Charlie dropped her hand from Ellie’s mouth. “Ooh, the hairbrush. Ouchie. What’d you do?”
“I moved the Christmas tree on my own.” Abby shrugged. “I’ve been feeling guilty about being so excited over Christmas and everything when you know. . .with my family all gone. . .”
“Oh, Abby,” Ellie said, feeling for her. She knew what it was like not to have family. Ellie’s parents weren’t dead, but they’d basically treated her like their slave for years and she hadn’t spoken to them in nearly a year. They weren’t even invited to the wedding. And Charlie’s aunt had been even worse than her parents. At least they hadn’t locked her in a closet or starved her.
Ellie looked over at Daisy. She guessed she knew what it was like to be without family as well. She had siblings, but from what little Ellie knew; they weren’t all that close. Ellie threw her arms around Abby, hugging her tight. She caught Kent glancing their way, concern on his face and she gave him a thumbs up.
He grinned at her.
“Enough about me.” Abby pulled back. “This is your night and we need to start having some fun!”
Ellie clapped her hands together and bounced up and down. She noticed Bear smiling over at her and she blew him a kiss. Her gaze went back to Daisy, though.
“First things first, we have to work on helping Daisy feel more at ease.”
Charlie nodded. “I think I’ve got an idea. Come on.”
Charlie marched forward. Ellie sent Abby a wide-eyed look and the other woman just shrugged then slipped her hand into Ellie’s and they followed.
“Daisy, you wanna come see where you’re sleeping?” Charlie asked as she grew closer to the other woman, who hadn’t moved more than a foot away from Jed. Charlie held out her hand.
Daisy looked at Charlie to Ellie to Abby then up at Jed who have her a small nod.
She reached out and slipped her hand into Charlie’s, letting the other woman pull her along. Daisy had hung out with them all before. She’d played with them. But Ellie got that this was another step entirely, staying with them all over night.
Charlie led her over to the four beds that were laid out in circle. Each bed had different colored bedding and a little gift at the end.
“A little birdy,” Charlie looked over at Jed, “actually, a really large birdy, told me that pale green was your favorite color, so this is your bed.”
Daisy looked at her with wide eyes. “That’s. . .that’s really kind.”
“Obviously the pink one is for Ellie. Abby, you have the yellow. I’ve got blue.”
“Awesome,” Abby said.
“Open your gifts,” Charlie demanded.
Ellie watched as Daisy knelt next to the bed and picked up the small but perfectly wrapped gift.
Abby already had hers open, the paper flying everywhere. Ellie smiled wide and looked over at Charlie who was grinning at Abby’s enthusiasm. None of them had really had much growing up and in different ways they’d had to grow up fast, not getting much of a childhood.
Now, they had a second chance at that childhood. And they were richer than they’d ever imagined. But not in money. Ellie looked over at Bear to find him watching them all, a small smile on his face.
Lord, she couldn’t believe she got to marry that man.
Dream. Come. True.
5
Jed and Daisy
Daisy slowly unwrapped the gift. She smiled at the pretty necklace made up of linked daisies. That was super cute. And really nice of Charlie to buy her a gift. After all, this was Ellie’s party, not hers.
The next thing she pulled out was one of those jewelry sets that was made up of candy. A bracelet, necklace and a giant ring. Her grin widened. Perfect.
She drew out something else and it made her frown. A sick feeling developed in her tummy.
Were they making fun of her? She didn’t think they would do that. Each girl was a Little. They each had a man who was also their daddy, even though every relationship was different. They all had special things they slept with. She knew Ellie had a teddy bear and Charlie had a stuffed octopus. Abby had this cute hedgehog that had been Kent’s from when he was a kid.
So surely this wasn’t them being mean?
“This is awesome!” Ellie yelled.
Daisy glanced her way and just like that, the knot in her stomach unraveled. Because Ellie was popping into her mouth the same thing that Daisy held in her hand. A binky sucker. The nipple part was the sucker and on the other end was a plastic set of lips and a ring.
