Page 21 of Until Daddy

“Just didn’t really come up before.” She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. He didn’t like her breasts being covered up, but he’d get a good look soon enough.

“So, what else do you do there?” he asked.

“Mostly just the programs. I’ve sent a few women there from the ER because they were being abused at home, or young girls who’ve just delivered a baby and had nowhere else to turn.” She rested her chin on her knees. “Sometimes I help in the clinic if the staff nurse needs me.”

Her entire body was coiled up in a ball, giving him no view of anything other than her knees. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had a naked woman before him and they’d just talked. His comfort level with her surpassed any other he could remember.

“What made you start volunteering there?”

Her eyes darted away from him, and her muscles tightened. Her whole body seized up for a moment, and although it passed quickly, he noticed.

“I’ve been doing it so long. I don’t really remember.” She still hadn’t looked back up at him, and the little tremor in her voice told him she was holding something back.

Trust was earned, not taken, he reminded himself. Whatever had transpired in her past to make the women’s shelter a meaningful part of her life probably wasn’t something she enjoyed reliving. He could probably demand she come clean, tell him everything, but he wouldn’t. Forcing that sort of honesty from her wouldn’t build the foundation either of them could stand on for long.

And, for the first time in a very long time, he wanted the foundation to last.

“So, you spend your days saving lives, and your time off making lives better.” He scooted along the tub ledge, getting closer to her. His tub back at his condo could hold both of them. There he wouldn’t be sitting on the outside looking in, he’d have her naked body curled into his own.

“Well, I’m transferring up to the mommy and me ward next week. I hope that won’t lower your opinion of my greatness.” The teasing was back in her voice.

“Dealing with crying babies, nervous new fathers, and women going through post-partum emotions? You’re going to be a saint.” He could admit to himself at least, the idea of her moving out of emergency made him feel a bit more comfortable. Midnight shifts in Chicago emergency rooms weren’t all bursting appendixes and high fevers. At least on the maternity ward she wouldn’t come across men bleeding out from a gunshot or have to worry about the shooter barging in to finish the job.

She laughed and rested her cheek on her knee, looking up at him with such raw beauty, it made his breath hitch. She wore little make-up, just a bit of coloring around her eyes. Everything about her was so natural. So real. It was unexpected.

“Why the move?”

“There was an opening for a more static shift, and I put in for it. It was a long shot. Those shifts are the golden tickets of the nursing world at County Central. I’ll get to be on day shifts for six months, then rotate to the middle shift. There’s still movement, but not like now. Now I can be on early shift one week, late the next, then early again, it’s fucking hell on my sleep cycle.”

“Then I’m glad you got the position, but I’m not glad about that word. Watch your language.” He tapped her lips with his forefinger. “I think I’ve warned you before.”

“Sorry,” she whispered, her eyes moving to the water. “Daddy,” she added.

“Mmmhmm.” He couldn’t help but smile at her when she looked up at him through her dark lashes. She seemed to be surveying his expression before raising her chin to meet his gaze.

“I’m not keeping you from something tonight, am I?” He would leave if she had plans. He wouldn’t get in the way of her volunteering, but he hoped she had the evening clear.

“No. I’m all yours today.” Her lips curled up into a smile, playful and innocent.

“Hmm, I like the sound of that.” He put on a casual grin, reached into the tub and yanked the stopper free. “I don’t see a towel here, where are they?”

“In that little pantry thing in the corner.” She pointed to a cabinet next to the sink.

He retrieved the biggest towel he could find and brought it back to the tub.

“Okay, bath’s done. Now it’s time to get out, little girl.” He held his hand out to help her but she didn’t reach for it. She stood up in the tub and started to get out, but he stopped her.

“It’s okay, I have a mat—”

“I want to dry you off first, stand still now.” He took the towel in both hands and began to wipe away the residual suds and moisture from her body. He could feel her eyes on him, watching his expression as he continued to stroke her smooth skin with the cotton towel. Moving it across her collarbone, he dried a path across her shoulders and traveled down her arms until he reached her stomach. There, he gently wiped slower.

Her pussy was completely bare, and even with the lavender scent left on her skin, when he squatted down to dry off her legs, he could smell her aroma. The sweet smell of her need. She’d been so good in the bath, letting him wash her when he wanted to, and being as open with him as she could for now. He would have to give his girl a reward.

As he straightened back up, he threw the towel over his shoulder. “Step out for me.” He gripped her arm to keep her steady, not giving her a choice to take his hand this time.

The tips of her hair were wet from the bath, but otherwise she was completely dry and fully nude. “Come sit here.” He lifted her off the floor easily and put her on the countertop of the sink. It was not an overly large bathroom, there was enough room for her to sit on the edge but no more without slipping into the sink.

“Lean back a little,” he instructed and brushed her hair back over her shoulders until her full chest was exposed.

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