Page 16 of Daddy Dreadful (Forbidden Pleasures Island #5)

Chapter Fifteen

Millie

Reaching forward, Auntie Cat plucks a bottle full of milk from the table while my mind tries to make sense of what she’s just said. “Donovan doesn’t even know where I am.”

Auntie Cat chuckles and presses the nipple to my mouth. I’m too exhausted and too thirsty to argue, so I simply suck at the rubber tip, sighing happily as cool milk floods my mouth.

“That’s a good girl. And of course your Daddy knows where you are, silly Millie. Randy called him the moment we sat down. He’s already on his way.”

The sweet milk turns to ash on my tongue. If Donovan knows I’m here, then he knows I ran away from school. Which means I’m in so much fucking trouble .

As if my very thoughts have conjured him, the cafe door flies open and Donovan races inside, his eyes wild as he looks frantically around the cafe. Then he spots me and Auntie Cat, and I swear I can feel the relief pouring off him.

“Camilla!” Rushing over, he drops to his knees—his knees —beside us, running his hands over my body. “Are you okay, baby? What happened?”

Instead of pulling the bottle from my mouth so I can answer him, Auntie Cat takes care of that for me. “She had an… incident with the girls at school. I’m afraid they weren’t very nice to her.”

“What? Why?”

“I’m not sure. But trust me when I tell you that I will be finding out. And once I do, they will all be apologizing to your sweet Millie for their behavior.”

“I appreciate you, Catharina. Thank you for taking care of my Little girl.”

“Of course. That’s what family does.”

Donovan’s hands go still. “Family.” He says the word slowly, like it’s foreign to him.

And perhaps it is. In all the time I worked for him, I don’t remember ever hearing him discuss his family. Or really his personal life at all.

“Yes.” Auntie Cat’s voice rings with conviction. “You and Millie are ours now. We’ll have to discuss when to schedule your family dinner, but even if we have to wait to make it official, you’re family.”

Pulling the nearly empty bottle from my mouth, Auntie Cat uses a napkin to swipe at the corners of my lips. “Feeling better, little one?”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

“Such a polite Little girl.” She taps my nose lightly before looking up at Donovan. “I imagine your Daddy is eager to get you home so you can take a nap. You’ve had such a long day already, haven’t you, sweetheart?”

Practically on cue, a yawn tickles my throat.

“Yes, Ma’am,” I reply as Donovan scoops me up out of her arms so I can wrap myself around him.

Tired as I am, I can’t even summon the energy to fight my need for comfort.

Clinging tightly to him, I drop my head to his shoulder and close my eyes.

He bounces lightly, rubbing slow circles over my back while he talks in hushed tones with Auntie Cat.

I don’t want it to feel so good. So right to be held like this. Especially by Donovan Graves. But it does, god, it really does. For the first time since I found myself in his nursery, he actually feels like the person he’s proclaimed himself to be this whole time.

He feels like… Daddy.

And maybe it’s the exhaustion, maybe it’s the ache deep in my heart. Whatever it is, I finally give in.

“Daddy, I wanna go home.”

The bouncing stops, followed by a long, strained silence before he speaks. And when he does, his voice is strained and his arms tighten around me.

“All right, sunshine. Daddy will take you home.”

Donovan

Daddy . Hearing that word from my Little girl’s lips without me forcing her to say it is even sweeter than I expected it to be. My chest aches knowing that she only said it because she was hurting so badly, and yet, I can’t help but replay that moment over and over in my mind.

Even in the car she’s still clinging to me, her soft sniffles punctuating the silence every so often.

I was tempted to tell the driver to take us straight to the school so I could give the other girls a damn good talking to.

But Cat promised she’d take care of it, and I happen to know she can wield a hairbrush like it’s nobody’s business.

So I have to trust it’s being handled, that my… family has my babygirl’s best interests at heart. Keeping that in mind, I resist the urge to go defend her honor and take her straight home instead.

