Chapter Fourteen
Twyla woke in the morning feeling like absolute shit. Sore and nauseated, like she’d been hit by a bus. Okay, not a bus but half a dozen teenage boys whaling on her couldn’t be that much different. Everything hurt. She hadn’t thought it was possible to feel worse than she had yesterday, but she did.
Something felt good though. There was a body pressed to her back and an arm slung around her waist—she was being spooned, and it felt so safe and nice.
Everything came flooding back to her and as she shifted, yes, she was still wearing a diaper. And she’d been bottle-fed and changed. It was mortifying but she was all glowy in her chest thinking about it too. Maybe shewasa little girl, and maybe Mr. Fox was her daddy. That sounded nice.
“Good morning, little girl.”
Oh. Mr. Fox’s voice was soft and sleepy and grumbly and it made her smile. And maybe nestle back into him, put her hand on top of his where he held her. She didn’t fail to notice that he was hard, his penis pressing into her, but he didn’t try anything. Just leaned over her to kiss and nuzzle the side of her neck.
“How are you feeling?”
Twyla paused, not knowing what he would do if she told him how she really felt. Would he try to get her to go to the hospital again?
“Tell me the truth, sweetheart. I’m guessing you feel pretty bad, but if there’s something besides the soreness you’d expect then we’ll call Dr. Eric.”
She let out a breath, some of her tension flooding out of her with the air. Twyla rolled over, wincing as she did, because yeah, ouch. She probably looked awful too but Mr. Fox didn’t flinch or look horrified when he saw her face. No, he smiled. It was a little sad and normally she’d punch someone for pitying her, but she didn’t mind it so much from him. Maybe because she knew he’d try to make her feel better.
“I’m really sore. Everything hurts and I feel kind of sick to my stomach. But it just feels like bruises and stuff, not an emergency or anything.”
“Good,” he said, as he brushed hair away from her face and then kissed her forehead. “We should get you changed, check your temperature, give you some pain meds, and then we’ll have some breakfast.”
Twyla considered protesting because she still felt uncomfortable being in a diaper and she suspected Mr. Fox would be checking her temperature the same way Dr. Eric did, and give her medicine the same way too. So embarrassing. But she had to admit her stomach hadn’t gotten upset and sometimes it did when she took pain meds on an empty stomach. Maybe Dr. Eric was on to something after all.
So instead of arguing, she snuggled closer to Mr. Fox, burying her head under his chin and breathing him in. She noticed for the first time that he wasn’t wearing a shirt and the thick hair on his chest tickled her nose. He smelled like sleep but also clean like he’d taken a shower before he came to bed and his body was all hard muscle and smooth skin as she skimmed her fingers over his side and his back. He held her close and she felt like she could be cuddled by him forever.
“As much as I like holding you, we need to get up.”
“But why?” she whined.
It was Saturday and she felt terrible and all she wanted to do was lie in bed and maybe watch a movie. Was he going to make her do chores or something?
Mr. Fox leaned away and tipped her chin up with his fingers so he could look her in the eyes. “Because Principal York is coming by in a couple of hours to check on you and I want to make sure you’re fed and bathed and dressed before he gets here. I’ll do everything I can to let you stay here but we need to convince him it’s a good idea, okay?”
Her stomach clenched with fear. She didn’t want to get taken away. She didn’t want to go home. She wanted to stay here. Tears welled in her eyes and the pain in her stomach got worse. “Please don’t let him take me, Daddy.”
“Oh, little girl.” He pulled her close and rubbed her back in a soothing motion. “I promise I’ll do anything I can to keep you with me. This is your home now, you belong to me.”
“Okay,” she whispered into his chest, and felt a little better. “I’ll do anything you say if it helps me stay here.”
“There’s my good girl. Let’s get you ready.”
Mr. Fox kissed her one more time on her forehead and then climbed out from under the sheets. He was only wearing a pair of boxer briefs and though she shouldn’t have really been paying attention because it’s not as though she felt up to doing anything about it at the moment, she couldn’t help but notice his broad shoulders and thick biceps, his washboard abs that narrowed down to one of those drool-worthy Vs. Yep, he was built and super hot.
She didn’t have long to stare because he peeled the covers off her and scooped her off the bed. Being carried wasn’t something she’d ever thought she’d enjoy but she liked it when Mr. Fox—her daddy—did it. She sighed and rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes while he brought her into the nursery.
It still felt weird for him to set her on the changing table, but she liked the way she could swing her legs while she sat at the edge and even though she wouldn’t admit it, she kind of liked how the diaper felt soft under her butt.
Mr. Fox unbuttoned the shirt she was wearing and tossed it in the laundry bin and then helped her scoot back and lie down. It should have been weird to be lying here naked except for her diaper and it was, but she also kind of liked it.
“Is your diaper wet or dry?”
“Dry, Daddy,” she said proudly, but his mouth tightened.
“It’s not healthy for a little girl to go so long without going potty. You need to go now and then we’ll get you changed.”
“But…”