Page 26 of Daddy's Little Cowgirl

He almost snorted. “Tough shit. You’ll do what I say or else,” he said. He couldn’t believe she was trying to stand up to him. He liked that she was comfortable enough that she could act naughty, and it would be okay.

Her eyes widened. “What does the else mean?”

He ran his hand over her ass and then tapped it. “Let’s just say it might be a bit uncomfortable to sit down for a while.

He knew she understood when her face turned a lovely shade of red. At no time did he see fear, but he was a bit surprised that he saw the heat of passion. The more he got to know her, the larger and deeper his emotions were. He realized he didn’t want her that far from him.

“How about this? Let’s get you taken care of, and then we’ll grab a blanket and pillow, and you can rest in my office. The sofa in there is great for naps.”

He knew he was doing the right thing when her face lit up, and she smiled.

“Okay.” She was practically bouncing in place.

“Come on then,” he said. He pulled her into the bathroom and started the water. He turned back to see her trying to pull her t-shirt off. “Here, Sweetheart. Let me help.”

For the next hour, they got her washed, including her hair. He had no idea it took so long to blow-dry hair. But hers being long and thick made it worse.

Ridge breathed a sigh of relief when he finally got her settled on the sofa in his office. Since it took so long, he wouldn’t get half the things he needed, but she was more important than anything.

He pulled his eyes off her and got to work.

Several hours later, he looked up and checked the time. He was amazed and pleased at how much he got done. He shut everything down and stood. He felt something inside himself ease and become brighter with her there.

Ridge would never have thought he’d want a little, but after seeing his cousin with his and how sweet Ellie was, she fit him as no other had before.

He lifted her into his arms. “Shhh,” he murmured when she started to fuss. “I’m just taking you to bed.”

She cuddled up against him.

He got her settled into her bed with the blanket up to her shoulders and walked to the door, where he turned and looked back. She looked so tiny in that big bed. He was almost tempted to take her back to his room, but he didn’t know if she was ready or would even want to be with him.

Ridge decided he needed to take things slow with her. He could sense the innocence of her but didn’t know how far it went. Fuck, if she was a virgin … hell, he’d never let her go. The thought of being the only man to have her was like an aphrodisiac.

He needed to move away from her before he found out the truth, but it would have to wait. He was not going to scare her away.

Chapter Sixteen

Ellie jerked awake, abruptly sat up, and looked around. She was disoriented for a moment before she remembered where she was. She had started to relax when she realized how dark the room was. She got frightened because the room was too dark, and all she saw were menacing shadows.

She scrambled from her blanket, almost falling out of bed when it got tangled around her legs. Within two leaping steps, she was in the bathroom. She flicked the light switch on and then gazed around the room, looking in every corner to make sure no one was there.

When she finally calmed down, she rinsed her face with cool water to chase away the last of the fear that had built up in her. She turned to look out the window and noticed it wasn’t even close to morning, and she knew there was no way she’d be able to get more sleep.

Ellie put away all her things that were still in boxes and then made her bed. When she glanced at the clock, she almost groaned to see it was only four in the morning. Damn. She knew she’d have another rough day, but until she got used to being there, she’d deal with it. The last thing she wanted to do was sit in her room, so she went back to the place she’d been the morning before and rested against the railing.

She was startled awake by a hand on her shoulder.

“Sweetheart. We’ve got to figure out a way that you can sleep.” Ridge sat down next to her. “I can see the dark circles under your eyes. Do you have any idea why you’re having a problem?”

She shook her head. “Not really. All I can think is maybe because it’s a new place, or I’m used to sleeping with people close by.”

Ellie knew that was it but didn’t want to complain.

“Whatever it is, we’ll deal with it,” Ridge said.

She nodded.

He stood and held out a hand. “Let’s go eat breakfast. Maybe after, I can take you to see the kittens.”

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