Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 53807 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 269(@200wpm)___ 215(@250wpm)___ 179(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 53807 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 269(@200wpm)___ 215(@250wpm)___ 179(@300wpm)
“Were you joking about spanking my butt?” she asked as he added the liquid to the vegetables.
“Bottom. And no.”
The eggs were almost cooked when she said, “Can you do that?”
“Spank you? When you decide you’re my little girl, yes.”
Jerico dished up the eggs on two plates and placed one in front of her. “Eat while they’re hot. Let me grab you something to drink.”
When he placed a glass of milk in front of her and another by his dish, she said, “I’m not a big milk drinker.”
“Allergic?” He zeroed in on her face, watching for any reaction.
“No. It’s just… Yucky.”
Opening a cabinet below him, Jerico pulled out an unopened bottle of chocolate syrup and squeezed a good amount into her glass. He stirred it with his spoon, turning her milk brown. “Try that.”
Jerico forked a bite of the eggs into his mouth as he watched her lift the glass to her lips. Funny. He’d never been jealous of milk before. Her expression changed, and she drank deeply.
“Yum.”
“Eat, little girl.”
They ate in silence for several minutes. He watched her look around the bare furnishings and then back to the bottle on the counter. Jerico could almost hear the wheels in her brain rolling at full speed.
“Rexy doesn’t beg for food,” he observed, breaking the silence.
He watched her shoulders ease down into a less stressed position as she answered. “That jerk would kick him if he got near while he was eating. Rexy gets far away when food’s around.”
“That’s beyond being a jerk. Where should we put his food and water?”
“I had it in the bathroom,” she told him.
“Perfect. The guest bath is too small. We can set it up in the one off the main bedroom,” he decided.
“I’d have to go through your room to feed him,” Aspen said hesitantly.
“I’m okay with that. You have my promise I’ll never cross any lines until you decide you’re my little girl.”
“Then you will?” she blurted.
“Then there are no lines, Aspen.”
CHAPTER 3
“Fuck!” Koa swore as Jerico walked into the briefing room the next day.
Without answering that unwelcoming greeting, Jerico slapped his back as he walked past to sit in the empty seat.
“I thought you’d be home with…”
“Be careful what you say or imply. My Little is at home sleeping. I warned her I would be gone in the morning when she woke up,” Jerico interrupted Koa before his teammate could say something that would irrevocably change their relationship.
“You’re a Daddy Dom,” Caden stated firmly.
“Yes,” Jerico answered without hesitating. His team would either accept how he was wired, or not. It had been his personal observation that many of the men involved in high levels of the armed forces were dominant. From the nods and grins of the others, he guessed they’d accept him.
“I have a favor to ask. Could we take a break midmorning and go grab all my Little’s stuff from her apartment?”
“We could use that as a training maneuver,” Caden stated immediately. “Want to brief us on any situations we might encounter?”
“She lives next to that jerk who threatened her last night,” Jerico explained. “We got everything important from her apartment last night, but need to clear out the last of her furniture and things.”
“Do we need to request a truck?” Caden asked.
“That would save time. She doesn’t have a lot, but it might take two trips in cars,” Jerico answered.
Caden pulled out his phone and started navigating through screens. “Meeting with the brass today. Take notes. Let Jerico talk for us,” he ordered, looking up from his device to make eye contact with each member of the team. No one argued.
When five high-ranking officers walked in, everyone stood and saluted. The officers returned the gesture and waved the team back into their seats. They each grabbed a pen and a pad of paper from the stack of supplies in the center of the table. With military precision, the officers shared information about procedures and efficiency.
Koa stiffened at the implication that the team would squander anything. He opened his mouth and closed it with a snap when each member of his team except Jerico sent him a ‘shut up’ look. As the man Caden had put in the hot seat, Jerico had simply watched Koa with his peripheral vision without reacting, knowing the team would take care of it. Jerico was already responding professionally to address their concerns and suggest better ways to resolve each problem.
Jerico knew immediately that this was going to be a long, difficult meeting that would require him to think as fast as possible to consider all implications of each line item on their list. If those new procedures got by in the current form, the team’s hands would be shackled by regulations that would interfere with each mission they were sent to complete, putting them at risk.
Three hours later, he pushed back from the table to stand and shake his fellow officers’ hands. Jerico could feel the positivity wafting toward him from his team. The men across the wooden surface were pleased as well. Jerico hid his mental exhaustion from everyone as he’d been trained to do. Never show weakness.