Chapter 6
Chapter Six
Cora
I’m groggy and warm as I become aware of my surroundings. It takes only a moment to remember where I am because Orion is holding me and smiling.
My heart lurches as I recall everything that’s happened today, right up to the point where I took a bottle in this man’s arms. Apparently, I also fell asleep here, and he’s still holding me.
Something is in my mouth, but when I lift my hand to touch it, Daddy stops me by gently circling my wrist. Instead of allowing me to remove the strange object myself, he does it for me.
Tingles race over my skin at his odd gesture and the realization that I was sucking on a pacifier. My face heats.
“Do you feel better, Little doll? You needed that nap.”
I nod, glancing around. Do I feel better? I’m not sure. I’m worried. There’s no way Vincent will let me go easily. He’s probably ranting so hard right now that he’s punched a hole in the wall. The thought makes me cringe.
I grew up in that house. I hate to see it destroyed. Until my mother met and married Vincent, it had been just the two of us. My childhood was a happy one. I was a normal kid who went to school in town and had friends. I went to birthday parties and had sleepovers.
My mother worked as the school secretary. She took me with her in the mornings, and we left together after school. It was a happy time.
Then she met Vincent. At first, he was nice enough, though I never was fond of the way he upset my idyllic life. For a few years, we coexisted without much friction. My mother married him, he moved in, and life changed.
It didn’t have to be bad, but there were undercurrents of animosity from him even from the start. He would shoot me a glare when my mother wasn’t looking, snarl at me under his breath often enough that I grew uncomfortable.
And then my mother got sick. She had cancer. It slowly killed her, forcing me to grow up too young. She was so grateful that I wouldn’t be left alone in the world, that Vincent would take care of me after she died.
Little did she know that her husband was a monster who got worse with every passing day. As soon as she was in the ground, he used his threats to destroy my life. Until today, I never dreamed I would ever be free of him.
Am I lucky? I’m not sure yet. Depends on whatever else Daddy launches at me in the coming hours and days. I suspect it will be a lot.
Still cradling me in his arms, Daddy rises from the chair and carries me to the bedroom and through to the master bath. “Let’s get you bathed, Little doll. I want to wash the smell of smoke off you.”
He crouches down and eases me upright onto my feet.
I hold on to his shoulders as I get my balance.
“Any dizziness, Little doll?”
“No, Daddy.” I feel pretty good. Groggy still but the room isn’t spinning. When I flex my wrist back and forth, I find that it barely hurts. It’s still sore but nothing like earlier. Whatever he injected in me when he bit me is working miracles.
He bit me!
I stiffen. “Am I going to be a lion shifter now?”
“No, Little doll. It doesn’t work that way. My bite only binds you to me as my mate. You will always be human. In addition, there are no females among my people. It’s why we mate with human females. Any male offspring we have will be lion cubs. The females will be human and unable to shift.”
“Offspring?” My voice quivers. I hadn’t thought of that possibility yet.
He keeps one hand around my waist as if afraid I might fall if he doesn’t and uses the other to reach over and turn on the faucet in the tub. When he returns his attention to me, he’s smiling. “Babies, Little doll.”
I roll my eyes. “I’m not stupid, Daddy. I know what offspring means.
But I’m not ready to have any babies. I’m too young.
” Hell, until today I never saw children in my future.
I would never want a child to endure what I’ve been through.
It’s scary enough that I vowed to never open my legs for a man.
How did I forget that fact?
I squeeze my thighs together because the idea of parting them for this particular man makes my sex feel warm and swollen. I’m getting wet down there again.
Daddy gives me a crooked smile. “And yet the thought of practicing what it takes to make a baby gets my girl all hot and bothered.”
I gasp. How does he know that?
“I can scent your arousal, Little doll.”
My breath hitches. “What do you mean?”
He drops to his knees and grabs my hips.
“I’m a lion shifter, Cora. My sense of smell is strong.
I knew you were mine before I even approached you.
Your pheromones called to me. I will always know when you’re aroused or sad or happy or any other emotion.
I will also know if you’re ovulating and which days you can get pregnant. ”
I stare at him, holding my breath, not blinking.
He grins and kisses my unmoving lips. “You’ll never be able to hide anything from me, Little doll. Now let’s get you in the tub. I want the smoke out of your hair and the scent of your stepfather’s house off of your skin.”
“It’s not his house,” I retort.
He flinches. “What?”
