Total pages in book: 46
Estimated words: 43818 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 219(@200wpm)___ 175(@250wpm)___ 146(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 43818 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 219(@200wpm)___ 175(@250wpm)___ 146(@300wpm)
“Do you work?”
He smiles. “I do.”
That’s…vague. “What do you do?”
“I’ve decided not to tell you yet.”
My mouth hangs open. I blink several times. “Why?”
He shrugs. “You’ll see soon enough.” Papi touches my toes again, distracting me.
“Where will I get a job?” I ask this, framing it as though it’s understood I will work somewhere. “I’m a singer, Papi. I want to sing.”
“You can sing all you want, Baby girl. I will never stop you. Your voice is angelic.”
I shake my wobbly head. “No, I mean in front of an audience. I want to perform.”
He grabs my big toe, leans forward, and kisses it. Annoying man. “Females on Eleadia do not stray far from their Papis, Little one. You can feel the bond between us growing. We keep our mates close to us at all times. Those who work out of their homes take their Little ones to work with them. Those who work at home are fortunate enough to keep their mates entertained in their home offices.”
I’m taking short shallow breaths, trying not to cry. My lip quivers. “But I want to sing, Papi.”
He releases my foot and leans closer so that he can set his hands on the sides of my bouncy seat near my head. “Papi will find a way to fulfill your dreams and make you happy, Baby girl.”
Tears leak out, and I can’t stop them or wipe them away. I can’t quite get the message to my hands to lift to my face.
Papi grabs a soft cloth and gently strokes my cheeks. “I love you to pieces, Sara. It hurts me to see you cry.”
“I’m a singer,” I insist.
“I know you are. The best singer I’ve ever heard. I watched you for a long time in the control room before I came down to see you on that stage in person. Do you know why?”
I shake my head. My tears keep falling.
“Partly because I was drawn to your voice and couldn’t bring myself to move, but mostly because I knew as soon as I approached you and you sensed me, you would not be able to continue singing. I wanted you to be able to finish your set. I didn’t want your audience to be deprived of the live music they were enjoying.”
“You did that?” My voice squeaks. It concerns me. I hope it improves soon. I’ll be devastated if I’m not able to sing again. I hear music in my head even now. It needs an outlet. I’m itching to set my fingers on the keys of a piano and bolt out some tunes. Do they even have pianos here on Eleadia? I’m afraid to ask. I don’t want to hear the answer.
He leans closer and kisses me on the nose. “I did. Were those your own songs? I never got a chance to ask you. I didn’t recognize the music, but I don’t know all music on Earth.”
I nod. “They were mine. I was hoping to get noticed,” I murmur. I got noticed all right.
“I haven’t gone through the bag you had with you. It’s in your nursery. I didn’t want to invade your privacy. Did you bring sheet music with you, Little one?”
“Yes,” I whisper. I’m so glad he brought it. I was so wrapped up in him that night I forgot all about my bag. Now I’m just scared I’ll never be able to use it again.
I can’t discuss this further, right now. It won’t even matter what I can and can’t do until I can walk and get my voice back. “Why did you put me down?”
Papi chuckles. “Because I needed to rein in my cock, naughty girl. Would you like me to pick you back up?”
I nod. “Please. I like it when you’re holding me. I like it when you let me nap in your arms instead of putting me down in my crib. It feels good.”
He scoops me up. “I like it, too, Baby girl. It feels so good to hold you.” He brings me to his chest so our fronts are touching as much as possible. He kisses me all over my face until I giggle. “When we touch, our bond grows.”
I snuggle into him, exhausted. “Tomorrow, I’ll walk.”
He chuckles. “You won’t be able to walk that quickly, Little one, but we’ll start working on it.”
Chapter Twelve
Raevion
I’m anxious as I lower my Little girl onto the table in the clinic the following day. There are two doctors in this clinic. Thabo and Chadka. We’re seeing Thabo today.
Thabo is calm and collected. He’s used to Papis and their Littles. He sees all of them. But I’m new to this world and feeling nervous.
Thabo pulls a strap across Sara’s waist so she can’t roll off the table before he clasps my shoulder. “You’re doing fine, Raevion. I’m going to examine her, but there’s no reason to panic. She looks very healthy and has amazing muscle control for three days out of stasis.”