Series: Little Cakes Series by Pepper North
Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 45066 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 225(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45066 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 225(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
Ellie leaned in close to Avery and whispered, “Avery? Is that you?”
Avery nodded.
“I guess you got off early enough not to come as a zombie cop then.”
“Yes. This actually worked out well. Since my lips were already black, I barely added any black lipstick.”
Ellie giggled as she reached for both Avery’s and Tori’s hands. “Come on. They’re about to start the cupcake walk!”
Cupcake walk… Cute. Avery had no doubt the cupcakes had been made by Little Cakes and that they would be fantastic. She hoped not all of them would be witch’s brew because she didn’t need more purple and black frosting.
It was a good thing she hadn’t eaten the second cupcake from earlier. She’d put it in the fridge for tomorrow. She might be able to justify eating two cupcakes in the same day on occasion, but not three.
Soon, Avery was swept up in the excitement, laughing and enjoying herself with the other Littles. It was easier than usual to let her guard down tonight since she was wearing a mask. Her face was hot under the paint and rubber half-mask, but at least she didn’t have to dodge anyone who would decide to make small talk with her.
After two glasses of punch, however, she needed to use the restroom, so she made her way out of the daycare and headed down the hallway. She should have gone sooner. She’d been having too much fun to stop though. Now, she really had to pee.
As she hurried around the corner, she ran straight into a hard body. Her momentum caused her to bounce off the muscular chest and nearly fall on her ass.
Luckily strong hands reached out to grab her biceps and keep her upright.
“I’m so sorry, Sir,” she muttered, keeping her gaze down. “I wasn’t watching where I was going.”
“No worries.”
Wait. She knew that voice. Her breath hitched as she jerked her head back to look him in the eye. Shit.
Shit shit shit. She was staring directly at her new boss, Captain Trace Barnes. She gulped, her eyes wide. This couldn’t be happening. She didn’t need her boss to know she was a member of Blaze, and she certainly didn’t need him to know she was Little.
“Are you okay?” he asked. His brow was furrowed.
She couldn’t speak. She simply nodded.
“You seem winded. Can I get you some water?”
She shook her head.
“That mask looks hot.”
Suddenly, she realized he had no idea who he was talking to. Yes. Thank you, God. If she could just get away from him. “I’m fine,” she murmured. “Sorry.” She wiggled free of him and hurried past him toward the bathroom.
She’d never been more grateful for individual restrooms in her life. As soon as she was inside and had the door locked, she pulled the hot mask off and gasped for oxygen, slumping against the door.
Fearing she might hyperventilate, she set her hands on her knees and took several deep breaths before setting the mask on the sink and hiking up her witch’s robe so she could pee. She really had to go. It was more important than the fact that her heart was racing and she was wondering how she was going to get out of Blaze undetected.
She definitely needed to leave. ASAP. It was bad enough that she now knew her new boss was in the fetish community. She didn’t need him to know she was. He already had her on his radar for being unprofessional and pulling him over with black lips.
Not that it was unprofessional to belong to a club. That was her business. After all, he was obviously seeking membership too. What happened at Blaze, stayed at Blaze. It was a hard rule.
Still. She was a woman in a man’s world. A female cop. She didn’t need the captain to be judging her based on her chosen fetish. It had taken her two years to even consider returning to Blaze and weeks of biting her nails to finally do so.
She’d only been here a few times so far. It wasn’t as if she were a Domme or even a pain slut. She was Little. That fact wasn’t something she shared with many people.
Her partner, Wyatt, knew. That was unavoidable. When he’d found out though, she’d considered switching partners. It had seemed weird. But Wyatt had gone out of his way to make it not weird. He was professional through and through. He never mentioned her Little side at work. Unless they were at the club, he never acknowledged it at all.
There was no guarantee she would get the same reaction from Captain Barnes. She didn’t know him at all. Maybe he would judge her. She was already worried about proving herself to yet another man in law enforcement. Every time someone new joined the force, she had an uphill battle starting from scratch.