“A pacifier?” She bit her lip nervously. Did he really expect her to use this?
“You could use a mouthguard. Might work better. But I thought this was, well, cuter.”
Cuter? Did that word seriously come out of his mouth?
“Why don’t you try it?” he suggested softly. “You don’t like it, then we’ll know. And we can experiment with a mouthguard.”
Well. She guessed that was fair. She reached over for the pacifier. Turning it, she saw the image of a fat, smiling pig on the other side. Ooh, that was super cute.
Okay, what was wrong with her? Now she was thinking that the pacifier was cute?
“Try it,” he whispered.
“You don’t think it’s weird for me to use it?” she whispered back.
“I bought it for you, didn’t I?”
Well. That was true. Maybe she was being silly.
“Stop overthinking everything. Try it.”
She slid it into her mouth. It was kind of odd. She wasn’t sure she liked it for a start. It was obviously made for an adult. It filled her mouth. But it wasn’t as plastic tasting as she’d feared. Knowing Wolfe, he’d likely washed it well first.
Her eyes started drooping and she yawned again. Wolfe took off his glasses and settled on his back. She lay there, unable to sleep. However, she was determined not to toss and turn, not wanting to keep him awake.
“Princess?”
“Yes?”
“Not sure I’m up to the cuddling thing.”
“That’s okay,” she said hastily. “I’m fine.”
“Does Caleb cuddle you at night? Does it keep the nightmares at bay?”
“Umm, he does. But I’ll be fine. I have the blanket.”
“I don’t want you having a nightmare.” He was silent for so long that she wondered if that was all he had to say. If he’d gone off to sleep.
“Not sure I can hold your hand.”
“Wolfe, it’s fine.”
He was being sweet, worrying so much. It was kind of unexpected. Then she jolted in shock as he reached out and his pinky wrapped around hers.
“All right?” he asked quietly.
“Yeah,” she replied.
The tension bled from her as they lay there side-by-side, connected by their hands. She understood what a step it was for him.
And it was perfect.
27
She awoke to find Wolfe leaning over her, his face in hers.
A gasp escaped her before she could swallow it down. She mumbled his name around the pacifier in her mouth. How had that stayed in there all night? Surprise filled her as she realized that she’d slept all night without a nightmare. And she hadn’t woken up with a headache. “Wolfe!”
“Good. You’re awake.”
Well, she was now.
“Is it late?” Why was he standing over her, watching her sleep?
“No, it’s eight. But you were making noises in your sleep.”
“I was? Sorry.” She tried to push herself up so she was sitting, wincing as she pulled at her sore arm.
“Be careful,” he barked, reaching out to help her up.
“I forgot. It’s not so bad anymore. Just when I wrench it.”
He studied her closely. She noticed he was already dressed. “You look tired. You should stay in bed today. I’ll bring you some breakfast.”
She sighed and refrained from pointing out that he’d basically woke her up to tell her that she looked tired.
“I’m not spending all day in bed, Wolfe. And I don’t need you to bring me food. I’m going to have a shower and eat breakfast in the kitchen or on the verandah.”
“You’re not having a shower.” He frowned. “I’ll run you a bath.”
They’d insisted that she take baths with her foot. Caleb had been running her a bath each morning and helping her in and out. Mostly he was a gentleman and tried not to look. Although she suspected he’d snuck a few peeks. But her foot was a lot better now. And she wanted a shower.
“I want a shower.”
“No, your foot isn’t good enough to stand on. You could slip and fall over.”
“I won’t slip and fall over.”
He stood up straight, crossing his arms over his chest. “Not happening. I’m putting my foot down.”
She wiggled a finger at him. “Oh no, you don’t. The foot is not going down.”
He lifted his foot up.
“Don’t you dare!”
He put it down, giving her a satisfied look. The rat. “Urgh. Just because you put your foot down doesn’t mean I have to do what you say.”
“Of course it does,” he replied. “What’s the point of the foot, if it doesn’t make you do as I say?”
“You’re impossible.”
“You are not the first person to tell me that, surprisingly.”
Yeah. She wasn’t surprised at all.
“I want a shower, Wolfe. I can stand on my foot that long.”
“There’s no need for you to be standing on your foot when you can lie down. What’s the problem with a bath? I’ve already seen you naked. I’ve seen you touching yourself while you’re naked. How is a bath any worse?”
Oh. Dear. Lord.
Did he have to be so blunt?
It’s Wolfe. Of course he did.
“I want to wash my hair. I can’t do that properly in the bath. I can’t rinse the shampoo and conditioner out.”
“You can if I help you.”
“You want to help me?” That didn’t seem a very Wolfe thing to want to do.
“There’s nothing difficult about washing your hair, is there?”
“No. Not at all. I just . . . I didn’t realize you’d want to do that sort of thing.”
“You need help. I want to give you what you need. I’ll go run you the bath.”
She still thought she could take a shower, but she didn’t bother trying to argue with him. There just wasn’t much point. She knew he wouldn’t listen.
Returning, he lifted her up and carried her into the bathroom.
“You’re going to have to let me walk sometime,” she told him.
“Why?”
“Because . . . eventually I’ll need to go places without you.”
“Then Aleki or Caleb can carry you.”
“What about if I’m on my own?
“Why would you need to go anywhere on your own?”
All right. She wasn’t sure how she was having this conversation with him. He set her down on the counter then opened the cabinet beneath her, pulling out some bubble bath. Her eyes widened as she stared at the number of bottles in the cupboard. He started opening each one and sniffing them.
“Umm, how much bubble bath do you have? Caleb has been using the same one each day.”
He grunted. “I don’t like the scent of that one. So I got some more delivered. I figured we could try each one until I find the right one for you.”
“How I smell is important?” Well, obviously she didn’t want to stink. But she didn’t think that her scent would matter all that much to him.
“Yes. It is.” He finally held one up. “Jasmine. Let’s try this one.”