That rule she kind of liked.
When they got to the front of the building, Aric rang a bell.
There was a crackling noise from the speaker. “Yes?”
“My name is Aric. I booked a three o’clock appointment,” Aric told the man. “I’m being sponsored by Jameson St. Bede.”
The Doc sponsored them? Wow, what was this place? Like a gentleman’s private club or something? She glanced up at Beck, but he wasn’t giving anything away.
The door was opened and there was a man dressed in a suit waiting on the other side. A butler? What the heck? The butler moved his gaze over them, and it landed on Beck.
“I’m Aric. This is Pippa and our bodyguard, Beck.”
“Um, hello,” she said.
The scary looking man stared down his nose at her and she wanted to back up and leave. Then to her shock, he winked at her. She gaped up at him.
“Please, come in.”
Aric led her inside and the butler shut the door behind them. “May I take your coats?”
Aric turned her gently and undid her jacket first. The butler’s expression didn’t change. He just took their coats, Beck declined to hand his over, then led them to another door.
“Please, go in. You have the place to yourselves for the next hour.”
She stepped in behind Aric, her mouth dropping as she took in the place. To the left was a big slide that curled down from the roof landing in a huge ball pit. Over to the right was a mini-golf area. Then in front of them was an enormous carousel.
“Oh my gosh, what is this place?” she asked with wonder.
“It’s a play space for big Little girls and boys,” Aric replied with a grin.
“What? Seriously?”
“Yep, Jameson told me about it. He used to bring his Little, Alice, here.”
She wondered what happened to Alice and if that was why Jameson had moved to Escana, but it wasn’t her place to ask.
“I rented the whole place out because I know you’re shy about letting people see your Little. But it means we only have an hour. There’s a shop as well that we can go through on our way out. It won’t be empty of other people, though.”
Excitement filled her. “Okay, what should we do first?”
He gave her a cheeky grin. “Oh, I have an idea.”
* * *
She aimed the tiny ball towards the lion’s mouth and took her shot. But she’d left it too late and it hit one of his teeth as his mouth closed.
“Slime balls!”
“You want to try again?” Aric asked her.
“No,” she pouted.
“Now, Poppet, you’re not a sore loser, are you?”
Well, she hadn’t thought she was, but . . .
“I think you’re cheating.”
“Daddies never cheat,” he told her.
She snorted at that. He raised an eyebrow and she stuck out her tongue at him.
“Oh, someone is being bratty. Maybe they need Daddy to give them that spanking they’re owed.”
“I’m not owed a spanking,” she protested.
“Your notebook says different.”
“You can’t spank me.”
Something came over his face. Hesitation? But why would he hesitate? Then he held out his hand to her.
“Come on, let’s go on the carousel. Time is nearly up.”
She let him take her hand and lead her out of the mini-golf area, putting their putts and balls away.
He led her over to the carousel and helped her onto one of the huge horses. She grabbed at the reins with a squeal as it started to move. How did it know when to start? Aric placed his hand on the small of her back as the horse went up and down, keeping her steady.
“Enjoying yourself, Poppet?”
“This has been so fun,” she told him. “I can’t believe you did this for me. Thank you.”
“I’d do anything for you.”
She leaned in and took hold of his shoulders to kiss him, which didn’t quite work as the horse kept moving. She squealed but Aric took hold of her hips and dragged her down to take her mouth with his.
Then he drew back, smiling down at her. “You’re so fucking beautiful.”
“So are you. Even when you looked like a giant spearmint leaf, you were still gorgeous.”
“Why, you little brat,” he growled as the carousel stopped and she slid away from him, squealing. “Get back here!”
She laughed as she raced around the carousel then over to the slide, climbing up. When she got to the top though, she kind of froze. She stared down. It was a long way up here.
“Pippa? Are you all right?” Aric moved onto the platform with her as she whimpered. “Hey, what’s wrong?”
“It’s high up.”
“Oh, poor Poppet. Come here. Don’t look down, look at me. That’s a good girl. Look into my eyes.” She moved her gaze up to his. “That’s right. Good girl.”
“We could fall.”
“We’re not going to fall,” he reassured her.
“We could! It’s a long way down.” Her heart was racing.
“You guys okay up there?” Beck called out. She’d forgotten he was in here. He blended well into the background. Except now, she had a witness to her humiliation.
“We’re fine,” Aric called down. If she could have moved, she would have kissed him for not mentioning her current frozen state of fear.
“I want to get down.”
“I know, Poppet. You and I are going to take the slide down, okay?”
“Nooo, I can’t. I can’t!” She wrapped her arms around his neck and clung to him desperately. She buried her face into his chest.
“Shh. Come on, keep those beautiful blue eyes on mine,” he soothed.
She shook her head.
“Pippa,” he said in that stern voice she’d rarely heard from him. But that made it even more powerful. “Look at me.”
She raised her gaze to his.
“That’s my good girl. Now, the slide is going to be easier to use than the ladder. It’s nice and wide so you’re going to sit between my legs.”
“No, Daddy, I can’t.”
