Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 45946 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 230(@200wpm)___ 184(@250wpm)___ 153(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45946 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 230(@200wpm)___ 184(@250wpm)___ 153(@300wpm)
“Barren! I didn’t know you were coming back here!”
“Yes, it was a last-minute decision.” His eyebrows rose as he ran his gaze over her. She was covered in glitter. From her hair to her face and chest, down to her shoes.
“That’s a lot of glitter to get off,” he commented.
“Hmm. I might need to hang her upside down and shake her,” Derek said.
“Daddy!” she cried.
Derek discreetly winked at him. “Seems like you arrived just in time. Everyone is rounding up the Littles. You might want to grab your Little before she tries to disappear to get out of punishment.”
“What? Who is your Little, Barren? Why don’t I know about this?” Sadie asked.
“You don’t need to know everything, angel,” Derek told her.
“I really don’t think that’s true,” Sadie said with another pout.
Barren gazed behind them to see that all the Littles were being wrangled by their Tops, Miss Price, and Nanny J.
“Excuse me, Barren. Time to take my naughty Little home.”
Barren nodded, wondering if Sadie was going to be able to sit tomorrow. He searched through all the Littles being corralled and led off.
There she was.
He spotted her and his heart nearly broke. She looked so alone. So scared and worried. The Phoebe he’d met was full of smiles and chatter. She didn’t stand off to the side on her own with her arms wrapped around her.
Without hesitation, he strode toward her. Nobody ignored his girl or made her feel bad. And yes, he was just aware that he’d called her “his”.
Was she going to get punished? Worry flooded her. She shouldn’t have taken part in the prank. She was supposed to be on her best behavior so that people didn’t get annoyed with her and not want her around. Had she learned nothing from her brothers all these years? From them telling her that she was too much and that she had to tone it down?
Idiot.
Now what was going to happen? Would she be spanked? She wasn’t afraid of being spanked… or at least she didn’t think she was. But she’d never been spanked before and she wasn’t sure that she wanted someone like Master Derek or Nanny J to dish out her first spanking.
No? So who would you rather do it?
“Phoebe.”
She stared at him for a long moment. Then she closed her eyes and opened them again. Nope. Her brain wasn’t imagining him. He was still standing right there. Had she conjured him up by thinking about him so much?
“Hey, are you all right?” he asked in concern.
But she couldn’t seem to answer him. She’d been putting it out into the universe that she wanted a Daddy and somehow she kept thinking of him at the same time… so maybe the universe had brought him to her.
Or maybe he’s just here on vacation. So don’t make a dick out of yourself.
“Phoebe? Are you feeling all right?”
“Barren!” she cried before she threw herself into his arms. “You’re here!”
Yep.
That was a good start on not making a dick of herself. Realizing that she was hugging him like a long-lost friend, she took a step back… only to stare at him in horror. Because she’d forgotten the glitter. And now his white shirt and very nicely pressed tan slacks were covered in pink glitter.
With a gasp, she placed her hand over her mouth. “Oh no! You’re like a giant disco ball. Or a mermaid. I’ve always wanted to be a mermaid.” She winced. “I really hope that glitter washes out. Do you want me to wash your clothes? Here, I can do it.” She reached for the buttons of his shirt.
He grasped hold of her hands, stilling them.
“Phoebe.”
She glanced up at him. “Yes?”
“You don’t need to wash my clothes. The glitter will come out. It’s fine.”
“Are you sure?”
“Hmm. Now, if you’d glitter bombed me, that might be another story.” He raised an eyebrow, giving her a stern look.
Guilt swirled in her stomach. “It was just a small prank. And I didn’t mean to get glitter on you.”
“Ahh, so if I had been here you wouldn’t have participated? Or wouldn’t have glitter bombed me?” he queried as his right brow arched.
“Well, I can’t say that exactly.” She gave him a small grin.
“Sassy girl,” he replied. “You’re going to get yourself into trouble if you participate in Sadie’s pranks.”
“I don’t think I had much choice. It was an all-for-one-one-for-all type of deal.”
“Ahh, so you were just doing it because that’s what all the other Littles were doing?”
“Exactly.” He got it. She couldn’t be blamed and punished for that, right?
He tapped her nose. “That’s not going to fly as an excuse, little girl. You always have a choice. You chose to participate, even knowing there would be consequences.”
Well. Rats.
Shit. She grew all tense and the small smile dropped off her face. What had he said? Was it the threat of consequences? He knew that she was new to this. Had she experienced punishment while here on the Ranch? If anyone had spanked her… okay, he had no right to feel jealous and getting angry was foolish.