Page 20 of Daddies’ Little Cubs (Ivory Mountain Daddies #3)

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

ELI

E li chuckled at the text on his phone from Jessa.

Jackson was right, she didn’t hesitate to brag about beating Jackson in bowling.

He couldn’t deny that he was proud of their girl and the way she managed to hustle her Papa, even if it was unintentional at first. That will teach them both that they shouldn’t underestimate either of the twins.

Thinking about them, Eli switched over to the texts he has with Destiny.

Eli: Hi my sweet girl

Destiny: Hey Eli!! How are you?!

Eli: I’m okay, but I would be doing better if I had a certain Little keeping me company.

Destiny: Oh, Jessa is on a date with Jackson. I thought they would have told you that

Eli: I know they are, silly girl. I was talking about a certain Little Wolf

Eli loved the nicknames they had decided on for the twins.

Knowing their favorite movie was The Jungle Book it was a simple choice.

Jessa being Little Bear and Destiny being Little Wolf just fit them.

Together they were Daddies’ Little Cubs and he loved that even more.

His phone buzzing pulled him from his thoughts.

Destiny: You mean me?

Eli: I don’t know of another Little Wolf. Do you?

Destiny: No, Sir, I don’t

Eli: Did you have any plans tonight?

Destiny: Nope! I was just going to lay around and read my book. I’ve found a new author to check out and it's been good so far.

Formulating a plan in his head, Eli texted Jackson again before responding to her message.

Eli: How would you feel about having some cubs in the house tonight?

Jackson: Mhm…I’m not opposed to the idea. Whatcha thinking?

Eli: I was considering seeing if I could convince Des to pack a bag for her and Jessa and let me come pick her up. It’s Friday and we didn’t have any plans this weekend.

Eli: We could talk about our dynamic a little more and allow them to experience a weekend in Little space with us to really see if that’s what they want.

Jackson: I think that’s a fantastic idea! I’ll mention it to Jessa as well, but something tells me our Little Bear will love this idea. Good luck convincing the other cub.

Jackson was right, Jessa was definitely the easier twin to talk to about trying new things. Eli had clocked very early that Destiny was Autistic, so he understood that change was hard and she has had a lot of change in her life recently.

Eli: Well, care to make Pop’s heart happy and come spend the evening with me. And maybe even consider staying the weekend.

Destiny: Oh…. uh….

Eli: I’ve mentioned it to Jackson and he said he would talk to Jessa. We would love to have both our cubs with us all weekend. Maybe even give you a taste of what life with us will be like?

Five minutes passed without a single peep from Destiny, Eli’s concern was growing with each passing minute. Before he could text again, her name popped up on his phone.

Destiny: Okay, I think I would like that

Eli: Are you sure? I want you to be completely comfortable with this and if that means holding off a little bit, that’s what we will do.

Destiny: No, really I’m okay with it. I also talked to Jessa and she said she would love to as well.

Eli: I am thrilled to hear that. Pack an overnight bag for you both and I’ll be there soon to get you alright?

Destiny: Yes, Sir! I’ll see you soon

Eli: And Destiny…. Wait inside for me

There wasn’t a following text, but that was okay. Eli figured she rushed off to do what he asked her to do. Knowing that her sister didn’t listen this morning to that same direction, Eli was intrigued to see if she would disobey too without the influence of Jessa.

Making a quick stop in the nursery on his way to the car, Eli made sure that everything would be okay for their girls. He hoped that they loved the room and they would use it for more than just this weekend.

Thirty minutes later, Eli was walking up the porch to pick up his cub when he heard the twist of a door knob.

Looking up, he grinned at the image she made.

Peeking through the crack of the door were two little brown eyes looking up at him.

“Hi my Little Wolf. Care to open the door the rest of the way so Pops can come in?”

The door creaked as Destiny pushed the door open and stepped aside for him to come in. He was pleased that she followed the directions that he gave her. Though there was a small part of him that wished she would have pushed the boundaries a little bit.

