She nodded.
“Second is no running away without telling me. Something goes wrong, upset you then you talk to me. Understand?”
Her eyes went wide. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“Good.” Although he wasn’t sure he quite believed that. Yet.
“I said this last night, I’ll say it again because it bears repeating. You get in trouble, you call me. Straight away.”
“Not the police?”
“Depending on the situation, police first then me a close second. Clear?”
“Yes.”
“Four is about safety. You check the door to see who’s there first before you open it. We’ve already talked about you going out and what I expect.”
“Okay,” she answered.
“Five is eating habits. I don’t want you to get sick and you’re going to you keep eating the way you do. You can’t live on sugar and caffeine. You eat three real meals a day, understand me? Even if I’m not here to make sure you do that.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Yes, I got that.”
“Last, I don’t make it back tomorrow night, I want a text before you go to bed. I’ll call if I can to say goodnight.”
“All right.”
“And Daisy, what we got here, it’s exclusive, understand me? There is no one else. Understand?”
Hurt stabbed at her. He really thought she would do that to him? That she would see someone else on the side?
Of course, he does, because he thinks you cheated on him once. He’s never going to trust you without the truth.
“Hey, I didn’t say that to cause you pain. We were kids back then. Holding onto anger and hurt doesn’t help anyone.”
Yeah, she knew that. Possibly more than anyone.
Get yourself together, Daisy. He’s here with you now. So what if he thinks you were a cheating slut?
Ouch. Ouch.
“Hey. Look at me.” He raised her face, undoubtedly seeing the misery in her eyes. Even if he was misreading the cause. He probably thought she felt remorse. Well, she did. But not for the reason he thought.
She was not a whore.
Did you really think that I’d allow my grandson to get mixed up with white trash little slut like you?
Ouch. Ouch. Ouch. She pressed her nails into her palms, waiting for the pain to chase away the words.
“Daisy? Baby? Fuck.”
Suddenly, she found herself pressed against hard, warm male. And the voice disappeared. Like magic. Wow. Okay. Maybe there was another cure for getting rid of the bad words and thoughts. The memories.
Jed.
He rubbed his hand up and down her back. “Hey, I didn’t mean to hurt you, I just wanted everything to be clear. Fuck. I’m sorry, baby.”
She wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tight, hating that he sounded so upset. This was her dragon. He was usually encased in steel but the idea of hurting her got through that tough shield of his.