Series: Paige Michaels
Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 45808 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 229(@200wpm)___ 183(@250wpm)___ 153(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45808 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 229(@200wpm)___ 183(@250wpm)___ 153(@300wpm)
Axel had no doubt she was a gem among precious stones.
He also had no doubt she was his.
Chapter Three
A crowd of Littles sprang up around Nicoya and herded her to the far side of the daycare. She sank down out of view, and Axel knew she was hiding from him and that her friends were covering for her.
“I’m not here to cause any problems,” he said to the Daddies who responded instantly to the protective wall their Littles had formed. “I need to talk to Nicoya. I promise I don’t mean her any harm. Is there a place we could speak privately?”
“There’s no way you’re going to get her to go somewhere with you alone. Let’s see if we can shoo the other Littles away for a short time so you can talk to her in a safe place,” Callen suggested.
One by one, the Daddies collected their Littles to go get an ice cream cone from the kitchen. No one wanted to leave but listened to their Daddies when they spoke quietly to them.
Finally, only Ellie and Avery remained on each side of Nicoya. They held her hands tightly and refused to move.
“Nicoya’s my friend. She stood up for me when all the crappy stuff happened. I’m not leaving,” Avery said with an expression that brooked no arguments.
“Me, neither,” Ellie swore. “Daddy, don’t make me.”
The two Daddies looked at Axel and he immediately sat on the floor in front of Nicoya to get on her level. “Are you okay if your friends hear what I say?” he asked.
“Yes,” Nicoya said. “Or you could just leave me alone. That would be even better.”
“Little girl, I can’t leave things with you this upset at me. Give me five minutes, and I’ll walk away if you still want me to.”
He watched Nicoya check the purple watch on her wrist and knew she wouldn’t give him thirty seconds more. “Thank you, Nicoya.”
After taking a second to gather himself, Axel spoke. “I’ve known I was a Daddy for as long as I’ve known they existed. It’s just the way I’m wired. I’ll be glad to give you the names of other clubs I belonged to and you can check with them to see that I was active there. I’ll invite you to check my lack of a police record—well, other than a scattering of parking tickets from when I was young and dumb.”
“You shouldn’t park where you’re not supposed to,” Ellie said primly.
“Ellie, you’re not in this conversation,” Garrett warned, and she sighed loudly.
“Ellie’s right. I learned at eighteen that you have to pay for those with penalties if you ignore them. Hopefully, I got all my stupid out long ago,” Axel agreed. “I’ve been looking for my Little girl for a long time. I thought maybe I’d found her once when I was twenty-five, but she decided she wasn’t Little, and I had to let her go. When you tapped me on the shoulder, I was startled for two reasons. One, I obviously hadn’t heard you coming. And two, I felt like a ton of bricks had landed on me.”
“Why?” Nicoya spoke for the first time.
“Something happened inside me when I met you.” Axel patted his chest. “Instantly, I wanted to know everything about you and spend time with you. I came to Blaze because I’m new in town and I wanted to meet like-minded people. I thought you might be Little, and I admit I had hoped to see you.”
“How did you know I was Little?” Nicoya asked.
“Daddies have a type of radar. It immediately went off even though you were completely Big when we met. There was something in your eyes I recognized despite the expert way you hid your secret,” Axel assured her.
“Are you going to make trouble for me?” Nicoya asked.
“Never. For a couple of reasons; one, I’m a good guy. I try to make people’s lives happier by sprucing up their environments. I go above and beyond to create a place where they can escape from the world. Two, I’m a Daddy. I want to take care of my Little girl. I don’t want to make life difficult for her. I’m wired to support and treasure Littles, not hurt them.”
Nicoya leaned over to whisper in Ellie’s and Avery’s ears. The two Littles slowly moved to the sides and got up to join their Daddies who quickly led them away. “I have a lot to lose every time I become Little. It scares me when new people find out I’m Little, especially when they know private information about me.”
“That would scare me, too,” he admitted. “The club should be a safe place. Have you ever had a problem here?”
“No. Everyone is great here. Even the captain. Of course, he loves his Little girl, so he’s automatically going to protect my privacy,” Nicoya pointed out.