6. Carter
Chapter 6
Carter
The electrician finally closed his toolbox and looked up at me. “I spliced the wires back together, so we should be fine for now, but you’re gonna need to do some serious rewiring. Old buildings like this are always gonna get you out of bed in the middle of the night for some reason or another. Here’s my card.” He handed me a business card even though I already had his number on my phone. “If you want a quote for the full building, let me know. If not, I don’t mind the emergency after-hour visits.” He chuckled. “My youngest still has two more years of college, and if you wanna cover the tuition, that’s fine by me.”
I rolled my eyes and faked a smile. “I bet it is. I’ll give you a call during the week and you can work out an estimate. There’s never a good time to shut down the store, but the work has to get done.”
He nodded. “Should only be a day or two if we have all the material ready, but we always do our best to minimize disruption to your business.”
“I appreciate it. And I appreciate you coming out tonight.”
He grabbed the rest of his tools, and I walked him to the front door.
When I got the call from the alarm company at eleven thirty about the system shutting off, I was afraid someone had cut the lines. I was glad to know that it was just a faulty wire and not an actual burglary attempt. It was almost one in the morning, and I stretched my back as I stood in the doorway to lock up after Carl. With my back arched, I couldn’t help but notice all the lights on in Poppy’s apartment.
She didn’t have curtains up yet, so I could see her bouncing around in her living room. I couldn’t help but smile as she danced with a watering can and filled some house plants along her mantle. She was adorable. Especially in the cute little nightie she was wearing.
My eyes narrowed as I realized it was basically sheer, and I could see the perfect outline of all her luscious curves even from my spot on the other side of the street.
Annoyed that she was on display for the world to see, I surveyed the area around me, making sure nobody else was out there gawking at her the way I was.
I stepped fully outside and then leaned on the glass door with my arms folded as I continued to watch her.
That girl needed someone to remind her to be safe, especially if she would be living alone. It was a quiet street with an equal mix of businesses and residential units, but the street was totally dead at this hour, so at least I didn’t have to kick any asses of strangers looking at what was mine.
Or should be mine.
Would be mine.
I was about to walk away and leave her to her chores in peace when she opened the window and leaned out to water the flowers in the planter box below it.
With the glow from her apartment backlighting her, she was almost ethereal. Her hair was down and a bit wild as it flowed around her head and shoulders in a ginger halo.
An absolute angel.
And then the little devil hopped up onto the windowsill with her ass hanging half off it and reached way over to water the planter box under the other window.
She wiggled farther out and her arm windmilled when she almost lost her balance. She caught herself when the watering can slipped out of her hand. “Whoa.”
“Poppy!” I immediately crossed the street, ready to catch her if she fell.
I stood below her with the dented can on the ground at my side. “Are you okay, Poppy? Can you get back inside?”
“Uh, Carter?” She seemed shocked to see me standing below her but also a little bit relieved as she exhaled loudly. “Yeah, that was close, but I’m fine.”
“Get your ass off that ledge and let me up, please, before I have a heart attack down here.”
“Oh.” She stared down at me, looking right into my eyes for a long moment before she nodded and scooted back inside. “Yes, sir.”
I picked up the can that wasn’t completely destroyed and held it up to her.
Poppy nodded and pointed to the door. “Go in that door and turn right. Then follow the stairs up.”
I heard the lock buzz, so I opened it up and headed to her apartment.
Poppy was standing at the open doorway when I approached, stuffing her arms into a zip-up hoodie. I was happy to see she had the self-awareness to know she was practically naked…but disappointed that she was covering up for me. “Thank you for bringing that up. I hope it didn’t hit you.”
Instead of handing her the can, I ignored her comment and leveled my sternest Daddy stare on her. “Promise you won’t sit on that windowsill again. It’s not safe for sweet little girls to be dangling in the air like that.”
She grinned, and I could see her neck flush. “You think I’m sweet?”
The fact that she was focusing on that word was even more confirmation that she identified as Little. “I do. And beautiful. And the kind of girl I’d like to get to know better.” I handed her the can and then slipped my hands into my pockets. “Maybe I can take you to dinner tomorrow night?”
Poppy’s eyes were so big and expressive as she nodded. “Okay. That sounds nice.”
