Page 7 of Rock

He lifted her chin with a finger. “I’m sorry I laughed. You probably didn’t need that. I’m a complex guy. My fridge has more than beer in it, Baby girl. How about lemon-lime soda or apple juice?”

Shocked by his choices, she asked, “Do you not drink caffeine?”

“Sure I do. I have several types of colas too, but Little girls don’t need caffeine this late at night.”

Her cheeks heated again. That was three times he’d called her a Little girl. He’d started calling her Little Lyla the day she’d met him. The nickname had never bothered her. It was their thing. He never said it in front of other people. It made her feel special, like she meant something to him. It made her feel cherished.

But Little girl?

“I’m not a baby, you know.” She straightened her spine and stared at him. “In fact, I’m not a child at all. I’m eighteen now.”

“Baby girl, I’ve never been more aware of anything in my life as I am about your age and your adult status. That’s not going to stop me from calling you Little girl. It’s in my blood. I’m a nurturing guy by nature. My instinct is to take care of you and make sure you’re safe.”

“Oh.” Her head was spinning. Half of his words didn’t make much sense to her, and the other half made her panties wet. What did he mean by being overly aware of her age?

“How about if I choose for you?” he suggested. Keeping one hand extended across her body and planted on the counter as if to keep her from falling, he used the other to pull the fridge open.

She didn’t look inside. She didn’t want to take her gaze off him. How long would he let her stay here? How many hours was this most perfect night of her life going to last?

When she saw the drink he’d pulled out, she giggled. “Why do you have juice boxes in your fridge?”

He shrugged as he put the straw in the hole. “Never hurts to be prepared. Never know when the prettiest Little girl in the world might come by and need a drink.”

She took the juice box from him and sipped down most of it in one long drink. “I guess I was thirsty.”

“There’s plenty more. Help yourself if you want another or ask me to get it for you.”

“’K.”

He pushed back a few inches and surprised her again when he lifted one of her feet and removed the shoe. He did the same to the other side before setting the stilettos on the floor next to the cabinets. “I bet your toes were screaming.”

“Yeah. They kind of were.”

“How much dancing did you do?”

She shrugged and looked away. “Not much,” she muttered. “I don’t really want to talk about the dance, Rock. Can’t we just pretend it didn’t happen and move on?”

“Nope. I want to hear the details. I want to know what happened to make you arrive home alone with tears in your eyes. Do I need to hunt down the boy you went to prom with and teach him some manners?”

She gasped, eyes going wide.

Rock snickered. “Baby girl, unless that boy did something worthy of a good hard lesson, I’m kidding.”

“Oh.” Shrugging as if she hadn’t totally taken him seriously, she continued, “I mean it’s not a bad idea.”

Rock drew in a breath. “Start from the beginning.” He scooped her off the counter, handed her the bear she’d placed next to the sink, and made sure she had a grip on her juice box. “Let’s go sit on the couch.”

As he deposited her on the sectional, she squirmed to adjust her dress. It was hard to sit comfortably in the damn thing. It was made for standing. Not even walking. The skirt had kept her from taking more than baby steps.

Rock leaned over her, setting both hands on the back of the sofa, pinning her in the way he’d done on the kitchen counter. “You’re uncomfortable. That dress is sexy as fuck but you’ve had enough of it, haven’t you?”

Her breath hitched. Had he just said she was sexy?

“You heard me, Little Lyla. And don’t act so surprised. You spent all day getting ready for the prom. At least four people worked on you, doing your hair and makeup and nails. Am I wrong?”

She shook her head.

“So yeah, sexy as fuck. Don’t ever doubt it. But I bet you’d like to get out of that dress. How about if I lend you one of my T-shirts? It would hang low enough to keep you fully covered.”

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