Page 52 of Possessing Paisley
Stroking her hair, I take several deep breaths in and out. She has a bruise on her cheek, and Patrick said she was bleeding.
“Where are you bleeding? Where are you hurt? I’m taking you to the hospital,” I say as I try to put her back into the SUV.
“No. I don’t need to go to the hospital.” She clings to me, her arms braced around my neck.
“Where are you bleeding, baby?”
“My back. I hit the corner of my desk and scraped it when he pushed me. Patrick said it won’t need stitches.”
Yeah, well, Patrick isn’t her Daddy, so I’ll make that call. Fuck. I know this isn’t Patrick’s fault, but I’m so pissed right now. Mostly at myself.
“Turn around and let me see.” I set her on her feet and keepa hand on her, bracing myself for what I might see.
“Daddy, I’m fine,” she whines.
“Paisley Mae, turn around and let me see,” I scold quietly.
She lets out a dramatic sigh and turns. My lips twitch as she does. Even injured, my girl is sassy.
Her blouse is still damp with blood. When I lift the hem, I let out a string of curse words in Gaelic. That motherfucker is going to suffer.
Patrick was right, she doesn’t need stitches. It’s a bad scrape. Over six inches long. A dark bruise is already forming around it. She’s going to be sore for a while.
“Baby.”
I don’t remember the last time I cried, but I could right now. A piece of my heart has been hurt and I feel it down to my soul.
“I’m okay, Daddy,” she whispers. “Is he dead? Am I going to go to prison? I won’t last in prison.”
Pressing my lips together to keep from laughing, I drop her shirt and turn her around. “First of all, you would run that fucking prison. Second, no, baby. You’re not going anywhere but home with me. Come on.”
She looks toward the office building, her dark brown eyes wide with worry. “What about the guys? I don’t want them to get arrested.”
As gently as I can, I lift her into my arms and carry her to my SUV. She winces when I set her down in the passenger seat, and I let out a fresh set of death threats in Gaelic.
“Nobody is going to prison or getting arrested. The only thing you need to worry about is listening to Daddy and letting me take care of you.”
When I reach across and buckle her seatbelt, she grabs my face in both hands. I freeze and look at her, hating the fear in her eyes. She should never experience that. My girl should never be scared.
“Kieran,” she says softly. “I’m okay, Daddy.”
Blowing out a deep exhale, I shake my head. “No. You’re not okay. You’re fucking hurt because I wasn’t here to protect you. Some asshole thought it was okay to put his hands on you because I didn’t make sure you were totally safe.”
In spectacular Paisley fashion, she narrows her gaze. “Do you honestly think I would have let you or any other of your guysfollow me around inside my office building? This is not your fault. It’s his.”
I stare at her for several seconds, trying to hold myself together. “I can’t lose you, baby. I just got you.”
She slides her hands behind my head and pulls me in to kiss her. “You’ll never lose me, Daddy. I love you.”
My heart squeezes, and I close my eyes to keep any tears from falling. “I’m hard to love, Paisley.”
“No, Daddy. You’re actually really easy to love. The wrong people just make it seem like it’s hard.”
God, I don’t know what I did to deserve this woman, but it had to have been something good. Really fucking good.
“I love you too, baby. So damn much. I’m going to marry you and make you mine forever.”
The corners of her lips curl up, and a glint of mischief shimmers in her eyes. “You’re supposed to ask, not tell. And also, you didn’t say please.”