Page 14 of Her Hero Daddy

Tears pricked at her eyes, and she shrugged. “I don’t know. It was such a blur, and I was trying to shield myself from the blows.”

Kane scowled, cursing heavily under his breath.

“Baby girl, you need to go to the hospital. I am afraid to touch anywhere to see if anything might be broken.”

Stepping back quickly, she yanked her shirt from his grasp and shook her head. “No! I don’t want to go to the hospital! No, no, no! You said one or the other! I don’t want to go.”

She knew she sounded like a child throwing a tantrum, but she didn’t care. She stood scowling in front of him as he stayed seated in the chair, looking almost amused. When she didn’t say anything more, he finally spoke.

“Are we done with our little tantrum, sweetheart? Did you want to stomp your foot while you’re at it?”

Okay, so she really did sound like a child throwing a tantrum. Shit. Why did he sound so amused? She couldn’t help shifting from one foot to the other nervously.

“I don’t like hospitals. They scare me. I promise I’m okay. I bruise really easily, and I really don’t think I have any broken bones. Please don’t make me go.”

Kane softened, sighing deeply, “Okay, baby girl, calm down. I won’t make you go. But when we get back to Pinebrook, I’m going to have a doctor come to my house and check all your wounds. Deal?”

Whatever it took so she didn’t have to go to the sterile and terrifying emergency room.

“Yes.”

He nodded and stood from the chair, reaching his hand out to tip her head back so she was looking at him. His chocolate-brown eyes studied her face as though he was deciding what to say next.

“In the future, little girl, tantrums will get you in trouble.”

“Wha… what?”

“I will never ever hurt you or abuse you, but I also won’t allow you to get away with being a naughty little girl, so you better behave.”

If his hand hadn’t been holding her chin, she was pretty sure her mouth would be hanging open. In trouble? Behave? Naughty little girl? Oh fuck. Why did he talk like that? It should scare her. It should freak her out and make her want to get away from him. But yet, instead of any of those things, all she did was stare up at him and stick her bottom lip out in a slight pout.

8

KANE

It took everything in him to swallow his forming grin when her lower lip stuck out. He was happy to see her be a little defiant with him. He would take defiant any day over scared. The bruises on her ribs made him think murderous thoughts, and he really wanted her to see a doctor. But the fear in her eyes when he said she needed to go to the hospital made him cave. Which irritated him because he wasn’t a man used to giving in to anyone. But she needed a little softness after what she’d been through, and he would arrange for a doctor to come and examine her as soon as they got home. Hopefully, Logan would be willing to do him a favor.

“Are you pouting, little one?”

She stepped back so her chin was no longer resting in his hand and shook her head. “I wasn’t pouting. I was… I was…”

“You were pouting,” he answered.

She stuck her tongue out at him and shook her head.

So she is a Little. But does she know that?

He chuckled and shook his head. “Come on, little girl. Let’s get on the road before you do find yourself in trouble.”

He got her settled in the front seat of his SUV, giving her a soft blanket to wrap up in. He fought the urge to tuck it all around her and get her arranged so she was comfortable. He hoped that she would sleep for most of the ride. Her eyelids drooped, and with as little sleep as she had gotten the night before, she needed her rest. He would definitely be insisting on a naptime for her once they were at his house.

He stopped at a convenience store to pick up some snacks for the road so she could get some food in her stomach before she took some more of the liquid pain reliever. She shook her head when he offered her a donut with pink frosting and sprinkles, even though he could see in her eyes that it interested her.

“Come on, sweetheart. Be a good girl for me and eat it. Getting food and medication in you will make you feel better and will probably help you fall asleep easier while I drive.”

He grinned when she gave in and took the donut from him, picking off the sprinkles one at a time to put into her mouth. Pure sugar, but he didn’t give a shit. As long as she was eating something, he was happy. He gave her a vanilla protein shake to drink and insisted she take several drinks of it. It pleased him that she was being compliant, despite the faces of protest that she gave him.

He measured out some liquid ibuprofen for her and handed her the tiny cup. She frowned at it and made a disgusted face.