Dirty Vegas Nights (The Trifecta 2)

“Well, I guess since you’re not going anywhere I’m going to have to get creative tonight with your punishment.”

Axel starts to say something, but then I hear his mouth snap shut. “I’ll be right back,” he shouts most likely to his brothers. I listen to him walk away until it’s quiet. “You had me there for a second.” His voice is husky.

My nipples pebble knowing what happens when he uses that voice. “Good.” My voice is barely a whisper.

“I’m going to get out of here as soon as I can. I think I was really bad and should be thoroughly punished.”

“I agree. Now hurry up.”

“Fuck, now I have a hard on and I have to go work with my brothers.”

I laugh into the phone. “See you soon.” I hang up to the sound of him groaning.

“Mommy.” Felicity’s on the couch cuddled against my mom. Her face is pale and from the sheen on her forehead she’s clammy.

“What’s the matter, baby?” I rush over to her, kissing her forehead and instantly feel her fever.

“She didn’t want to eat her dinner and fell asleep early. When she woke up a couple hours ago she had a fever. I gave her some medicine. We’ve been on the couch waiting for you to get home,” my mother says, giving me the rundown as I grab some pedialyte from the fridge.

I doze off with Felicity on the couch as we watch cartoons. Her fever broke earlier and since she missed dinner she stuffed herself with food.

And now she wakes up in a rush and runs to the bathroom to get sick.

Mothering at its finest.

I hold her blonde hair off her neck.

“Is everything ok?” Axel asks, leaning against the door jam.

I didn’t even hear him come inside. “Yeah, she just caught a little bug.”

“Hey, superhero.” Felicity tries her best to beam up at him.

“Hey, little one.” Axel bends down, picking Felicity up to feel her forehead. “How are you feeling?”

“My belly hurts.” Felicity puts her head on his shoulder, her body still exhausted from fighting her fever.

“What do we do now?” Axel asks, his face pale as he holds my daughter.

“We hang out on the couch, watch some cartoons, and hopefully take a nap.” I yawn, stretching as I walk over to him.

The three of us are on the couch. Axel on one side and I’m on the other. Felicity has her head on my lap and her feet on Axel’s. We watch cartoons until Felicity complains she’s hungry. Learning my lesson, I have her sip water and nibble on some Saltine crackers. After she’s full, she passes out, and Axel carries her to bed.

“Is she going to be ok?” he asks.

I love how worried he looks, and it makes my heart grow even more. “Kids get sick all the time. Her fever broke so she should be fine.”

Axel’s shoulders are still tense as I lead him to my bed. We both fall asleep on top of the covers with our clothes still on.

17

Axel

Something small is poking my nose. I shoo it away with my hand. A little giggle fills the room, waking me up. With gritty eyes, I see Felicity staring at me with a smile on her face, her finger coming in for another poke. I catch her hand and put my other one on her forehead. She’s still a little warm, but thankfully her face isn’t as flushed as it was last night, or should I say this morning.

“Hey, how are you feeling?” I keep my voice quiet, not wanting to wake up Emma.

“I don’t feel so good.” Her lips pout and how can I deny her face.

“I know, baby girl. Come on let’s let your mommy sleep.” I sneak out into the living room where I find Janet.

“Hey baby. I told you not to wake up your mommy.” Janet turns around, jumping a bit when she sees me and not Emma. “Well good morning, I didn’t know you were here.”

“Felicity was sick last night. I helped Emma take care of this little monster.” I pick up Felicity and hug her. Felicity must not feel good because instead of squirming and laughing she lays her head on my shoulder.

“You guys could’ve come and got me. I would’ve helped.” Her protest is feeble as if she likes the fact I stayed all night to help her daughter and granddaughter.

“It wasn’t a big deal.”

“Do you want some breakfast?” Felicity shakes her head against my shoulder.

“I need you to eat something,” I tell her, taking her into the kitchen to see what I can entice her with.

After convincing her to drink some water and eat some crackers, I check the time. It’s been long enough and I give her another dose of medicine, hoping this one will knock out the remaining sickness.

“What do you want to do now?” I ask as Felicity nibbles on another cracker.