“Yum strawberry!” Abby added as she slid hers out of her mouth then popped it back in.
Daisy looked up as Charlie sat next to her.
“You knew?” she asked the other woman.
Charlie smiled. “Your man knows you well. He mentioned something to Clint and I figured you shouldn’t be the only one having something to suck on. I’ve got a whole bowl of these things.”
“Thank you,” Daisy whispered.
“Hey, no need to thank me. You’re one of us.” Charlie reached over and squeezed her hand and something warm developed in Daisy’s tummy.
She glanced over at Jed, tears welling in her eyes. He gave her a concerned look and started walking towards her. Her man, always there for her.
She shook her head and smiled big to show him she was okay. More than okay, she was happy. And she felt like she belonged. Then she unwrapped the pacifier lollipop and popped it in her mouth as Charlie wandered off to Ellie who was bouncing up and down in excitement over the PJs she’d been given.
Daisy reached in and drew out a white nightgown that had pictures of candy canes on it. Awesome.
“Right, girls, listen up,” Clint boomed.
She jumped slightly. She was starting to get used to Clint’s blunt manner. Sort of. Kind of. He was a force to be reckoned with, but the way he treated Charlie went a long way to putting her more at ease with him.
“We have to talk about some rules.”
“The rule is there are no rules!” Charlie said, throwing her hands up in the air. She then commenced to do a victory dance which included a lot of booty shaking and her hands going everywhere. By the end of it, Daisy was smiling and both Abby and Ellie were laughing like loons.
She shifted around on her knees, aware of her throbbing bottom then glanced over at Jed who winked at her.
“There are always rules, little darling,” Clint said in a somber voice.
“Oh, man, that sucks, Daddy,” Charlie told him.
He just shook his head. “Without rules there would be anarchy.”
“But anarchy is fun.”
Surprisingly, it was Abby who said that. Clint gave her a mock-glare. “I see I need to have a word with my brother about how he takes care of you.”
“Oh, he takes care of me just fine.” Abby blushed as though just realizing what she said. Kent just shook his head and grinned at her.
“Right. Rules,” Clint said once more. “Rule one, nobody leaves the house without my permission. That includes all of you, but most especially you, Ellie.”
Ellie just sighed. “I don’t get lost that much.”
“Uh-huh.” Clint gave her a look of disbelief and Daisy dropped her head to hide her grin.
“Second rule. No loud noise after twelve a.m. I need my beauty sleep.”
“He does.” Charlie nodded solemnly. “You do not want to see him without his beauty sleep. It is not pretty.”
“Little girl, just because you’re getting to spend time with your friends does not mean you get to be cheeky.”
Charlie grinned, not looking in the least bit worried.
“Third rule.” He paused then smiled. “Have a wonderful time.” He looked at Ellie then winked. “Especially you, little bit.”
She smiled up at him. “Thanks, Clint.”
“Right, come on, we don’t get out of here we’re gonna get our man card taken off us. My study. Booze. Sports. Anything but rainbows and fairies,” he grumbled to the other guys. But he came up to C
harlie, pulled her close and whispered something to her that had her looking up at him like he was her whole world.
Jed came over and she climbed to her feet. He drew her towards him and cupped the side of her face with his hand. “You okay, sugar?”
“Yeah.” She let out a sigh. “I feel really good.”
“Not worried anymore?”
“Still worried a little. But I think I’m gonna have a good time.”
“I know you will. And you know I’m just a phone call away, okay?”
“I know, Daddy. Love you.”
“Love you, sugar. More every day.”
“And every day after that,” she whispered back.
“Daisy!” Ellie squealed. “Come choose what princess you wants to be!” Ellie was pulling out all the dress up items from the basket in the corner.
Jed grinned at her. “I think that’s my cue to leave.”
6
Eden and Zeke
“Going somewhere?” The slightly raspy voice came from the dark corner of the porch and she froze.
