Chapter Twelve

Natalie

The most interesting thing about the town at the center of the island is how shockingly normal it looks.

I was too caught up in fleeing for my life yesterday to really take in the quaint brick buildings, each only slightly different than its counterparts so you know what you’re getting before you even open the door.

Like the cafe with its pretty green and white striped awning, giving those who’d rather sit outside and eat a place to do so without being subjected to the blazing heat of the sun.

Or the toy store with the giant stuffed bear outside, beckoning a Little girl to come in and pick out a friend of her own.

But it’s the store with the simple sign in a flowing script above the door that catches my eye. “Solene? Like the Solene? The designer who just up and disappeared from the public eye a couple years back?”

A memory from the day before pops into my mind. The two women on the street, the smaller of the two clad in one of those “special occasion” dresses I have hanging in my closet.

That’s why she looked so damn familiar.

“The one and only,” Evander confirms with a quiet laugh. “I see you’ve heard of her.”

“Everyone’s heard of Solene. She was at the top of her career, the most in-demand designer in New York and then she just… poof. Gone. There’s been so much speculation over what happened to her but I don’t think this was ever one of the theories.”

“We can pay her a visit later if you’d like. Pick out a few more of these cute dresses.”

I wrinkle my nose as the car pulls to a stop in front of a plain building with a sign in the window that just says “Doctor’s Office”. “No, thank you. One of these is more than enough.”

“But you look adorable, kitten.”

So he’s said, multiple times. But every time I think about the white cotton poking out from beneath the hem of the skirt, humiliation floods my system, and I find myself wishing I could go home and change.

Even if everyone knows I’m wearing a diaper, I still don’t want to be parading around with it on display.

The back door opens and Evander climbs out, somehow managing to juggle me in his arms as he does so. Lucas, who joined our driver in the front of the car, waits for us on the sidewalk. “Ready to meet Doctor D, little one?”

“I wasn’t aware I had a choice.” I’m sulking, and not bothering to hide it, but all my sass gets me is a round of laughter from him and Evander.

“Fair enough,” Lucas says, pulling open the door to the doctor’s office so Evander can carry me inside.

We’re greeted by a somewhat harried-looking blonde who forces a smile as we walk in the door. “Good morning, Mr. Hawthorne. Is this Natalie?”

“It is. Say hello to Millie, kitten.”

“Hello, Millie.”

Her smile loses some of the tightness around the edges. “Hi, Natalie. It’s nice to meet you. If you’ll just go through that door to your left, I’ll meet you over there so we can check your vitals.”

“Aren’t you supposed to tell us you’ll be right with us and then make us wait forty-five minutes even though we have an appointment?”

Giggling, Millie rolls her eyes. “Doctor D would absolutely have my ass if I ever made a patient wait like that here on the island.”

“Millie.” Evander’s voice dips down to a low, warning tone that has Millie’s eyes going round. “Are you supposed to use that kind of language at work, little girl?”

Her eyes somehow get even wider. “No, Sir. I’m so sorry, it just slipped out. Please don’t tell Doctor D.”

“I won’t, if you promise it won’t happen again.”

Relief washes over her face. “It won’t. I’m really very sorry, Mr. Hawthorne.”

“I know. You’re a good girl, Millie, which is why I’m keeping this our little secret for now.”

“Thank you, Sir.” She disappears from the window in the front office and meets us just beyond the door. Lucas elects to stay in the waiting room, and I can’t help but feel a sense of loss that he won’t be with me for whatever awaits me in this office.

“Just this way.” Turning, Millie leads us to an exam room, and I can’t help but notice the way she waddles a bit when she walks.

“Are you wearing a diaper too?”

Surprisingly, the question doesn’t seem to bother her at all and she grins as she gestures for Evander to take a seat. Which he does on a small stool, all while holding me on his lap. “I am. I don’t use it because it gets messy without someone to change me but I like the way they feel anyway.”

“Oh. Doctor D isn’t your Daddy?”

Horror flashes over her face as she wraps a blood pressure cuff around my arm. “God, no. He’s my boss and he has very strict rules about dating his nurses, thank god.”

“But Evander said?—”

“Natalie.”

My name is more sigh than warning and I roll my eyes. “ Daddy made it sound like you’d be in trouble for swearing.”

“I would be. Big trouble. He does, um, spank me for stuff like that because that was part of the agreement when I chose to work here, but that’s it.”

“That sound you just heard is every human resources person on the planet fainting dead away.”

Head thrown back, Millie lets out a long, loud laugh. “Tell me about it. If I’m being honest the employment contract I signed probably isn’t entirely legal but?—”

“Camilla.” A cold, stern voice cuts off whatever Millie was about to say and her face loses every ounce of color as she looks up at the man glaring at her from the doorway. Older, with plenty of silver in his hair, he’s still strikingly attractive even with that cruel glint in his eyes.

Definitely not because of the cruel glint. I’m not that fucked-up.

Right?

Okay, not going down that rabbit hole.

“Sir?” Millie says, her voice a high-pitched squeak of terror that has my hackles rising. At least, I think that’s what this sudden protective feeling is. I’m not really sure what hackles are or what it feels like when they rise but the saying seems to fit.

“I don't pay you to socialize, Camilla. Have you finished taking Natalie’s vitals?”

“No, Sir. I’m sorry, Sir.”

Tears glisten in her pretty gray eyes before she ducks her head and temper sparks in my chest as I glare up at the man in the doorway. “Do you have to be such a jerk about it?”

The man’s eyes widen in surprise. “Excuse me, little girl?”

