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)
“Little girl, you should be in bed.” Her Daddy’s deep voice wrapped around her.
Valerie didn’t even open her eyes to check the time. She knew that voice. He was here. That’s all that mattered. “Daddy.”
“Come on, Cupcake. It’s past time for you to be in bed.”
“You too, Daddy.”
“Help Daddy get ready for bed, Little girl. He doesn’t sleep well without you to hold.”
“Okay,” she murmured and clung to his broad shoulders as he picked her up.
“I should lose some weight so you don’t hurt yourself,” she mumbled as he carried her down the hallway.
“You are absolutely perfect just the way you are. When I get too decrepit to carry you, I’ll buy a pretty baby carriage to wheel you around the house.”
“Can it be purple, Daddy?”
“Of course.”
Valerie stood at the side of the bed as Grayson undressed her. She shivered in the cool air as he knelt at her feet, helping her step out of her leggings. Wrapping her arms around her waist, she yawned widely before seeing the big brown splotch on the back of his shirt.
“What happened, Daddy?”
“I had a box slide off the shelf above me and make a mess.”
“You need to take a shower, Daddy,” she advised, rubbing her eyes.
“I’ll do that as soon as you’re in bed, Cupcake.” He popped her nightshirt over her head and helped her thread her arms through the holes.
In a few short minutes, he had her tucked in bed with the covers under her chin. “I’ll go make sure all the doors are locked and take a shower. You and Tarzan go to sleep. I’ll sneak in next to you soon.”
“Night-Night kiss, Daddy,” she demanded, puckering her lips.
“Night, Cupcake.”
She could hear him moving quietly around her home and then the water running. Pulling Tarzan a bit closer, she relaxed, knowing he’d be in bed soon. Almost immediately, she tumbled into sleep.
Waking up the next morning when Daddy’s alarm beeped quietly, Valerie nestled closer to him and mumbled, “No fair. You just got here.”
His chuckle helped bolster her sense of humor—so did the deep kiss he lavished on her. “Sorry, Cupcake. We’ll get to spend more time together tonight.”
“Promise?”
“Promise,” he assured her.
As he sat up, she saw his back. “What happened?” she cried, tracing the ends of a line of steri-strips along a long cut.
“That box got me good yesterday. I had to stop at the hospital to make sure I didn’t need stitches. They fixed me up. Said it would be fine by the time the strips fall off.”
“You carried me to bed last night. You could have ripped that open,” she said, horrified. “Maybe you need to go back and make sure it’s really okay.”
“You didn’t hurt me, Little girl. They told me it was okay to lift things or I would have had to stop making deliveries yesterday. It did teach me a lesson.”
“Boxes are mean?”
“Sometimes, that’s true.” He smiled at her before tucking her hair behind one ear. “I’ve decided to hire several more drivers. Business is picking up, and I need to supervise rather than be out on the road if an emergency comes up.”
“You’d have shorter hours and maybe…” she crossed her fingers, “weekends off?”
“I might be able to set that up, Cupcake. Do you think you’d like to have me around more?”
“Oh, yes!” She threw herself forward to wrap her arms around his neck in a giant bear hug. “I’d love that, Daddy.”
“It will take a while for me to find the right guys. I talked to one guy working for the competition at Blaze when we visited. He’s coming to interview tonight after both our shifts.”
“Is he a Daddy?” Valerie whispered.
“He might be. We’ll have to get to know him better before I ask. Are you okay with going back to Blaze?”
“I had fun, Daddy. I’d love to hang out with my friends.”
“Perfect. Perhaps we’ll find this new employee has a Little, too.”
“Or is looking for a Little. There were several there who didn’t have a Daddy. I was sad for them. I’m very lucky to have you,” she said quietly, meeting his gaze directly.
“I think I’m the lucky one, Little girl,” he said, hugging her close.
“Want to get up and eat a bowl of cereal with me or drift back asleep?”
“I’m wide awake! I can’t go back to sleep when you’ve told me that type of news.”
“Perfect. Let’s go take a shower. You missed yours last night and I may have missed a few spots on my back. Will you take care of Daddy, Little girl?”
“Let’s go, Daddy,” she agreed instantly as she slid off the bed to whip off her nightshirt.
“Damn, I’m going to be late again,” he said, stalking forward to chase his naked Little into the bathroom.
Chapter Twenty
“I think we need to talk, Daddy,” Valerie announced when Grayson walked into her house that evening. She shifted to sit on the edge of a chair facing the couch where they usually lounged together and waved a hand to indicate where she wanted him to sit.