Total pages in book: 173
Estimated words: 174632 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 873(@200wpm)___ 699(@250wpm)___ 582(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 174632 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 873(@200wpm)___ 699(@250wpm)___ 582(@300wpm)
“That was the police.”
She sucked in a breath. “They found them?”
“In a way, yeah. Little one, they found their bodies.”
“B-bodies?” She gaped at him. “What do you m-mean?”
“Two dead bodies were found in the desert last night. Very close to where you were kidnapped. Even though the bodies had obviously been there a while, the police are pretty certain that it’s them. Obviously, they will do dental checks as well to confirm. But they’re pretty sure it’s your kidnappers.”
She grew even paler and her hand drifted up to her hair. Reaching out, he grasped hold of her hand. He could feel her shaking.
His poor girl.
Picking her up, he lifted her onto his lap and held her tight.
He stared at Jameson and Jack. His worry was reflected in their faces.
Their poor girl had been through so much, yet it seemed the universe just kept throwing more at her. While he’d rather that those assholes had been found alive, at least this meant that there wouldn’t be a trial.
Thank God.
He knew they’d all breathe easier now that the threat to her was gone.
Maggie could scarcely believe what Ian had just told her.
Dead?
She leaned back to look up at Ian. “They’re really dead?”
He brushed a finger down her cheek. “Yes, Little girl.”
She swallowed heavily. “And I don’t have to . . . to identify anything?”
“No,” Ian said firmly. “And I wouldn’t allow it even if the cops wanted that. Understand me?”
She buried her face against his chest. But it wasn’t enough. Frustration bit at her and she growled. Ian quickly drew his top off, exposing his chest.
“Here you are.”
She pressed her face against his warm skin, breathing him in. It was exactly what she needed. To feel him. To know he was here.
That he’d take care of her.
“That’s it,” he said in a low voice. “They’re gone. They can’t hurt you again.”
“But who killed them?” she whispered. Were there other people out there that she had to worry about? “Do you think it was her?”
The woman who’d rescued her? But why would she kill them?
“I’m not sure, Little girl. There’s going to be an autopsy. Maybe it will give us some answers, maybe not. But today is the day you stop worrying about this. Understand me?”
“I guess so.” She let out a deep breath. “They’re gone, but I’m here. With you guys.”
Which is more than she ever thought she’d ever have.
“I think we should have a talk about seeing a therapist,” Jameson suggested.
A therapist?
She didn’t know how she felt about that. She sat back and tried to look round at the others. Ian moved her so she was sitting on his lap, side-on.
“What do you think?” Jameson asked her. “It might help you process all of this. The kidnapping. What happened with William. Your parents. Your anxiety and hair-pulling.”
“Oh my God, they’re gonna think I’m a complete nut job!” she cried.
Really.
She should have anticipated what happened next. Because none of her men liked when she called herself names.
Over Ian’s lap she went.
“Wait!” Jameson said as Ian drew the skirt of her dress up over her ass.
Ian paused and she slumped in relief. Someone was going to be the voice of reason and tell Ian that she definitely didn’t need her bottom spanked.
“I’ll remove the plug for you,” Jameson said. “That way you don’t have to hold back or worry about not hitting it.”
“Good thinking,” Jack said.
“I have the occasional good thought,” Jameson replied.
They were doing it again! Bonding over punishing her. It was so not cool.
Except she loved how well they were all getting along. They all seemed happier. A weight had lifted off Ian. Jameson was far more relaxed.
And Jack was . . . well, Jack.
But she knew he’d wanted this as much as the other two. For them all to be a family again.
As soon as the plug was removed, Ian smacked her ass.
“No, Daddy! Bad Daddy!”
“Not bad Daddy. Naughty Maggie.”
“Not naughty Maggie!” she countered. “Bad Daddy for spanking Maggie. Ow!”
He kept spanking her, his hand landing over and over until she was crying. “Maggie is not allowed to speak about herself negatively. Understand me?”
She lay over his lap, sobbing and repentant. Ian gradually slowed the spanking, and then he rubbed her bottom for a moment before pulling her up onto his lap. She sat straddling his legs, her face pressed to his bare chest.
“S-sorry, Daddy.”
“You don’t need to say sorry to me, Little girl,” he told her. “Say sorry to yourself. You need to be kinder to you.”
As her crying slowed, she slid her thumb into her mouth, feeling exhausted.
Jameson crouched in front of her, taking hold of her chin so he could clean her face with a tissue. He held the tissue to her nose.
“Blow.”
Eww.
He gave her a stern look. “Blow. Or the next time you’re in Little headspace, Papa will be doing everything for you.”