He moved so he was sitting on the bed next to her. Then he drew her up against his chest with one arm behind her, steadying her. The teat was placed against her mouth again.
“Open up.”
“Open up. Suck. This sounds like a bad porn video.”
He snorted.
She closed her eyes, uninterested in doing anything but sleeping. “I hates being sick.”
“I know, button. And I’m sorry you don’t feel well. But you won’t get better by refusing to drink. You haven’t been potty in hours.”
Potty?
“I’s not a baby, Daddy.”
“Well, a big girl would drink her water, wouldn’t she? Come on now, or I’m going to have to get tough with you.”
“You would spank me while I’m sick?” she asked, aghast. “That’s just mean, Daddy.”
“No, I wouldn’t. But I will keep track of all your naughtiness in a notebook. That sounds like a good idea. We’ll call it Betsy’s Bad Girl Notebook.”
“That sounds like a horrid idea.”
“Think I’ve got a notebook downstairs we can use. And if you don’t drink from your bottle right now, this is going down as your first infraction.”
With a sigh, she opened her mouth and let him give her the bottle. She had to admit, the cool water felt good against her scratchy throat. She nearly finished the whole bottle before sleepily pushing it away.
“Good girl, button. Sleep now. I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.”
33
“Damn it, where is Stone?” Ink scowled as he picked up his phone, looking at the time. “We need to leave to make the appointment with the principal.”
“We could just not go,” Baron suggests.
“Yep, best we go another time,” Royal added.
“Or I could just come with you,” she said.
All three men turned to stare at her. Ink looked stern. Royal seemed incredulous while Baron just appeared puzzled.
“Ink just had to carry you down the stairs. What makes you think you can go to an appointment?” Baron queried.
She groaned. “Ink is just overprotective. I rested all weekend. I’m doing much better.”
“You’re staying here,” Ink told her, pointing at her. “You’re not to move from that couch, understand?”
She was bundled up on the sofa under a blanket with a bottle of water and some tissues close at hand. Ink was coddling her.
“I still say I’d be fine.”
“Ma, your nose is red enough I’m worried that Santa is gonna snatch you up, mistaking you for Rudolf,” Royal told her with a grin.
She wrinkled her nose at him. “Brat.”
Ink’s phone rang. “Yeah, Stone, where are you man? Fuck, really? We have to go now if we’re gonna make it. Yeah. Got it.”
He ended the call. “Stone’s stuck in traffic. There was an accident. Says he’ll be here in twenty.”