Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

S tanding by her bed, Faust hesitated to wake Molly up. She'd fallen asleep so fast and hadn't moved for the last hour. Doc knew what he was doing. Faust sat on the edge of the bed and softly rubbed her back.

"Pixie? Can you wake up for Daddy?"

"Five more minutes," she mumbled, and the pacifier fell out of her mouth.

"Dinner's ready, Little girl," Faust told her as he picked it up before her questing hand could find it and pop it back in her mouth. "You don't want to miss Gabriel's spaghetti."

"Mmm, spaghetti," she mumbled.

"That's right. Do you like meatballs, Little girl?"

"Maybe if they're small. I don't like to gnaw on my food," she commented sleepily.

"I'll give you tiny bites," he promised.

"My arm is ouchie."

"Let's put some fresh ointment on it before we go do dinner."

Molly opened her eyes to peek at him. "Did they find that guy?" she asked.

"Not yet, Pixie. You'll stay here with Daddy, and I'll make sure you get to work and home safely."

"Does everyone think I'm silly?"

"For getting attacked and coming here for help? No way. They all think you're a superstar for getting away from that asshole," Faust assured her, trying to keep the anger from his voice and failing.

"I'm hungry," she admitted.

"Let's wash your face. Find something comfortable to put on. And make your arm feel better."

"And then eat spaghetti?"

"All you want."

Faust scooped her up in his arms and carried her to the bathroom. He set her on the toilet, and she automatically peed without thinking she should be embarrassed. He washed her face to keep her distracted.

After threading her feet into the pull-ups he'd gathered for her, Faust helped her stand before wiping the leftover lubricant from her bottom and throwing the washcloth in the hamper.

"Thank you," she said, turning lovely shades of pink.

Faust kissed her softly before pulling the lightly padded garment into place. "Your bottom may be a bit messy from the medicine. That's okay. It's expected. Daddy will take care of you. Okay?"

She nodded and leaned her head against his chest. "Maybe I don't need any more medicine. We could just tell Doc it's working."

"That's not going to happen. Let me wash my hands and we'll find something for you to wear."

"Can I wear one of your T-shirts?" she asked hesitantly.

"Of course, Pixie. Want to wear a Shadowridge Guardian one?"

Her instant smile in response faded quickly. "Is that against the rules?"

"Not at all. You're my Little girl. You're part of the MC now," Faust assured her.

A few minutes later, Faust held her hand as they walked slowly down the hallway. When they emerged into the large gathering area, Molly paused to see who was there. Faust bit his lip as he let out a string of curses in his mind. His desire to keep from scaring Molly—especially today—was the only thing that prevented them from escaping.

When she shrank back, he knew his face was giving him away. Faust dropped down to one knee. "I'm sorry, Pixie. I'm not mad at you. I'm mad at the…" He paused as he tried to come up with a word that wasn't a curse word.

"Freaking a-hole?" she whispered a suggestion.

"Let's go with that. I'm pissed at the freaking a-hole who hurt and scared you. If I get my hands on him…" Faust balled up his free hand.

"We call the police and let them take care of it, Daddy." Molly patted his chest with her free hand.

He studied her earnest face and felt his blood pressure drop. "I'd rather pound him into the dirt," Faust admitted, knowing he'd never do that in front of Molly.

"Me, too. But that makes us the bad guys instead of him. I'm hungry, Daddy."

"Let's go get food in your tummy. Want me to carry you?"

"No. I can walk this time. I just needed to pull myself together."

He smiled at her sweet face. Leaning forward, Faust kissed her lightly before standing. He held out his hand for her once again and squeezed her fingers lightly when she slapped her hand down on his playfully. As they walked in, the other Littles slid off their Daddies' laps and met them halfway.

"Can we give you a hug?" Carlee asked.

"I'd love one," Molly admitted.

"Be careful of her arm," Faust warned, moving to her injured side to protect her.

One after another, the Littles in the room gave her gentle hugs and told Molly how glad they were that she was okay.

"Thanks, everyone," Molly said quietly.

"Come on. Gabriel made spaghetti. You're going to love it," Ivy shared.

"I'm starving," Molly admitted.

"Here's a seat," Gabriel called, pointing at an empty chair where several Daddies sat waiting for their Littles to return. "I just pulled some garlic sticks from the oven. How many can you eat?"

"Three," burst from Molly's lips, surprising everyone.

"I want to see that. Come on. I'll get you some," Gabriel said as he set a huge bowl of spaghetti on the table. "Here's your spaghetti."

Faust allowed Molly to pull him to that spot. Sitting down, he lifted her onto his lap and tucked a napkin into the neckline of their T-shirts. He plucked a bread stick from the basket Gabriel plopped in front of them and handed it to Molly. Immediately, she took a big bite and moaned as she chewed.

He'd heard that sound before. His body reacted instantly. Damn. I've got this bad .

"Try this, Daddy," Molly urged, pushing the stick to his lips. Obediently, Faust took a big bite, stealing almost all the rest of the bread in her hand and making her protest, "Daddy!"

"We'll get you more," Gabriel promised, sitting down at the table and lifting Eden onto his lap as he talked. "Eat the rest of that one and make your Daddysaurus get his own."

