Page 13 of His Little Hessonite
He’s treating me like an infant. It’s unnerving between the crib and the bath. Is he going to treat me like a newborn in every way?
Papi fills a cup with water. “Tip your head back and close your eyes, Baby girl. I’m going to wet your hair.”
I grab the sides of the basin and obey him. I should probably argue, but it’s like he’s cast a spell over me, making me want to follow his instructions.
The water feels so good as it flows down my head, and I purr softly the moment he starts massaging soap into my hair. It smells good, and it feels so nice being pampered like this.
“Are you scared, Little one?” he asks gently.
“I’m frightened out of my mind,” I tell him.
“Tell me which parts are the most upsetting, Clara.”
“Besides the fact that I’m naked and letting a strange man give me a bath?” I say, almost teasing.
“This strange man is your lifemate, and you can sense it just as strongly as I can. I know it happened fast, but that’s the way of our matings. When we meet the perfect female, we know it instantly. I scented you from the dance floor as soon as a door opened between us. I rushed to your side immediately. You can’t imagine how panicked I felt to find my mate out cold from fainting.”
I try to imagine what he must have thought and the fear he would have felt. It’s illogical, but I get it. I do feel the same strong draw toward him he feels toward me.
Papi rinses my hair and then cups my face.
I set my hand over his. Does my touch soothe him like his does me? I think so.
He meets my gaze. “Dankin will fix you,” he assures me.
I swallow. “It’s scary. It would be a very big deal having a tumor removed from inside my head on Earth. Dankin seems very confident.”
“He’s a fantastic healer, Baby girl. He will get the tumor out.”
I search his gaze. “But you’re scared, too.”
He smiles warmly. “Yes, Baby girl. I will always worry about you for the rest of my life. Every day. I will be overprotective with you for this reason. It’s in my nature. When you’re injured, I will panic. When you’re hurting, I will hurt. When you’re sad, I will be sad, too.”
Tears come to my eyes. He’s so sincere. He feels deeply. He means every word. I know he does because I feel the same strong pull.
Papi releases my face and gets more liquid soap on his hands, rubbing his palms together as he watches me. “Close your eyes, Little one. I’m going to wash your face.”
I don’t wear a lot of makeup, but what little I have will be rinsed down the drain soon. “Do they have makeup on Eleadia?” I ask.
“No, Baby girl. We don’t allow our Little girls to wear makeup. Your skin will be free of everything. It will feel so much healthier.”
“No one wears makeup?”
“Nope.”
After he rinses my face, I open my eyes and watch him put soap on a soft cloth. He picks up my arm and gently washes me from my fingers to my shoulder. I’m mesmerized as he does the other arm, leans me forward to do my back, and then eases me to recline against the basin to do my chest.
My breath hitches when he rubs the cloth over my breasts. I purse my lips to keep from moaning.
“Your nipples are so pretty, Clara,” he murmurs. “With your skin tone, I’m thinking you will look beautiful adorned with hessonite stones.”
I look at him. “Hessonite? I’m not familiar with it.”
“It’s a deep red like the blouse you were wearing. It’s the perfect color on you. It will sparkle in the sunlight.” He’s staring at my breasts as he speaks, cupping them now with both hands.
When he thumbs my nipples, my breath hitches. My arousal has never fully subsided, but it spikes. “Papi…” I squeeze my legs together as renewed sexual need grows between them.
I can’t believe my mind is on sex when I should be fully focused on the fact that I’m about to have surgery in my skull. Papi makes it impossible to think about that. He shifts my focus to my nipples and my sex.