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A few times, she’d thought he came close to kissing her, but he’d always held himself back. She had no idea what had changed, and she didn’t care. Not right now. This moment was made for one thing, and it wasn’t regret. This moment was made for this kiss.

And at that moment, she knew only one thing. There would be no turning back now. Ever. When he broke their kiss, he pinned her in place with a gaze filled with the same desires coursing through her. He recognized the moment for what it was, just like her.

It may not be something that lasts, but it marked the beginning of something new.

Determination shone through his gaze. His jaw tightened, stirring a flutter in her abdomen. “Definitely time for that discussion, gypsy.”

“What discussion?” she asked, as if she didn’t know. Holy crap.

CHAPTER 11

As Chance guided his naughty little gypsy toward the couch, someone knocked on the door and cracked it open before Chance could tell them to stay out.

Doc Bradford poked his head in. Sizing up the situation, he asked, “Am I preventing you from something?”

The doctor had practiced medicine in Wilder long enough to known exactly what he’d interrupted, namely Chance’s wrath descending on his naughty girl’s ass by way of his palm. He had no doubt the man had seen his fair share of reddened backsides. It was probably for the best. Once his gypsy had been checked over, he’d feel better about turning her over his knee.

Glaring down at Joy, he made sure she understood this was not a reprieve. “Not preventing, Doc, just postponing. Come on in.”

Eyes twinkling, the doctor crossed the room. “This shouldn’t take too long. It looks like she’s doing well. Let’s get her on the bed so I can examine her.”

“That’s all right. I’m feeling all better now,” Joy said, throwing Chance a look of triumph. Minx.

That was all right. He cast a sideways glance at her naughty girl book. The shiver that ran through her at that made him smile. Maybe a spanking wasn’t what was called for right now. He didn’t want to trigger another flare-up, just get her attention and make her regret her bad choices.

He had other, much more creative ways to do that. Once she was settled on the bed, he crossed to the closet and retrieved his play bag. Yes, it was time to teach her a lesson and see how compatible he and his gypsy were.

It had been a dealbreaker every time he’d tried with the Little’s he’d been attracted to. His ropes stripped away their sense of safety and control. Most Littles didn’t enjoy the experience. He had a feeling his Little gypsy might be different.

At least, he hoped so because he was falling for her, fast and hard, and he needed to pull back on the reins if she couldn’t deal with rope play. It was a part of him he wasn’t sure he could live without and be happy. He just hoped it wasn’t too late.

“I think she’s doing well,” Doc said after he finished his exam. “She seems to be on track, and she knows what to look for as far as symptoms go. I still want to perform an ultrasound of her heart and an ECG. Mainly to establish a baseline for her, so I’ll know where her norms are. That way, I’ll be able to catch any changes in the future.”

Chance hoped there would be a future. He guessed he’d find out soon.

Not as soon as he would have liked, as it turned out. Once Doc Bradford left, Kenzie called to let him know the sheriff was waiting downstairs with questions for Joy about her situation. Chance wanted the same thing. “Tell him we’ll be right down, tiger,” he said before turning to his babygirl. “How are you feeling, little one?”

“I’m okay. I’m sorry for what I said earlier.”

He helped her dress in one of the new outfits Kenzie andTilde had helped him find online. “We’ll work that out later. Right now, I need to tell you that outfit looks adorable on you, Gypsy. White with all those sequins makes you look like a Little snow bunny. Now we need to hop downstairs and meet with the sheriff.”

“Wh-why are we meeting with him? Am I in trouble? Well, more trouble.”

“I don’t think so. Should you be?”

If she shook her head any harder, it would fall off her shoulders. “All right, babygirl. I believe you. I think he wants to find out the details of what happened and how you came about losing your credit card.”

He hadn’t asked her again since he had called Sam earlier. He figured if it were a problem, Sam would call him back. Truth be told, the fact that Sam drove out all this way had him concerned, too. But there was no need to make his Little girl any more nervous than she already was. If there was a problem, he would take care of it before it could affect her.

Downstairs, Chance greeted his friend before sitting in the armchair across from Sam and settling Joy on his lap. He thought he could trust his friend, but he wasn't willing to take risks when it came to his girl. “Mornin’, Sam. What brings you all this way?”

Sam nodded and got right to business. “When you called me about the missing credit card, the first thing I did was put a call in to Detective James. He was, of course, concerned about what that might mean for Miss Joy and her safety. He said he wanted to check a few things out and he'd call me back.”

“Well, I don't see a problem so far. So why the visit?” Chance wanted to get this over and done with so he could get his girl back upstairs for a nap. Doc Bradford might have said she was doing fine, but that didn't mean she still didn't need her rest.

“I got a callback today from the detective. He mentioned there were some ‘grave concerns’ because her credit card was used oncebefore she cancelled it. He's afraid that means the people she's running from might have a way of tracking her down.”

Joy stiffened in his lap then attempted to jump down. “Whoa, little girl. You aren't goin’ anywhere. The sheriff and I are going to take care of this. I don't want you worryin’ about anything but getting better. The rest of it is my job now.” Turning to the sheriff, he added, “I want to bring Grant in on this. He’ll want to be up to speed on anything that could affect the ranch.”