Something entered his gaze. Satisfaction? Relief? Something else. She wasn’t sure.
“Right now, I’m Daddy. And you’re going to listen to Daddy, aren’t you? Do you really think I would let any harm come to you?”
She stared up at him. He wouldn’t let anything happen. He would take care of her. She shook her head.
“Good girl. For being such a brave girl, I’m going to let you buy anything you like from the shop.”
“You’d do that anyway.”
He grinned down at her. “All right, then I’ll buy you an ice cream sundae.”
Well, she likely deserved it after all this. “With whipped cream. And chocolate sauce.”
“Of course,” he replied. “I want you to close your eyes. I’m going to shuffle us over to the slide then either keep your gaze on me or your eyes shut. Understand?”
“Y-yes.”
“Yes, what?”
“Yes, Daddy?”
She closed her eyes, letting out small whimpers as he moved them around then she found herself sitting on his lap. He had his arms tight around her.
“Wait, can we—”
Before she could finish her plea for them to wait, he’d pushed them off and they were flying. She let out a scream, clinging to his arms as they rocked their way down the slide that went around and around. She opened her eyes, knowing she’d likely throw up if she didn’t. About half way down, the terror started to change into a sense of joy and by the end of it, her body was thrumming with excitement.
Aric stood with her in his arms then he slowly put her on her feet, holding onto her hips as though worried she might fall over.
“Are you okay, Poppet?” he asked worriedly.
She clapped her hands together, bouncing up and down on her feet. “Again. Again, Daddy.”
His mouth dropped open. “What?”
> “I liked the slide part.”
“Yes, but to do the slide part, you have to climb up high. Remember that part?”
“I’ll close my eyes again,” she told him. “Can we do it again? Please? Please, Daddy?”
He just stared at her, looking like he had no idea what to say. She put her hand over her mouth, to muffle a laugh. Silly Daddy.
A throat clearing had her squealing and jumping towards Aric.
“I’m sorry, Miss Pippa,” the butler guy said. “I didn’t mean to frighten you.”
“That’s okay,” she replied, giving him a small smile.
“Did you both enjoy your time?”
She nodded, bouncing up and down. She didn’t know why, but she felt comfortable around him. Maybe because he was so calm or because he must meet Littles all day long.
“You have a fun job,” she said to him. “Do you get to play on all this stuff as well?”
“I do,” he replied. “As much as I like. Perk of the job.”
Her smile was wider this time. “I wouldn’t mind that job.”
“You already have a job, Poppet,” Aric reminded her, but he was smiling down at her indulgently. “I take it our time is up?”
“I’m afraid so,” the butler told them formally. “You are welcome to stay, of course. But there will be other Littles arriving soon.”
Other Littles? Was she ready for that? She moved into Aric who wrapped a protective arm around her.
“Probably not for the best, Your Majesty,” Beck said formally.
Aric nodded. “But we could come back another day.”
Relief filled her. “That would be fun.”
“Is there an ice cream shop close by?” Aric asked, tapping on his phone.
“Certainly. There is one around the corner.”
“Yay!”
Both the butler and Aric smiled at her. Aric turned to Beck. “Tell the driver we’ll walk to the ice cream shop. Matek is meeting us there.”
Beck frowned but nodded.
“Good, please come this way,” the butler said. “I’ll show you where the shop is.”
They followed him through the huge building and out a door. Her mouth dropped. She’d expected a small shop, but this was amazing. It was bright and cheerful, with each wall painted a different color. Bubbles filled the room from an enormous bubble machine. She squealed and darted towards them. But Aric’s hold on her wrist kept her back.
She turned to frown at him. “I want to see the bubbles.”
“You have to stay with us, remember? There are other people here.”
The reminder sobered her.
He leaned in to whisper. “I’m sorry, Poppet. I don’t mean to ruin your fun. But Beck will have a heart attack if you just run around the shop.”
She nodded. “I understand.” She did feel a bit disappointed. But then Aric bought her a smaller bubble machine and promised to set it up at the penthouse. They also had fun picking out some other toys for her Little. And a sippy cup and baby bottle which had Batman symbols on them.
When they walked out, their packages were going to be sent to the penthouse, she was swinging his hand and practically skipping.
Time to be an adult again, Pippa.
Darn it.
Aric led them around the corner. Across the road was a familiar figure. “Matek!”
She slid her hand from Aric’s and raced towards him, ignoring Aric’s yell. She waved at Matek, who frowned. But then a car made a revving noise. She turned with a scream as it barreled towards her. She couldn’t seem to move then she was picked up and thrown through the air.
Strong arms caught her, holding her.
There was a loud thumping sound and around her, the world seemed to slow. She stopped breathing. Terror filled her, but she wasn’t sure why.
What was going on?
Suddenly, she was lowered to the ground. Sounds started to infiltrate. The squealing of tires. Yelling. Aric appeared above her, his lips moving. What was he trying to say?
“ . . . Pippa! Breathe!”
Oh, breathe. Right. That would be handy. The world started to grow dark around the edges.
“Now, Poppet,” he growled. “Right. Now.”
A breath trickled into her lungs. Right. Breathe.