Unsurprisingly, she’s asleep on my shoulder before I even get her upstairs to her nursery. Tucking her into bed, I press a kiss to her flushed, tear-stained cheek before heading down to my office with a quick detour to grab the monitor from my bedroom.

I do my best to distract myself with emails and the other drudgery Camilla used to handle for me before she turned in her resignation, including the two resumes Maxwell has forwarded me.

One woman and one man, both of whom are Littles and both of whom seem as though they’d be more than qualified, at least on paper.

But I don’t feel any push to contact either of them for an interview.

I know I need to, as even a practice as small as mine needs at least one nurse on staff, especially in the event of emergencies.

The thought of going into work every day, though, and seeing someone who isn’t Camilla sitting behind the front desk…

Filing the resumes away for later, when I’m not feeling so emotional, I pick up my phone and press a button to call Maxwell. Hopefully he’s had enough time to deal with his wayward Little girl and I won’t be interrupting anything.

“Donovan. I was hoping you’d call.”

He almost sounds relieved. “Yes, well. I want to talk to you about this morning.”

“It’s been handled. By myself and by Cat.

Unfortunately for our Little ones, she got to the school before we did and made good use of the hairbrush she keeps in her purse.

Apparently your little Millie made quite the impression on her.

Victoria will be over this afternoon for what had better be a very sincere apology if she knows what’s good for her. ”

“Good. I admit, I expected that kind of behavior from Juliet, perhaps even Natalie, but Victoria and Isabella surprised me.”

“Natalie? No, she was the only one who wasn’t mean to Millie.” He laughs, a deep rumbling chuckle. “Luckily for her, she was able to show Cat the bracelet she made because Millie dropped it on her way out. Otherwise, she would be napping with a sore bottom with the rest of them.”

An odd tightness wraps around my chest. Natalie has been difficult from the moment she arrived on the island, but knowing she showed my Little girl such kindness does alter my opinion of her a good bit.

“Well… I appreciate it, either way. Do you have any idea what got into them? I got most of the story from Cat, but I’m still not sure why they did what they did. ”

Silence greets my question, followed by a deep sigh. “As far as I can tell, it’s because she used to work for you. The girls are all rather put out by her role in your exams.”

Pain stabs at my chest. They hurt my Little girl because of me?

“Perhaps it’s best if Millie doesn’t return to school, then.”

“No, they need to learn that they can’t treat people the way they treated Millie today and pulling her out just gives them what they want. Send her back tomorrow. I promise they’ll be on their best behavior.”

“All right. If you’re sure.” But even as I agree, I make a mental note to stay close by, just in case.

“I’m very sure.” There’s another pause, not quite as weighty this time but still filled with meaning. “Cat said she mentioned our, ah, family dinners to you.”

“She did, but she was rather vague.”

“I see. Well?—”

A whimper comes through the monitor, drawing my attention away from the call. “I apologize, Maxwell. Camilla is up from her nap, I need to see to her.”

“Of course. I’ll explain our traditions when I bring Victoria over this evening, if that’s all right with you.”

“Give me a few hours. I still need to have a discussion with my own Little girl about leaving school without an adult. See you this evening.”

Ending the call, I head straight up the stairs to Camilla’s nursery. She’s sitting up in her crib, her blue dragon gripped in one hand while the other rubs at her still-swollen eyes.

“There’s my sweet Little girl. Did you have a good nap, sunshine?”

The only answer I get is a shrug, and worry twists in my chest. Camilla has always been so bright and bubbly, seeing her so sad breaks my heart.

Reaching for the switches on the crib, I lower the side railing and lift her out to carry her over to her changing table. “Do you need to potty, baby?”

“Uh-huh.”

I lay her on the table and press on her stomach, hoping to help things along. Camilla squirms under my touch, whining a bit as she tries to escape the pressure I’m applying to her bladder. “Be a good girl and use your diaper for Daddy.”

Red colors her cheeks as she whips her head from side to side. “Don’t wanna.”

“Camilla. I don’t want to keep having this fight with you. It will be easier on everyone if you just use your diaper instead of forcing me to use the catheter every time.”

