Page 63 of Finding Little Fiera

“You made me a very happy Daddy tonight, little one. I wanted tonight to be all about you. Now I want you to get a good night's sleep. Tomorrow is a big day. Can you do that for Daddy?”

She could fly to the moon and back if he asked her to. “Yes, Daddy,” she said. “If that's what you really want.”

He pressed a kiss to her forehead, his beard tickling her nose. For the first time in her life, Fiera had a Daddy to make sure Sniffles was beside her and to tuck her in. She wasn’t sure how she’d gotten so lucky, but she would be the perfect Little, so he would want to stay.

That meant no more forgetting things and no more impulsive behavior. That should be easy enough.

Mace ran gentle fingers through Fiera’s hair, watching as she drifted off to sleep. When she’d returned his kiss with such passion, he’d almost thrown her to the ground and fucked hersenseless. It had taken everything in him to break the kiss and return to the clearing.

Fiera was as wild as a mustang on the open prairie. She was radiant, filled with the joy of living… and he was already well on his way to falling in love with her. He, Mister Never-Met-An-Impulsive-Thought-He-Couldn’t-Quash, had fallen for Miss Heart-First-Consequences-Later in the span of a few days.

There was no doubt she could hurt him. No doubt at all. She could devastate him if he gave her his heart and she walked away. She could. But after what she’d just done, giving him the gift of her trust, he lost the fear that she would.

Even if she did, he couldn’t bring himself to care. She was worth every moment they shared. Risk be damned.

Given everything life had thrown at her, she should have been fragile. Yet despite it all, she was one of the strongest people he’d ever met. How she found a way for her Little to thrive was nothing short of amazing.

His cock still throbbed after tasting her. He should have waited. It was too soon, but when she responded to him as if she were already his, he couldn’t stop himself.

The idea that he could hurt her was unthinkable. It was his job now—no, his privilege—to protect her. To care for her. The woman definitely needed a keeper. But he was a dozen years older than she was. He should walk away right now and give her a chance to find someone with fewer bad choices and battle scars than he had.

But he wasn’t going to.

Instead, he pulled her closer. And he didn’t give that first fuck it meant his cock was pressing against her ass. She stiffened and made the most adorable humph before settling against him again.

Yeah. This was happening. He was going to be her Daddy. He’d been the best he could be, even though it wouldn’t be halfof what she deserved. It was going to happen. They were going to happen.

He’d protect her with everything he had. No one and nothing would ever harm his little firefly again. He’d make sure of it.

Chapter Twenty-One

“Okay, so here’s the plan,” Fiera said, doing her best to get the forkful of syrup-logged pancakes into her mouth before it dripped on her shirt. She’d been able to sneak an entire extra serving of the maple goodness poured onto her stack while her Daddy was getting her juice and milk. “We’ll all sit at the same table to paint our pictures for the art show so we can give each other suggestions.”

When no one said anything, she focused on her friends instead of her food. At their exchanged nervous glances, an invisible hand gripped her tummy and twisted. “What is it?” she asked, though she was fairly certain she didn’t want to know. She shoved another sticky triangle of pancakes into her mouth, hoping to distract herself from her growing dread.

Daisy looked at Sadie and widened her eyes. “You should tell her.”

And now Fiera’s pancakes tasted like sawdust.

“I agree,” Wren piped in. “You should tell her.”

“Why should I be the one to tell her?” Sadie demanded. “Never mind, I’ll do it.” Looking past Fiera’s shoulder, Sadie glared at someone before turning to Fiera. “Okay, after the bonfire last night, lots of us went to the swimming pool in thecourtyard. The Daddies all stood around and talked while we had a midnight swim.”

“Nine-thirty,” Daisy said.

Sadie turned to Daisy. “What?”

“You said we had a midnight swim, but it was only nine thirty.”

Sadie narrowed her eyes. “Do you want to tell her?”

Daisy shook her head. “No, you go ahead.”

After a pause, Sadie continued. “Anyway, we went swimming. Laura was there. She’s made a few friends, and they are… well, let’s just say I think they’ll all be getting lumps of coal and switches from Santa this year.”

“And they were talking about you!” Daisy blurted out. It was more like the words escaped. When she realized what she’d said, she slapped both hands over her mouth.

Sadie threw her hands in the air and flopped back in her chair. “Fine! That’s just fine. You tell her the rest.”