“Tiny!” She raised her arms into the air and giggled like a loon. Her giggles turned to cries of mercy as he tickled her to the ground. Mr. Fluffy got in on the act, barking and trying to pounce on her as he licked her face.
Gradually, she called for mercy, fearing she was going to pee herself.
But the huge smile didn’t leave her face for a long time afterward.
26
Spike knew he was going to have to tell her about Steele’s idea to find the traitor.
But right now, he liked that she was carefree. Every night, she slept in his bed, after he’d given her a bath. Then an orgasm to help her sleep. He hadn’t let her return the favor yet, and he knew she was starting to wonder why.
He wasn’t quite sure himself. There was something holding him back from going further.
Maybe it was because he felt like he would be betraying Jacqui.
He strolled into the living room with a bowl of popcorn in his hand. Millie was sitting at the coffee table, coloring. Well, she was kneeling not sitting because earlier today, she’d earned herself a punishment for saying something derogatory about herself. He’d given her ten with his hand, followed by five with the back of her hairbrush since this was something she continued to do.
Then she’d had to spend fifteen minutes in the corner, which he knew was pure torture for her.
The woman sure did like to chat. And she was very rarely still. He’d often catch her dancing around the house, singing loudly. The first time he’d heard her voice . . . well, he’d been shocked. She had this big, deep voice that seemed to fill the whole house. He’d stood there frozen as she’d used the microphone he’d bought for her and belted out a song that he thought came from some cartoon movie.
Then she’d danced around the room. When she’d seen him standing there, watching her, she’d frozen, her eyes wide.
Silly girl seemed to think he’d be embarrassed by her. Everything she did was so genuine. She was an open book. Well, almost. She didn’t talk much about her reason for being here. He’d heard stories about the people in her hometown. They all seemed crazy as hell. She filled the house with her chatter, normally talking to the dog since Spike spent most of his days in his office.
He’d come out to make her meals. To bathe her and put her to bed or down for a nap but otherwise, he kept some distance. Tried to convince himself that he didn’t feel anything other than affection for her.
“How is the picture going?” he asked, setting the popcorn down. Tonight they were watching a movie called Sing. He glanced at her picture, wincing slightly. What was that?
“It’s going great! What do you think of it, Daddy?”
“Hmm. Looks great.”
“What color should I do this?” She pointed at some sort of scribbly mess that went along the bottom of the picture.
“Uh, black?” he suggested. He had no freaking idea since he couldn’t tell what on Earth it was.
“Black? Daddy those are the flowers in the garden! You can’t get black flowers!”
“You can’t?” he asked.
“I don’t think you can. Maybe there’s black tulips. I like tulips. Okay, Daddy. I’ll do some black for you.”
“Movie’s on soon.” He sat in the chair and felt something sharp pushing into his back. Standing up, he pushed aside the cushion. “What the fuck . . .”
He drew out a chop bone. “Baby doll, you want to explain this?”
Millie looked up at him in surprise. Then she glanced over at that fluff ball dog of hers. Today he was dressed up like a dinosaur. “Mr. Fluffy, did you put your chop bone on Daddy’s seat?”
The puppy yawned, looking completely unconcerned.
“Did you give him a chop to eat?”
“He was hungry.” She gave him big, innocent eyes.
He shook his head. Damn dog was always leaving chewed up things around. But only where he sat or slept. Or in his boots. The day her toys arrived, he’d found a chewed-up sausage on his office chair.
“It’s only because he loves you that he leaves you these presents.”