Chapter 21
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As soon as she’s in my arms, Josie drops her head to my shoulder and I can’t help but smile at the sweet innocence of the gesture. Even when I’m the one causing her pain and discomfort, she turns to me for solace. Which is as it should be, but the move makes my heart constrict all the same.
“Shh, baby. Daddy’s got you,” I murmur as I bounce her lightly on my hip, soothing her. With her mouth full, she can’t do more than whimper in response, but the sound still fills me with joy.
Gunther looks up from her laptop when we step back into the dining room, his eyes locking on the sweet little bundle in my arms. A hunger I recognize all too well flickers across his grizzled face.
Well, isn’t that an interesting development.
Making a note to discuss it with Colt later, I rub my hand over Josie’s back and smile at Gunther. “Apologies for my Little girl’s rudeness, friend. Were you able to get her computer set up so she can work?”
Gunther grunts and nods, his eyes still lingering on Josie. Not in a way that feels predatory, but curious. “Sure did. As long as she doesn’t need access to anything else online, she’s good to go. Set her up with her email and her documents, just like you asked.”
Now his gaze shifts to me, one corner of his mouth kicking up in a knowing smirk as he gives me a slight nod. Which I take to mean that she’s able to send emails, but not until they’re reviewed by me or Colt first.
“Thanks, Gunther. We appreciate you.”
“No thanks needed. It was good to get out of the house for a bit.”
Guilt pricks at my conscience. We utilize Gunther’s computer skills a good bit, but I don’t think it’s ever really occurred to us he might be lonely up in that cabin all by himself. He’s always seemed perfectly happy in his hermit ways.
“You should come by for dinner sometime soon. Eli makes a mean tater-tot casserole.”
Interest flickers in Gunther’s dark eyes. “Maybe.”
Figuring that’s all the agreement I’m likely to get for the time being, I let it drop as Gunther pushes to his feet. “Wanna make sure everything works the way she needs, and then I’ll get out of your hair.”
Nodding, I set Josie on the chair he’s just vacated. “Are you ready to be Daddy’s sweet girl again, Josie-Posie?”
She jerks her head up and down, her eyes wide and pleading.
“All right. Daddy’s going to take your pacifier out now, and I expect you to be my polite Little girl. Or when Gunther leaves, we are going to be having another discussion.”
Again she bobs her head, even more frantically this time, so I reach for the buckle on the gag and peel it from her mouth.
“Can I please have some water, Daddy?” She asks as soon as the gag is free.
She sounds so pitiful, I can’t help but agree. “How about some milk? We just got a fresh shipment from the island.”
At that, her eyes light up. “Yes, please! The island has the best milk.”
It’s all I can do not to laugh. If she knew exactly where our friends on the island got their milk, I doubt she’d be so enthusiastic. “All right, one bottle of milk coming up. You be good for Uncle Gunther while I’m gone.”
“Okay, Daddy.”
I drop a kiss on the top of her head before making my way to the kitchen. My brother is there, as expected, working on a fresh batch of sourdough bread, his latest obsession.
Eli glances up from his bread and grunts as I enter. “Everything good with our little Josie?”
“Yeah. She got a bit of an attitude about Gunther working on her laptop so we had to have a talk about manners and using naughty language. But I don’t think it will be a problem again anytime soon.”
And if it is, well, we’ll just try again. It's certainly no hardship for me to have my cock down my Little girl’s throat on a regular basis.
“She’s always been a spitfire,” Eli says with a chuckle as I make my way over to the fridge for a fresh bottle of milk. “Wouldn’t surprise me if she needs her bottom warmed just as often as our Lanie.”
“Wouldn’t surprise me either.” Closing the fridge door behind me, I lean back against it. “Hey, has Gunther ever said anything to you about being a Daddy?”
For the first time since I entered the kitchen, Eli pauses and turns fully to face me, the corners of his lips dipping down into a frown. “No. Why?”
“I dunno. Might be nothing. Just something about the way he looked at Josie. It reminds me of the way I used to feel watching our friends on the islands with their Little ones. Like he wants a Little girl of his own.”
Brows furrowing, Eli shakes his head slowly. “That doesn’t really track with what I know about him.”
“Why not?”
“Because he’d be far more interested in having a Little boy than a Little girl, if he is a Daddy.”
“Really? How do you know that?”
Eli shrugs. “We talk.”
For a moment, I can only blink at my brother. “You talk? When?”
“When I take him food.”
I feel like I’m talking to an alien fucking species. “How often do you take him food?”
Another jerk of his shoulders. “Couple times a month.”
“How the fuck did I not know this?”
“You never asked.”
