Page 38 of Brock
He smiled and kissed her again. “You look so incredibly pretty, Little doll. My cock is going to be hard from now until I take you again.”
She trembled at his announcement as he stood and circled behind her. A drawer opened, and a moment later, he was back, his hands gathering her hair and lifting it up over the back of the highchair.
She closed her eyes and sighed as he began to brush it, so gently that he didn’t pull a single strand. It took him several minutes to brush out all the tangles—and there were a lot after everything she’d been through.
When he was seemingly satisfied, he parted it down the middle and tucked one side over her shoulder.
“What are you doing, Daddy?”
“Braiding your hair, Little doll.”
“Oh. Why?” She’d never braided the entire length of it. It wasn’t customary among her peers. Her mother had taught her how to pull the front away from her face and clip it on top tocreate a little bun out of it or small braids from the front like she’d worn yesterday, but girls in the valley left the bulk of their hair down by the time they went to school.
Only really young toddlers wore braids or pigtails to keep their hair out of the way. It had been a long time since someone had arranged her hair for her. That had been her mother’s job until Suzette had started school, and then the responsibility had fallen to Suzette.
“Your hair is stunning, Little doll. I’m going to love running my hands through it when I lie with you, but it’s more practical for me to braid it during the day.”
“I used to wear it that way when I was very young,” she murmured as she realized she was apparently once again very young.
She sat still and watched as he efficiently plaited it down to the very end before securing it with a band and even adding a purple bow to match her dress. After doing the same to the other side, he kissed the top of her head and gave the two braids a tug. “You look precious, Suzette.”
She felt herself sliding into a deeper submission. It was all twisted up with her clothes, the highchair, the memory of the diaper, the bottle, the pacifier, and now the braids.
Did all the women who were mated to Alpha Protectors submit this deeply to their mates? She had to assume so. If they didn’t, she was going to be totally mortified when she met them.
As Daddy walked toward the stove, she glanced back down at herself. Maybe she did look pretty. She certainly wasn’t used to wearing anything this revealing, but if this was what everyone in her new world would be wearing, she would feel strange if she were dressed differently.
Chapter Fourteen
Just as Daddy sat down with a heaping plate of food that made Suzette’s tummy grumble, she scented guests approaching. She jerked her head up and inhaled deeply. Her senses were heightened now that she’d shifted.
She turned her attention to Brock. “Daddy, people are coming. Let me down.”
He frowned at her. “You haven’t eaten yet, Little doll. They will understand that I need to feed you while we talk.”
Her eyes bugged out. “Feed me?” She jerked on her wrists. “I can feed myself. Please, Daddy.” A tightness formed in her chest, and she felt panic coming on as there was a knock at the door.
Brock stood, kissed her forehead, and left her there while he went to open the door. Now she understood why he’d pulled her dress down. Small favors.
She was so embarrassed that her face flamed as several people stepped into the house. Men. Alpha Protectors. Huge men. Five of them. All of them were bigger than any man she’d ever met in the valley. Her Daddy wasn’t the only large man among his people.
After they shut the door and finished greeting Brock, they turned toward her.
Suzette wished she could fall through a hole in the Earth and disappear. Her embarrassment was so deep she thought she might hyperventilate.
“Suzette,” Brock began as he approached and everyone followed, “I’d like you to meet my family and Arion’s.” He pointed at each man in turn. “This is my father, Owen, one of my brothers, Elias, Arion’s father, Talon, one of his brothers, Damon, oh and…” he slapped a palm on his forehead, “…I’m sorry. You don’t even know Arion. This is Arion, my best friend. He’s Jezebel’s mate.”
Suzette gasped and almost forgot her predicament as she heard her friend’s name. “Jez? Where is she? Can I see her?”
Daddy set his palm on her head and stroked it down her hair. “Soon, Little doll. It wasn’t safe for her to come here today, but I’ll take you to her as soon as it’s safe.”
The man he’d called Arion smiled warmly at her. “She’s looking forward to seeing you, too. She’s been nagging me for weeks to reveal who your mate was, but I never did. Not until yesterday.”
“Oh.” Suzette’s eyes widened. “She must have been so scared when I got abducted.”
Arion pulled out a chair next to the one Brock had occupied. “She would have been, but I didn’t tell her until after you were rescued.” He winced. “I’m not sure she’s done being mad at me for that either.”
Suzette jerked her gaze to Brock and stared at him. Surely he would understand what she was trying to convey—namely that obviously Jezebel had a right to her feelings and opinions about seeing her friend, too.