Eli bent down and pressed a quick kiss against her lips before reaching down to grab the bag that sat at her feet. “Do you have everything that you and Jessa will need?”

“Yes, Sir. I think I do.”

“Did you tell Emmett and Raelyn where you were going?”

A voice from the kitchen answered his question. “She did! Take care of our girls, Eli!” Emmett shouted. Chuckling, he placed a hand on the small of Destiny’s back and helped her out to the car. It was a quick drive home and he couldn’t wait to get her there.

Just as Eli was pulling into the garage, he saw Jackson and Jessa walking into the house. Perfect timing, that means they can talk to both girls and then show the Little room to them. Eli couldn’t wait to see their cubs explore their future room.

“Hi Jackson! Hi Sissy!” Destiny greeted them as they walked into the house.

Eli walked over and dropped a quick kiss against Jessa’s lips before pulling Jackson into his embrace.

Eli pulled Jackson close, pressing against him.

Groaning as he pressed his lips against Jackson, he couldn’t get enough of this man.

The sound of giggles broke the trance that Jackson held him in. Turning, he saw the girls arms linked together, just enjoying the show. “Alright you two. Fun time is over.” Eli said shooing them into the living room, following close behind.

Sitting down, he pulled Destiny close and enjoyed the feeling of her in his arms. “Eli, what’s the plan?

” she asked him after a brief moment. “Well sweet girl that’s up to you and Jessa.

We can just spend time out here, maybe watch a movie or play a game, or Papa and I could show you the special room that we think you girls will love. ”

“Special room?” Jessa questioned with excitement. “What kind of special room?”

“The kind that only cubs are allowed to go in?” Jackson answered.

“Do you know any cubs that might like to see this special room?”

“Me! Me! Me!” Jessa shouted as she bounced around in a circle. “We are Little Cubs!”

Eli chucked and held out his hand towards her pulling her into his embrace beside Destiny. Snuggling them close, he continued to sit there for a few minutes. “Pops, can we please go see the special room now?” Jessa asked, pushing against his chest.

“Alright, Little Bear. Let’s go see the special room. Up you go!” Eli replied. “You too, Little Wolf. Up! Up! You don’t want Jessa to have all the fun now do you?”

Jackson led the group down the hallways with Jessa and Destiny following close behind. Eli’s heart grew as his whole world was walking in front of him. He didn’t know how this could get any more perfect.

They stopped outside the playroom for the girls and his heart began to race.

What if they hated it? He knew that it was a slim possibility, but that didn’t change the fear he immediately felt.

Logically Eli knew that if there was something the girls didn’t like, him and Jackson would change everything.

“Ready?” Jackson whispered to the girls, looking above their heads at Eli.

He nodded and Jackson opened the door, stepping aside to let the girls walk in.

Their gasps eased all of Eli’s fears and he knew they had made the right choices.

Wrapping his arms around Jackson, he stood watching the girls explore their new playroom trying to take it in from their eyes.

“Is this really all for us, Papa?” Jess asked, looking to where they stood in the door. “It’s all yours baby girl. Every single thing in here is yours and if there’s something you don’t like all you need to do is say the word and Pops and I will do our best to fix it, okay?”

Eli hummed his agreement. “Do you girls want some time alone to explore?” He asked after a moment? Eli wanted them to be comfortable in their environment and if that meant he and Jackson needed to step to the other room to allow that to happen they would. “Can you stay please?”

It took him a minute to process what was asked. Destiny had whispered out her question so quiet Eli almost missed it. His Little Wolf wanted them around and who was he to tell her no. “Absolutely, Little one. We will sit right over there on the rocking chair and watch you both, okay?”

“Okay, Pops.” Destiny replied stunning Eli. What had she just called him? Maybe Jackson was right, he was getting old because clearly his hearing is going bad. “Say it again.”

“Okay, Pops.” She said again, giving him the biggest grin.

Now he knew that he wasn’t going senile.

Destiny had called him Pops and Eli felt like he was on top of the world.

