After swiping a hand down my face, I turn out the lights and sit against my headboard. My intention is to go through emails on my phone, respond to anything that needs attention, and shoot off a few to my team, updating them on my new situation with Eloise.
It’s hard to focus. I keep watching the hallway. She turned off the light in the room, but there’s still a glow. I suspect she has left the light on in the bathroom. Now I’m kicking myself for not providing her with a nightlight.
She was in a near panic in the parking garage. I’m not sure if it was the dark or claustrophobia or both, but leaving her with no nightlight was a shit move. Hopefully, she can sleep with the bathroom light on.
After a while, I slide under the covers, still staring at the open doorway, and try to relax. I need rest. I’m trained to sleep with one eye open, but I need to sleep while Eloise does. I need to be useful tomorrow.
I’m pretty sure I eventually fall asleep, but it feels like one minute later, I jerk awake and sit upright. I’m breathing heavily as I glance at the clock. It’s two in the morning. What woke me?
I don’t like the sensation, and I won’t be able to rest until I check on Eloise. It’s impossible to ignore my gut. Something tells me she’s not okay, so I shuffle down the hallway and set an ear against her door.
There’s no sound coming from the room, and I have no reason to suspect there’s a problem. I know she didn’t leave. That’s not possible. I set the alarm as soon as we got home. She wouldn’t be able to open the door without it going off.
She’s in this room. I should walk away. I must. But the hairs on the back of my neck are standing on end. I need to see her. I’ll just quietly open the door, set eyes on her sleeping form, and back away. She’ll never know.
Heart racing for no good reason other than instinct, I slowly turn the knob and open the door a few inches. My attention goes straight to the bed, but she’s not in it. The bedding isn’t there either. It takes less than a second to shift my gaze around the room.
Suddenly, I spot her. She’s sitting in the corner of the room under the large window. She sees me at the same time and jumps to her feet. “Cannon.” Her voice is high and shrill, filled with panic.
I ease the door open farther but don’t yet enter. The pink bedspread and pillows are in the corner on the floor like a nest. Several other items are with her. Things she brought over from the shelves.
My heart stops at the sight of her.
There’s a book in her hand, but there are ten more on the floor in piles.
“I’m so sorry,” she squeals. “I…”
“What are you sorry for, Little one? I should be the one apologizing. I shouldn’t have barged in without knocking. I woke up and had a weird feeling. I just wanted to check on you. Why aren’t you in bed, Little one? Have you slept at all?”
Judging from the pile of books, I’d say she hasn’t even been in bed. But books aren’t the only things she’s hauled to the corner. There are dolls and stuffed animals, too. They are lined up on both sides of where she was sitting, leaning against the wall. One of them is now on the floor at her feet. I suspect she was holding that one.
My sweet angel was reading to her dolls.
Fuck me sideways.
“I’m sorry,” she repeats, looking around. “I’ll clean all the mess up.”
“Eloise, you’re not in trouble. No reason to be sorry. I bet you had enough soda to keep you up for a week.”
She bites into her lower lip and lowers her gaze.
I don’t know how I noticed everything but her until this moment. I shift my attention to her small frame. She’s wearing one of the nightgowns that were in the drawers. It’s a soft pink one with a ruffle at the hem and shoulders.
She’s standing in the glow of the lights from the city outside. In fact, there’s enough light illuminating the room that I suspect she was able to read from it alone. She must have been. But more importantly, the glow from behind her is coming through her nightgown, allowing me to see every single one of her pretty curves, including the swell of her breasts when she shuffles from foot to foot.
I swallow back my reaction.
“Are you mad?” she asks.
“No, Little one. I’ll never be mad at you. Not ever. No matter what you do, I will never ever be angry. You have free will, Eloise. If you want to sit up all night reading, then you can sit up all night reading.” I take two steps into the room, not wanting to ruin her oasis with my presence.
I can’t bring myself to simply walk away. “How many of those books have you read, Little one?” I point toward the pile. Now that I’m closer, I see there’s another pile I couldn’t see before.
“All of them,” she whispers.
I do a quick assessment. “You’ve read twenty books since I said good night to you?”
She nods. “They’re not long.” She holds up the book in her hand. “I loved this series when I was a kid. I read all of them over and over. They had them in my school library.”
