“Yep.”
“You’ve picked a sweet one. I’ll leave you to it.”
“Thanks, Bear.”
The dungeon master wandered off, leaving Garrett contemplating the Little he hoped to woo.
For a long time, he simply watched her.
He must have stared at her long and hard enough for the hairs on the back of her neck to stand up, because suddenly she turned around and caught his gaze.
Her eyes went wide in that adorable way he’d seen more than once the other night, and she blinked several times before finally pushing away from the table. She said something to her companions he couldn’t hear before making her way toward him.
“Uh… What are you doing here, Mr. Erickson?” She rubbed her palms together.
“I knew I’d seen you somewhere before. I was right.”
She looked down and dragged the toe of one white sneaker back and forth on the floor. Fucking adorable.
He needed to take his time. Say the right things. Handle her carefully. She had every right to be very nervous. Being discovered by someone outside the club was nerve-wracking under any circumstances. Being found by the owner of your building had to be stressful.
He leaned one shoulder against the wall at his side, forcing himself to keep his hands to himself for now. “Please don’t panic. I would never tell a soul about seeing you at Blaze. Rule number one in the fetish community.”
She lifted her face and licked her sweet lips. They were as full and pink as they’d been the other night. He hadn’t imagined that part. Hell, he hadn’t imagined any part. Her eyes were a deep brown that sucked him in. Her skin was soft and golden, but not dark enough to hide her rosy cheeks.
“Can we go somewhere and talk?” he asked, trying to control his voice so he didn’t sound as desperate as he felt.
“You mean like here at the club? Or somewhere else?” she asked tentatively.
“Whatever makes you the most comfortable, Ellie.”
“What exactly do you want to talk about?” She licked her lips again.
He wanted to kiss those lips. He hoped to God there would come a day when he would be permitted to. “Whatever you want to talk about. Anything. Everything. I like you. I’d like to get to know you.”
“Don’t you think that’s kind of inappropriate with you owning the building I’m renting and all?” she hedged. There wasn’t a lot of umph behind her words, though.
“I don’t see a problem. It’s not like I’m your boss. I just own the building.” He shrugged. “No big deal.”
She fidgeted, threading her fingers together and shifting her weight back and forth. “I mean, what if we started something and then it went bad and then you took it out on me and raised my rent or found some way to get me to break my lease? I love that location and the space. I don’t want to risk my business.”
Garrett fought the urge to chuckle, knowing she was dead serious even though her rambling thoughts were slightly outlandish. It made her even cuter. “So, you’ve thought about it then, haven’t you?”
“Thought about what, Sir?”
God, he loved it when she called him Sir. It made his dick flinch inside his black jeans. “Starting something with me. I mean, you’ve put so much thought into it since we met that you’ve come up with the wildest, worst-case scenario known to man as an excuse.”
Her cheeks pinkened further. Again, adorably. After chewing on the corner of her bottom lip for a moment, she released it and sighed. “Maybe.”
Now he did chuckle. He also reached out to cup her cheek, stroking her skin with his thumb. “I promise not to get revenge in any way on you if things don’t work out. I’m not that kind of asshole. I’m a nice guy.” He bent his knees a bit to make them more eye-to-eye. “A Daddy, Ellie.”
She inhaled slowly. “I guess I didn’t do anything to hide my Little the other night, did I?”
“Not really. No.”
“I wasn’t expecting anyone to come into the shop while I was in my Little head space. You caught me off guard.”
“And I’m glad I did. Your door was unlocked. I wasn’t kidding about that, Little one. If you were mine and I found you acting that reckless, I would take you over my knee and spank your bottom so hard you wouldn’t be able to sit comfortably the next day.” He lifted a brow to make sure she fully understood.
She shuddered. “I won’t do it again, Sir.”
“See that you don’t. Now, what about my suggestion? Can we go sit somewhere slightly more private and talk?”
“I guess.” She glanced over her shoulder toward the adult age-play daycare area longingly.
He slid his hand down to hers, taking it gently. “Come on. I promise not to keep you all night. I’ll bring you back to finish coloring your picture in a while.”
“Okay.”
Garrett felt like he’d jumped another high hurdle as he led Ellie to one of the lounge rooms. Instead of choosing a loveseat or couch, he took a chance and aimed straight for an armchair.
After sitting, he drew her between his legs and lifted her onto one knee.
She squirmed and started to get off. “I’m too big for your lap, Sir.”
“Don’t be silly. You’re just right.” He anchored her with an arm around her waist.
“Sir…” she complained. “I’m going to hurt your leg.”
He frowned. “Please don’t tell me you think you’re too large for my lap. That’s nonsense.”
“I’m not exactly small, Sir.”
“Thank God. If I was interested in a skinny Little girl with a bony butt, I would have found one. But I like my Little girls to have curves and enough flesh on their bottoms that I won’t feel like I’m hurting them when I swat their naughty butts.”
She slouched a bit, seemingly resigned to remaining where he wanted her. Hurdle number three.
“I love this outfit, by the way,” he said to change the subject. “You look so pretty in this color of pink.” He tapped her nose.
She finally smiled. “Thank you, Sir.”
“Is pink your favorite color?”
She shrugged. “Sometimes. I like all colors.”
“Is that why you were making rainbow sprinkle cupcakes the other night?”
She grinned wider and nodded.
“Tell me more about yourself. How old are you?”
“Thirty.”
“How long have you lived in the area?”
“A few months.”
“Where were you before that?”
“I was living outside of town with my grandmother. After I graduated from college, her health started failing, so I moved in with her to help take care of her.”
“Wow. That was a huge responsibility. Where is she now?” he asked, knowing the probable answer.
“She died six months ago.”
“I’m so sorry, Little one. It sounds like you were very close.”
“Yes. She was my only family. She raised me from the time I was five. She wanted me to put her in a home, but there was no way I could do that. I stayed with her to the very end.”
“Fulltime? Did you have a job?”
She shook her head, her pigtails shaking, making her look younger. “Not while she was still alive. After she died, I started working as a pastry chef in a hotel. It turned out my grandmother had a sizable inheritance from my grandfather. He passed before I was born, but his family was wealthy. My grandmother lived rather frugally, but she left me plenty of money.”