Page 218 of Guardian Daddy

“I wasn’t yelling,” she exclaimed. “Was I?”

Ethan put his hand over her forehead. “I don’t know. She feels hot to me.”

Rhodes placed his hand over her head. “She’s probably just warm because she had so many blankets on her. I think she’s fine. Do you feel okay, honey?”

“Nope.”

“See?” Ethan said.

“I needs ice cream for my sore throat.”

Rhodes shot Ethan a look that she couldn’t decipher. Not that she wanted to. What she really wanted was ice cream!

Ethan shook his head. Ice cream? Again?

She was going to rot her teeth. He didn’t understand how she didn’t get a stomachache from eating ice cream this late at night.

This was the second night in a row that she’d had night terrors so bad she woke up the entire house. Her screams of terror were haunting. Last night, he hadn’t been able to go back to sleep afterward. He’d taken her to see her therapist today, but she’d come out of the appointment shaken and pale. Logically, he knew that therapy could shake things up. Rattle your emotions.

Illogically, he’d wanted to go in and shake the therapist for upsetting her.

He wasn’t sure he’d gotten any sleep tonight, either, before she’d started thrashing around in the bed, screaming.

But the worst part was when she started choking. He ran his hand over her head, surprised to see that he was trembling.

Jesus. He’d been in the Special Forces. He’d been a bodyguard for years. And yet, nothing had prepared him for the terror on his girl’s face when she was stuck in a nightmare.

Reaching over, he grabbed a sippy cup of water. The sippy cup was another purchase he’d made for her.

Yesterday, she’d thrown herself into her work. Ethan had realized that she was trying to forget what happened with Kevin and Samantha.

But he’d ended up making her take a nap after her therapy appointment because she’d been so exhausted. He’d let her suck on his cock until she’d fallen asleep.

“Drink up, baby. See if that helps your throat without the ice cream.”

She glared at him.

Oh, she was so naughty sometimes. That reminded him that he still owed her a spanking for Sunday evening.

After learning that she’d once cut her wrist, he’d felt the overwhelming urge not to let her out of his sight. It was hard not to plant himself in her office and just watch her.

“I don’t want water, Daddy.” She wrinkled her nose. “Yuck. Ice cream.”

“No ice cream until you drink some water,” he said sternly.

“Mean.” She pouted, then turned to Rhodes. “Rhoddy? Ice cream?”

Oh. She was going to get herself into big trouble.

“Baby, you can’t get told no by Daddy, then go ask your brother,” Ethan told her.

“Why not?” she asked. “Rhoddy gives me whatever I want. Ooh, maybe I should just ask him in the first place? Okie-dokie.”

“No, you don’t go ask him in the first place,” he replied sternly. “You only ask me. And if I tell you no, then that’s it.”

Her lower lip trembled, and she sniffled. “You’re telling me no?”

Dear. Lord.

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