Chapter 44
I ndie stared at herself in the large mirror. She was in the small wardrobe off her playroom.
“What do you think?” Slade asked, standing behind her and watching her closely. “I’m not as good at doing hair as Spencer, but I think it looks okay.”
“I look so cute!” she said. “And it looks great!”
He’d done her hair up high into two braids and tied them off with pale pink ribbon.
Then she was wearing a long-sleeved white shirt with ruffles at the wrists and around her collar and some pink overalls with white hearts.
Which might be a bit tricky when it came to having to go to the toilet but she didn’t care.
She. Looked. Cute.
On her feet were a pair of fluffy pink slippers that he’d produced from the back of the wardrobe.
“I didn’t even know I had these slippers.”
“Hmm. Spencer has been having fun buying things for you,” Slade said.
She bit her lower lip worriedly. “He shouldn’t spend all his money on me.”
“Hey.” He turned her around to face him, reaching up to release her lip. “Money is no longer something you have to concern yourself with. Understood?”
It wasn’t?
She’d always worried about money. Even with Billy taking care of all the bills, she’d been concerned about asking him for some when she needed it.
She’d always wondered about the state of their finances.
Whether they had enough. What was going on.
If she was asking for too much. It was probably due to her childhood.
She’d often come home to no food in the cupboard or to find that the electricity had been turned off.
So it was hard to just stop worrying. But she had to start trusting them. So she nodded.
“Good girl. Now, shall we go see what fun we can find in the playroom together?”
“Together?” she asked. “Don’t you have other things to do? Do you even like to play?”
“I can play. Again, not as good as Spencer . . . but I think we have this. What do you say?”
“Okay,” she said with a small smile.
“Okay, what? What do you call me?” He placed a firm finger under her chin and tilted her head back.
“Okay, Daddy.”
“That’s Daddy’s good girl.” Leaning down, he placed a kiss on her nose. Then on each of her cheeks.
She waited for him to kiss her lips, but he drew back and took her hand, leading her into the playroom.
“Now, after your lines we can play for a bit, then it will be lunchtime and naptime.”
“Naptime? I don’t need a nap,” she told him.
He shot her a look and it took her a moment to realize why.
“I don’t need a nap, Daddy,” she said.
He gave a nod so she knew she’d understood him. Weird. Each time she called him Daddy it seemed to ease something inside her. She started to feel more relaxed, her shoulders lowering .
Since she’d stopped vomiting all the time, she actually had far more energy. Naps were no longer necessary.
“Yes, you do. Little girls always need a nap or they get cranky and get themselves into trouble.”
To her shock, her bottom lip dropped out on a pout and she tapped her foot, glaring at him. “I am not cranky.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Are you sure about that?”
“Daddy! Don’t call me cranky!”
“You’re cute when you’re cranky.” He grinned at her.
Slade also seemed to relax more as she called him that.
Perhaps they both needed this time.
“Now, lines first.” He set her up at the table. “I want you to write fifty times: I shall not talk badly about myself.”
She groaned but sat. “This is such a downer.”
“Then don’t break the rules and you won’t get punished.”
It was easy for him to say. She couldn’t help it, the rules were just so . . . so breakable!
It took her hours and hours to write the lines. All right, it was probably more like fifteen minutes but it felt like hours.
“Done, Daddy! I am done!” She held up the piece of paper in triumph.
He took it from her and checked the lines. “Good girl. All done. But you’re still getting a spanking once you’re up to it.”
Double downer.
“What shall we do now?” she asked.
Her voice was getting softer as she spoke. Putting her thumb in her mouth, she sucked on it nervously as he handed her Gary.
“Does your gargoyle have a name now?” he asked.
“Uh-huh, it’s Gary.”
“Take your thumb out of your mouth when you talk, Little one,” he told her.
“Sorry, it’s Gary,” she told him after she’d slid her thumb out.
“Gary the gargoyle?” He grinned again. “Would Gary like a tea party?”
“We tried before. It didn’t really work,” she said sadly .
“Well, that’s before you had Daddy to help,” he told her.
He drew out all of the chairs and set Gary down in one opposite her. Her toy dog was to her left. She thought she’d call him Larry. Then he perched precariously in the last one. The chairs weren’t tiny, but they weren’t exactly Slade-sized either.
“What shall we have?” he asked. “Tea? Coffee? Maybe a choccy biscuit or a slice of cake?”
He picked up a wooden biscuit that actually looked surprisingly real and pretended to eat it, making her giggle.
“Daddy! You’re supposed to wait for your host to pour you the drink and offer you some food, not just help yourself.” She waggled a finger at him. “Cheeky Daddy.”
