Page 10

10

F inally.

She was finally starting to understand how seriously he took her safety. And that she would be in big trouble if she put herself at risk.

Relief filled Ian.

Along with a bit of disappointment. Shit. Why did he feel disappointed?

Because you like it when she argues with you. Admit it. It makes you feel alive.

Fuck. He was messed up.

Picking her up, he carried her into the bathroom and set her down on the toilet. She was far too light in his arms. He didn’t like that. No way would she be allowed to skip meals again.

Perhaps he should make it clear that it wasn’t just her physical safety that she wasn’t allowed to put at risk.

But as he glanced down at her, he noticed how pale and worn she appeared. There was something in her eyes . . . something that told him she was fighting battles he didn’t know about.

Shit. Maybe Chloe had been right.

He’d thought that she’d pulled one over on them. She was a tricky Little thing, after all.

But what if something going on with her? Something she was hiding?

“Maggie? You all right?”

She smiled brightly. “Never better. I smashed what was probably a valuable vase. Stepped on it and cut myself. Learned that, for some strange reason, you and Jack are now our guards and escorts instead of Beck and Hux, who were far more pleasant and stable. Well, more stable than you. Jack’s very pleasant. I think he should just be our escort. You can go spread your joy elsewhere.”

Jack? Pleasant?

Dear Lord.

“You don’t get to decide that.” He tried to gentle his voice as she yawned.

The urge to cuddle her to his chest while he fed her by hand filled him. He wanted to wrap her up in blankets and watch over her while she slept.

But he couldn’t do any of those things. For one, she might freak out. Two, she wasn’t his. And three, she might make a complaint about him threatening to spank her and then treating her like a baby.

She might have a stuffed toy, but that didn’t mean that she was a Little.

Although there had been some other definite signs.

She’s not your type.

He wanted someone with self-control. Quiet and obedient. Pleasant. Someone who would entice Jameson back into wanting this sort of relationship.

Jameson had always been into educated, quiet women who dressed impeccably and had perfect manners.

Nothing like this misfit.

So he should just push any thoughts about dominating or wanting to coddle her out of his mind.

It didn’t matter that she made him feel alive. That she challenged and intrigued him.

It didn’t matter that, for the first time in years, Jack paid attention to someone other than him or Jameson for more than five minutes.

Nope. None of that mattered.

“Oh, and I embarrassed myself by gaping at Jameson like he’s some sort of rock star. Thank God I didn’t ask for his autograph. And then there are the last twenty minutes.” She groaned, looking pained.

Ian felt terrible because he could have made things easier on her rather than threatening to spank her.

“Hey, listen to me. The vase doesn’t matter. Your foot will heal if you take care of yourself. And you have nothing to be embarrassed about.”

She gave him a skeptical look but nodded.

“Now, let’s get your trousers off so you can pee, and then I’ll put you to bed.”

She groaned. “You are not pulling my trousers down or putting me to bed. Get out.”

He frowned. “Little Misfit?—”

“Nope. Nuh-uh. I have reached my limit for the day. Out!”

“You need help.”

“I can use the toilet on my own. Been doing that since I was a toddler. And if I need to move around, I can hop. Out.”

He scowled. But he didn’t really have a leg to stand on and he knew it.

“Fine, but if you fall over and hurt yourself, you’re in trouble.”

“You know, you might want to make a recording of yourself and play it back. Or better yet, take it to your therapy session. That might work better. Out!”

With a grumble, he left the bathroom. He didn’t like it. He wanted to wait in her bedroom in case she needed him.

But when he entered her bedroom, he found Jack in there.

“What are you doing?” he asked as the other man pulled something out of a drawer.

“She has a vibrator.” Jack held up a pink vibrator with rabbit ears.

“So? Lots of people have sex toys.” Although the thought of using that vibrator on her was both intriguing and hot.

“Yes. But weirdly, she only has one. And it’s not very big.”

“Maybe she has more at home.” Wait. How did they get into a conversation about sex toys? “Put that back. What are you doing in here?”

Jack shrugged. “I got bored.”

Reaching over, Ian plucked the vibrator out of Jack’s hand and put it back in the drawer. “You can’t just walk into her room and start looking through her stuff.”

With a glance over his shoulder at the bathroom door, he led Jack out into the hallway.

Jack just smiled. “What’s wrong? You’re agitated.”

“I’m always agitated.”

“Not lately. You’ve been surprisingly calm and boring. But since Maggie came here you’ve been different. Less boring.”

“Do not get any ideas,” he ordered. “She’s the job. Nothing more. She is not for us.”

Jack raised his eyebrows, grinning like a maniac.

Sometimes, Ian wondered if he shouldn’t just give up. Let Jameson live whatever life he wanted away from them. Let Jack do whatever the fuck he wanted.

While Ian lay on a beach somewhere. If he needed money, he could get a job tending bar or something. That would be an easy life. No worries. Just the beach, surf, and play.

“Dreaming about a life on the beach again?” Jack asked. “You do remember that you hate sand and water, right?”

“I don’t hate it. I just don’t have a burning urge to spend time sitting on a beach doing nothing.” Ian sighed. “She’s not the one for us.”

“I didn’t say she was. But she sure is . . . interesting, don’t you agree?”

Yeah. That was something he could agree with.

But it didn’t mean anything.

It couldn’t.