Page 13 of Law

“Yep,” he repeated. “Why do you think I have the extra-long belt?”

Well, there you go. She concentrated on deep, even breathing while clinging to him, trying to recall every video she had watched of baby spider monkeys clinging to their mothers as they swung through the trees.

When his foot slipped, she tried to stifle her squeak of terror. Her stomach was knotted so tightly even Alexander the Great couldn’t undo it. And then the strangest thing happened.

Excitement overwhelmed her fear. How did that make sense? It didn’t, unless she trusted the man carrying her. She trusted her Viking. And really, how could she not?

He’d gotten Zane out and to a doctor. He’d rescued her and even made sure she had her backpack. He had done nothing to earn her distrust.

So, she embraced her excitement and enjoyed the view. Look how high she was! She might even be able to ride a roller coaster if he were with her, and she’d never been able to do that before. No one had ever affected her like this before.

Despite his muscles straining and stretching, he managed to get them safely to the other side. Once they were back on the ground, he knelt again so she could stand while he unbuckled the belt.

Turning back to her once they were unattached, Viking placed his hands on her shoulders. “I know that was scary, little one, but I’m proud of you for being a big girl.”

Shoot! There he went again. He sure was dropping Little bombs all over the place. Was he giving her hints about who he was, or was she reading too much into his words? He’d have to be a lot clearer than that for her Little to slip out.

“But I wasn’t scared, Dad-- I mean Viking.” Gosh darn it! “I mean, maybe at first. But then it was just exciting. I could see for miles!”

Law’s head jerked back in surprise. And why wouldn’t it? She’dalmost called him Daddy. Holy cowbells! Then again, he hadn’t pushed her away. Maybe he hadn’t caught her slip. Good thing he was so focused on her safety.

“It’s okay to be scared, fairy cat. I’d still think you were very brave.”

“But I wasn’t. I’m not just saying that. It’s true!”

His eyes still held doubt, but relief lingered there as well. It would have bothered him if he’d frightened her. That might mean he cared about her, right? At least a little bit. Her chest warmed at the thought. Not in the same way a Daddy cares for his Little, of course. But still, it had been so long since anyone had cared about her feelings.

What would it be like to have a Daddy who cared for her more than anyone else? She didn’t have what it took to get a Daddy like that. She’d never even been around any other Littles in real life. She wasn’t sure there were Littles in real life. It sounded too good to be true.

But it sure would be nice.

More gunfire in the distance sent them running until they reached the coolest truck she’d ever seen. It was shiny black with huge tires that elevated it higher off the ground than any truck she’d ever seen.

Law wrenched open the passenger door and lifted her into the cab. It was spacious. That made sense considering a giant drove it.

Pressing her back to the seat, he buckled her seatbelt and pointed a finger in her face. “Never open this door for yourself. Not if you know what’s good for your backside. Or the door of any other vehicle, for that matter. Do you hear me, little girl?”

She hid her smile. Oh yeah, her Viking could totally be a Daddy. And if Daddies were real, maybe Littles were, too.

She nodded. “Yes, sir.” He held her gaze, searching for something. Did he think she was lying? She was a very honest person. To suspect her of dishonesty was insulting, but she’d forgive him,just this once. He didn’t know her, and they hadn’t met under the best circumstances.

Dangerous ground stretched before her as long as he was nearby. She hadn’t wanted to say yes, sir. She’d wanted to say yes, Daddy. He wasn’t anything like the typical romance novel Daddy, but he had definite Daddy tendencies. However, she wasn’t ever going to call him that, no matter how tempting it might be.

Her Viking’s phone rang, interrupting her thoughts. The bearded mountain man’s face appeared on the screen before he connected. “Everything went as planned, bossman.”

The mountain man smiled. “Don’t call me that. And I don’t recall Deke taking that damn rocket launcher as part of the plan.”

Why would rocket launchers make her Viking grin? Pardon her French, but these people were crazy. Holy smoked catfish!

Bossman wasn’t finished talking. “You might as well head home. Bones says Zane is stable and he’ll be fine, but he wants to keep him in the hospital for a few days without visitors so he can rest. If you’re still planning for Zane’s sister to stay with you, there’s no sense debriefing at Sabre until Zane’s out. We’ll debrief then and see where we go from there. The Musketiaras are already asking to meet her. Consider yourself warned. We can’t put them off your girl forever.”

His girl? Oh, she couldn’t let her Viking’s boss think that. “I’m not his girl?—”

Her Viking interrupted her. “Roger that. I’ll talk to you later.”

Well! What was she supposed to think about that?

CHAPTER 6

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