“Jesus. Well, I invited him to dinner. Get him to come. I think he’s lonely.”
My brother rolls his eyes. “Of course he’s fucking lonely, why do you think I take him food?”
“Just fucking get him to come to dinner, would you?”
Smirking now, Eli lifts his hand in a snappy salute. “Yes, sir.”
“Asshole,” I mutter as I stalk from the kitchen. I pause just outside the dining room to drag in a deep breath. The last thing I want is to scare my Little girl just because my brother got under my skin.
But then I step into the dining room and I have to pause all over again. Gunther is back in his chair, with my babygirl on his lap, and she’s giggling wildly at something he’s said. The scene sends the jealous beast inside me back into a rage, and it’s all I can do not to snarl at them.
Then Josie looks up, her eyes lighting up at the sight of me, and the beast quiets once more. “Daddy! Uncle Gunny was just showing me all these fun little tricks in the program I use for writing.”
“Uncle Gunny?” I ask, raising my brows at my friend.
Gunther shrugs. “Figure it’s easier than Gunther for a Little girl.”
I know for a fact Josie would have no problem pronouncing his name, but it’s actually kind of sweet, so I don’t contradict him. “Fair enough. I brought your milk, bug.”
But when Josie reaches for the bottle, I change course and pass it off to Gunther, who blinks in surprise. “What do you want me to do with this?”
“Feed her, of course. She’s far too Little to hold her own bottle.”
Josie’s eyes narrow, but she doesn’t object. It takes a moment for Gunther to get her situated on his lap, but when he does, a rare smile curves his lips as Josie suckles at the rubber tip.
Very interesting, indeed.
Pulling out another seat at the table, I watch as he explains different things to my little lovebug, who soaks up all the information with wide eyes while she drinks.
When she’s done, Gunther hands me the bottle and Josie, and we say our goodbyes. He promises to come back for dinner sometime and I walk him to the front door.
As soon as it closes, Josie wiggles in my arms, trying to get down. “Daddy, I need to work.”
I frown at the clock in the entryway. “It’s naptime, baby. You can write a bit after your nap.”
“No.” Her voice is firm, no longer the Little girl I’ve had in my care the past few days, but the strong-willed woman I met the other day in the candy shop. “I’ve already missed too much writing time. Put me down, please.”
“Josie, you need to rest.”
“I need to not miss my fu—my deadline.”
“Good girl catching yourself before you said that naughty word. But you are still going down for a nap,” I tell her as I head for the stairs.
In my arms, she sighs. “Can we compromise?”
“Compromise” is not a word I use often, especially where Little girls are concerned. But I’m curious to see where she’s going with this, so I nod. “What kind of compromise did you have in mind?”
“Half an hour nap instead of an hour, and an hour later for bedtime.”
Pausing just inside her nursery, I turn my head to raise a brow at her. “That doesn’t sound like much of a compromise. That sounds very much like a Little girl getting what she wants.”
“It’s a compromise when you consider I usually stay up until one or two in the morning writing,” she says with a shrug.
“Well that is absolutely not happening.”
“I figured. Hence the compromise.”
Since it is partially my fault she’s so behind on her writing, I consider her offer as I put her in her crib. “All right. But I reserve the right to change the terms of our agreement if you seem tired or out of sorts.”
“I’m a writer. I’m always out of sorts, especially during crunch time.”
“Do you want me to agree to your compromise or not, little girl?”
A blush steals across her cheeks. “Yes, Daddy.”
“Good girl. I’ll be back in thirty minutes to get you up. You don’t have to sleep but you do have to stay in your crib.”
“I know, Daddy.”
Leaning down, I press a kiss to her hair. “All right. I’ll be back soon.”
“Daddy?” Her soft voice reaches me just as I’m about to turn out the lights.
“Yes, bug?”
Pulling herself up in the crib, she stares up at me, perfect white teeth worrying at her bottom lip. “Will you… Will you read me a story?”
My heart does a slow roll in my chest. “Of course, baby. What do you want me to read you?”
“Anything. I just kinda miss how you used to read to me all the time.”
Before everything went down with our uncle, reading to my little lovebug was one of my favorite pastimes. Picking out a book to read together, then spending hours with her curled up on the couch beside me while I read. I can’t believe I haven’t thought to do so before now.
Crossing the room to the large bookcase up against the far wall, I pick out one of the books I’ve been carefully stocking my nursery with for years.
I move to pull the large glider closer to her crib before changing my mind.
Instead, I scoop her out of the crib and carry her to the glider, settling in the oversized chair with my babygirl on my lap.
Josie snuggles in with a sigh as I open the book.
And read.