“You do, little one. But I love your natural beauty, not the paint women put on their faces.”
She nodded and stayed silent. She was actually happy about that. She’d never been able to put on makeup the right way.
He pulled out into traffic abruptly, making a few cars behind him honk.
She watched him as she bit her lip. She worried more as the minutes passed and he didn’t say anything.
“Are you mad at me? If you are,” she continued without letting him answer, “you can take me home.”
At a stoplight, he turned his head to her and narrowed his eyes.
“There is no way I’m taking you to your place. We’ve got so much to talk about. I’m not pissed at you. I’m pissed at myself. I made so many mistakes.”
“You did? Like what?”
“Like not getting your number or talking to you directly when I called earlier. That’s just the start.”
“I don’t want you to be mad at yourself. It all worked out.”
“Not yet, it hasn’t, but I guarantee before I’m done, it will be.”
Aleena settled back. She felt calm. She knew he would take care of everything, so she didn’t have to worry about it, and she felt a peace she never had before.
Chapter Four
He couldn’t get the sight of the blood that had been on her legs and hands out of his mind. He cursed again under his breath. This woman would never know pain again if he had anything to do about it.
He glanced at her a few times, worried when she was so quiet. “I’ll get you taken care of, baby.”
Aleena turned her head toward him and smiled. “I know. I’m just resting.”
Kaleb’s chest tightened, and a ball of emotion clogged his throat. The fact she trusted him to take care of her was more than he’d expected so soon. His friends had told him about how they fe
lt when they met their littles. He just hadn’t understood how powerful the emotion would be until that moment.
He pulled into underground parking and into his own space. It was next to the elevator that would take them to his penthouse.
He came around and opened her door, unsnapped her seatbelt, and lifted her into his arms.
“I really can walk.”
He shook his head. “Absolutely not.”
She giggled, wrapped her arms around his neck, and laid her head on his shoulder.
Within a minute, he had her sitting on the sofa, and her shoes pulled off and set aside. He turned on the fireplace. “Stay there. I need to get a few things.”
She leaned back. “Okay.”
He came back with a box with a red cross on it and a bowl of warm water. He reached for her and stood her in front of him. He unsnapped her pants.
She grabbed ahold of his hands. “Wait. What are you doing?”
“I need the pants off so that I can take care of your legs.”
“I can roll my pants legs up.”
He shook his head. “They’re too tight. Baby, nothing is going to happen. I’m just going to take care of you. I swear to you, you have nothing to fear from me, ever. I would never take something from you or make you do something you weren’t ready for.”