“Good girl. Thank fuck. Keep breathing.” He looked over his shoulder. “How is he? Please tell me he’s still alive.”
Who? What? What?
Then it rushed over her. She’d nearly been hit. There had been a thudding noise. Someone had been hit.
Matek!
She attempted to sit.
“Pippa, stay still.”
“Matek! Matek!” she wailed.
“Shh, he’s all right,” Aric soothed. “Pippa, he’s alive.”
“Matek!” She kept trying to get to him. She’d drag herself along the ground if she had to.
“Fuck.” Aric tried to keep her with him, but she fought him. She was desperate to get to Matek.
“Matek!”
“Poppet, please. Stay still.”
She stared up into Aric’s terrified face. He looked so pale. And she wasn’t helping.
“Please,” she whimpered as the sirens grew closer. “Is he all right? Please, let me see him.”
“He’s alive, Poppet. Beck is with him.”
It was a rush of people, talking to her. Others yelling. She was aware of the audience they’d attracted, but all she wanted was Matek.
He had to be all right. He had to be.
Or she’d never forgive herself.
* * *
Tavi stepped out of the meeting room with Kassim.
Judd was in front of them while Hux brought up the rear. Damn that meeting was boring. He didn’t know how Kassim did this all the time. As they were riding down in the elevator, which Judd had cleared of people with his winning personality, he turned to Kassim.
“We’re headed back to the penthouse, right?”
Kassim shot him a knowing look. “You didn’t have to come today.”
Tavi shrugged. He was wishing he hadn’t.
“Are Pippa and Aric back from their shopping trip?” Kassim asked as Tavi drew out his phone to check.
“No, apparently, they’re going for ice cream. We could join them.”
“I have things to do.”
They had reached the bottom floor and were walking through the building to the car. Tavi waited to reply until they were inside and the privacy screen was up between them and the driver, Judd was in the back opposite them. But he could be relied on for his discretion.
“Kassim, are you avoiding being with Pippa?”
He sent Tavi a surprised look. “Of course not, I’m busy.”
“Well, maybe you should clear your schedule a bit and spend some time with her. As the eldest, we’re waiting on you. But there’s only so long we can wait.”
“You will wait as long as Pippa needs you to wait.”
“Of course,” Tavi agreed. “We would never force her. But what if she starts to wonder why we haven’t gone any further? She might think we don’t want her.”
Kassim looked shocked, as though that hadn’t occurred to him. “You are right. Once we get to the country house, I will spend more time with her.”
As the oldest, it was up to Kassim to have sex with her first. It was an antiquated tradition that Tavi was certain most people didn’t follow anymore. But in the royal family, it was slightly different.
The oldest son led the way in everything to do with their bride. He fucked her first. His baby was meant to be the first born. But if Kassim didn’t speed things up, then tradition might get broken. Of course, it was also tradition for a harem to steal their bride, and Kassim had shot that idea down. Personally, Tavi thought that was an excellent idea.
“When are you going to talk to her about being attacked?”
He watched as Kassim’s jaw tightened. “I don’t want her to be stressed.”
“I agreed with that while she was recovering,
but now we’re just lying to her,” he pointed out.
“It’s not a lie.”
“It is by omission. She needs to know, Kassim.”
“She should be sheltered from this,” Kassim insisted as Judd’s phone rang.
“Not if her life is in danger.”
“Nothing will happen to her. I will not allow it.”
“Your Majesties,” Judd interrupted, surprising Tavi. Dread grew as he took in their bodyguard’s face.
“What is it? What’s wrong?” Kassim asked.
“There’s been an incident.”
“Pippa?” Tavi snapped.
“She’s fine. She’s been taken to hospital as a precaution.”
“What happened?” Kassim roared.
“It sounds like she was crossing the road when a car came down the road and nearly hit her.”
“But she’s okay?” Tavi pressed. “What are her injuries?”
“We need to go to her now,” Kassim pressed.
“I’ll let the driver know. But Pippa wasn’t injured. Matek was there, apparently he threw her out of the way and the car clipped him as it raced past.”
“Wait, are you saying it was a hit and run?” Kassim asked in a dark voice.
“Yes. It looks that way.”
Fuck. Had the person who’d hurt her in Escana followed them here to London?
19
Smell of antiseptic.
Matek.
People rushing around.
Matek.
Voices. Someone touching her. Asking questions.
Matek.
Demands. Police officers. More questions.
Matek.
Couldn’t they all see that she didn’t matter? That she didn’t care about their questions?
She just wanted Matek.
Her breath came in sharp pants. She couldn’t just lie here, waiting. Where was he? What was going on?
“Matek. Matek.”
“Poppet, listen to me. I’m here. Matek will be fine.”
She shook her head. “Going to die. My fault. My fault.”
“Aric!” a voice demanded.
That sounded like Kassim. He was going to blame her. All her fault.
“What’s wrong with her? Has she been looked over? What about Matek?” Tavi fired questions as he suddenly appeared in her vision. She closed her eyes and curled into a ball on the bed.
Claimed by her Daddies Page 26