Rats. Crap. Damn it.
“You enjoy hanging out in the dark giving people a fright?” she snapped
“Where do you think you’re going at ten at night, Eden?” he asked sharply.
For everyone else, Zeke had endless patience. When it came to her, that patience was very, very thin. She never got it. Why he always rode her ass so hard. He was even worse than Clint, and that was saying something. For some reason, despite the fact that they weren’t related or in a relationship, he seemed to think he got a say in her life.
He didn’t.
“None of your business, Zeke.”
“Such a brat,” he muttered.
She braced herself for the slash of pain. She knew that was what he thought of her. Spoiled little brat.
He brought that side out in her. She did not have endless patience. In fact, she had pretty much zero patience. And for him, it went into the negatives. He could stroke her temper to go from zero to a thousand in a matter of seconds.
And once Eden lost her temper, it was very hard for her to rein it in.
“Got things to do, Zeke. You got something to say, get it out now.”
What was he even doing here?
“You’re not going to Ellie’s party?”
She winced, grateful it was dark. She didn’t need him to see her displaying any pain or weakness.
“They’re fully in Little mode. Not my scene.” But she’d felt a curious longing, a touch of jealousy as she’d seen the four women sink into Little headspace. Even Daisy, who had just recently moved in with Jed and was more reserved that the others was already sucking on one of those binky suckers that Charlie had bought.
Eden had gone in to say hello then quickly slipped out while they’d been laughing as they’d searched through the dress-up container. She’d needed to leave before she gave into the urge to join them and pulled on the Jasmine outfit she’d spotted.
She would totally rock it as Jasmine. She and Jasmine had a lot in common. Jasmine had a longing to experience life outside the castle. To be her own woman. To be independent. And she could be fiery.
Eden wasn’t a princess. And she didn’t live in a castle. But at times she felt completely and utterly confined. Like she couldn’t even breathe. Tonight, as she’d watched Abby, Charlie, Ellie and Daisy having fun, completely giving into their Littles, she’d felt her lungs constrict.
That wasn’t the life for her.
So she’d left. But just going to her room wasn’t enough. She needed to get out of here. Off the ranch. Away from everyone.
Including Zeke.
Especially Zeke.
“Isn’t it?” he drawled.
She turned her head to glare at him, surprised at how close he’d gotten without her noticing. Damn man had the lightest feet of anyone she knew.
“You don’t know me,” she stated. “You might think you do, but you don’t. And you don’t have any say in what I should or shouldn’t do.”
“Not yet. But I will.”
She rolled her chair forward. She couldn’t deal with him right now. She couldn’t deal with the warring parts of her. One part wanting to go back inside and enjoy the party, give in to the part of her that longed to put that Jasmine costume on and just forget everything else. The other part of her wanted to get out of here. To be free.
“Eden—”
“I have things to do, Zeke. What I don’t have is time to sit here and listen to you talk in riddles.”
She didn’t know why he was always on her case so much. Sure, he was close with Kent and Clint. But she wasn’t his responsibility. And all he saw when he looked at her was a brat. She knew his type. He liked submissive and sweet.
And that was not her.
“You’re not going out now, Eden. It’s late. You should be in bed asleep.”
She snorted. “It’s ten on a Saturday night. The night is just getting started.” She moved towards the ramp.
“One day, baby, you’re going to stop running from me.”
She nearly stopped. That soft, cajoling tone that had the power to make her heart race, to cause cracks to appear in the shields she had very carefully and thoroughly erected.
“I’m not running. I can’t, remember.” She waved her hand at his legs, as though he might have forgotten.
“You know exactly what I mean. And just so you know, pointing out that you’re in a chair won’t make me back down. When I look at you, Eden, I just see you.”
More cracks.
Fuck. Fuck. She had to get out of here.
“You’re gonna be mine, Eden. And then these late night trips out on your own are gonna stop. So are all the secrets. The crazy, reckless behavior.”