“You heard me. She was just being nice which is how nurses are supposed to be. Don’t you want your patients to feel comfortable?”

That cruel glint I noticed in his eyes earlier brightens and the corners of his lips curve up in a slow, wicked smile. “My patients’ comfort is not my top priority. Ensuring that all the Little girls on this island remain healthy is my only concern.”

“So you have to be an asshole to your nurse to make that happen?”

Behind me, Evander sighs. “Obviously I didn’t do a good enough job of washing your mouth out yesterday.”

“Obviously,” the doctor deadpans.

“I’d apologize, but I’m not sorry for telling it like it is. He’s being mean to poor Millie for no good reason.”

“She has a point, Doctor D.” Evander’s chest vibrates with laughter. “You are being a bit of an asshole.”

Doctor D just smirks in response. “If you knew anything about my profession, you’d know that’s a badge of honor. The better you are at your job, the more of an asshole people perceive you to be.”

“Well then you must be top of the fucking class.”

Millie gasps at the same time Evander sighs again. “All right, kitten. That’s enough of the naughty language. One more and I will have to punish you.”

From the doorway, the doctor frowns. “Little girls need structure and discipline. You really shouldn’t allow this behavior to go unchecked, Evander.”

“We pay you to ensure our Little ones are healthy, not to criticize how we discipline them, Doctor.”

Spine straightening, Doctor D inclines his head ever so slightly. “My apologies. Camilla, let me know when you’ve finished here so I can complete my exam.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Still wide-eyed and looking stunned, Millie waits for Doctor D to leave before she leans in, her voice dropping to a whisper. “Nobody has ever talked to him like that! You might be my new hero.”

“I don’t care what kind of contract you signed, you still deserve to be treated with respect in the workplace, Millie.”

She frowns, then gives a slow nod. “Maybe you’re right…”

“Of course I’m right.” Leaning over, I pat her arm encouragingly. “But we should probably get through all the vitals stuff before he comes back.”

“Right. Yes, of course.”

As she gets to work on my blood pressure again, Evander presses a kiss to my temple. “My ferocious little lion,” he says with another quiet laugh. “I'm so proud of you, baby.”

“Even though I said a couple naughty words?”

“Yes. You stood up for someone you saw being mistreated, even at the risk of getting your bottom paddled. My brave, naughty little kitten.”

“If I’m being honest it didn’t even occur to me you might spank me.” Though it probably should have, now that I think about it. “I was just so mad .”

“I know, kitten. And while I am very proud of you for standing up for Millie, I will spank you if you’re that rude again without a good reason. Understood?”

That seems fair, if I’m being honest. “Yes, Daddy.”

“Good girl.”

“All right!” Sounding much perkier than before, Millie beams as she pulls the cuff from my arm.

“Blood pressure looks good. Now we just need your temperature.” Millie cranes her neck to look around me, as if she’s trying to see if she’ll get caught doing whatever it is she’s about to do.

“Mr. Hawthorne, um, are you going to be mad if I take Natalie’s temperature orally? ”

“Why would I be mad? All I care about is keeping her healthy.”

Millie’s smile widens as she pulls out a digital thermometer and sticks it in a plastic sheath. “Open wide and hold this under your tongue.”

I do as I’m told and the machine beeps a few seconds later with a reading of ninety-six-point-nine and Millie frowns.

“Hmm. Can I see your hands for a second, Natalie?”

“Why?” Evander’s voice is sharp, sharper than I’ve ever heard it. “Is something wrong?”

The smile Millie flashes him is obviously meant to be reassuring but judging by how tightly he’s gripping me, it falls short of the mark. “Just checking a few things, Mr. Hawthorne. Natalie?”

Dread settles in my stomach as I hold my hands out. Millie runs her thumbs over my nails and hums. “Do you just prefer short nails?”

“I don’t really have a preference but they break all the time anyway, so I keep them trimmed. Why?”

“Nothing alarming, but I think you might be a bit on the anemic side. I’m going to have Doctor D add a couple tests to your blood work. But don’t worry, this is an easy fix even if your iron levels do come back low.”

“Oh. Um. Okay.”

Suddenly, I’m feeling very much like a scared Little girl as Daddy pulls me closer to him and presses another kiss to my hair. “Everything will be fine, kitten. Daddy’s right here. I won’t let anything bad happen to you.”

Sympathy flashes in Millie’s eyes as she leans forward to give my knee a squeeze. “I know Doctor D can seem… not very nice. But he is actually very good at his job. Whatever the issue is, he’ll have you fixed up in no time. I promise.”

“Pinkie-promise?”

Grinning, she holds up her littlest finger. “Pinkie-promise.”

I hook my pinkie with hers and it does, surprisingly, make me feel a bit better. Pinkie-swears are sacred, after all, even as an adult.

With that handled, Millie hurries out of the exam room and Daddy gives me another hard squeeze. “My brave Little girl,” he murmurs.

“I don’t feel very brave right now.”

“Bravery isn’t never feeling scared, kitten. It’s doing what needs to be done even when you’re down to your bones terrified.”

Okay, he might actually make me fall in love with him if he keeps that up. Despite everything, the punishments, the humiliation he’s put me through, nobody’s ever made me feel quite so… safe .

A shadow falls across the floor, pulling my attention away from the incredibly dangerous man holding me on his lap. I look up, and find Doctor D once again standing in the doorway, that same wicked smile on his lips. And I can’t help but think he might be even more dangerous than my own Daddy.

“Hello, little Natalie. It’s time for your exam.”