He felt so torn between her and his brothers. What he had to do was convince them that she was what was best. For all of them.
Damn, that wasn’t going to be easy.
After holding her while she washed her hands, he carried her back to bed. He settled her under the covers and tucked them around her. He grabbed some water and held the straw to her mouth. She sighed but took a few sips. She looked pale and exhausted. As though that small trip to the bathroom had done her in.
Maybe he should have insisted on the bedpan. Or the diapers. None of it really phased him.
“Good girl for obeying me. I have something for you.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small packet of candy.
She smiled as she took it. “Black jelly beans. My favorite.”
She’d always been addicted to them. Hence, her nickname.
“Just don’t tell Wolfe,” he said.
“Deal,” she whispered.
“What happened? Vivi? How did you come to be in that alleyway?”
She just shook her head. “I can’t tell you.”
There was a sound at the door, and she hid the candy under her bedding. Standing, he moved over and opened the door. Wolfe walked in, carrying a tray with a bowl of broth on it as well as a glass of orange juice.
Kind of a weird combination.
“Soup and juice?” she asked as he set it down.
“The doctor said the broth is good for your stomach. You managed some fine before. And vitamin C is good to have with iron tablets to help your body absorb them.”
“You could have brought me something,” Caleb muttered.
“You’re welcome to go get yourself something. I think Aleki is getting pizza.”
“Pizza? How come I get broth and Aleki gets pizza?” She pouted.
Wolfe stared down at her. “Pizza has little nutritional value.”
“Like jello?”
“Exactly.”
“Wolfe,” Caleb warned. “If she wants pizza, isn’t it better for her to eat something?”
“She will eat something. The soup and juice.”
“That seems unfair,” she muttered.
Wolfe folded his arms over his chest. “Unfair, huh? Tell you what, if you can eat a whole bowl of broth, I’ll get you pizza. How is that for fair?”
He turned his gaze to Caleb. “No need to test it before you feed her. I checked the temperature already. It’s perfect.”
Caleb raised his eyebrows. “You tested it?”
“That so-called nurse nearly burned her with her over-hot soup yesterday. Do you need me to feed her?”
“I think I have it handled,” Caleb said dryly.
Wolfe turned away from them both and headed towards the door. “And I saw that, miss!”
Caleb turned back to find Vivi had her tongue sticking out. She tucked it away, looking embarrassed.
He had to grin.
Wolfe turned back at the door. “Be careful, little girls who stick their tongues out are often given something to occupy their mouths.”
“Did he . . . did he . . .” She looked at Caleb in shock.
“Did he what?” he asked innocently. He had to fight the smile tugging at his lips.
“Never mind,” she muttered, yawning. Poor darling. She was so tired. It hurt him how exhausted she appeared. “I don’t understand what’s going on.”
Caleb gave her some soup. He could tell she wasn’t even going to finish half of it. There went her dreams of pizza. He had no doubts that pizza wouldn’t have sat well in her stomach anyway.
“We’re here to help you,” he told her.
“I’ve changed.”
“So have we,” he countered. “Does that mean you don’t care about us anymore?”
He watched her suck in a breath. She opened her mouth and he knew she was about to spout some shit.
He placed a finger over her lips. “And just to be clear, lying, just like calling yourself useless or putting yourself down in other ways, will not be allowed.”
She glared at him. “You know you have no right to tell me what to do.”
“And yet, I just did. And you will obey me.”
“Or what?”
“Or when you’re feeling better, I’ll turn you over my knee and spank that ass of yours.”
Her eyes widened. “Have you guys got some weird spanking fetish?”
“Are spanking fetishes weird? It’s not weird if it’s something you want. And as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone else, then how can it be wrong?”
“I don’t want to be spanked.”
“No? Not even for fun?” he asked.
“Fun?” she squeaked.
“Spanking can be used for discipline. A punishment when you break the rules. It can also be used for pleasure.”
“I don’t see how that’s possible.”
I’ll show you.
He managed not to say the words. Just.
“It’s possible. But let’s stop talking about that. You need to eat or else I’ll be in trouble.”
“And will Wolfe spank your ass?” she asked with false innocence.
He narrowed his gaze at her warningly. “Wolfe isn’t my Dominant. If anyone is spanking asses around here, it will be me.”
“Ooh, I’d pay good money to see that.”
Twenty minutes later, Caleb walked into the suite they were sharing. Aleki was polishing off a pizza while Wolfe sat at the table, working on his laptop. They both looked up questioningly.
“She’s asleep,” he told them.
“Did she eat the soup?” Wolfe asked in a blasé voice. He could have been asking if the sky was blue today for all that he seemed to care.
Caleb knew better. “She had half a bowl.”
“No pizza for her then.”
Aleki scowled at Wolfe. “If she wanted pizza, you should have let her have it.”
“Her every wish cannot be granted. Sometimes what she wants isn’t what’s best for her.”
“It’s just pizza,” Aleki snapped.
“Look, we have more important things to talk about than pizza,” Caleb snapped.
Both of them looked at him.
“Has she told either of you what happened to her?” he asked.
They both shook their heads.
“She did tell me that she broke up with Aleki to protect him. To protect us,” Wolfe said.
“What the fuck?” Aleki snapped, sitting up straight. “From what?”
“She wouldn’t say,” Wolfe replied darkly.
Caleb didn’t like not knowing what was going on with her. “She’s still trying to protect us. That’s why she won’t tell us anything.”
Wolfe snorted. “Protect us? She can’t even swat a fly in the condition she’s in right now.”
“All of this has to be tied to her husband’s death, right? It can’t be a coincidence. What if he didn’t die of a heart attack?” Aleki asked.
That’s what the press was reporting as his cause of death.
“She told me that she wasn’t close to her husband, how can you not be close to the person you’re married to?” Caleb asked.
They were all quiet. When they had a woman, they’d know everything about her. Where she was, who she was with, what she was feeling. They risked smothering her, but it was the way it had to be for them to remain sane. They’d seen the worst life had to offer and they would ensure that their woman never had to endure pain or fear or suffering. Not while they were breathing, anyway.