Free Father Mine by J. R. Ward

background and had been the one to teach him to read and write. There was no way he would talk to a stranger, but Mary . . .
    Ah, hell, there was no way he’d talk to Rhage’s shellan about the ins and outs of his past. The experiences were too horrific and the pain went too deep. Plus he hated getting emotional in front of anybody.
    Bella got up and put Nalla in the smaller crib in the nursery—on the off chance Zsadist was still in bed, naked and in the mood.
    He wasn’t. He was in the bathroom, and going by the whirring sound and the spray of water, he was trimming his hair in the shower. On the bedside table there was a pair of scissors and the bandages that had been on his hands, and all she could think of was that she wished she had done it for him. No doubt he’d waited and waited and waited for her, and then given up, not just about the sex but about the help. He must have struggled to get the scissors to work with just the top half of his fingers showing . . . but given what time it was, he either stripped off the gauze himself or had no shower before he went out to fight.
    Bella sat on the bed and found herself arranging the split in her robe so that when she crossed her legs they’d stay covered. This was a familiar ritual, she realized, her waiting for him outside of the bath. When Z finished showering and emerged in a towel, they would talk about nothing at all while he dressed in his closet. Then after he went down for First Meal, she would bathe and dress with equal privacy.
    God, she felt small. Small compared to the problems they had and the demands of their daughter and the fact that she wanted a lover for a hellren , not a polite roommate.
    The knock on the door made her jump. “Hello?”
    â€œIt’s Doc Jane.”
    â€œCome on in.”
    The doctor poked her head around the door. “Hey, is himself around? I thought I’d remove his bandages—Okay, clearly you two have covered that part.”
    As the doctor jumped to the wrong conclusion, Bella kept her mouth shut. “He should be out of the bathroom soon. Can his cast come off?”
    â€œI believe so. Why don’t you tell him to meet me down in the PT suite when he’s ready? I’m working on the medical facility expansion, so I’ll just be puttering around with my tool belt.”
    â€œWill do.”
    There was a long moment with just the buzzing razor and the shower running in the background.
    Doc Jane frowned. “Are you okay, Bella?”
    Forcing a smile, she put both hands up in ward-off mode. “I’m perfectly healthy. I don’t need another examination. Ever.”
    â€œThat I believe.” Jane smiled, then glanced at the bathroom’s doorway. “Listen . . . maybe you should go wash his back, if you know what I mean.”
    â€œI’ll wait.”
    Another silence. “May I make a suggestion that is completely intrusive?”
    â€œHard to imagine you can be more intrusive than you already have,” Bella said with a wink.
    â€œI’m serious.”
    â€œAll right.”
    â€œKeep Nalla’s main crib in the nursery and leave the door mostly closed as she sleeps in there. Get a baby monitor so you can hear her.” Doc Jane swept her eyes around. “This is the room you and your husband share . . . you need to be something more than mommy, and he needs you to himself for a little bit each day. Nalla will be fine and it’s important she get used to sleeping on her own.”
    Bella looked at the crib. The idea of moving it out was oddly and irrationally terrifying. As if she were throwing their daughter to the wolves. Except if she wanted more than a roommate, they needed the kind of space that had nothing to do with square footage.
    â€œThat might be a good idea.”
    â€œI’ve worked with a lot of people who have had babies. Doctors like to procreate. What can I say. After the first one comes along, there’s