Setting the orange, pill, and water down, he gave her a pointed look. Then he headed outside to grab some wood for the fire. He thought she might like to lie on the sofa in front of the fire this afternoon.
Sleeping with her last night had been heaven and hell. He’d retrieved her parrot from the bag of stuff he’d grabbed from the motel room. While shoving everything into the washing machine, he’d found a cute onesie with a drop seat. He’d washed that as well, but hadn’t mentioned it to her. The last thing he wanted was to embarrass her.
As soon as he’d settled
the toy in her arms, she’d grabbed it in one hand and placed her thumb in her mouth, sucking.
Fuck. That had nearly killed him. When he’d climbed into bed, she’d rolled towards him, wrapping herself around him. Needless to say, he hadn’t gotten much sleep.
But it had been one of the best nights of his life.
As he gathered up some wood, he stilled. A feeling ran over his skin. Almost like he was being watched. He turned, looking around. He’d learned to listen to his instincts over the years. But he couldn’t see anyone out there. Wind whipped around him. Another storm was coming in. He hoped Georgie wasn’t scared of thunder.
Then again, if she was, he’d have to comfort her. There was nothing he liked more than to snuggle with a woman. He didn’t give a fuck what that did for his alpha reputation. If anyone thought less of him for liking a cuddle, they could kiss his ass.
Shaking it off, he turned to walk towards the house and saw a dead rose sitting off to the side of the woodshed. That was weird, he didn’t have any rose bushes on his property.
He moved towards the house. Opening the door, he put the wood beside the fireplace. Then he locked the sliding door and set the alarm. He usually did that at night. But for some reason, he felt the need to do it now.
A sigh came from behind as he finished stacking the firewood. He turned with a frown to find Georgie limping into the room.
Right. That was it. There was going easy on her because she was just out of the hospital and didn’t yet know all the ins and outs of what he expected from her. But disregarding his orders time after time couldn’t continue to go unanswered. For her sake as much as for his.
“Are any of my clothes dry? I’d like to get dressed.” She’d pulled her hair back into a bun. She looked stiff and formal.
Nope. He wasn’t having that. Any of it.
“What do you think you are doing?” he asked calmly, standing slowly. He didn’t want to startle her. Not after knowing that there was some secret in her past. A man who had hurt her.
“What does it look like I’m doing?” she asked in a cool voice.
The mask was back.
“What happened during that call?” That had to be the reason she now looked like this.
“What makes you think anything happened?”
He narrowed his gaze at her. All right, so she wasn’t ready to tell him. Fine. But that didn’t mean he was going to let her get away with disobeying him.
“What was the rule about walking?”
She scoffed. “That was a stupid rule. I can’t not walk for the rest of the day. And just because I’m staying with you, doesn’t mean you get to order me around. Or tell me that you’re going to spank me. I’m not sure why you think that is funny, but it’s not.”
“Oh, I don’t think it’s funny. Believe me.” He moved over to where she stood, glaring at him defiantly. Then he leaned down. “And neither will you soon.”
He hauled her over his shoulder and gave her four sharp slaps on her ass. Which was only covered by his T-shirt and another pair of his boxers that were tied at the waist. Most of her clothes were dry. He’d already checked them. But he liked her like this. In his clothes.
“What are you doing?” she screeched, trying to fight her way off his shoulder. He had to grin, even though he now had a hellcat on his hands. He’d rather have her like this than how she’d been just before. “Put me down you-you pig bottom munching, onion farting, garlic breathing man!”
Oh, her insults were hilarious.
“No,” he told her. “I don’t think I will. I think I like you just where you are. Besides, this gives me easy access to your ass.”
“You had no right to spank me! This is police brutality.”
“For one, that wasn’t a spanking. That was a couple of taps to get your attention.”
“Fudge!”