Page 15 of Koa's Little Girl
Koa held her close until he recovered. Then he washed them both as she struggled to stand. After wrapping her in a soft towel, her daddy carried her to his bed. He dried her gently and laid her on the soft sheets. Within seconds, he curled himself around her and drew the covers up to keep her warm.
“I’m so glad you’re home, Daddy,” Giana mumbled and felt his kiss on her temple. She heard the rumble of his deep voice, but didn’t grasp the words as sleep claimed her.
CHAPTER 7
Waking up immediately as his little girl rolled toward the edge of the bed, Koa asked, “You okay, Flame?”
“Just running to the bathroom,” she explained. He could hear the faint embarrassment in her tone.
“That’s allowed,” he teased and was pleased to see the tension in her shoulders ease. “Need help?”
“No, Daddy,” she said and fled for the bathroom with pink cheeks.
After checking the clock to see it was slightly past seven in the evening, Koa swung his feet over the side and stood. As he made his bed, Koa fluffed the pillow on Giana’s side. A whiff of her scent tantalized him. He pressed his face into the stuffing and inhaled.
“You’re not smothering yourself, are you?” she asked with an arched eyebrow.
Koa dropped the pillow back to the bed and walked toward her. “I’ll get my fix from the original source.” He buried his head in the crook of her neck and sniffed.
“You’re smelling me?” she asked, laughing.
“A long-lasting holdover from our caveman days. I’ve imprinted on your scent,” he explained in mock educationalese.
“Caveman days? I’ll believe that! Got a T-shirt or something I can wear? You’re going to tire of me parading around nude,” she said.
Koa placed his hand on her forehead as if checking for a fever. “Maybe I should grab my thermometer. You must be coming down with something if that idea even pops into your mind.”
Playing along, she opened her mouth as if waiting for the instrument.
Koa gently lifted her lower jaw to shut her mouth. “That’s not where little girls have their temperature taken,” he told her and patted her cute bottom.
The play of emotions on her face was adorable. Shock. Disbelief. Interest. Arousal. She was such a precious little girl. He waited patiently.
“I feel wonderful—not sick at all,” she assured him.
“I’m glad.” Koa walked over to his dresser and grabbed a T-shirt and shorts. She could pull the string tight, and they’d probably stay up. If they didn’t… well, he could live with that. “Let’s see if you’ll be comfortable in these. I’ll clear out a drawer for you.”
“Do you think that’s moving too fast? My bringing clothes over here?” she asked, worrying her bottom lip with her teeth.
“It doesn’t seem fast to me. I’d move you in permanently tomorrow. What’s more important is how you feel. Is it too early in our relationship for you?” Koa asked.
Giana stared at him for a few seconds and slowly shook her head. “I’m baffled why I feel so confident about this, but no. I enjoy being with you. I missed you so much while you were gone.”
Koa walked forward and pulled her into his arms. He hugged her tightly before dropping a kiss on the top of her head. When he heard her exhale strongly, he cupped her jaw to tilt her gazeup to meet his. “I missed you too, Flame. How about if we spend time together and not worry about whether it’s the conventional thing to do? No one gets any say in what we do except us.”
She nodded immediately. “I’d like that.” Her stomach growled loudly.
“Then that’s what we do. First, we get you dressed, and then I get us some food.”
“I don’t need anything fancy,” she told him. “A sandwich is great… Or something frozen.”
“You’ll get Daddy’s fancy, make-ahead taco feast.” Koa stepped back and grabbed the shirt, pulling it over her head.
“Daddy’s fancy, make-ahead taco feast?” The fabric muffled her voice.
Koa smiled and tugged the opening over her head. “Exactly. I took advantage of downtime to get everything together so that when you got here, we could concentrate on other things.”
“Do you have groceries here? We could go out,” she suggested.
