Trace had never wanted to hunt someone down and end them as painfully as possible, but he did now. He was going to find whoever put that look on his little fox’s face, and when he did, that threat was going to disappear.
But first, he needed to take care of Kip. She needed a Daddy, and that Daddy was damn sure going to be him. She was as much a part of him as his skin and bones and heart. She sensed it, too. He knew it from the way she responded to him every time they were together.
It was also plain she was planning to run. He didn’t know when. He didn’t know where. He only knew she needed to trust him enough to let him help her.
At that point, he could give her the protection she needed. One thing was for sure. No one was going to hurt her. Whoever tried wouldn’t live long enough to regret it.
His jaw tightened at the anguish in her eyes. Yeah, he was changing that, too. It was time for her to know she wasn’t alone anymore. She might not know what would happen when that foxy she’d drawn had the faith enough to leap, but he did.
Holding her gaze with his own, he kept his voice low and filled with confidence. “When that little fox in your drawing gathered the courage to leap, she had a Daddy waiting there to catch her. You see, he had a whole den of foxes to help him take care of her. And when they get through with that wolf, it will never, ever bother her again.”
Hope flared in those piercing cobalt blue eyes before it died out again. That was all right. He could hope for both of them for now.
“Let’s get you to bed, Foxy. You’ve had a long day.”
“Can we do one thing before we go to bed, Daddy?”
The hesitation in her voice gutted him. “Of course, little one. What do you want to do?”
She dropped his gaze. He gave her a minute to gather her courage. What could she want that worried her so much? He braced. With his Foxy, he never knew.
Straightening her shoulders, she gave him back her eyes. “Will you dance with me?”
Trace loosened his jaw and relaxed. “I would love to dance with you, babygirl. Let me turn on some music.”
He put on his favorite playlist. And then they danced. At first, she was tense, but slowly she loosened up in his arms. They danced fast. They danced slow. She showed him a part of her he’d never seen, carefree.
It looked so good on her, he never wanted to look any other way ever again. Her eyes sparkled when they weren’t guarded and watching for the first sign of trouble. And she laughed. God, he loved her laugh. He knew if things went the way he planned, that laugh, pure joy, would be his number one addiction.
And then Callum Scott’sFlawscame on, and she melted into him. They didn’t try to dance to the beat of the song. They just swayed together. She clung to him, pressing against him willingly, burrowing into his chest like a small feral thing finally deciding the den was safe. That was exactly who he wanted to be.
When the song ended, he said, “It’s time for all little foxes to go to sleep. You’re sleeping in my bed. I’ll camp out on the loveseat.”
She protested. “You can’t sleep on the loveseat. You won’t fit. You take the bed and I’ll take the loveseat. That makes more sense.”
“Foxy, there’s no way I’m sleeping in that bed while you’re on the loveseat. This is one of those Daddy,because I said somoments that you’re going to go along with. It’s your choice whether you do that with a red-hot bottom or not.”
She tried to stare him down. It was as adorable as it was pointless. Eventually, that fact occurred to her, too. Leading her toward his bed, he asked, “Do you have a stuffie you want to sleep with?”
She shook her head. “I don’t have anything like that.”
Tucking her hair behind her ear, he asked. “Do you want one? Did you put that in your letter to Santa?”
Her eyes lit. “Do you think he’d bring me one?”
“Santa will deliver,” he murmured into her hair. “I guarantee it.”
She nodded, but her fingers worried the hem of the too-long sleeve. He felt the shift before he saw it, the way her breath hitched, the way her shoulders drew up like she was bracing for a blow.
“Hey.” He tipped her chin. “Where’d you go, baby? In here.” He brushed his thumb across her forehead.
“Nowhere,” she lied, too fast.
He didn’t want to, but he let it pass. She’d had a long day, work, playing with the girls, and the Advent calendar, where she’d laughed every time she’d dropped one of those tiny building blocks.
She’d radiated happiness at being part of his family. Now the light was dimming behind her eyes. Trace knew that look. Fight or flight, and it wasn’t a fight she had on her mind.
He lifted her onto the bed, tucking her in on the side closest to the fire.
