Chapter 12
twelve
PRESTON
Nobody will ever know my tiny Little girl scared me so fucking bad I almost pissed my pants. Nobody. Can. Ever. Know.
My friends would never let me live it down. Holy fuck though. Lulu was like a silent assassin tiptoeing through my house way before she's supposed to be awake.
And by assassin, I mean she's murdering the pink straw I gave her. In less than twenty minutes, she's mutilated the poor thing. I'm convinced if she tried to suck anything through it, it wouldn't do shit.
Silently so as not to disturb her, I make my way to the room beside mine.
I've been slowly creating the nursery of my future Little's dreams but with this whole land being under construction for the better part of two years, it's been slow.
After learning more about Lulu's upbringing, I'm glad the walls are still white and the room bland.
She'll have the opportunity to create the space she's always wanted now.
I find what I need in the nightstand and rip the package open on the way back to the kitchen. With the door to the nursery closed, and my offering cleaned, I'm ready to push my girl a bit.
"Hey, baby," I murmur, and take a seat beside her. She blinks over at me and offers me a smile before anxiously tickling her chin with her pink blanket. The fabric looks loved and worn, as if it's spent a lifetime being her only comfort.
If I have anything to do with it, she'll be surrounded by things and people that bring her comfort and happiness.
"You've about gnawed your way through that," I tease and smirk when she blushes.
Guilt slams into me not long after. Lulu tucks the straw under her leg and avoids eye contact.
"None of that, little one. Here, I have something for you. "
Revealing the pacifier has a few purposes. One, giving her something healthy to manage her oral fixation and two, testing the waters of how young she regresses.
My heart about explodes out of my chest when her eyes widen with so much happiness. Her hand shoots out to snag it from me, but she stops just as abruptly. Twisting her lips to the side she seems to be battling with herself.
"I'll just leave it here. It's a pretty paci, for my pretty girl, no matter what you choose to do with it." I leave it on the cushion beside me and kiss her forehead before I walk out.
Minutes later after watching her over the top of my laptop, I breathe a sigh of relief when she pops the pacifier in her mouth.
Soon she won't second-guess herself. I'll make sure she's comfortable in her own skin before we know it.
"Hey boss," Sue hollers, moving to walk beside me. "How's Lulu?"
I haven't stopped thinking about her all day. "I'm worried. Last night she opened up about some of the abuse she endured growing up."
Sue shoves her laptop under her arm and give me her full attention as we make our way through the hallway. "Shit. Fuck, Pres. I knew something had to have happened to her. I've never met a Little who was so reserved and sad."
Nodding, the weight of the knowledge of what has happened to her makes my neck ache and my heart clench. "That's not all. She regressed last night and this morning."
"This morning?" Sue sounds shocked and I don't blame her. Lulu sleeping over so soon wasn't something I expected either. "That's good, actually. I'm afraid of her living on her own and driving that rust-bucket."
I close my office door behind us and settle in my chair with Sue on the other side of my desk. "I agree but it was a lot really fast. She's skittish enough as is—what if the past twenty-four hours sends her running?"
"Then it's a good thing you have her number and address." My silence says it all. "Preston, are you fucking serious? Not only did you hire the girl but you've claimed her as yours and you don't have her number or home address?!"
Cursing, I bury my face in my hands for a moment. "Jesus, Sue. I didn't think about it until you just said it. I'm horrible."
She sighs, pitying me. "No you're not. Dumb maybe, but not horrible. The fact that she regressed and opened up to you so soon is incredible, Pres. She's definitely yours, now you need to keep her that way."
"Did you hear she had been working thirteen-hour days?
" Apparently I want to punish myself because now I'm broadcasting all of my failures.
When Sue's mouth drops open, I cut her off.
"You can kick my ass later. God, Sue. I have all these Daddy instincts shouting in my mind and yet I've missed the fucking basics. What's wrong with me?"
Sue chuckles a humorless laugh. "Did I ever tell you about the first three months after I met Cora?"
"What did you do?" I ask. Sue and I met shortly after she married her Little Cora years ago. This isn't a story I know but now I'm curious and wondering if my slip-ups are worse.
"Somehow I gave her the impression I was her best friend and straighter than an arrow. Imagine my surprise when she set me up with a Little boy..."
"She didn't," I mutter, completely shocked.
"Yeah." Sue chuckles. "I know all about forgetting to share the basics at the beginning."
We descend into a comfortable silence, both of us thinking about our Little girls. I have so many questions for my friends on how they managed to get their Littles to live with them and trust them so quickly.
Only the best Daddies and Mommies understand how precious of a gift it is when their submissive regresses around them. To be a Little requires a tremendous amount of strength to experience such vulnerability. Add in trauma and history of severe abuse... Lulu is a miracle.
"How do I get my baby to stay?" I whisper, feeling my chest crack open with desperation and fear.
Sue blinks at me and reaches forward to pat my hand. "Preston, you're one of the best men I know. Not only are you a good man, but you have all the knowledge you need on how to start. More than that, she already trusts you."
A knock startles a cough out of me. "Come in," I call, and settle back in my seat. I walked with Lulu to the main building three hours ago when her shift started, so I know she's okay. Business needs to happen at some point today if we're ever going to open. Lulu will be here when I'm done.
"Mommy?" Cora gasps, surprised to see Sue sitting opposite me. She scampers over to Sue and climbs into her lap with a sniffle.
Sue glances at me with confusion and worry before leaning back to make Cora look up at her. "What's wrong, honey?"
Sue brushes Cora's tears and dirt from her cheeks. Poor girl's bottom lip wobbles and when she glances at me I see an emotion that shocks me. Guilt.
"Cora, what is it?" I prod softly. At the same time, I'm already leaning forward in my chair and the hairs on the back of my neck rise with awareness.
Cora gulps and clings to Sue. "I—I was skipping and playing and following Lulu around and—
"Breathe," Sue coos, rubbing Cora's back in soothing circles.
Cora does as Sue says, though it barely calms the anxiety I can feel pouring off of her. "Well, I slipped a l-little in some mud and c-crashed into Lulu. She fell so hard!" Cora cries, and loses herself in a fit of tears.
I'm on my feet so fast Sue has to shoot me a warning look. Clenching my jaw and shaking my fists out, I force my voice to be steady and calm. "Where is she now, Cora? You're not in trouble, I promise."
"She—she was crying. I apologized the whole walk to her truck, I swear! I even offered her a new outfit but she-she left and said something about needing to shower at home. Mommy, her hair and even her teeth had mud in them!"
"It's okay, sunshine. You came right here to tell her Daddy. That's a good girl. She's coming back, then maybe we can set you guys up with a playdate. I bet you'll feel much better if you can have some better time together, right?"
Sue's words mean nothing to me right now. "How long ago did she drive off?"
"Five—Five minutes," Cora whimpers.
Sue glances at me with understanding. "Breathe, Preston," she mutters. I know what she's trying to say. She'll come back.
If she doesn't, I'll go and fucking get her. Because now that she's left my property, there's no doubt in my mind that she'll never leave again without calling this place her home.
Come home, baby.