Page 12 of Daddy Dreadful (Forbidden Pleasures Island #5)

Chapter Eleven

Millie

Drained from a morning spent fighting Donovan’s every move, followed by the most intense orgasm I’ve ever experienced, I let my eyes drift closed as he cradles me in his arms. It’s a perfect moment, drinking from a bottle while my so-called Daddy rocks me to sleep, and for a few blissful seconds I can’t even remember why I was fighting him in the first place.

And then a sound I never expected to hear reaches my ears. Is he… Is he humming ?

He is, and it takes me a moment to place the tune. When I finally do, my eyes fly open to stare at him and I push the bottle from my mouth.

“Is that… You Are My Sunshine?”

“Hmm?” Looking down at me, he smiles, and the expression is so sweetly indulgent I can only stare back at him. “What was that, little one?”

“The song you’re humming. You Are My Sunshine.”

His smile deepens as I sing, emotion making it difficult to keep the tune. “What a beautiful voice you have. Why didn’t you ever sing at the office?”

“Because the one time I did, you told me I was distracting you and I needed to be quiet. So I didn’t sing anymore after that.”

The corners of his lips dip down into a frown, and to my surprise he looks almost… remorseful. “I’m sorry, little one. You were always a distraction, just by being you, and I’m afraid I let it get to me more often than not. Forgive me for being an insufferable bore?”

“Maybe.” Ignoring the way his silvery brow lifts, and the resulting flutter in my tummy, I continue. “If you tell me why you were humming that song.”

“Isn’t it obvious?”

It’s my turn to raise a brow. “If it was obvious, I wouldn't have asked.”

“Sassy little brat,” he mutters, but his lips twitch, giving away his amusement. “I was humming it because it makes me think of you.”

Nope. Definitely not the obvious answer.

For a long moment, all I can do is stare up at him. “What do you mean it makes you think of me?”

“You are my sunshine, Camilla. When I came to this island, I was convinced I’d never find a Little girl of my own. And I’d made my peace with that. But then you waltzed into my office, shining so bright it almost hurt to look at you. I knew then and there you were meant to be mine.”

Slowly, very slowly, the truth of what he’s saying forms in my mind. “Except you don’t date nurses.”

“Exactly.”

“So why did you hire me, then? Why not just tell me that you wanted me to be your Little girl?”

The look he gives me is full of exasperated disbelief. “Would you have stayed?”

For reasons I can’t even name, I’m tempted to lie. To assure him that I would have at least given him a chance.

But to what end? To convince him, somehow, that he didn’t need to literally kidnap me to make me his? At this point, what purpose does that serve?

None. Especially when we both know the truth.

“No. I wouldn’t have stayed. You scared the shi—crap out of me even then, there’s no way I would have agreed to be your Little girl.”

“And that’s why I hired you. If I couldn’t have you, at least I could keep you close. Keep an eye on you, as much as I was able. Take care of you, even if it was in a very limited capacity.”

“So you kept me close so you could take care of me, but then treated me horribly to keep your distance?”

“Exactly.”

It makes a strange kind of sense. And part of me wants to believe him, to believe that this is just a very grown up, very fucked-up version of a boy pulling a girl’s pigtails on the playground because he likes her.

But even if I do believe him, it doesn’t actually change anything. At the end of the day, he is still a cruel man who stripped me of any choice I might have had in my own love story. Who stripped me of experiences I had planned on saving for someone special.

Even if I believe him, and this has all been some elaborate plan to make me his Little girl… how can I forgive him for everything he’s done?

That question has my stomach churning, so that when he brings the bottle back to my lips I refuse.

Luckily, Donovan interprets my refusal as a sign that I’m overtired rather than outright defiance, so instead of the spanking I was sure I was going to get, I’m carried to my crib and tucked in for a nap.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I pretend to sleep as he hovers nearby, still humming that damn song.

And as I lay there, listening to him hum about how I am his sunshine, I find myself wondering how long it will take for his darkness to completely snuff out my light.

Donovan

I could sit and watch my sweet Camilla sleep for hours.

But almost as soon as her breathing evens out, my phone buzzes in my pocket. With one last longing look at my sleeping Little girl, I step out of the nursery and into the hallway, pulling the door shut behind me so as not to wake her.

Seeing Maxwell’s name on my phone screen, I fight back a wave of irritation. Part of my job is being available twenty-four-seven to the inhabitants of the island, and if Maxwell is calling when he knows I’m not at work, then something is very wrong.

“Maxwell. Is everything all right?”

“No.” There’s a hint of hysteria in the other man’s usually unflappable tone. “Victoria is sick and running a fever. I know you’re still on leave, but I just want to make sure she’s all okay.”

Dammit. I had hoped to keep my relationship with Camilla under wraps until she was more settled, but I can’t leave her here alone.

Even though I’m paid rather handsomely for my services on the island, I’ve never felt the need to keep a full staff.

Chef Madeline and Winnie, the housekeeper who visits a few times a week to keep things tidy around here are more than enough.

I might have to revisit that train of thought, however, for situations like this. In the meantime, however…

“You’ll need to bring her to me. I just put Camilla down for a nap.”

Silence greets my pronouncement. “Millie is there? With you?”

“Yes. It’s a long story; one I’ll be happy to tell you and the others sometime soon. For now, you can bring Victoria here so I can examine her. I’m sure it’s just a cold or something, but I understand you wanting to be cautious.”

