Page 53 of Finding Little Fiera

She glanced at him again, her lip caught between her teeth, worry in her eyes. She thought she was about to be spanked. He could see it in the way she braced her shoulders. He could hear each tiny hitch in her breathing whenever his hand brushed her back.

He didn’t correct the assumption. Not yet. There were many ways to punish a Little who tended to forget important things. The things he had planned could make his point, answer his questions, and bring them both pleasure, eventually.

“Daddy?” she asked softly, her voice nearly swallowed by the pounding of the rain.

“Yes, firefly?”

Her teeth still worried her lower lip. “You’re awfully quiet.”

He kept his gaze steady. “Daddy has some things to think about, little one.”

She shivered, but was it because of her wet clothes or his words? Her voice trembled when she spoke. “That doesn’t sound ominous or anything.”

Despite himself, the corner of his mouth twitched. “Oh no? I must be doing it wrong then.”

“Oh. Well then, I’ll just keep quiet and let you think like the good girl I am.” She slid him another look, searching his face like she was trying to read his thoughts.

She glanced away, but not quickly enough. He’d seen the hope and worry in her eyes. So tonight wasn’t going to be about sunglasses. Not really. It wasn’t even about running backward during the stick horse race.

Tonight was about what happened after tomorrow. What did she want once camp was over, after she packed up her adorable suitcase menagerie and drove back to Wilder? Something kicked him in the gut at the thought of her leaving. Tonight was about whether she returned to Wilder alone or with him standing beside her.

The cabin was warm when they’d arrived, but Fiera still shivered. First things first. “Let’s get you dry, firefly. Then Daddy has some things he wants to talk about. Come with me.”

Fiera stood in the middle of the room, shivering so hard it rocked the medal still hanging around her neck, as her fingers worried the ribbon. She was waiting for him to punish her even as raindrops ran down her face, dripping off her chin and nose.

His head might just explode. What kind of degenerate asshat made her think she should stand in wet clothes, freezing, to wait for punishment?

She swiped at them impatiently and muttered, “Yes, Daddy. But if I slip and fall, I’m blaming you.”

As angry as he was at her former, dick of a Daddy, she could still make him want to smile. “Oh, really. And why is that?”

“Because you’re the Incredible Hulk, Daddy. You could’ve carried me.”

He huffed a low sound that almost passed for a laugh. “You want to be carried?”

Her eyes widened slightly, as if she hadn’t expected him to call her bluff. “I… well, that’s not what I meant.”

“Mmhmm.” His hands flexed at his sides with the effort it took to keep from reaching for her. He wanted to pick her up, hold her tight, and carry her to her room. But he shouldn’t. Not until after they had their talk… not until they… oh, to hell with it. “That sounds like a plan to me.”

With that, he scooped her up, grinning at her squeak of surprise. Sometimes a surprise ride in Daddy’s arms was just what the doctor ordered. He carried her to her room, picked out a dry outfit, and sat on the edge of her bed. “Let’s get you changed, babygirl.”

Forget saucers. Fiera’s eyes grew to the size of dinner plates. “Both of us? I mean, like you and me?”

God, he loved being a Daddy. He’d thought she would take the outfit and go change in the bathroom, but if this was where her mind went, he was here for it. “Yes, little one. I don’t want you to get sick. You can’t stay in those wet things. Come here, and I’ll help you change.”

Face glowing brighter than Rudolph’s nose, she walked toward him without further protest. “I can do it by myself. You have wet clothes, too.”

He rubbed her down with the towel, trying to dry her clothes. “Do you think I’m the kind of Daddy who doesn’t like to take care of his Little girl?” If he was going to be her forever Daddy, he wanted to start like he planned to finish.

She shook her head, windmilling drops of water around the room. “N-no, Daddy. I just didn’t want to be a bother.”

That’s what he’d thought. Yeah, he was definitely setting aside time to pay Erwin a visit.

“Look at me.” He took her ice-cold hands in his. “You are many things to me, Fiera Danielle Sharpe. You are my fiery, witness of God, quick and smart, funny babygirl. What you are not, and never will be, is a bother. Whoever made you feel like you were a burden was a jealous, petty, narcissistic asshole. So, the next time someone tries to treat you like that, you tell them to expect a visit from me. I’ll be showing them what a real bother looks like. Do you understand?”

Tears filled her eyes as she stared at him. Before he could respond, she threw herself into his arms, wrapping herself around him, and burst into tears. Between the two of them, the bed was getting soaked, and he did not give the first fuck. If everything went as he hoped, she’d be sleeping in his bed tonight anyway. The question was, where would he be sleeping?

Wrapping the large towel around her, he hugged her, letting her cry it out. When her tears slowed to hitched breaths, he leaned her back and wiped the tears from her face. “Better?” he asked.