Sniffling softly, she stares up at me, her bottom lip trembling and her eyes still glazed with tears. “Can I please use the toilet? I have to go.”

“Little girls don’t go potty on the toilet, you know that. They go in their diapers.”

The red on her cheeks darkens. “I know but… I really have to go .”

There’s an urgency to her voice I haven’t heard before. And when her tummy rumbles loudly, I realize what she means.

Obviously the suppository is doing its job. “It’s all right, little one. Relax and just do what comes naturally and Daddy will clean you up after.”

Tears slip down her cheeks, and the look she gives me is so broken I nearly give in. “Please, Daddy? I can’t… I’ve never… it’s too embarrassing.”

Maybe she’s playing me for a fool, but hearing her beg, while calling me Daddy, softens something inside me and I sigh. “All right. But just this once, little girl. And only because you’ve already had a very hard day.”

Relief flashes over her face. “Thank you, Daddy!”

Scooping her up into my arms, I carry her to the bathroom. The moment I set her on her feet, she starts to dance from side to side. “Hurry, Daddy, hurry!”

Camilla is, it seems, fully in her Little space. More fully than I can ever remember seeing her, and I can’t help but chuckle at how adorable she is. “I’m trying, but a certain Little girl is being very squirmy.”

With an impatient huff, she stops moving, but she continues to bounce in place. I finally manage to get the diaper off her and help her onto the toilet.

“Um, I can do this part by myself,” she says, more of that adorable blush coloring her cheeks as she shifts on the seat.

“Oh, no. You’re far too Little to use the potty by yourself. What if you fall in?”

“I won’t fall in!”

“You might,” I reply with a somber shake of my head. “And then you might get flushed down the drain and I wouldn’t have my pretty little sunshine anymore. What would I do then?”

She goes very still, cocking her head to the side. “You think I’m pretty?”

“Of course I do. You know you’re a very pretty girl, Camilla.”

“Not really,” she says with a shrug. “My mom always told me I was too fat to be pretty. She’d always say things like ‘If you’d stop eating so much, you could be just as pretty as the other girls at school’. And I know she’s right.”

Rage boils in my veins. “She couldn’t be more wrong. But you need to use the potty, little girl, so stop stalling.”

Cheeks still pink with embarrassment, she squeezes her eyes shut and finally does as she was told. And it’s clear she feels much better, just from the expression on her face when she’s finished.

Ignoring her whining protests, I clean her up and carry her back to the nursery, where I sit in the oversized glider with her curled up in my lap. “We need to talk about what happened at school today, Camilla.”

And just like that, my sweet, playful Little girl disappears. Her face closes off, blocking her emotions from me with stunning effectiveness. “Don’t wanna.”

“Well, we need to.” Capturing her face in my hand, I force her to meet my gaze. “Running away from school without an adult was very, very dangerous, little girl. You could have gotten lost or hit by a car.”

Camilla rolls her eyes. “Please. I’ve been wandering around this island without an ‘adult’ for almost a year. I knew where I was going and I know how to cross the street. I was never in any danger.”

It doesn’t matter to me one bit that she has an entirely reasonable point.

She is my Little girl and my Little girl does not wander around our island alone.

“Camilla. I am not going to argue with you about this. Leaving school alone was very, very naughty. Miss Evelyn was worried about you, and so was I.”

Something that looks almost like hope flickers in her eyes. “You were worried about me?”

“Of course I was, little one. I didn’t know where you were or if you were hurt or scared or anything until I got that call from the cafe.”

“Oh.” Nibbling on her bottom lip, she lowers her eyes, and her voice is full of apology when she speaks again. “I’m sorry I worried you. I didn’t mean to.”

“I know you didn’t. But I can’t allow you to go running off like that just because you’re upset.

” For the first time in my life, I dread the words I have to say next.

“You’re getting a very hard spanking over Daddy’s knee, and then you’re going to sit on your naughty girl chair and think about what you could have done differently. ”