“Ah… Well, okay. We’ll be there in fifteen minutes or so.”

“Seen you then.”

Pressing the button to end the call, I shove the phone back in my pocket and quietly slip back into Camilla’s nursery.

She’s still sleeping soundly, but I turn on the monitor beside her crib anyway before sneaking back out of her room and down the hall to my own bedroom to grab its twin.

Clutching it in my hand, I carry the device down to my office to wait for Maxwell and Victoria.

The alarm on the front gate alerts me to their presence, and I take myself outside to wait for them on the front porch.

A sleek black car rolls to a stop at the bottom of my stairs and before the driver can even exit the vehicle, the back door is thrown open.

Maxwell steps out, his expression frantic and his Little girl cradled in his arms as he makes a beeline for me.

“Thank you so much, Donovan. She fell asleep on the ride over. Is there any chance you can examine her without waking her? Poor thing barely slept at all last night.”

Sympathy stirs in my chest as I take in Victoria’s flushed cheeks and the damp hair sticking to her face. “I’ll do my best. Come in.”

I usher them back to my office and gesture for Maxwell to set his Little one down on the couch. Victoria whimpers softly as he lays her down, her nose scrunching in her sleep.

Opening the small duffel bag I keep ready for house calls, I pull out a digital thermometer and quickly scan her forehead, frowning at the results on the display.

“How long has she been running a fever?”

“Since last night.” Worry crinkles Maxwell’s brow as he stares down at his sleeping babygirl. “I gave her a cool bath, acetaminophen, did all the things the internet said to try and break it, but nothing seems to be working.”

“Any other symptoms besides the fever?”

“Not really. It all sort of happened at once. She was fine, and then she started crying and saying her throat hurt and when I picked her up she was on fire.”

“I see. Can you sit her up for me? You can hold her on your lap if you need to. I just want to check her throat.”

“Of course.”

While he gets himself situated on the couch with Victoria, I pull on a fresh pair of gloves and grab a sterile tongue depressor from the jar in my bag. Gripping Victoria’s face gently in one hand, I open her mouth and peer inside.

“Just as I thought. Your Little girl has herself a case of strep throat.”

“How the hell did that happen?”

Stripping off my gloves to dispose of in the portable medical waste container I keep in my go-bag, I shrug.

“Most likely, from someone who’s been off island recently.

Even if they didn’t get sick, they could still be a carrier.

I’ll write her a prescription for an antibiotic and some steroids.

Make sure she takes all of them, even after she starts to feel better.

She should be fine in a day or so, but for now she just needs plenty of rest and liquids. ”

With that worried crinkle still between his brows, Maxwell scoops Victoria up, holding her close as he sways gently from side to side. “You’re sure she’ll be all right? You don’t need to run any tests?”

“I could, but it would require us dragging both our babygirls down to my office. But considering she’s running a fever and her throat is covered in white spots, I feel very confident in my diagnosis.”

“All right. You know I trust you, I’m just worried.”

“I understand. It’s the first time she’s been truly sick since she came to the island. It’s natural to worry. And it’s your job as her Daddy.”

“It is.” Curiosity fills his dark gaze, chasing away some of the worry as he studies me. “So… you and Camilla. How did that happen?”

“She gave me an opportunity. I took it.”

“Uh-huh.” The bland look Maxwell gives me says that he knows exactly what kind of “opportunity” I took advantage of. “And how does she feel about the change in your relationship?”

My lips twitch as I think of how much of a fuss my Little girl put up this morning. “She’s coming around to the idea.”

“I see. So is she still working for you?”

“Unfortunately, no. I’ll be in the market for a new nurse, if you wouldn’t mind helping to facilitate that search.”

“Of course. And if you’d like, I can speak with Miss Evelyn and see if she could accommodate another Little in her program.”

Send Camilla to school? Without me?

Just the thought of not spending my days with her twists my gut with an emotion I can’t quite name.

But it would be good for her to spend time with the other Littles, and there will be days I won’t be able to keep an eye on her myself.

It’s the best solution, even if I don’t particularly care for the idea of being separated from her for hours at a time.

“I’d appreciate that.” I force myself to smile for Maxwell, since it was a rather kind offer. “But if you’ll excuse me, I need to go check on my Little one and call in that prescription for you.”

“Of course. I can see myself out. I’ll let you know what Miss Evelyn says about adding Camilla to her class.”

“Thank you. I appreciate it.”

After Maxwell leaves, I dispose of my gloves and make sure to thoroughly wash my hands before sending over the prescriptions for Victoria. I also spray down the couch in my office with an antibiotic spray and change my clothes.

No need to take unnecessary risks with my own Little one’s health.

Camilla is still sleeping in her crib when I enter her nursery, and I give myself a few minutes to simply watch her sleep.

She is so angelic in this state, it’s hard to believe she’s the same naughty girl I was forced to punish so harshly this same morning.

My heart leaps at the sight of her, at the knowledge she is finally where she belongs.

I glance at the clock, calculating how long she’s been asleep and decide to give her a little while longer. After all, we did have a very eventful morning and we’re likely to have an equally eventful afternoon if she remains half as stubborn as she’s been so far.

Leaving her to sleep, I settle in the rocking chair at the far end of the room. And I do what I’ve been doing since she first walked into my office.

I wait.