“I do apologize. I seem to have forgotten all of my etiquette lessons. Please, ma’am, may I have a cup of tea?”
“You may.” She nodded regally and poured him a cup. “Sugar? Milk?”
“No, just black.”
Indie shuddered. “That really is revolting, Daddy.”
“Well, us Daddies have a reputation to uphold. We like our tea black so it puts hair on our chests.”
“But you don’t have any hair on your chest, Daddy,” she pointed out.
“Ahh, so I don’t.”
“And Dada takes his tea with three sugars and a lot of milk.”
“Well . . . Dada does need sweetening up. Although he probably doesn’t need that much sugar. He’s already got plenty of energy.”
That he did.
“What about some Victoria sponge, Daddy?” she asked, picking up a piece of the wooden cake and setting it onto their pretty plates.
“Why, thank you, Little one.”
Suddenly, Gary fell forward, his face landing right into the cake.
“Oh no, Gary!” she cried, trying to reach over and grab him but he was across the table from her.
Slade picked him up and shook his head. “Oh Gary, you are a messy eater. Don’t you know that you’re not supposed to eat right off the plate?”
“It must be because he’s a gargoyle,” she said, shaking her head. “Hand him over to me, Daddy.”
She took hold of Gary and wiped his face clean. “There you are, all clean. Now, no more eating straight off the plate like that. Bad Gary.”
After their tea party Daddy found some crafting supplies from one of the cupboards and she sat at the same table, creating pictures of the five of them. And Gary, of course.
“Right, I’m going to go make some lunch, Boo,” Slade told her, standing.
“I’m not hungry, Daddy,” she told him.
“It’s still best if you eat regularly,” he said.
She sighed, but didn’t argue.
After he left, she realized she had to pee. Urgh. It felt like Button was constantly messing with her bladder at the moment.
She stood and stretched with a groan, jumping in surprise as Rock walked into the room.
Was he . . . did he expect to find her like this? Did he approve of her outfit and her hair in braids with ribbons?
“Hi,” she said.
He ran his gaze over her before giving her that gorgeous smile he had. When Rock smiled it was like the whole world stopped. She froze, staring at him.
“Gorgeous.”
“Thanks. Da,” she added on.
His smile grew. So she guessed he did approve.
“Um. Have you finished your workout?” she asked.
Stupid question, Indie. He’s here, isn’t he?
He nodded.
“Daddy is making lunch. Do you want to eat with us?”
Another nod.
“Yay!” She bounced up and down .
Well, she attempted to. She didn’t really bounce anymore. And that movement just made her bladder twist.
“I gotta pee.”
His eyes widened, but he quickly took hold of her hand and led her to the attached bathroom.
Every bedroom in the penthouse had its own bathroom including this one. She fiddled with the clasps for the overalls, but he pushed her hands gently away and undid them. Then he drew them off along with her panties.
He faced away from her and turned on the water.
A true gentleman.
It didn’t even occur to her until after she was dressed again and he was helping her wash her hands that she hadn’t been embarrassed.
“How come I didn’t care you were in here?” she asked.
He shrugged and cupped the back of her neck with his large hand. “Little.”
Little?
Oh, because she was Little? Hmm. Maybe.
“Lunch.” He took hold of her hand and led her out into the bedroom where Slade was setting up some food at the table.
“I’m still not hungry, Daddy,” she told Slade.
Rock attempted to let go of her hand and move away, but she frowned at him. “No, Da, you gotta eat too.”
All right, this was becoming easier. She tugged him toward the table. He eyed the chair skeptically.
“Yeah, I don’t think you should sit on that. It might break. I’ll get you a cushion.”
“You sit,” Slade bossed her. “Rock can get his own cushion.”
Rock nodded.
“Da needs looking after too. Who looks after him?”
Rock froze and shot her a funny look, but she shrugged it off.
“Can we all play a game after? Or go swimming?” she asked.
“It’s ten degrees outside,” Slade said dryly. “No one is going swimming. Especially not you. ”
“Cold dip,” Rock said.
Slade nodded. “Rock might do a cold dip then hop into the sauna.”
“Ooh, I’ve read about that. I’ll do that too.”
Both men shot her looks.
“Nope,” Rock said.
“Extreme temps aren’t good for Button,” Slade explained.
Guilt filled her. Why hadn’t she thought of that?
See? She was going to be a terrible mother, wasn’t she?
“Hey, you are not going to be a bad mum,” Slade said quickly.
He moved around to crouch next to her, grasping hold of her chin firmly. She had no choice but to stare into his intense brown eyes.
“I overheard her earlier saying that she was a crap Little, sub, and girlfriend. And she was worried that she wasn’t going to be a good mum.”
Rock frowned fiercely at Slade’s words.