Page 19 of Defended By Bam
Then I opened the top drawer. I pulled out a pair of socks, then grabbed a pair of underwear. Boxer-briefs. Having seen him shirtless, I could only imagine what he’d look like in a pair of those.
“Mommy.”
I whipped around, losing the jeans from my grasp. “Yes, sweet girl. Go back to sleep.”
Sadie sat up, rubbing her eyes. “I need to pee.”
Nothing like your kid to snap you back to reality. “Okay. Bama has to get ready soon, so let’s run in fast so he can use the bathroom.”
She climbed out of the bed, and I grabbed the jeans from the floor, then followed her out.
“Good morning,” Sadie squealed down the hall.
His deep voice answered in a cheery tone. “Well, good morning to you.”
“She needs to use the potty really quick. Is that okay?”
“Absolutely.”
Sadie went inside, and I stood there motionless.
“Why don’t I take those,” Bama said as he came closer.
His hands brushed my arms as he grabbed the pile of clothes from me.
“I hope these are okay, it was dark.”
He smiled. “I’m sure they’re perfect. Thank you.”
He lingered there close, the pile half in my arms, half in his. I couldn't stop my chest from rising and falling with deep but hurried breaths. His eyes locked onto my lips and my tongueimmediately darted out, but the touch only reminded me of the huge, busted lip I was sporting. Of course he was looking at that and not my actual mouth.
“All done,” Sadie said as she flung the door open.
He cleared his throat and pulled the clothes from me. “Do you need to go before I get in there?”
“Actually, yeah. Lots of coffee.” I also needed to splash some cold water on my face, but he didn’t need to know that.
Staring at myself in the mirror after I used the bathroom and washed my hands, I investigated my face. My lip was busted, but the swelling had gone down quite a bit. The bruise around my eye was three different colors, but the swelling wasn’t as bad there either. I still had a lot of burst blood vessels on that eye, too. The finger marks on my neck were much more pronounced now and the ones on my arms were similar.
I splashed some water on my face, then patted it dry with the hand towel hanging up. It wasn’t a spread from a magazine, but his house was tidy and functional. Not what I expected from a man like him. Maybe that was judgmental, but after living with Marshall, I assumed most men were slobs.
After cooling down and telling myself he was looking at my cracked lip and nothing else, I finally got out of the bathroom so he could shower.
My heart sped up when they both weren’t standing there when I came out. I power walked to the living room, then around the corner and let out a heavy sigh when Sadie was sitting at the table.
“She said she’s not allergic to anything, so I made her some cereal,” Bama said before placing a bowl in front of her.
My hand went to my mouth, and I swallowed a lump in my throat. “Yep, thanks.” That was all I could manage to say without sobbing. It was so silly to be choked up over that, butMarshall never once fed Sadie. And this man we just met got her comfortable, was buying her clothes, and fed her breakfast.
Fuck. Why did he have to be so…perfect?
Chapter 11
Bama
After a shower, I checked the grounds and made sure the house was secure. Nobody except for the officers knew where I lived, but better safe than sorry. I needed to get a little space from Brooklyn, though. Too many times, I started to get close and almost leaned in before the little one interrupted the moment.
I didn’t know what it was about her, but I was drawn to her like a magnet. And the little girl was so sweet and innocent. Brooklyn mentioned she’d seen worse things. Had she seen her mom being beaten? Did he do worse than that?
