Page 29 of Mariah

Chapter 13

Graham

Mariah shifted in his arms, still naked from the waist down. He reached down and cupped her bottom. It was hot to the touch, and, he knew, still red.

She hissed when his fingers splayed across her skin. “Owwwie.”

“Owie indeed,” he said with a chuckle. “Aside from sore though, how do you feel? Finally punished and forgiven?”

“Ya,” she said with a nod, sounding Littler than he’d ever heard her. “And… amazing. Everything is even better with a Daddy of your very own.” She sighed. “It’s almost bedtime. But I wish I could stay here in your arms all night. Do you think… would it be okay if I had a sleepover? We don’t hafta do anything. Just sleep.”

He smiled at her hopeful addendum. They’d just made it very clear that sex was off the table. A sleepover sounded nice though. Truth be told, he wasn’t ready to let her out of his arms either.

“I think… it’s okay with me, little one, but I think it’s also not up to me. Have you even told Baze yet that I’m going to be your Daddy now? Or your friends?”

Mariah shook her head. “No. When I got off work, it was naptime and then after my nap, I had to do my chore since I didn’t do it this morning. And after that it was dinner. After dinner, I told Baze you wanted to talk to me. He looked at me funny but told me to be back in time to get ready for bed.”

“What time would that be?”

“Almost now,” Mariah admitted with a sigh. “Maybe I could call him?”

He reached behind him and grabbed her phone off the nightstand, handing it to her. “I have to use the restroom. You can have some privacy.”

She nodded and as he walked away, she was already dialing.

He took his time in the bathroom, washing his hands, combing his hair and brushing his teeth just so she could have a conversation without him hovering.

When he came out, he could tell from her expression and the fact that she was gathering her clothes that it hadn’t gone the way she wanted. He’d been hopeful but he wasn’t really surprised.

“Baze said no?” he asked, sitting on the edge of the bed.

“Yeah.” Mariah wiped a tear with the back of her hand. “He said it wasn’t enough notice and he’d just found out about us and he’d hafta talk to you first. Find out what your ‘tentions were.”

“My ‘tentions?” He frowned and rolled the Little speak around in his head for a moment before he realized what she meant. “Ah, my intentions. That’s smart. I know it’s not the answer you wanted, but Baze is a good man. He should find out my intentions before he just lets you stay over.”

“I know. He’s really good to me. And he cares about me and takes care of me. But he’s really Luna’s Daddy, not mine, and now I finally have my own, and I just want to spend time with you!” Her voice rose and she became more upset with each word she spoke until she was full-on sobbing.

“Oh, little one.” He gathered her into his arms and wiped her tears away with the pad of his thumb. “Don’t cry now. It’s not all that bad. What if we compromise?”

“How?” Mariah cried.

“What if you get ready for bed down here and then I take you home and tuck you in?”

Her lip trembled still, but she smiled. “That might be okay. Should I call Baze and ask?”

“I’ll text him.” He let go of her, long enough to cross the room and grab his own phone and shot off a text. The answer was almost immediate. He looked up at his despondent Little and smiled. “Baze said that would be fine.”

“Okay!” She wiped her face with a smile.

“So what do you need to do to get ready for bed?”

“I usually take a bath or sometimes a shower. And then I put on my jammies and brush my teeth and read a story and then it’s bedtime.”

He nodded. “Well, you don’t have a toothbrush here yet, but I could give you a bath and get you dressed in jammies and then take you upstairs.”

“I don’t have jammies here either.” Her face fell. “Or a fresh diaper.”

“Well, you came up here wearing a fresh one, and took it right down for your spanking, so technically it’s still clean. You could use that one, couldn’t you?”