Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
“This might be the coolest place I’ve ever been!” Nova said as she walked into the house she’d be calling home for the next few days. “I mean, the Daddy Guard compound is great. But Mountainville? It’s a whole town for people just like me.”
Xavier was glad to hear her say that. He’d been worried she wasn’t holding up well. He told her so too. “You’ve been under so much stress that I was worried you were getting overwhelmed. A lot has happened in the past few days.”
“True,” she told him. “A ton has happened. But not all of it bad.” She wrapped her arms around his waist.
He was glad. First of all, he always wanted to be close to his babygirl. But secondly, he’d been worried that she would come to see their night together as just something that happened in the heat of the moment. But that didn’t seem to be the case.
“Not all bad indeed.” He kissed the top of her head. “We’ll have a lot to figure out when all this is over.”
“Yeah. But we’ll do just that. We can figure it out.”
He was happy to hear that too.
Now wasn’t the time to have that conversation, though. There was enough on their plate without having a “define the relationship” talk.
They did need to discuss something else, though.
“Come sit on my lap, honey. Let’s chat.”
“Is everything all right?”
“Oh yeah. Just need to lay down a few ground rules.”
He sat on the couch and positioned her atop his lap and then wrapped his arms around her. “Mountainville is fun. And it’s secure. Between the Guard and the marshal and his deputies—not to mention the gates and the mountains—no one is going to get to you. Hell, no one realizes you’re even here!
“But it can still be dangerous. Some of the other guys have told me stories they’ve heard about the Littles around here.”
A cute giggle escaped Nova’s lips.
“I’m serious, babydoll. I want you to have fun. But it sounds like the Littles here can be naughty. Sweet… but naughty. I want you to be careful. A bit of mischief is all right. But nothing crazy or dangerous. The last thing I want is for my babygirl to be hurt. Understand what I’m saying?”
“Yes, Daddy. I’ll be good. I promise!”
“Good girl.” He patted her bottom and kissed her before adding, “Do you want me to take you shopping? I hear they have a store here that caters to cuties just like you.”
“Yes, Daddy!”
“Well, then. Let’s go get you properly outfitted. I bet you’re ready to get out of those big girl clothes you had to travel in.”
Xavier could feel the excitement radiating off his sweetie as she scrambled off his lap and hurried toward the door already.
Damn. She sure was cute.
Stepping into the store, Xavier saw John and Trixie already there.
“She couldn’t wait to shop,” John explained, his eyes briefly falling to the half-full cart he pushed. “Thankfully the prices aren’t bad, because I have a feeling she’s going to keep loading this thing up with more gear.”
As if to prove his point, a pack of diapers landed in the basket.
“See what I mean?” he asked Xavier.
“I feel you, brother.”
A few paces ahead, Nova already had items in a shopping cart and was gleefully adding more.
This brought up an interesting point. Nova had all the money in the world.
She could buy that whole store—including the building—and not even blink.
But there was no way he was going to let her pay for the stuff in her cart.
It wasn’t that he was prideful. His ego was just fine that she made more money than he did.
But a Daddy liked to spoil his Little. Plain and simple.
“Look at this dress!” Nova called out to Trixie.
The other Little was at her side in a moment, oohing and awing over the outfit.
“You have to get it! It’s the cutest!” Trixie said.
The jingling of the bell over the door told Xavier someone else was coming in. Even though deep down he knew Mountaivnille was the safest place on earth for Nova right now, instinct still had him turning quickly to assess the for potential threats.
It was just Breaker and Stephanie. The door didn’t close long behind them because Marco and Kelsey filed in a few seconds later.
“The gang’s all here,” Breaker noted.
Marco took a look around the store. “Man, this is going to do some damage to our wallets.”
“Sure is!” Kelsey said, grabbing Steph’s hand. “Come on! Let’s shop!”
Soon, all the women were together, throwing things in carts and talking excitedly with plenty of giggles.
While all that happened, a pretty woman with shoulder-length dark hair left her spot behind the checkout counter and approached Xavier. She had a motherly air and sweet, dark eyes, but something about her told him that she was sharp as a tack.
“Hi! Welcome to Mountainville. I’m Nancy.”
“Hello, Nancy.” Xavier introduced herself, followed by the other Daddies.
“This is quite a place you’ve got here,” Xavier said. “You own it?”
“Thank you. And yes. It’s my store. Dax told me y’all were coming to town. It’s good to have you here.”
“Good to be here,” Xavier replied.
“I know some Littles who are very excited to make new friends. They’ll probably find y’all pretty soon. I bet they will want to?—”
The front door flew open and Xavier found his right hand going to where his gun would be if he was carrying one.
“Friends!” a beautiful, curvy woman wearing a short babydoll dress cried as she led the pack.
“That’s Katie,” Nancy explained.
“Welcome to Texas!” a trim man who looked to be in his forties—though his outfit of shortalls with an obvious diaper pouf beneath them didn’t match his age—said. “Y’all ready for some fun?”
“And that,” Nancy said, “is my husband. Eli. He’s, eh, my world. But fair warning… he’s naughty sometimes.”
Xavier could tell that just by looking into the man’s big brown eyes.
The other Littles behind Katie and Eli seemed excited, too. He wondered if this would all be too much for Nova. She was used to being Little in secret. Her high profile had kept her from letting others in on that side of her.
But she seemed excited as she hurried toward the others. “Hi! I’m Nova! Heck yeah, I’m ready for fun!”
Everyone cheered before they started introducing themselves.
Xavier rubbed the back of his neck as he suppressed a groan. He was glad to see his babygirl loving this. And he was truly happy for her and the others. But… well…
“Something tells me they’re going to keep us on our toes,” he told the other Daddies.
“I think you’re right about that,” John said.
Nancy laughed before saying, “There’s no thinking about it. I know they’re going to. I have a lot of experience.”
Xavier couldn’t contain it any longer.
That groan came right out of his throat.