“No more running or I’ll go back to carrying you everywhere. And no skipping vitamins or trying to get Aleki on your side. That’s not how this works.”
That was actually what she felt the worst about.
“I’m sorry. I’ll try not to do that. I’m learning. This is kind of a lot.”
“Tell me about it.”
She stared at him for a moment then started giggling. His face softened and he brushed a strand of hair back off her face. “From now on, I do your hair.”
“All the time?”
“Yes. I enjoy it. It’s relaxing.”
She softened. “All right. I can deal with that.”
“Now, how is your arm?” he asked briskly. “Is it hurting? Do you need painkillers? I need to make you a protein drink.” She let him dress her again as he muttered about her care and health.
Yeah, cuddles were important. But she could wait until he was comfortable with that level of intimacy.
Even if it took forever.
She looked around for Aleki, expecting to see him back in the kitchen. She frowned when she saw he’d disappeared. She was worried about him. Something felt off. Plus, she felt like she wasn’t getting as much time with him as she was with Caleb and Wolfe.
She needed to rectify that.
29
Vivi stood outside Caleb’s office door. She’d thought they weren’t meant to work while they got to know each other. But she guessed he had things he had to attend to.
She didn’t want to interrupt him if he was doing something important. She bit her lip worriedly. It wasn’t like she couldn’t wait.
After her spanking, Wolfe had made her a protein drink and a snack, which she’d done her best to eat, before he’d gone off to adjust something on her schedule.
He was nuts. But it seemed she kind of liked crazy.
But she was concerned about Aleki, and when she was worried or unsure about something there was always one person that made her feel better.
The door opened suddenly and she gasped, jumping. Ouch. That didn’t help her sore foot.
“Shit, baby, you okay? I didn’t mean to scare you.” Caleb reached for her, holding her steady.
“Ahh, yeah, you just caught me by surprise. Sorry. Don’t tell Wolfe I did that!”
Caleb shook his head. “You should know better than that.”
She groaned. “Do you really tell each other everything?”
His eyes twinkled. “How’s your bottom?”
She covered her face in her hands. She guessed that answered that question. But jeez, how did he find out so quickly? That had only been an hour ago.
“Come in.”
“I don’t want to interrupt anything important.”
He wrapped his hand around hers, and slowly led her into his office. It had dark wood shelves and an enormous desk that faced double doors leading to the swimming pool.
Urgh. She didn’t even like looking at the swimming pool.
There were two comfy looking armchairs on this side of the desk. She wondered how often the three of them had meetings together in here. And if they talked about her.
Maybe it was best if she didn’t know that.
“Nothing is more important than you.”
She blushed as he directed her to sit on a chair, drawing it out and around. She sighed and looked at the chair. While her bottom wasn’t that sore, she wasn’t sure she wanted to sit.
With a knowing look, he pointed at the chair again. “Part of the punishment is sitting on a sore bottom afterward.”
“Well, that just seems mean.” But she perched gingerly.
He grabbed the other chair and turned it to face her.
“And to answer your earlier question, we tell each other everything about you. Your care is our priority.”
Caleb reached out and grabbed her hand between his, massaging it.
Oh, that felt so good.
“You’ve got the toughest job of the four of us, you know,” he told her. “That’s why it’s up to us to look after you carefully.”
“How do I have the toughest job?”
“Because there’s three of us and one of you. We need to make sure that you don’t get burned out or stressed, trying to deal with three rather different personalities. How are you doing?”
“Wolfe told me about his childhood,” she blurted out.
Caleb blinked, looking shocked. “He did?”
“Uh-huh. He told me how his parents died and his family kept passing him on when he became too much or they no longer wanted him.”
Caleb nodded. “It’s left him with abandonment issues. He has problem trusting people, letting them in. It doesn’t help that he also has problems dealing with people, especially in social settings where you have to read non-verbal cues.”
“I think he’s amazing. That he grew up like that, yet he still managed to form such a close relationship with the two of you.”
“He is amazing. Smart. Loyal. And he can also be a royal pain in the ass.”
“He held my pinkie all night, because he knew I needed it.”
Caleb gave her a thoughtful look. “Did he? I was surprised when he said that he wanted to sleep with you. That was a big step. He’s trying to give you what you need. Are you getting overwhelmed? Are we suffocating you?”
She shook her head. “No. I thought it might feel like that after being on my own so much these past few years, but the truth is I like having you all around. Actually, I was kind of wondering about spending time one-on-one with each of you.”
“Yeah?” Happiness filled his face.
“Yeah. Aleki. . .” She bit her lip.
“What about Aleki?”
“Sometimes I get the feeling he’s holding something back from me. I catch him staring intently at me then when he sees me looking, he’ll smile and act like nothing is wrong.”
“Aleki is good at hiding his feelings behind his humor, but we both know he feels things deeply.” He reached out and picked her up, holding her on his lap. “We’re not doing the best job of looking after you, are we?”
“Yes, you are,” she defended. “Living here is the safest I’ve felt in, well, years.”
“But we’re supposed to be keeping your stress levels low.”
“You can’t eliminate all stress.”
“Well, I think that one-on-one time is a great idea. It’s time we started taking you out on dates.”
“What if the others don’t want to?” she asked, feeling hesitant now.
“They might be dominant to you, but I’m the head of this household. What I say goes.”
“Ooh, so commanding.”
“And you love it,” he told her, staring down at her intently. He leaned in to kiss her, his lips taking her softly then more firmly. She fell into the kiss. He surrounded her. Her safe place in the storm.
Somehow, he always seemed to sense what she needed. Even before she knew. And whatever she required, he provided.
Hell, he’d sensed that she needed him from halfway across the world.
Drawing back, he stared down at her. “Hard to believe you’re real. That you’re here.”
“I know,” she whispered.