Dropping his hand in Jackson’s, Eli made his way towards the rocking chair pulling Jackson behind him.

Settling in, Eli watched as their cubs continued to move around their room oooing over every new thing they found.

Two hours have passed and the sun set over the horizon a little bit ago. Eli knew that it was time to get the girls ready for bed, but he didn’t want to interrupt their tea party. Destiny had found the play set in the toy box and immediately demanded that they all have a tea party.

“Pops, would you like another scone?” Jessa asked, picking up the pretend plate of scones. “No, Little Bear, I’m okay. It is getting close to bedtime though so maybe we can start to put our things away and clean up the room before bed.”

“No thank you, Pops. We want to continue to play.” Destiny replied. Eli was shocked at her response. He expected that from Jessa, but never did he believe that Destiny would be the one who disregarded his statement.

“Destiny, Pops wasn’t asking you and your sister to put your toys away and clean the room before bed, he was telling you. Now, it’s time to clean up our tea party and put everything away for next time.”

He heard her grumbling under her breath, but he was pleased that she started to pack everything okay. Eli was thankful that she listened the second time. Leaving Jackson to watch over the girls, he went into the connecting bathroom and put the plug in the tub before starting it.

Eli wasn’t sure how the girls would feel about bathing together, but he was going to give them the option. If it was a hard limit, Jackson could take one of them into the other bathroom while he stayed in here with the other. He wanted to see how they would go about this situation.

Walking back in, Eli found both girls snuggled in Jackson’s arms. His heart warmed seeing them all cuddled together. “Girls, Pops has a question for you. It’s okay if the answer is no and we can make changes accordingly. Do you understand?”

Eli watched their cubs nod their heads in understanding before continuing.

“Papa and I would love nothing more than to take care of you in every part of your life, including bathing you. We need to know if you are okay with that.” Eli let silence fall upon the room allowing them to think about what he said.

“I would be okay with that.” Jessa replied after a short moment.

“Me too!” Destiny tagged on pleasing Eli.

“Our next question is, are you okay with both of you being in the same bath together while in Little space or is that a hard limit? We understand if it is and will never push you to do something you both aren’t comfortable with. ”

This would be the hard part for the girls. If they said yes it would be putting them in a vulnerable place with each other. Eli was honestly okay with either option.

It was Destiny who spoke up and answered his question first. “Can we please bathe separately? I love Jessa and share everything with her, I don’t know if I want to do that.”

“Absolutely, Little Wolf. That’s why I asked, we want to make sure that you are both comfortable and if this is a limit for you then we will plan for bedtime bathing routines separately.”

Destiny smiled at him before turning to her sister.

Eli wished once again that he understood what they were saying to each other non verbally.

Before he knew it, the girls wrapped each other in a hug and it seemed all was okay.

“Okay, my Little ones, Papa is going to help Jessa get cleaned up and in her pajamas in here and I’ll take Destiny into our bathroom and help her there. ”

Jackson nodded his head and stood up, reaching his hand to Jessa. “Do you girls want to wear the pajamas that Des brought with her or would you like to pick out something in the closet that we have for you?”

“You have clothes for us here?” Jessa asked puzzledly.

“We do, Little Bear. Pops and I bought lots of clothes for each of you when we decided that you would be ours.”

“Can we see?” Destiny squeaked out.

“Of course, Babygirl. Come on, Pops will show you your side.” Eli answered, pulling her up from the floor lifting her into his arms. Walking towards her side of the closet, he pulled out a dresser drawer that had all sorts of nightgowns in it.

“Ooooo! Pops, can I wear the orange one? It has Care Bears on it!”

Eli grabbed the nightgown she requested before snagging a pair of training pants and shut the closet. After telling the others that they will be back later, Eli headed to their bathroom.

In the bathroom, Eli turned on the tap to let the tub begin to fill, before reaching for the bottom of Destiny's top. Pausing, Eli met her eyes, “It’s okay Pops, I trust you.” That was all the motivation he needed to strip Destiny of her clothes before helping her into the bath.