Series: Paige Michaels
Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 45314 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 227(@200wpm)___ 181(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45314 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 227(@200wpm)___ 181(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
She watched his expression. His breathing was shallow. His words were soft and so…reverent. “You’re gorgeous, Cupcake.” He leaned over and kissed the space between her breasts before shifting his attention to the spot where the sticker had bled through.
He chuckled as he kissed it next. “It’s like a temporary tattoo. The words are backwards like a mirror from the sticker, but it’s cute. Did you want Daddy to get a washcloth and try to rub it off first?”
She shook her head. “It was from you for my birthday. Let’s leave it.”
“Okay, Cupcake.” He picked up her new shirt and pulled it over her head.
She wiggled to get her arms in the sleeves.
“How about pigtails? Want Daddy to fix your hair too?”
She grinned so wide. So far he was the bestest Daddy in the world.
Chapter Five
Grayson was walking on air as he guided his Little girl into Maniac Tats. The fact that she wanted him here with her made him feel like he was making progress with her trust. Even bigger was the fact that she was teetering in Little space.
He would never insist on Valerie being Little in public. How deep she wanted to outwardly present herself as Little was entirely up to her. The cupcake T-shirt was something anyone might wear for fun on their birthday. The pigtails were low and near the back. He’d seen her wear her hair like that lots of times.
With his hand at the small of her back, they headed for the front desk where Tatiana was currently checking out a customer. Moments later, she was done and she beamed at the two of them. “You’re back.”
Valerie rubbed her hands together nervously. “Sorry I didn’t come back earlier in the week. I was nervous.”
Tatiana’s smile was huge as she glanced back and forth between Grayson and Valerie. She leaned closer to whisper conspiratorially, “I see you took my advice.”
Valerie shrugged. “Sort of.”
“Did I miss something?” Grayson teased, glancing between the two women. He didn’t mind if they had a secret though. He suspected Valerie could use a close friend to confide in. If the two of them had discussed him, even better. His chest pumped.
Valerie tipped her head back to look up at him. Her cheeks were pink. “Tatiana thought I should ask you out after you were in here earlier in the week.”
“Ah.”
She rushed to continue. “It was kind of mutual, but I did invite him in for uh, water.” She winced. “That sounds lame.”
Grayson rubbed her back. “It was anything but lame. It was so sweet and brave. But I was determined not to leave without your phone number and a date that night anyway. So, I guess it was mutual.”
“I drew you a cupcake tattoo,” Tatiana declared. She rose up and down on her tiptoes excitedly. “Want to come back and see it?”
“Like to your workstation?” Valerie asked.
“Yeah. That’s where I have it, but I can go get it if you want.”
Grayson dipped his head to speak closer to Valerie’s ear. “You don’t have to commit to anything, Cupcake. We’re just here to see the drawing. You’re not on the schedule, remember?”
Tatiana waited patiently, smiling. She had on a very flashy yellow dress and yellow pumps. The dress cinched in at her waist with a full skirt. It reminded Grayson of a fifties housewife costume. He wasn’t surprised though. Every time he delivered something to Maniac Tats, Tatiana was wearing something bright that spoke volumes about her style.
Valerie took a deep breath. “I’d like to see. Thank you.”
Tatiana nearly bounced as she led the two of them to her station, the skirts of her dress flowing all around her.
Maniac suddenly appeared from the back room. “Oh, hi. I thought I heard voices up here.” He reached out a hand toward Grayson. “Good to see you. I guess my colorful Rainbow was right when she predicted we’d see you two come in together one day.”
Grayson wrapped an arm around Valerie, holding her close in front of him possessively. He further staked his claim by leaning over and kissing her shoulder. “Believe it or not, this Little Cupcake has agreed to go out with me.”
Valerie gasped as she twisted to look at him with wide eyes. “You make it sound like it was a long and tough deliberation.”
Tatiana giggled before she set a folder on the reclining chair between the four of them and opened it. “I made several versions. I wasn’t sure how elaborate or how large you might want the cupcake. Sometimes it’s hard to decide for the first tattoo. And then the location on your body will also affect the size options.”
Valerie leaned over the half dozen designs before reaching out a finger to touch the edges of the papers. “These are amazing. You’re so talented. They look better than anything I could have conjured in my head.”