Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 55087 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 275(@200wpm)___ 220(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55087 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 275(@200wpm)___ 220(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
If he were honest with himself, he’d probably known she was his almost from the moment she’d emerged from the back room. He hadn’t been certain if she was Little at that time, though.
The moment she’d stepped into this conference room, her entire presence had called to him. When he’d issued the command for her to come, he’d watched every nuance of her reactions.
That’s when he’d known. Known she was Little. Known she was his.
It had unraveled so fast that he had whiplash now. In the span of fifteen minutes, he’d held her between his legs, braided her gorgeous hair, gripped her hands in her lap, stroked her cheek…
If she hadn’t spooked and leaped away from him, he might have kissed her—which probably wouldn’t have been his best plan.
She remained in front of him now, letting him hold her wrist. Her green eyes were wide. Her lips parted. She breathed heavily. “Sir, I…”
He slid his hand to hers and clasped her small fingers. “It’s okay. I know I just dumped a mountain on you.” He needed to reassure her. He smiled, hoping she was feeling his warmth. “We’ll take our time, Little one. Get to know each other.”
“But…”
He smiled broader. “There really are no buts, sweetheart. You feel it, too.” He set his other hand on her chest, his fingers on her neck. “In here. It’s a presence. It just happened. I know you need to think and process, and I’m sure you’ll have a million questions. I’ll answer all of them. Just don’t fight it. Can you do that for me, Little one?”
She swallowed.
God, he wished he could push the fast-forward button and get them through this awkward phase, skip over the time she was going to spend freaking out and doubting them both. But this was life. He needed to slow down and guide her gently.
“I need to join the others and make sense of this assignment. I’m sure you need some space and time. I’ll come to your room tonight and tuck you in. How does that sound?”
She bit into her lower lip hard enough that he reached up to pluck it from between her teeth before she hurt herself. “That’s all I’m going to do tonight, Little one. Tuck you in. If you’d like, I can read you a story.”
Finally, she smiled. It wasn’t filled with as much sunshine as he knew she was capable of, but it was a start. “Okay,” she whispered.
Her smile was his undoing, though. That and the fact that she hadn’t moved to walk away yet. When she swayed closer and licked her lips, he cupped her face and kissed her. He didn’t linger, but the kiss was sweet and soft, and it solidified everything he’d known.
She was definitely his perfect Little girl.
Chapter Five
Sadie turned and walked quickly from the room. She could feel his gaze following her as she tried to exit with her dignity intact. Dignity? What was she thinking? Kneeling at his feet and calling him Sir? She was a royal idiot.
Needing to be away from the desk, Sadie picked up her clipboard of preopening activities. After setting a small sign on the reception desk that gave a number that people could call for assistance, she hurried away to check on one of the myriad of things she needed to take care of today.
Yesterday, she’d worked alone with a few workmen wandering around as they completed tasks on their lists. It had been okay but a little spooky to be alone in this big estate. When the large men started arriving this morning, she’d welcomed them to the estate and personally had felt relief that she wouldn’t be the only one there if something went wrong.
I know who I’d go to if I needed help.
“Stop it!” she ordered herself aloud. Get your mind away from Rocco Thompson.
The first thing on her list was an inventory of the bed linens and consumable materials for the rooms and cabins. Heading for the supply cabinet, she saw one of the men she’d just met. Cursing her poor memory, she flipped to the notes she’d taken after each man had arrived so she could learn their names.
Magnus. Sadie hadn’t ever seen his face fully. Thank goodness he always wore a baseball cap, and no one else did, so she could tell at a glance who he was. Armed with his name so she could greet him personally, she turned the corner and found the hallway empty.
She figured he had already taken the elevator, and she’d just missed him. Magnus was obviously a quiet man of few words. Pushing the button to call the elevator, the doors opened immediately, and she stepped in.
As the elevator doors opened on the next floor, Sadie looked down at her list and headed for the supply room. She opened the supply room door and stepped inside to find everything perfectly organized. Thanking whoever had stocked the supplies in such an orderly fashion, Sadie started with the sheets. Each set of sheets, duvet cover, and pillowcases were secured in a cloth bag and stacked on the shelf. She spot-checked five random sets and found them all to be consistent. Housekeeping would only have to stop and pick up the sets for the different size beds. This would take the laundry personnel more time but would be so convenient for the staff working in the rooms.