Page 8 of Tessa

“Beau didn’t want to ask Jilly to be our Little girl. He was sure she wasn’t interested, and he tried to tell me that, but I didn’t listen.”

“But… I thought Beau was in charge.”

Dax grinned. “He is. Now ask me what we were doing when Jilly texted a little while later and asked us to meet her downstairs.”

Tessa frowned and nibbled her lower lip. It took her a minute to understand what Dax was getting at. “Oh. Oh!” Her eyes darted between them and she giggled.

“Well, then… you should probably listen to him next time.”

“That’s exactly what I’m doing. Beau is sure you are a good match for us, and Beau isn’t usually one to know something so quickly. He likes to ease into things and over-analyze them. But with you, he knew right away. Make of that what you will.”

The tension in Tessa’s shoulders seemed to ease. “I kinda knew too. I mean… it was awkward at first, and I agreed to it mostly to make Jilly feel better, but I’ve had a crush on you both for a long time, and even the little time we got to talk last night”—she smiled—“it felt good.”

“Does it still?” Beau asked, not wanting to take anything for granted.

“It does. It feels even better now. So… now what?”

Dax

He was trying so hard to let Beau take the lead on this, but it had been a long time since he’d gotten to flex his bossy bone. And as much as he loved submitting to Beau, he really wanted a Little girl of his own. Well, their own, but, still. He wanted someone to Daddy.

He’d thought Jilly would be that person but comparing the way Tessa interacted with them with the way Jilly had, he should have known better.

Jilly had always treated them like friends, and he’d been too eager for more and too blind to see it.

But Tessa was here, and eager, and cute. She wasn’t judging their dynamic or questioning how she would fit into it. She was just trusting that she would, the way a Little girl was supposed to trust her Daddies.

Her last question hung in the air between them. What now?

What now, indeed?

He didn’t trust himself to answer as he tended to jump in headfirst, without thinking, and he didn’t want to scare her off. “We can take this at whatever speed you want,” he finally said. “We can keep getting to know each other more and go from there, or…”

“If you had a Little girl, what kind of rules would you have for her?” she asked.

“Oh, the usual ones I guess. Communication, respect and honesty. Rules about her safety. I wouldn’t want my Little girl to use naughty words or leave the hotel without permission, and she’d have to have a bedtime.”

“Those are the same rules I already have.” Tessa blew out a breath that ruffled her bangs. “How bout… how bout we keep getting to know each other, and if I get in trouble with Baze, I hafta tell you too?”

“Are you sure you’re okay with that? You might end up getting in trouble twice.”

“Then I guess I’ll just hafta try and be good,” Tessa sassed.

Beau chuckled. “I think all of that sounds like a good plan. For right now, though, I think the best plan is for all of us to eat our breakfast before the dining room closes.”

Dax looked around, surprised to see that the room was already clearing out, and they’d all barely touched their food.

“Eat your pancakes, little girl,” he said sternly. “And we’ll talk again at lunch.”

Chapter Four

Tessa

“What if I’m naughty on purpose?” Tessa blurted out as soon as she sat down with her lunch plate in front of her. It was just one of the many questions she’d thought of in their few hours apart.

Beau raised his eyebrows and Dax chuckled. “Well, hello to you too. Just jumping straight in with the questions I see.”

“Hello.” Tessa bit into a carrot stick and crunched noisily. “I have lots more, but that’s the first one.”