Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 54208 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 271(@200wpm)___ 217(@250wpm)___ 181(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54208 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 271(@200wpm)___ 217(@250wpm)___ 181(@300wpm)
“Can you really eat another piece?” Celeste whispered when Hawking leaned back against the couch with another in his hand.
“Oh, yeah. Easily. I might need more. Ouch!”
“I just wanted to check to see if there was any more room in there for pizza,” Celeste explained, poking his hard abdomen again.
“Be nice to your Daddy. He had a hard day today,” Hawking reminded her.
“You had a hard day? Some guy grabbed me and tore my new shirt. Then, you smacked me on the butt and yelled at me to run.”
“You didn’t move when I told you the first time,” he reminded her.
“I was scared,” she whispered. Big tears gathered in her eyes and rolled down her face.
“Oh, CB. It had to be frightening,” Hawking soothed as he dropped the pizza on the box and gathered his Little girl into his arms.
“I was afraid just seeing Celeste’s face,” Sadie whispered.
Hawking looked over to see her crying as well. Rocco shot him a dirty look and lifted his Little onto his lap. Hawking sent him an apologetic look as he rocked Celeste.
“I think it’s past my Little girl’s bedtime. If you’ll excuse me.” Hawking stood to carry Celeste to the elevator.
“I want to go to bed, too, Daddy,” Sadie requested, and Rocco immediately stood to follow Hawking with her cradled in his arms.
The ride to the top floor was quiet as the two men walked toward their rooms. Celeste pushed at Hawking’s chest. “Put me down, Daddy.”
Lowering Celeste to her feet, he watched Rocco do the same. The two Littles raced toward each other and exchanged hugs before returning to their Daddies’ sides.
“Night, Sadie.”
“Night, Celeste. Sleep well.”
Hawking took his Little girl’s hand and walked her back to the door. A carefully colored black cat picture was taped on the wood. Celeste walked forward to look at it and touched the paper carefully.
“This wasn’t here earlier. Who did this?” she asked.
“It’s magic. It must have appeared while we were gone. Maybe our door was jealous of Sadie’s penguin.”
“I bet. If I were a door, I’d want a picture, too.”
“Come on, Celeste. Let’s take a shower and go to bed.”
“Are you going to sleep now, too?” she asked.
“I’m wiped out as well,” he said as he ushered her through the door.
“Were you scared, Daddy?”
“I was very worried that I would lose you,” he admitted, pulling her close to wrap his arms around her in a giant bear hug.
“Is this ever going to go away?”
“Yes. We’re going to figure out how to handle this best. I promise. For now, we’re going to get ready for bed and let our brains rest.”
“And my heart. I swear it went a hundred miles an hour when that guy grabbed me.”
“Maybe a thousand for me, CB,” Hawking exaggerated.
Taking her hand, Hawking led her into the bathroom. “This shirt goes in the trash,” he announced, pulling her torn shirt off and tossing it into the garbage.
She shuddered and admitted, “I don’t ever want to see that again.”
Without rushing, Hawking took her remaining garments off. He led her to the shower and turned it on. “Give it a minute to warm up. I’m going to take this trash away.”
Scooping up the container, he walked to the main kitchen to dump it down the trash shoot. As he returned, he heard a giggle from inside Rocco’s apartment. Hawking smiled and made a mental note to get a thicker door or avoid playing next to the barrier.
He would never have thought he’d find his Little, much less that he would team up with a group he already felt linked to and find out they were wired the same way he was. Just how much did Baldwin Kingsley know about them? Hawking shook his head in disbelief. Maybe he didn’t want to know.
The splash of water captured his attention as he walked back into the bathroom. He caught glimpses of her attractive shape as he looked through the foggy glass to see Celeste rotating under the warm spray. He quickly took off his clothes and shoes. One thudded to the floor.
Her hand wiped through the fog on the glass as Celeste asked, “Daddy?”
“It’s me, Cuddle Bug. You’re okay.”
She didn’t answer but continued to watch him through the glass until it steamed back up. Stalking forward, he stepped into the shower and eased around her.
“You’re hogging the water,” she complained.
“Let me lather you up, Little girl, and then you can rinse off.” He squirted liquid into his palm and spread it over her body. Trying to remain unaffected by the sight and feel of her wet body was impossible, but he tried to ignore his desires.
“Daddy?” When he didn’t respond quickly enough, she repeated, “Daddy? Can I touch it?”
Hawking couldn’t ignore her the second time. “Daddy’s cock isn’t a toy, Little girl.”
“I’ll be really careful. Playing with it will make me forget about the mean men who tried to abduct me,” Celeste urged.