“I’ve been showering on my own for a while now,” she told him dryly.
He stood and kissed her lightly. “Not anymore. From now on, Daddy will take care of you. In all ways.”
Gulp.
21
Marisol was nervous as she entered Linc’s bedroom. He’d insisted she take one of his T-shirts to put on after her shower.
She immediately noticed all of the bags he’d had earlier sitting on the bed. She could hear his shower still going. She wished she was brave enough to take a peek at him. She wondered if he was touching himself.
Holy shit.
Instead, she forced herself to go over to the bed. Grabbing a bag, she drew out some panties. She bit her lip. They were all lacy but soft. The tags had all been pulled off so she didn’t know how much he’d spent.
All lacy and in various shades of colors. There were even matching bras. Jeez, how had he gotten her size right? That was a skill right there. A few T-shirts, two pairs of yoga pants and a teal hoodie with the picture of a cat on the front.
It was seriously cute. And soft. She ran her fingers over it. Oh wow. She couldn’t wait to wear this. She found the empty drawer and put everything away.
She grabbed the other bag, pulling out a brand-new iPhone. Yikes. These things cost a bomb. And then her heart stopped, a little gasp leaving her as she pulled out an eReader. He’d bought her an eReader?
“Is it the right kind?”
His voice startled her and she glanced over to see him walking in, dressed in just a pair of black, cotton pajama pants. Damn, He was ripped. Gorgeous. He’d taken a shower and the ends of his hair were still a bit wet. She couldn’t help but drop her gaze to his crotch. Which was no longer thick and hard. Had he taken care of that in the shower?
Crap. Maybe she should have asked to watch.
Too late, she realized he was standing in front of her. And she’d just been caught staring at his crotch.
Whoops.
“Mari-girl? That the right kind? Bear said they didn’t have a lot of choice. We can take it back if it’s not.” He touched the eReader in her hand.
“It’s . . . it’s perfect. You shouldn’t—”
He placed a finger on her lips. “What did I tell you to say when I give you something?”
Oh. Right.
He removed his hand. “Thank you, Daddy. But still—”
“Nope.” His hand went back over her mouth. “You just need to stop after thank you, Daddy. I don’t want to hear how I shouldn’t have. I wanted to do it. Besides, you’re gonna be stuck here on the ranch for a bit and unfortunately, I can’t take much time off to keep you entertained. This will help keep you out of getting into trouble.”
“I don’t get into trouble.” She pouted.
He snorted. “Right. Sure. Your life is safe and boring.”
“It usually is! I’m never in trouble. I’m not interesting enough to get into trouble.”
“Careful,” he warned. “That sounds suspiciously like putting yourself down and you know how I feel about that.”
She bit her lip worriedly. He ran his thumb over her bottom lip, freeing it. Then he shocked her by leaning down and running his tongue across it. “I don’t want my baby getting bored. When she gets bored, she does naughty things like clean when she should be resting. So I’ve got to make sure she’s got plenty to keep her entertained. Tomorrow we’ll get you some more clothes and some toys and set you up a play area. That will help.”
Play area. Toys.
Holy. Hell. Where did she start with all that?
It was like she’d entered some alternate reality. Where she was no longer a boring bookworm and she’d become someone to be treasured and desired.
She had to say, she liked it. A lot.
“Where are Princess Nana and your blanket?” he asked.
In the other room. Because she hadn’t been certain that he’d really meant it when he said he didn’t mind her sleeping with them.
“In my bedroom.”
“This is your bedroom now. I want all of your stuff in here. Go get them. I’ll grab you a bottle of water.”
“Oh, you don’t need to—”
“I want to. Go.”
She practically scurried out of the room, grabbed snuggly, Princess Nana and her bag she used to carry around her diabetic supplies. She’d already checked her blood sugar levels so she hopped back into Linc’s bed. The sheets were smooth and fresh. The bed was enormous. She felt tiny sitting in it.
He walked back in with two bottles of water, one of which he set on his nightstand. He undid the lid of the other one and handed it to her. She took just a few sips.
“Drink some more, Mari-girl. I’m not convinced you drink enough. I’ll ask Doc about that.”
She took a few more sips to appease him. But she thought she drank plenty of water.
“We’re really going to see a doctor tomorrow?”
“The ranch doctor. Technically, he works for Kent. But he looks after everyone who lives on the ranch.”
“Umm, what about insurance? My aunt is bound to take me off hers.”
“That’s all covered. If you need anything he can’t give, you’ll be under the ranch’s insurance.”
“Really?” But she didn’t work here. She didn’t contribute anything.
“Yep, I’ll set it up tomorrow. Don’t worry. If Clint was here, he would insist on it. Now, Doc can be a complete grouch, but you’ll get used to him. He’s softened up some since Caley came to live with him.”
“She seemed really nice when I was doing her nails for Charlie’s bridal shower.”
“She is. She lives with Doc and his brother, Archer.”
“Two men? Really?” Caley lived with two men? She’d thought Mrs. Long had that wrong.
“That a problem?”
“With me? No. It doesn’t worry me. I mean, I’ve read plenty of menage and reverse harem books. I just didn’t realize that happened in real life.”
He narrowed his gaze. “You better not think of starting your own harem. Because I don’t share. Ever.”
Her eyes went wide. “I can’t even handle one man. How would I handle more?”
“You wouldn’t. Because I’d kill them and punish you. This is a big ranch. There’s lots of places to hide a body.”
She nearly laughed. Until she realized he was completely serious. Yikes. No harems. Got it. Like that was really a concern.
She was a twenty-three-year-old virgin for cripe’s sake.
“Are there any other relationships like that on the ranch?”
“Menages? No. But every man on the ranch including those who work for JSI were chosen because they have similar views on how a relationship should be.”
“And how is that?”
“That there should be a head of the household. Someone who takes control. That all the women are protected by all the men. Most of the men here are Daddy Doms.”
She thought that through. It made sense with everything she’d seen and after talking to Abby. “And many of the women are Littles?”
“Yep.” He watched her carefully. “Most of the women who live in the ranch are Littles.”