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Grady kept his arm wrapped around Effie as he led her across the room.
She tripped and he tightened his hold.
“Oopsie. My feet keep tripping over something, but I can’ts see what. Can you?”
“Air,” he told her.
“That’s silly. Why would they trip over air?”
She tripped again, and when they were out of sight, he bent down and lifted her onto his hip.
“Ooh, this is fun. Can I go on your back like a horsie?”
“No. But do you know who would make a great horse?”
“Who?” She leaned back and he had to grab her tighter to keep her from falling backward.
“Whoa, no. Put your arms around my neck.”
“Huh?”
“Effie. Arms around my neck.”
“You’re very bossy.”
“And you’re not very good at listening,” he said as they reached his office.
Well, their office now.
“I knows. I just start thinking about things and I forget to listen. Listening ears, Effie. Listening ears are activated.” She cupped the back of her ears with her hands.
Damn. Adorable.
He’d never understood it before. The desire to take care of a Little. He’d always liked to have clear boundaries and rules. Having a Little to care for . . . sure, you could have rules. But Littles could be unpredictable and often sensitive. They always seemed to need more emotionally than Grady would or could give. He’d never been very good with emotions.
Giving aftercare wasn’t as bad because he had a routine. Things he knew how to do. Chocolate, water, blanket. Holding them if necessary. Although at the club, he’d always gone for submissives who didn’t need as much aftercare.
But a Little would likely need not just one cuddle, but a whole lot of them. And more support for their needs than he could deal with.
“Steele,” he told her as he sat her down on the sofa.
“Huh? Where’s Steele?”
“No, he’s not here. He’d make a good horse.”
“Ooh, he’d make a great horsie!” She clapped her hands, then slid back against the sofa. “I’s tired.”
“Are you? That could be because you’ve worked over ten hours today.”
“Mores than that. I came to work early to gets stuff done. And I hads to stay. Vanessa didn’t turn up.”
“It’s not your job to cover for the servers.” He could tell that this wasn’t the time to have this conversation, though. She wasn’t going to take any of this in.
And he still needed to find out what was going on. If she hadn’t been drinking, then what had she taken?
Moving over to the mini-fridge, he drew out a bottle of water. Then he sat on the coffee table in front of her.
“Effie, what are you doing?”
