Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
The West Texas sun bore down on the high desert, and it was warm, but it was better than Las Vegas thanks to the high altitude.
The relief from the oppressive, oven-like heat was a nice break, Nova thought as she stepped out of the bus and surveyed the scene before her.
Around her, the Davis Mountains towered. They were rocky and looked ancient, and Nova had the suspicion the land itself held memories of all it had seen over the centuries. She could imagine pioneers traversing the rugged territory on horseback or in an old wagon.
The area was remote and the antithesis of Vegas—but it was far from dead. In fact, everything around Nova seemed to be full of beautiful, vibrant life.
The sidewalks and streets were perfectly paved.
Juniper, pine, and oak trees were plentiful.
A mountain’s sheer edge formed a natural rock wall to Nova’s left.
Straight ahead and to her right it was open and a town stretched as far as she could see, though there were mountains in the distance in those directions, too, standing over it all.
“Welcome to Mountainville,” a man’s voice said.
She looked to her left and saw a handsome, strapping guy stepping out of the adobe office that sat in front of the rock wall. He wore boots, jeans, a black tee, and a cream-colored Stetson. He was tall and walked with a swagger one might expect from a Texas cowboy.
“My name is Dax Trevor. I trust you had a good flight in.”
“We did. And a big thank you to Harrison here for picking us up at the airport,” Xavier said, approaching the cowboy and offering his hand. “You’re the marshal here? We spoke earlier.”
“That’s right. Good to have y’all here.”
Everyone else was off the bus now, including the driver. He was a tall, handsome man who Nova had instantly recognized: Harrison Trent, the famous actor.
She was shocked that he was there. As a star known for his explosive action films, his on-screen image was pretty tough. But in real life, he was apparently a Little.
More than that, she’d learned that he was one of the bankrollers behind the Daddy Guard. And while he lived in L.A. when he was working, Mountainville was his home.
“Did you download the app?” the marshal asked.
“I did,” Xavier said.
“We did too,” Breaker said as he held Steph’s hand.
“Good. Has all the information you need, including your house rentals and all that. Water park info is on there too.”
“You have a water park?” Trixie asked with excitement.
“Sure do. We have movie theaters, a few restaurants—including one with an arcade and singing animatronics—and of course, our world-famous ball pit!” Dax said proudly.
The Littles exchanged looks.
“Think it’s better than the one in our place?” Trixie asked the others.
“Oh, yours is great,” Harrison said. “I should know. Me and Stryker designed it. But the one here? It’s the size of an Olympic swimming pool!”
Nova was mesmerized by what she heard. For a moment, she forgot about the fact that she was an international superstar with a crazy stalker.
That stalker would be handled soon, she reminded herself. Xavier would take care of it. Daddy would keep her safe. Always.
That was why he’d brought her to Mountainville. The gated city surrounded by mountains in the middle of nowhere, Texas was the best place in the world she could hide.
It wouldn’t be for long. She’d be back at work in no time. Might as well enjoy this little vacation while she could.
“I know,” Dax said, “that your high profile lends itself to some difficulty for you when it comes to stuff like this.” He didn’t have to say what this was. But they were in a kink community. It was pretty obvious.
He continued.
“But you’ll find everyone in Mountainville is very welcoming and not interested in getting in anyone’s business. We’re used to having celebrities around. Besides Harrison, we have Buck Taylor, the famous country singer, Thea Simpson, the pop star, and Amelia Pine, the actress.”
Nova was amazed. “They, uh, don’t mind you telling me?”
“Not at all,” Dax responded. “In fact, they asked me to. They want to make sure you feel welcome and safe here. Besides, you’ll run into them soon enough, anyway. They’re all eager to meet you.”
“I did a duet with Thea once! That’s crazy to think that two Littles were together in the recording booth at the same time and we didn’t even know!” Nova told them.
“Hey,” Harrison said to Dax, “you forgot to mention Stryker. He’s famous!”
Dax shrugged. “Directors don’t count.” He grinned. Turning his attention back to Nova and then the other women who’d just arrived, he said, “I’ll give y’all a little word of caution, though. We have some Littles here who can be handfuls, that’s for sure.”
“This is where Eli lives!” Trixie noted. “I love his prank videos. He’s, like, the king of Littles!”
Nova had seen Eli’s videos too. He was a legend!
That—and the calm, gentle spirit she sensed about the place—told her that she was going to love it in Mountainville.