“Four,” she sighed. “I like when you touch me. His name was Jeremiah.”
“What?” he asked in surprise.
“The bear. His name was Jeremiah. I loved him. Wish I had him right now. Guess it’s good I’ve got you, huh?”
“Yeah, baby, it is.” Sounded like she could use someone to put her needs first. What had her parents been thinking of? First her father telling her not to be silly because she’d had a nightmare then her mother throwing away her teddy bear. He’d just have to get her another one…he pushed that thought away. He wouldn’t be able to do that because he wouldn’t see her once he got her back to civilization and a hospital.
“Baby, you need to pee. Here, this might help.” He took a step back to turn on the tap.
She squeezed him tight. “Don’t leave me!”
“Hey, shh,” he soothed. “I’m not going anywhere.” He turned the tap on. “I can’t run the water for long but this might help.” Within seconds he heard her pee and sighed in relief. He turned off the tap, grabbed some toilet paper and wiped her dry before pulling her up. He held her against him with one arm while he awkwardly pulled up her panties. Then he carried her back into the bedroom and tucked her under the covers.
He moved back into the bathroom and quickly cleaned his hands before reaching into the cupboard to grab the medical kit. It was well stocked. He brought it back into the main area of the cabin and sat on the armchair he’d moved next to the bed, resting the kit on the mattress next to Ellie.
Ellie had her eyes closed, her face pale. She still looked in pain. And that wasn’t acceptable.
“Are you allergic to any pain killers, Ellie?” he asked her.
“N-no.”
Shivers wracked her body, making her whimper. Shit. He hoped she wasn’t getting ill. He placed the back of his hand over her forehead. Did she feel a bit warm? He wasn’t sure. He looked down at the two thermometers. One was the normal sort that went in your mouth. The other was one that was slid into a little girl’s bottom. He couldn’t use that on her. It was one thing to help her to the toilet, but she wasn’t his.
He grabbed the oral thermometer.
“Open up, Ellie. I need to take your temperature.”
She opened her mouth instantly. He slipped it into her mouth. Christ, he was a sick asshole for finding it a turn on that she obeyed so beautifully.
Not yours, asshole.
He slid the thermometer out. Slightly elevated but not too bad. He stood and walked to the small kitchen and pulled a glass out of a cupboard. Then he looked back at her and changed his mind, he didn’t want to make her sit her up so she could drink. He searched in the cupboards and came up with a child’s sippy cup. It looked a bit old but it would do.
He filled it with water, then secured the lid. He returned to the armchair and grabbed a couple of painkillers from the first aid kit, holding them up to her mouth.
“Open up, Ellie. You need to swallow these.”
“Don’t wanna,” she said sulkily.
He raised an eyebrow. This was the first hint of defiance he’d had from her and it surprised him. There was also a childish note to her voice that stirred things inside him. She wrinkled her nose. “Yucky.”
He sighed. Didn’t matter if she thought them yucky or not, she would be taking these. Because the alternative was her being in pain and that wasn’t happening.
“Ellie, you open your mouth and swallow these like a good girl.”
“Or what?” She opened her eyes to look up at him. “Aren’t you suppose to add a threat to that statement?”
He shook his head. “I should. But you’re certainly not well enough for a spanking.”
She dropped her lip. “You’d spank me. That’s mean.” Okay, so that pout was adorable. But not so cute as to sway him.
“It’s not mean. It’s punishment for when you’re naughty. If you don’t want a spanking then don’t be naughty.”
She yawned. “I don’t know if I want a spanking. It would probably hurt.”
He raised an eyebrow. “That’s kind of the point.”
“You’d really hit me?”