
She looks at me through her good eye. “Tell Natasha not to come home. I don’t want her to cut her vacation short.”
“I’ve already spoken to Jameson, Little one.”
“Good. It’s not like there’s anything they could do. I need to sleep. That’s all.”
She needs to do more than sleep, but that’s a good place to start.
I sit with her, caressing her hair. I don’t want to leave her, but I will after a few minutes of this ice pack on her bruises.
Eventually, she pushes at it. “Too cold.”
“Okay. Can you take some pain meds?” I remove the ice and help her sit before handing her the sippy cup and tapping a few pills into her palm.
She slips back under the covers when she’s done, and I tuck them around her. I hate that she’s still trembling. “Are you cold, Baby girl? Do you want another blanket?”
“No. I just can’t stop shaking…”
“How about an electric throw blanket?”
“I don’t know…”
She’s not sure any amount of heat will help her stop shivering. I get it. It’s worth a try, though. “Be right back.”
I return to my room and grab the throw blanket off my loveseat. It’s next to the hearth. I bet sitting close to a fire would help. I’ll set her up near one of the fireplaces tomorrow. It’s summer, but fuck, if it makes her stop shaking…
When I return with the blanket, she’s still violently shaking, and I want to curse the universe for letting this happen to her. It’s hard to keep reminding myself that it could have been worse. She will recover from this. It will just take time.
I plug in the throw, tuck it around her, and turn it on. My chest is tight. She’s staring blankly at nothing. Without moving or looking at me, she asks in a tiny voice, “Do you have any stuffed animals?”
Well, fuck me. I rise and head for the desk, beyond grateful I purchased the pink hippo one day when he caught my eye. I only got him because he matched Simone’s room’s décor, but he’s coming in clutch now.
Lifting the corner of the covers, I bring him into her line of sight. “He’s kind of silly,” I tell her. Is he too babyish?
A crooked smile spreads across her face, and she lifts her gaze to mine. “She’s not a boy, Camden. She’s a girl. I love her.” She snatches her out of my hands and tucks the hippo against her chest.
My heart. “I guess she’ll need a name then.” I sit on the edge of the bed again.
“Pinky,” she declares without hesitation.
It’s not very original, and it makes me chuckle. “Perfect.”
She takes some deep breaths. “I think I’m okay now. You don’t have to sit with me. I’m sure you’d like to go to bed.”
I’m not even going to look at my watch. I’m sure it’s closer to morning than midnight, but I don’t care.
All that matters is that my girl is taken care of.
“I’ll wait until you fall asleep, Little one.
” I gently stroke her hair. I don’t want to keep her awake, but I need to touch her in some capacity.
It takes a long time for her to stop shaking and her breathing to even out in rest. I’m relieved when she finally finds slumber. I want to sit next to her all night, even though I need to sleep. I’ll be no good to her tomorrow if I don’t get some rest.
It hurts to leave her, but I force myself to stand.
When I turn off the lights, a pink princess nightlight comes on automatically.
It’s also probably too babyish, but the truth is I have no idea what age range my Little girl might prefer in the long run.
I doubt she does, either. We’ll have to experiment. Trial and error.
I head to my bedroom, leaving both her door and mine wide open so I can hear her if she needs me. My limbs are heavy and I’m exhausted as I strip out of my clothes and pull on a pair of cotton shorts. Letting out a huge sigh, I slide under the covers and stare at the ceiling.
It seems like a million things happened in the last few hours. None of them were expected. I’m filled with mixed emotions. I hate that Simone was attacked. I’ll never forgive myself for dragging my feet with her and inadvertently causing this to happen.
It doesn’t matter that my thoughts are irrational. They’re valid. I could have asked her out a week or two ago. I could have taken her to Surrender myself so she wouldn’t have gone alone. There are so many what-ifs.
I know none of this is directly my fault. I didn’t attack her. But fuck. I could have prevented it if I hadn’t been stalling.
I probably should have ordered her some clothes before I went to bed.
There’s no way I’m going to leave her to get things from her apartment tomorrow.
She’ll just have to wear my T-shirts until I can make other arrangements.
She’s not going to want to get out of bed much anyway.
She’s going to be sore when she wakes up and for the next several days.
I’m still staring at the ceiling when a shadow blocks the faint light from the hallway. I turn my head to find Simone shuffling toward me, clutching the hippo in one hand, and I rise onto my elbow. “Trouble sleeping, Little one?”
“Please can I sleep with you?” she asks in a soft voice.
It’s probably a horrible idea, but I scoot over a few feet and pull the covers back.
“Climb up.” I can’t deny her. I’ll never be able to.
It would be best if she didn’t find out how tightly she has me wrapped around her pinky for as long as possible, but most likely, if she asked me to take her parachuting tomorrow, I would warm up the car and buckle her in.
Jumping out of a plane is not on my bucket list. Hopefully, it’s not on hers either.
When she climbs into the bed, I wrap my arms around her and carefully spoon her against me. It takes a minute to smooth her hair away from my face, but when I lie my head down, I feel a hundred times calmer. Based on her heart rate, I’d say she does, too.
She’s holding the hippo against her chest as she inhales deeply and then lets it out. “Thank you.”
“Just so you know, you’re never sleeping anywhere else again after this, Simone.” I try to sound light, but I’m anything but casual about this. She’s in my bed. It will smell like her in the morning. I’ll never let her sleep in another room or location after this.
My mind wanders to the future. Sometimes I have to travel for a few days for a conference. She’ll have to come with me. I’m fucking serious about this. My arms are around my girl. This is where she belongs. I’ll never be able to sleep without her.
She doesn’t respond to my pronouncement, but she snuggles in deeper.
I inhale her hair and kiss her neck. Her skin is so smooth, and she smells heavenly. Lying here in the dark, I can almost pretend she’s not covered in another man’s bruises.
I’m aware of her tiny legs against mine and the swell of her breasts above my forearms. I listen to her breathing and memorize the way her chest rises and falls. I wonder if the little whimpers she makes are from pain or if she always sounds like that in her sleep.
Though my T-shirt is long on her, it rose up when she settled on the bed, and her naked bottom is nestled against my thigh. I don’t dare move a muscle. This is my new reality. The only thing I will change about this sleeping arrangement in the future is the T-shirt. I’d rather hold her naked.
It takes my mind forever to slow down before I finally fall asleep.