Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Prickles against her forehead woke her up. She jerked herself away, sitting up fully. Completely disoriented, she looked around. Where was she?

“Little girl, you’re okay. Did you have another bad dream?” a deep voice filled with concern asked. “Here. Hug Rwahr Rwahr.”

She took the well-loved lion stuffie and hugged him tight. The events of the previous night flooded into her brain. “I’m so sorry. You must be thinking what have you gotten involved with.”

“That definitely hasn’t entered my mind,” Rocky assured her. “How do you feel?”

“Totally screwy. I think I was lying on you. Yikes, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to invade your space.”

“Come here, Lissy.” He leaned forward to pull Melissa and her stuffie toward him until she rested against his chest. Hugging her close, he pressed a kiss on the top of her hair. “I don’t need any space between you and me. I slept better with you cuddled next to me than I have for a long time. How about you?”

“I slept so hard, I think I drooled,” she whispered, loving the feel of his hard body against her. It was difficult to keep from pressing a kiss against his warm skin. She snuck one in by brushing her mouth against his shoulder as she rested her head against him.

Happy, she inhaled quietly to memorize his natural scent. She didn’t understand why he drew her so much more than any other male she’d met before. But he did.

A faint beeping sound echoing down the hallway where she’d plugged in her phone made her jolt backward against his hold. “Crap! That’s my alarm. I have to go to work.”

“You get ready for work. I’ll make you some breakfast,” he told her, freeing her.

“Oh, I don’t eat breakfast. I’ll make a peanut butter sandwich for lunch before I leave, if that’s okay.”

“Is that what you always have?” he asked.

“Yes. It’s easy to store.”

“I will make you a lunch and a breakfast to take with you.”

“You don’t have to do that,” she rushed to assure him as she wiggled her way off the wide bed, trying to keep her t-shirt from riding up too far over her thighs.

“I know, little girl. Let me take care of you.”

She hesitated before looking at the clock. She didn’t have time to worry about imposing on him. “Okay. But we will talk about all this tonight. I don’t want to be a bother.”

“I won’t do anything I don’t want to do,” he assured her.

With a nod, Melissa rushed out of the room to throw on some clothes. She ran to the bathroom to pee and wash her face. After a quick brush of her hair, she pulled it up in a ponytail. She looked at the bandage over her stitches. It had survived the night well. Just using her arm to do simple tasks had made it start hurting again.

Dashing into the kitchen, she heard a blender whirl. “Hey, I’ll see you tonight.”

“Grab your lunch. Pause two seconds for me to pour this into a cup,” Rocky requested.

Melissa looked at the smoothie he’d created for her. “I can’t drink that. I’ll have to go to the bathroom over and over again. I don’t drink until before lunch.”

“That isn’t healthy. Surely you could use someone’s bathroom.”

“I don’t like to ask. Sorry. I have to go.”

Her phone beeped making her pause to look at the screen. “Crap. I need to take my medicine.”

“You need to eat something. Cold pizza for breakfast?” he suggested, and her mouth watered.

“That would be awesome.”

“There’s your pill and a bottle of water. Take it while I get a slice of pizza,” Rocky ordered.

She followed his directions without arguing. He was making her life so much easier.

“Your mid-day dose is in your lunch box. Take it. I’d really like to change those bandages. If you’re in a hurry, I’ll wait until tonight. I put extra bandages in your lunchbox as well. Do your best to keep that area clean.”

Melissa saluted before following his instructions.

“Little girl, you’re not being bratty, are you?” he asked with an arched eyebrow as he handed over a slice of pizza on a paper towel.

“No way. Thank you.” She hesitated for a minute before adding, “Daddy.”

The pleased look on his face made her grin. One small word could have such an effect on them both. He swept around the island and wrapped her in his arms to press a kiss on her lips.

Melissa clung to him as he kissed her. She’d never experienced such emotions in an intimate exchange. When he lifted his head, she stared at him in disbelief. What would making love with him feel like?