"Daddysaurus," she repeated and giggled.

"I will not be known as a Daddysaurus," Faust growled, shooting lasers from his eyes at the other people at his table as he twirled a few strands of spaghetti on his fork.

"Right," Kade drawled.

"Try this, Pixie," Faust said, holding the bite up to Molly's lips.

She opened her mouth and allowed him to feed her. A fraction of a second later, her eyes rolled back in her head as she chewed. "That's amazing!" she mumbled.

"No talking with your mouth full," Faust corrected her gently before wiping the sauce from the corner of her mouth.

Molly nodded eagerly and rubbed her tummy in the universal symbol of yumminess.

"Thank you, Molly. I'm glad you like it," Gabriel told her with a smile as he fed Eden.

Leaning back against Faust's powerful chest, Molly relaxed. Her arm ached but was okay. Doc's ointment made it better when it hurt. The bread sticks and spaghetti were like medicine, filling the emptiness inside. The warm conversation and friendliness of the group helped dull the scariness of her afternoon.

When they'd finished one bowl of spaghetti together and Faust had eaten another huge bowl himself, Molly wrapped her arms around Faust's thick bicep and hugged his arm to her chest. When he leaned down to check on her, she pressed a kiss to his cheek and whispered, "Thank you."

"For what, Pixie?" he asked quietly.

"Thank you for being my Daddy."

"I'm afraid I won't be letting you go," he told her seriously.

"I'm good with that."

"Time for you to go to bed, Harper," Doc said firmly.

"It's just eight," she protested.

"You almost couldn't get out of bed this morning. More sleep is just what you need," he said, laying down the law.

Harper opened her mouth as if she were going to complain and took one more look at her Daddy's face before nodding. "Night, everyone!"

"That's our cue, too, Little girl," Faust told Molly as he lifted her off his lap to stand next to him.

"I've got kitchen detail tonight," Fury called across the island. "Bring me any dishes left out there."

"I don't want to go, Daddy," Molly whispered. "I was having fun." She covered her mouth when a massive yawn surprised her.

"There will be more fun evenings," Faust promised. "Would you take this to Fury for me?"

She nodded and headed into the kitchen with their bowl as Faust followed with his arms full of breadstick baskets, glasses, and shakers of parmesan cheese. Fury took the dish from her hand and slid it into the sink filled with soapy water.

"Want to take some spaghetti for lunch tomorrow?" Gabriel asked as he dished up the leftovers.

"Yes, please."

"You've got it, Molly. I'll add a couple of breadsticks, too," the phenomenal cook promised.

"Thanks, Gabriel," Molly said with a smile as her Daddy led her back to his apartment.

Our apartment , Molly corrected that mental thought.

"No! Get away!" Molly panicked, kicking and hitting to get away.

"Pixie. You're okay, Little girl. You're safe."

Opening her eyes, Molly stared into familiar brown eyes. It took a couple of seconds for her to process that she wasn't in danger and the hard body she was hitting as hard as she could was Faust. Tears poured down her face.

"I'm so sorry! Did I hurt you? I should go sleep in the other room. You should be safe in your own bed. Or… Maybe I should go back to my apartment."

"That's not happening."

"You don't deserve to be battered when you're trying to sleep," she said, totally appalled by her behavior, asleep or not.

"How well do you think I'd sleep if you weren't next to me?" he asked gently.

"Better than now," she guessed.

"Try again."

"You'd worry? You didn't seem like the worrier type when I met you," she pointed out.

The corners of his mouth twitched upward. "You didn't seem like a hugger, either," he teased.

"How can you be so nice?" she asked, searching his face.

"Don't tell anyone. It's our secret."

"I'm sorry, Faust. I've been nothing but trouble since you helped me."

"You are the best thing that has ever happened to me. Whoever this guy is out there who hurt you yesterday, his behavior is not your fault."

"Still, now it's affecting you."

"I can take care of myself, Pixie. He's picking on you because he knows you're not going to turn around and put him on the ground. Not that you'd want to. He's not trying to give me candy."

She had to snort at that visual image. "Did I hurt you?"

"Badly. I could use a few kisses."

"You!" Molly couldn't help herself from grinning at him. "I think I owe you a billion kisses."

"You hit me right here," he said, pointing at a spot on his chest.

Quickly, she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his skin.

"And here." He tapped on his chin.

Molly didn't hesitate in soothing that owie as well. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she took the initiative to kiss his lips directly before whispering, "Make love to me, Daddy."

"Since we're both awake…" he said with a wolfish grin.

Wrapping his arms around her waist, he turned, lifting her body on top of his. He stroked his hands over her sides, guiding her up to sit straddling him. "You'll have to be up here where I can keep an eye on you at all times."

She could feel his body hardening against her, fueling her arousal as well. The view from above him was pretty darn fine as she traced his tattoos. The fiery look in his gaze was enough to reassure her that he found her attractive and desirable. Molly pushed away her insecurities and moved her hips against him.

Crossing her fingers, Molly sent a tiny prayer up to heaven. "Thank you for sending me Faust," before enjoying the pleasures this amazing man lavished on her.