Epilogue
Six months later
Calla
Standing in front of the full-length mirror I bit my lip as I turned from one side to the other, wondering if I should change.
Thanks in part to Bobbi’s Halloween obsession, my appreciation for all things dark and gothic had grown since coming to Rawhide.
She’d introduced me to some amazing brands that now filled the shelves of my side of the wardrobe.
I loved how the short skirts swished against my thighs, how the dark lacy stockings clung to my skin.
Most of all, I loved how Eric looked at me when I was all “gothed up” as Sadie called it.
His gaze would darken with desire a moment before he’d get his hands on me.
A shudder of pleasure ran through me before I forced my attention back on my current dilemma.
Was my outfit too casual? Shouldn’t I look more professional now that I was a store owner?
A giggle broke free and I did a spin, my skirt flaring out as it hit me that I owned my own shop.
Little Dragon Treasures was an entire building filled with all of my, and my new friends’, favorite things.
An entire room was full of stuffies of every type and size, including a complete range of gothic-styled ones that Bobbi had cried over, wanting all of them when she’d first seen them.
And of course, a section that was for my crocheted stuffies, the inspiration that had started me dreaming of owning a store.
The main floor was split into zones, clothing was near the back where there were some changing rooms. We’d included anything we could think of that a Little might want to wear.
So many dress-up options, and a large range of shirts with various sayings and cheeky pictures on them.
I also had a few racks of clothing designed by Nelly, a Little who came to visit the Ranch with her Daddy regularly.
Near the front we’d set up the toys and sensory things.
Glass-fronted cases displayed hand-crafted jewelry ranging from toe rings to ones worn on your fingers.
Chains of all lengths and weights, from delicate anklets to chunky necklaces, even some elaborate body chain harnesses and dresses.
Some with sparkling gemstones and beads, others only metal.
Of course, I’d managed to find every sort of dragon charm I could.
Some hung from earrings, others from bracelets or necklaces.
I even had some keychains. Then there was another separate room near the counter at the back that was filled with the more adult toys.
I’d received quite the education from the other Littles and submissives who’d helped me work out what to stock in there.
Today it would officially open, and I’d officially become the owner operator of my own shop.
Bobbi was going to work with me to run it for now.
I wasn’t sure how I’d do dealing with customers if they were super chatty or didn’t understand I didn’t speak to anyone other than my Daddy, at least so far.
But seeing how Moses handled working with so many different people every day in his role at the resort had given me hope I could make this work.
I still had some classes to finish off to get my Business Management Certificate from Rawhide University, but Eric had agreed there was no reason to wait till I graduated before I started using what I’d been learning.
Especially not once I got access to the money from my father’s estate, which had been more than enough to cover the start-up costs and construction of the building.
When Eric had vowed to fix everything that had been taken from me when I’d first arrived at Rawhide, I’d thought he’d just been talking about my craft supplies and phone.
But he’d really meant everything. He and Master Derek had gotten Master Derek’s friend, Master Jared, a high-powered lawyer on board and he’d dug up all sorts of nasty secrets my stepfather had been hiding.
The legal system moved slowly, but Master Jared had done everything he could to get things sorted as quickly as possible.
Getting the conservatorship Jack had the Court put me under removed was the first step, and it had felt so freeing when Jared had told me he’d successfully gotten it squashed.
For the first time in my life, at twenty-three years old, I was legally an independent adult.
Then Master Jared had gone after the money.
He’d explained that my Dad’s parents had been filthy rich, that his family were old oil money, and even though they’d cut all contact with my father before I’d been born, he’d been their only son and the sole heir to their estate when they’d died.
My grandparents had written up a complex will that stipulated if my dad had children, the entirety of the estate was to go into a trust fund for them until they turned twenty-three.
From what Master Jared had been able to find, he thought that my dad had found out about the estate and that he wasn’t actually going to get any of it just before his arrest. The money was what my stepfather, Jack, was after as it seemed he’d lived beyond his means for too long and needed funds.
That was why I’d been pulled from Pieces to Peace, why he’d taken away everything that helped me.
His goal had been to make me worse in order to get the conservatorship granted.
Then after I’d turned twenty-three, he’d started getting my mother to pull money out of the trust for him, and figured he could ship me off here while he lived off my inheritance .
Master Jared had somehow managed to get all the money Jack had stolen returned and had helped me find a trustworthy financial advisor to help me manage it all.
That had all happened two months ago and I was still struggling to wrap my head around exactly how much money I now had to my name.
It was way more than any one person needed.
I’d already carved off a large portion of it for Pieces to Peace so they could help more people who couldn’t pay.
I’d tried to offer some to Master Derek but he’d turned me down.
Thanking me for the thought, he’d then explained how the Ranch had a sapphire mine that funded all the extra stuff around the resort.
That had led to me and Bobbi discovering GoFundMe on the internet and we’d spent more than a few evenings using my inheritance to pay off people’s medical and vet bills.
It had felt good to be able to ease other people’s pain, even if I’d never get to see the result.
My mind cleared of all thoughts when Eric strode into our shared walk-in-closet.
Fresh from a shower, he rubbed his wet hair with a towel, while another one was wrapped around his waist. I couldn’t look away from the man who owned my heart.
The flex of his bicep as he continued to dry his hair, the definition of his abs and pecs, even his scars were sexy as hell.
They were part of his life’s story and revealed how strong he was.
“If you keep staring at me like that, we’ll be late to your official non-grand opening.”
The slight growl in his tone had me biting my lip and closing my eyes. Memories of how we’d spent the early hours of the morning had me squeezing my thighs together against the heat that flared within me. I started to mentally calculate how much time we had, maybe we could...
Eric wrapped his strong arms around my waist and pulled me back against him, snapping me out of my thoughts. Running my fingers lightly back and forth over his forearms, I smiled at his reflection and he shook his head, smirking.
“Is my greedy little birthday girl trying to recalculate how time works so she can have more presents from her Daddy?”
Giggling, I turned in his arms, wrapped mine around his neck and rose up onto my toes, lifting my face.
He was so much taller than me, unless he was sitting down, I couldn’t reach to press my lips to his.
Thankfully, he never missed an opportunity to kiss me and quickly leaned down to slant his mouth over mine.
I twirled my fingers in the damp hair at the top of his neck as he deepened the kiss.
His palms ran down my sides, over my hips and further until he hit the hem of my short skirt.
Slipping under the fabric, he ran his hands up until he reached my butt.
He rubbed circles over the globes, the texture of my black lace stockings pressing into my skin as he moved making me shiver.
He broke the kiss, keeping his mouth hovering just above mine, just out of reach.
His dark eyes were sparking with heat as I stared up into them.
I still couldn’t look others in the eye for long, but I could stare into Eric’s gaze forever, happily drowning in him just like I’d read in those books but hadn’t believed was possible.
“Please, Daddy,” I whispered as I dragged my hands down his bare chest and torso. I didn’t pause before I tugged at the knot in the towel. But before I could get pull the fabric away and get my hands on this thick erection, he lifted his right hand and swatted my butt.
“Such a naughty Little girl. If we weren’t already running out of time, you’d be in the corner for some thinking time. Now, you need to stop looking so damn irresistible for a minute so I can focus on getting myself dressed instead of taking you back to bed.”