Series: Little Cakes Series by Pepper North
Total pages in book: 50
Estimated words: 46837 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 234(@200wpm)___ 187(@250wpm)___ 156(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46837 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 234(@200wpm)___ 187(@250wpm)___ 156(@300wpm)
She nodded and held out her arms, needing to be held. Moving quickly but gently, he lowered them to the mattress. The moment he slid from her, she missed his possession. Riley shifted away as he dealt with the condom. Sure that he would be like other men who didn’t wish to cuddle after sex, she swung her legs over the side of the bed to get up.
“Whoa! Come back here,” he ordered, towing her across the tangled bedding to rest against his side. “Do you need to potty?”
“No,” she admitted.
“Then Daddy needs you here with him.” Milo kissed her deeply as he brushed his fingers over her tangled hair.
“You don’t have to…”
“I want to be here with you,” Milo interrupted. “Snuggle with me for as long as possible, panda baby. Holding you tight is my first priority.”
“Pandy!” she whispered urgently as the thought of her new friend registered on her mind. Riley pushed up on one arm to look for the stuffie.
“Your stuffie came to visit me last night. I rocked him to sleep and put him on my nightstand.”
Riley lunged across him, reaching for the stuffed red panda. Her Daddy pressed appreciative kisses on her breasts as she smothered him with the soft mounds in her quest to find Pandy.
“Daddy!” she giggled as she rolled back into place with the stuffie held against her tightly. “Do you really not need to leave?”
“It’s Sunday. I have the whole day off. I plan to hold you and Pandy until hunger drives us into the kitchen,” he answered, pulling her close.
They lay quietly together as their heartrates settled back to normal. Riley listened to the strong beat under her cheek. He didn’t twitch or shift restlessly. Milo truly just wanted to hold her. Sunday was suddenly her favorite day of the week.
“I love this,” she admitted.
“I love this, too, Little girl,” he said before kissing her temple. “Tell me. What do you like for breakfast? I make killer omelets.”
“Mmm,” she hummed, closing her eyes. Her Daddy was here for her.
For a long time, she savored the feeling of lying in his arms, snuggling into him as if she couldn’t get close enough. It wasn’t until her heart was finally beating normally that she remembered the row of freckles.
She lifted her head off his chest and looked down at him, pretending to admire his chest, which was no hardship. “You really are an eleven, you know,” she breathed as she trailed her fingers across his chest and up to his shoulders.
There. She stopped breathing when she found what she was looking for, blinking several times to make sure she wasn’t imagining things.
Milo was absolutely the man in the pictures, the man she was supposed to design a Rapunzel tattoo for.
His fingers came to her chin and he lifted her face. He was frowning. Nope. He was scowling. “Panda bear, listen to me and listen closely.”
She swallowed.
“You are the prettiest, sexiest Little girl I’ve ever set eyes on. If I’m an eleven, you’re a twenty. Don’t ever let me hear you put yourself down again, understood?”
“Yes, Daddy,” she whispered.
He cupped her face. “You’re precious and perfect in every way.”
She nodded, but her heart was thumping. It was hard to think about anything except the tattoo. All she could do was wrap her arms around his neck and lie back over his chest. “Thank you, Daddy.”
Chapter Fourteen
Riley worked furiously on the tattoo design. This one had to be incredibly special. The pressure to get it just right had gone up several notches. “No. That’s not it!”
Crumpling the paper, she threw it away to land on the carpet along with the other pile of rejects. Could she do this?
Glimpsing the time, Riley leapt to her feet. She was going to be late to Little Cakes. She set a world record in changing clothes and grabbed her keys. Milo had dropped her off at Wyatt’s recommended repair shop this morning on his way to work so she could pick up her car.
She dove into the vehicle and pulled her seatbelt into place. Starting the engine, Riley took a precious second to admire the quiet purr. The car sounded better than the day she’d bought it used. Hurrying through the backroads, she careened into the strip center. After parking, she ran to the back door and quickly clocked in. Two minutes late.
She could tell from the roar of conversation coming from the shop, Little Cakes was packed. Riley grabbed an apron and ran through the door. Tori was packing cupcakes as fast as possible. The displays were almost empty.
Riley smiled at the crowd before whispering, “What can I do to help? Restock or take over orders?”
“It’s been like this all day. Grab whatever stock is left in the back. Ellie’s made a desperate call for Tarson to come in,” Tori answered with a grateful smile that made Riley feel guilty for not getting there earlier.