Page 15 of Enchanted with the Orc
“Thank you,” I told him with complete sincerity.
Maybe heisjust as nice as Dristan, Rok and Rudgar. Maybe I can trust him.
While a tiny part of me was trying to see the best in him, another poisonous part was telling me that he was waiting for me to drop my guard before he pounced. Both sides of me agreed that—at least for now—we could let the adrenaline leave our system.
“Did you want to tuck her in?” he asked, lifting his chin toward where Gabbi was making bubbles with her drool on my chest.
“Oh, yes,” I agreed, sending another grateful smile his way. “I’ll beright back,” I told him, grabbing the bags off of the desk and heading toward the bedroom. He watched me from where he stood in front of the sofa, and his gaze felt like caress against my skin—even though very little of it was visible.
The bed was king-sized, so I laid my daughter down on top of the duvet and tugged her blanket and stuffed tiger out of the bag along with her tiny toiletry bag. My girl was a sound sleeper, but I was able to rouse her for a few minutes of teeth brushing while she blinked up at me with those beautiful sleepy eyes.
She was asleep again before I was able to change her clothes, so I took my time, easing her out of them and then redressing her in her pajamas. I lay her on the bed again, covering her with her blanket and then putting the toy under her arm. She squeezed it around the neck and buried her face against the softness.
I ran my palm across her hair, leaning down to press my nose against her, taking a deep breath and allowing her sweet scent to soothe me. Relief that my girl was safe settled inside me, and I stepped away from her, keeping her in my gaze until the very last moment before I closed the door.
I felt Enka standing close to me like a heat signature. Swallowing hard, I turned to look up at him, a small smile tugging at my lips.
“Does she need anything?” he asked, his brow furrowed with a concern that hit me in my chest.
David was herfatherand he’d never once cared about what she needed. She’d been his way to trap me further in the relationship, and I hadn’t realized it until it was too late.Waytoo late.
“She’s fine,” I said, taking a small step back, reminded that I had terrible taste in males. “She’ll be out for the night,” I explained, moving toward the sofa.
“Will she be hungry if she wakes up at night?” he asked, movingto pace next to the phone. “We should order something.” He paused, turning to face me. “Areyouhungry?”
I smiled, struggling to stop my heart from squeezing with tenderness in my chest, but it was impossible. His face was ravaged with horror at the thought of one of us going hungry. “We just ate so much food at the party. Trust me, we’re set. She has snacks in her bag, don’t worry.”
“Is she allergic to anything?” he asked as he took a seat next to me. Taking up too much room and surrounding me with his delicious scent. “I should know that in case—” he started, but I shook my head, reaching out to touch his hand. I couldn’t stand the worry etched into every inch of his expression.
“She doesn’t have any allergies, thank the Goddess. She putseverythinginto her mouth and hasn’t had a reaction yet,” I explained. “She’s healthy and full.”
Those words soothed him and he relaxed in small increments, giving me a small, apologetic smile. “I’ve never been around a youngling before,” he told me, scrubbing his huge palm over the nape of his neck. “I didn’t know what to expect, so I was reading a book on it and it mentioned that humans can have allergies.”
He’s reading a book on how to take care of my baby.
I blinked away the tears that were pooling in my eyes, turning to look anywhere but at him. This couldn’t be real. This male who I’d known for less than a month was acting more like a father than the male whose DNA was in my daughter.
“That’s really sweet,” I cleared my throat to say, wanting to make sure that he understood I was grateful for all the work he was doing to try to understand how to take care of my girl. “Thank you for thinking of that.”
He shook his head, his eyes wide. “And it was saying thatyourbody and needs would change as well. That you’d need to make sure—” he trailed off as my eyebrows almost met my hairline.
“Myneeds?” I asked with a shake of my head. “No, I don’t need anything. Mothers—” I started, but he shook his head.
“Mothers are just as important as their babies,” he explained, and it was clear that he was repeating the words verbatim from somewhere. “They need care and rest because they’re going through the emotional and physical turmoil that comes with a youngling.” He finished, staring at me with expectation. “Did you want some time to yourself? I can watch Gruk-ir. If she wakes up, I found some games in the book that I can play with her.”
“Time… to… myself?” I asked, not sure if I fully understood what he was asking. I hadn’t had time to myself in… My thoughts trailed off as I struggled to remember the last time I hadn’t been focused on Gabbi in one way or another. “No, I’m fine.”
He shook his head, his strong brow furrowed again. “That’s what most mothers say, but it isn’t true. You’re an individual as well as a mother, and you need to remember that. You won’t be able to take care of her the way you need to unless you take care of yourself first.” he said, and I bit my lip, knowing that this male was reciting the words of a book, but also, those words were hitting close to home.
I haven’t taken any time to take care of myself.
But I also hadn’t had the opportunity. After Gabbi was born, I’d been too busy struggling to survive and keep our heads afloat. After our coven was attacked and we were finally safe, I’d been sinking into the idea that we could finally be at peace. But David had appeared.
We can’t catch a break.
“I know that’s the case with most mothers, but that’s not how it is with me. I’m fine and—” I cut myself off at the disbelieving purse of his thick, luscious lips. “Iamfine,” I huffed, rolling my eyes and trying to ignore how devastatingly handsome he was. “And I’m sorry, I don’t know you well enough to leave my daughter with you.”
I expected him to be offended, but he just nodded his head in agreement.
