Page 27 of Law

She rolled her eyes. “Given the choice between Daddy and Little, you are definitely Daddy material. You don’t exactly scream Little boy, Viking.”

His eyes glittered. What did that mean? “Watch out, babygirl. Sassy little fairy cats get their bottoms smacked.”

She swallowed hard, squirming in her seat. If her panties hadn’t already been damp, they were now. Without facing him, she asked. “Are you a real Daddy, Law? Not just a Viking?”

She died five times in the seconds it took him to answer.

“I am…”

His hesitation and tone sent her heart plummeting. Why had she pushed? Why couldn’t she have left well enough alone?

Does he already have a Little girl?

Of course, he does. Just look at him. Does he look like the kind of Daddy that could remain unattached in a town of Littles?

Oh god. She needed to pack her backpack and leave his house. She might be ruining everything for him. Some Little, somewhere, was missing her Daddy.

Zane was getting discharged from the hospital today. They’d been planning to pick him up after they finished at Sabre. That could still happen. She’d need to rent a car. Um, she’d need to get some money somehow, then rent a car. She’d figure it out.

Only now she would pick her brother up by herself. They could find someplace nearby, like whatever was on the opposite side of the world from Darling, Tennessee and Lawson Young.

One thing was for sure. She couldn’t deal with any more bad news, so she interrupted him before he could say something that would hurt her heart even more. That particular organ had been beaten up enough for this life and however many more she might get.

“I thought so. You sound just like the Daddies in the books I read. Your Little is a very lucky girl… um, boy… Little. A very lucky Little. So, where is Sabre? How much longer until we get there?”

“Lovelyn,” he said. Not fairy cat. Not Lovie. Cold, formal, Lovelyn.

And his voice. His voice was tender. Painfully tender. Not the voice of her Viking. Not a voice she could listen to without bursting into tears. Which could not happen. That would be the final straw.

She took her hand from his and held it up to stop him. “Nope. I shouldn’t have asked that. It’s none of my business. I don’t want to know. Red. Isn’t that what you say when you just want everything to stop? That’s what the books say. So, red. Just stop talking. Will Zane be ready to leave the hospital when we’re done at Sabre?”

Silence. Then a sigh. “Yes, Zane will be ready.”

She was so stupid. She never knew when enough was enough. She’d taken a beautiful memory and destroyed it.

She looked at the window the rest of the way to Sabre, trying to think of seeing Zane. Trying to keep silent, wishing for once she could cry.

CHAPTER 10

Fuck.

Lovie cried all the way to the warehouse because he was a colossal dick. When she’d asked him if he was a Daddy, something inside him froze. The present disappeared, and all he could see was the past.

It wasn’t as if he hadn’t tried to be a Daddy. Hell, he’d moved to Darling at the age of fourteen. That was when life smiled on him for the first time in his entire existence. The foster care system had placed him with a man named Liam Thomas, but he’d insisted everyone call him Sarge.

As a former Marine, Sarge was as tough as they came. He refused to take any shit from a snot-nosed teenager with a chip on his shoulder from his hard-knock life. Sarge didn’t care about the past. All he cared about was the future of a kid he considered valuable.

Sarge was all bite because he thought barking was for pussies. And he taught Law everything he knew about living a meaningful life and being a good Daddy to a Little. And if he’d been lookingdown from wherever he was now and seen what Law just did, he’d come back to Darling and kick his ass.

But when Lovie had asked him if he was a Daddy, he choked. All he could see was Little after Little, who’d said they understood what he liked. Who’d told him they liked it, too. Those same Littles soon changed their minds when they realized he’d meant what he said. And it never took long before they wanted out of the relationship and told anyone who would listen what a depraved Daddy he was.

He got it. He was too possessive, too protective, and too primal. They weren’t wrong. That was who he was at his core. He had enjoyed softer, more gentle variations of play, but that never mattered. The rumors they started spread. Soon, he had the reputation of being a dangerous Daddy. At that point, he could choose to fight the rumors or move on.

He’d moved a lot in the past thirty years. So, when circumstances called him back to Darling, he’d vowed not to bring that part of himself with him. He still wanted it, wanted a Little who’d like to play his kind of games, but he’d never acted on those desires. He’d never even spoken about it.

If he were ever to break that vow, it would be for Lovelyn Reese. She was everything he loved about being a Daddy.

Back when he was reconning the Society’s compound, He’d watched her for four days. Four entire days. When the need for sleep overcame him, he’d sneak back to his truck and sleep for a few hours. Then he’d be back at his spot, resuming his vigil.

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