“You are very definitely the best Christmas present I’ve ever received. Go to work, little girl. We’ll talk tonight.”

She nodded her head and backed up. Melissa winced as she picked up the lunchbox. How much had he put in there?

“Is your arm hurting?”

“It’s okay,” she assured him.

“In Melissa talk, that means it hurts. You’re going to have to be careful with that arm and stop using it if it becomes too painful. Did the doctor restrict how much weight you could lift with that arm?”

Melissa nodded. She was going to have to carry her tools in her other hand. Those were the heaviest things she toted. And watch out for her more boisterous clients. Her shoulders sagged. It was going to be a long day.

“Take these.” He held out two of the over-the-counter painkillers. “I’ll tuck the bottle in your lunch box. You can take them every four hours. If you are in pain after that, you need to call Tami and take some time off to heal. Ripping those stitches out is not a good idea.”

“I’ll be careful. Thanks.” She took the tablets. When she reached for the lunchbox with her uninjured arm, he picked it up for her.

“I’ll carry this. You hold on to the pizza. Take a bite. You need some food in your tummy. There are snacks in the lunch box.”

“Thank you, Daddy.”

“You are welcome, little girl.”

He followed her outside and set the lunchbox in the passenger seat. Rocky didn’t make her nervous as she set her GPS for the first address on her list to visit that morning. He watched her back out and waved as she drove away. Melissa took another bite of pizza. It was delicious. Who knew a Daddy would let her eat pizza for breakfast?

“One more house,” Melissa said aloud in relief as she parked the car. The day had zapped all her energy. Or, more accurately, the discomfort in her arm had disintegrated all her get-up-and-go. The bandage had bled through slightly. She was afraid to look at it.

Gathering her stuff in her left arm, Melissa cradled her injured arm to her chest to protect it. She carefully let herself through the seven-foot wood fence and looked around. For once, she was glad the goofy Great Dane who lived here was inside. He was a wrecking ball of havoc on a good day. She loved Petey, but for today, having him elsewhere was a blessing.

“Hi, Melissa! Petey’s been waiting for you.” The teenager’s voice was her only warning.

Melissa turned away from the thundering canine to protect her arm. Boom! She was knocked to the ground. “Ah!” she cried as pain lanced through her arm.

“Melissa? Are you okay? Get back, Petey. I think Melissa is hurt.”

She looked up at the concerned face of the teenage son who held a lunging Petey away from her. The dog’s eagerness to share his ball with her was his sole focus. Well, that and the dog biscuits she always kept in her pocket.

“I’m okay. Just in rough shape today. I have an injury.”

“Oh, you’re bleeding. I’m so sorry.”

“He didn’t mean to knock me over. Petey’s just a big guy. Would you mind keeping him inside while I work? Just for today. I’ll play with him next week,” Melissa requested, reaching out with her good arm to scratch the dog’s head. She didn’t want Petey to think she didn’t like him.

“Of course. Are you sure you’re able to work? I’m sure Mom and Dad would be fine with skipping this time,” the teen assured her.

“I’ll get myself cleaned up and finish this in a jiffy.”

Melissa watched him drag Petey back inside. Knowing the outside camera was picking up everything, Melissa wiped the blood away quickly with one of the wipes she always carried. Quickly, she got to work. Petey had been very busy. As a big dog, he made a lot for her to collect. This was one house she visited twice a week to keep it tidy.

Controlling her grimace of pain and forcing herself to smile, Melissa hauled the waste to the trashcan. She gathered her tools and left the yard with a cheerful wave. Just that simple motion made her grit her teeth.

She took off her gloves and wiped her hands on a moist towelette for good measure. Melissa eyed the bottle of painkillers but didn’t take any more. She’d already swallowed two when she’d taken a break for lunch. Cradling her arm against her chest, Melissa fumbled with her phone, putting in Rocky’s address. Thank goodness I don’t have to go to my apartment like this.