“But first things first.” I nodded into her apartment and took a step forward so she was forced to let me in. “We need to cover those windows so no one else can get a peek of you dancing around in your little nightie.”
Her arm immediately flew over her chest to cover it up as if she were still on display. “Ohmigawd! Could you see through it from all the way outside?”
I raised an eyebrow and smirked. “Vividly. And if anyone else was watching and having similar thoughts, I’d have to go kick their asses right now. So, as a community service, let’s keep those perfect curves hidden from anyone who shouldn’t be seeing them.”
She swallowed hard and then straightened her spine, obviously deciding to be bold despite her shock at my presence. “Yes, Daddy.”
She was testing me, and I liked it. I stepped right up to her, leaving just inches between her face and mine. “I like the words, but cool the attitude, Little girl, or I’ll have to put you over my knee until you realize how to be safe when you’re home alone.”
Her emerald eyes became more black than green as lust filled her, and she nodded. “Yes, sir. I’m sorry for being sassy.”
My hand went to the side of her face, cupping her cheek in my first real touch. “Don’t be sorry, beautiful girl. I’m the kind of Daddy who likes a little sass. Especially when it ends with a pink bottom.”
She swallowed hard and kept her eyes on me. “Noted.”
As much as I wanted to pull her into my arms, me being there was probably a lot for her to take in, so I stepped back to give her some space while I took a look around the room.
Boxes were spread out and piles of stuff were on every available surface. “Do you have curtains or do we need to improvise?”
“Um…I ordered blinds, but they won’t be in until next week. I was just gonna leave them open for a few more days.”
I scoffed. “Not if you plan to walk around nearly naked.” I reached for an empty box and held it up. “Do you have a couple more of these that I can cut up?”
Poppy nodded and hurried to her bedroom to grab some more. She returned with a stack of flattened moving boxes. “I’m done with these.”
“How about some masking tape?”
She tapped her finger to her lip as she thought about it. “Will that blue painting tape work?”
“Perfectly.” I pulled a small pocket knife that was attached to my key out of my pocket and began cutting up the cardboard. Eyeballing the height of the window and her petite frame of five feet nothing, I estimated we only needed to cover the lower two feet of the window to keep her shielded from prying eyes while still allowing in plenty of light and fresh air.
Within a few minutes, I had the lower portion of every window covered and a stack of cardboard remnants that I would take with me to recycle. “All right, beautiful. You should be good for tonight. Is there anything else you need before I go?”
She bit her lip as if holding back something and shook her head. “No, thank you. But what about tomorrow?”
I cocked my head, happy she was still thinking about our date. “Let me put my number in your phone so you can call me if you need anything else, and I’ll plan to be here at six. Is that good?”
She smiled widely and sucked in a breath and then immediately yawned. “Yes, okay.” She held her phone in front of her face to unlock it and then handed it to me.
With her camera facing her, I snapped a picture of her looking at me and sent it to myself. She was sleepy and messy and absolutely gorgeous. I wanted to give her a kiss, but it was not my place yet. Instead, before I stepped out, I held up my arms. “Can I get a hug good night?”
Poppy exhaled heavily as she practically fell into my arms and held me tight. “Good night, Carter.”
I kissed the top of her head and then leaned back, trailing my finger across her cheekbone. “So now we’re all the way back to you calling me Carter? We’re definitely going in the wrong direction.” I hoped I hadn’t scared her away from anything intimate.
She looked up at me with so much innocence and desire that my cock almost burst through the front of my jeans. “If you want to be more than Carter to me, you’ll have to come out and ask.”
Unable to resist, I brushed the softest of kisses across her lips before I stood back. “Noted. Have a good night, beautiful girl.”
I stepped out of her door and then tested the knob behind me to make sure it was locked before I headed downstairs. Even though I had no right to do it, I couldn’t help peeking through the viewing room into the main playroom. My heart filled with hope and joy when I saw the playroom set up. Toys and books and stuffed animals were strewn about, evidence that the party Poppy and Kylie had been talking about was truly a playdate for Littles.
When I eventually let myself out the front door and went to my car, I knew I had to convince Poppy that she was mine.
She was my Little girl, and I was her Daddy.