Not a chance in hell.
“I’d never let a man change who I am.”
“Don’t intend to be the man who changes you, baby,” he drawled.
Christ. Baby again. He was killing her.
“I intend to be the man beside you, in front of you, protecting you. Even from yourself.”
Yep. Definitely killing her. And without a retort for that, at least not one that wouldn’t resort to something childish coming out of her mouth, she wheeled herself quickly away.
7
Bear and Ellie
“I wish Eden would have stayed.” Ellie looked over at Charlie worriedly as they all changed into their outfits. Ellie was Cinderella. Charlie was dressing as Belle. Abby had chosen Snow White and Daisy was Aurora. “You don’t think she feels left out, do you?”
Charlie bit her lip. “I asked her if she wanted to come. Clint told her he’d set up a proper bed for her and stuff. But she said she’d prefer her own bed.”
“I can understand that,” Daisy said quietly.
“She says this isn’t really her thing, but I think she’s wrong,” Charlie told them. “I’m just not sure that she knows what she wants.”
“Trusting people with who you really are can be hard,” Abby said solemnly. “We all know that.”
“But everything worked out amazing for us!” Ellie said. “I want that for Eden too. She looked sad just now, and I want her to be happy like we are.”
“Way Zeke looks at her, I’d say he wants the same thing.” Charlie grinned.
“Not sure Eden wants anything to do with Zeke. Those two seem to explode whenever they get near each other. Although the night he came with Kent to pick us up from Suck ‘n Blow, he did seem very worried about her,” Abby said.
Ellie grinned. “Maybe they just need a little bit of help.”
Charlie shook her head. “Bear will not be happy if you try to matchmake.”
“Bear doesn’t need to know.”
“You’ll get your butt spanked,” Charlie sung.
“I already got my butt spanked today,” Abby told them with a pout.
“Me too,” Daisy commiserated with her.
“That sucks,” Charlie said. “Daddy made me take a nap.”
; “Urgh, taking naps is sooo annoying,” Daisy said. “I have to take them all the time.”
They all nodded. They knew what that was like.
“But the very worst is corner time,” Daisy complained as she let Abby fix her Aurora outfit, which was a gorgeous pink princess dress.
“Corner time is really boring,” Charlie agreed. “The other day Daddy made me stand with my nose in the corner and I got so bored I started singing and then I got a scolding. Apparently there’s no singing allowed when you’re standing in the corner and that’s a silly rule.”
“Totally is,” Daisy agreed.
“Our daddies are so mean.” Ellie grinned. “But tonight, we get to do whatever we like! Well, so long as we don’t leave the house. But who would want to leave when there’s so much to do!”
“Let’s eat some candy!” Daisy clapped her hands excitedly as she skipped her way over to the table of goodies. “Daddy made me eat yucky vegetables for lunch so now I’m gonna eat candy for dinner. Yippee!”
Ellie sent Charlie a grin. She was glad to see that Daisy was relaxed and happy around them. She slipped her hand through Charlie’s, leaning into her.
“Ooh, I’m gonna build something with Legos, what you gonna do, Abby?” Daisy asked her around the sucker she’d just put into her mouth.
“I thought I’d do everyone’s nails,” Abby said, moving towards the mani/pedi station. “Who wants their nails done first?”
“Me!” Ellie cried out. “Just let me get a cupcake.” She raced over and grabbed a chocolate cupcake that had swirls of strawberry icing on top.
Yum. Tonight was going to be awesome.
Bear sat back on the sofa in Clint’s study and watched the game on TV without really seeing it. Every so often a squeal of excitement or the sound of laughter would reach them from the lounge and all the men would smile.
He didn’t like the odds of Clint getting much sleep tonight with that noise. Even if his bedroom was upstairs. Mind you, he didn’t expect he’d be getting much sleep without Ellie tucked in beside him.
A Montana Daddies Christmas Page 5