“I mean it was my mother’s house. He moved in when he married her. I guess it’s his now, but I grew up there. I hate him. He ruined my haven. My safe place. He made it uglier every day while he stole another piece of my soul.”
I’m stunned by my outburst. It’s not like me. I haven’t raised my voice or expressed anger for so long that it feels odd and leaves me shaking. If I’d shouted like that at Vincent, he would have backhanded me and probably slammed me into the wall and given me a concussion.
Orion looks horrified. “Is it possible he doesn’t even own the house, Cora?”
“I have no idea. I was sixteen when my mother died. He told me I was an orphan and that I had to do what he said, or he would put me out on the streets. I was scared and lonely. I didn’t feel like I had options. I never thought about whether or not he really owned the house.”
Daddy stares at me, brow furrowed. “I’m going to dig into this situation and find out, Little doll. And, for the record, you have every right to be angry. If you want to scream, go right ahead. I won’t stop you. But let me make a suggestion for your consideration.”
I swallow. A suggestion? For my consideration? When has anyone given me choices? Not Vincent. That’s for sure. “Okay.”
“You’re shaking with well-founded anger. Why don’t you let me spank you after your bath. Give it a try. It might chase away the icky feelings and help you relax.”
My mouth falls open. I want to tell him he’s crazy, but he’s not laughing. His expression is tight. He’s dead serious. “That makes no sense,” I finally say.
“It will, Little doll. You’ll see. If you’re ready. Think about it.”
Again with the choices. He’s not ordering me over his knees. He’s not mad. He’s offering me a very strange way to relieve my stress. It seems ridiculous, but maybe I should give him the benefit of the doubt. He knows better than me.
“Arms up, Little doll.”
I’m so deep in my head that I automatically obey him without thinking, and seconds later, I’m naked. I should have expected this to happen. He specifically said he was going to give me a bath, not that he was going to leave me in the bathroom to bathe myself.
I awkwardly cross my arms over my chest, shivering more from nerves than cold.
Daddy says nothing as he lifts me by the hips and sets me in the tub. “On your bottom, Little doll,” he orders.
I quickly bend my legs and let him lower me to the floor of the tub, keeping my arms crossed.
The water is still running. It feels so nice. Warm.
Daddy’s brow is furrowed as he takes my right hand and guides it away from my chest. He examines my arm carefully, flipping it over a few times. When he prods my wrist, he asks, “Is the pain better, sweetness?”
There’s that endearment again. I like Little doll a lot. It makes me all warm and fuzzy. Sweetness gives me tingles. “Yes, Daddy. It only hurts a little.”
“Good. I want you to baby it for a few days until we’re sure, but if it’s not hurting badly, and since I don’t see any swelling, I don’t believe it’s broken. Just sprained.”
“Will you have to bite me every time I get an injury?”
He looks me in the eyes. “No, Little doll. Just the once. My essence runs through your veins now. You’ll always heal faster than the average human.”
That’s a relief.
“Let Daddy see your other arm,” he orders gently, holding his hand out.
I’m using it to cover both my nipples. My forearm is over one, and my hand over the other. I’m going to feel even more exposed if I release my breasts. I tip my head back. “Daddy…”
He strokes my cheek with one finger. “Soon I will know every inch of your body, Little doll. Inside and out. You won’t have any secrets from me. You’re my mate. I will see you naked every day.” He bends forward and kisses me.
I whimper as I lean in to accept his lips, wanting more.
“Give Daddy your hand, Cora. Be brave for me.”
Trembling, I release my chest and extend my arm.
“That’s a good girl,” he praises. “I’m so proud of you. Every inch of you is perfection. There’s no reason to be embarrassed, but what you’re feeling is a common human reaction. Mates of lion shifters do not ordinarily live the sort of modest existence you’re used to.”
“How many mates do you know?” I ask. The only one I met was Brea.
“Currently just Navin’s Little girl. He was the first among us to find a mate since we moved here. However, we came from a much larger pride. The one where we were raised. Our mothers and sisters and cousins did not usually cover their breasts.”
“Why did you move here?” I ask, my curiosity piqued. Also, if I keep talking, maybe I won’t think about my nudity so much.
“We were part of a much larger pride far away, and the twelve of us separated to reestablish closer to a human population.”
“Why?”
“Because we need human females to mate, Little doll.”
“Oh, right.”
Daddy removes the faucet from the holder and lifts it up over my head. “Close your eyes, sweetness.”