Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 45366 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 227(@200wpm)___ 181(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45366 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 227(@200wpm)___ 181(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
Little girls, by and large, don’t initially accept our extremely protective nature. It’s foreign to them. They aren’t used to the way we care for them and struggle to grasp that our overprotective nature stems from a deep-seated need to ensure their safety.
As I follow Riand to the pod and settle in my seat, I keep my gaze on Kendra. She’s still sleeping peacefully. I loosely hold one of her sweet hands in mine between her breasts, and I love the way she wraps her small fingers around my pinky as if holding on to a lifeline. In a way, she’s not wrong.
She’s taken to the pacifier nicely. She has suckled it most of the past hour in her sleep. The soft lines around her eyes have gradually smoothed, letting me know her headache has subsided. She’s at peace.
During the short trip to the starship, I feel the warmth growing beneath my palm, indicating she has wet her diaper. This pleases me greatly. I know she wouldn’t have been able to wet herself without the influence of my sedative, but the fact that she has bodes well. She will need to learn to relieve herself into the soft material without complaint. The sooner we establish that, the better.
Kendra is just beginning to come out of the sedative as I exit the pod, thank Riand, and make my way toward processing. She’s still asleep but squirming a bit in my arms as I greet Jefared at his desk.
He looks up at my arrival and smiles. “I heard you were on your way.” He rises and glances at the bundle in my arms. “Why don’t you pass through to the clinic first. Surgient is waiting for you. We’ll get her processed after you’ve seen the doctor. In fact, if you have her ID, I can do the initial intake and speed things up for you.”
I drop my bag onto a chair across from Jefared. “Thank you. Her purse is in my bag. Feel free to find her ID. The sooner you get her entered into the system, the sooner Zack will have confirmation at Club Zoom that she has been claimed. He’s going to have his hands full confronting her kin.”
Jefared winces and nods. “No worries. We’ll get it started. I’ll talk to you more after you see Surgient.”
I pass through the processing office and into the clinic. Surgient is waiting for me, and he turns with a grin. “Hi there.”
Kendra is coming awake slowly, whimpering and wiggling adorably. “This is Kendra,” I tell him. “Like I told you on the phone, she drank far too much alcohol in the club. Most of it left her system when she vomited several times, but I also gave her an anti-nausea suppository and pricked her to help her sleep. It’s been a little over an hour.”
“Looks like you gave her just the right amount. She’s rousing.” He pats the exam table. “Go ahead and lay her here.”
When I tug the blanket off her to set it on the chair along the wall, she rouses a bit more. She finally blinks a few times as I lower her to the exam table, probably sensing the fact that she is no longer snuggled against me.
Already our bodies have started to align. She will feel the loss of my touch, especially from our chest-to-chest contact. I feel it too. It’s powerful. I want to scoop her back up and hold her close. My chest tightens as soon as I’m no longer cradling her.
My life has taken a giant shift since I entered that bathroom. It was instantaneous and all-consuming. Kendra is mine. My life. My heart. My soul. It will take her longer to accept that fact, but in time, she will understand.
My Little girl has a death grip on my pinky. She’s not letting go as I situate her on the table. I rub her tummy with my free hand and lean over her, waiting for her to fully come awake and meet my gaze.
Finally, she focusses on me. Her eyes are wide as she suckles the pacifier harder before freezing her motions. Her mouth opens, and the pacifier slips out.
I snag it before it can tumble to the floor and stick it in my pocket. “Hey there, Little one. How do you feel?”
She frowns and glances around. “Where am I?”
“On the starship. Do you remember I promised you I would get you off Earth as fast as possible?”
She squirms, her legs kicking out. I’m aware her instinct is to bring her thighs together. She won’t be able to. She’ll never be able to again except when I’m changing her or she’s in the bath.
“Did they find me?”
I hate that her first concern is about her father and her fiancé. I hope she won’t wake for too many days worrying about them. “No, Baby girl. They can’t get to you. You’re safe.”