Page 158 of Broken Daddy
Didn’t want to sleep, huh?
Couldn’t boss her around?
Oh, she was in for a shock. He ran his hand over his face as he straightened.
A quiet knock on the door had him rushing over before Devi was woken up.
Kent stood on the other side with Liam, both of them looking grim. Liam held a battered backpack. It looked familiar.
“Devi’s asleep,” he said. “What’s going on?”
“Leave Donovan watching her,” Kent said. “We need to talk.”
33
Devi woke up with a gasp.
Terror held her in its grasp and she couldn’t breathe. She coughed, choking.
“Devi! Fuck, baby! Breathe. Just breathe.”
Hayes was suddenly there, helping her sit up as he rubbed her back. He grasped hold of her good hand, squeezing it tight.
“Fucking well breathe, Devi!”
And for some insane reason her body actually obeyed him. She took one shallow breath.
“And again. Be a good girl for Daddy. Take another breath. That’s it. Good. Again. Slow it down. In. Hold. Out. And again.”
She slowed her breathing down, aware that she was shaking and that she was growing cold due to the sweat drying on her skin.
Eww. Gross.
She still couldn’t remember the dream, but it had obviously been a bad one.
“That’s it. Good girl. You’re doing so well.”
Urgh, she really, really liked being praised.
All she was doing was breathing, though. It really wasn’t that big of a deal.
For some reason, he lifted her up and then he sat down on the bed with her in his lap.
His arms came around her and he held her tight, careful not to brush against her sore arm.
“There you are, baby. It’s all right. You’re okay. I have you.”
She closed her eyes for a long moment, just taking in the moment. The feeling of him holding her, keeping her safe.
“You’re all right. Daddy has you.”
Be my Daddy forever. Please.
She bit back the words. She had no right to ask that of him.
“Can you tell me what the nightmare was about?” he asked.
“I don’t . . . I don’t really remember. I guess it was probably about the other night.”
