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Chapter Fifteen

Natalie

The one good thing about being tortured all day is it makes for a great night of sleep. So much so that I don’t even have time to think about sneaking out of bed to do more snooping, which is probably for the best, all things considered.

Luckily, the following day isn’t all that bad. Daddy wakes me up and, as expected, forces me to use my diaper before changing me and getting me dressed. We spend most of the day in the library, with me lounging on a window seat, soaking in the sunlight as I read and nap the day away.

A girl could get used to this life, even with all the baby stuff.

It isn’t until well into the afternoon that I start to suspect my easy, breezy day is about to come to a rather dramatic end.

Setting his book aside, Daddy rises from his armchair, the one he dragged over to the window so he could “keep an eye on me” as he put it, though the romantic inside me secretly hopes it’s just because he wanted to be closer to me.

“Come on, kitten. Papa has run you a bath.”

Without looking up from my book, I shake my head. “I don’t need a bath. We didn’t do anything today.”

“We’re having company for dinner, so yes, you do need a bath.”

My book disappears from my hands and I pout up at him. “I was reading that!”

“And it will be right here for you to finish tomorrow.” Bending down, he scoops me up in his arms in that effortless way he has, and my heart flutters wildly in my chest. “Tonight is about family.”

“You mean the uncles and Auntie Cat.” Already, my mind is going a mile a minute, trying to figure out what they might have planned for me.

“Yes. And their Little ones, Victoria, Juliet, and Isabella.”

“Like a playdate?”

A smile tugs at his lips. “Not tonight, but we’ll be sure to have them over soon, I promise.”

“Oh. Then what’s going on?”

One eyebrow raising, he looks down at me as he carries me up the stairs to my nursery. “Your curiosity is going to get you in trouble one of these days.”

“Yeah, I might get held hostage on an island with a bunch of kinky billionaires and turned into some mob boss’s baby. Oh, wait.”

His laughter rings out in the bathroom as he sets me on my feet. “Your sarcasm is definitely going to get you in trouble, especially with your uncles.”

“You like my sarcasm.”

Reaching between my legs, he unsnaps the onesie he insisted I wear today, and pulls it over my head.

“I do. But keep in mind I won’t always be around.

There will be times you’ll be with just one of your uncles or your Auntie Cat.

And if they decide you stepped over the line into disrespect, they will spank that adorable bottom.

And if that happens, I’ll be forced to spank you again when you get home. ”

“Well, that hardly seems fair. If it’s okay with you it should be okay with them.”

He pins me with a stern expression as he pulls my diaper from me, leaving me completely bare in front of him. “That isn’t how it works, kitten. When you’re with another adult, you follow their rules or you’ll be punished.”

“I don’t think I should be punished just because my uncles all had their sense of humor surgically removed.”

“Perhaps not. But that’s the way it is, so if you want to avoid a double punishment all you have to do is behave.”

Once again picking me up as though I weigh nothing, he places me in the warm water. The bubbles are blue today, and they make me smile for a moment before I remember I’m supposed to be arguing with him. “But it’s not fair.”

“Those are the rules, kitten, and arguing with me about them isn’t going to change anything.”

“Stupid rules,” I mutter, sliding deeper into the fragrant water.

“Natalie.”

My name is both a sigh and a warning and my cheeks heat in a way that has nothing to do with the warmth of my bath. “Sorry, Daddy.”

“That’s my good little kitten. Do you want to play for a bit? We have some time before we have to get you dressed.”

“I guess.”

Opening a large box beside the tub, he grins as he reaches inside. “Your Papa is going to spoil you rotten.”

Before I can ask what he means, he dumps a whole family of sharks into the water with me. An excited squeal slips from my lips before I can even think to stop it. “Sharks!”

And for a while, I really am a Little girl again, making my new shark friends chase each other around the blue water while Daddy scrubs every inch of me clean. Every inch, including inside my bottom hole again, despite my protests.

When I’m squeaky-clean, he wraps me in a towel and carries me into my cavernous closet. “I picked out something special for you tonight, kitten.”

Pausing in front of my “special occasion” dresses, he reaches up. And despite my earlier assertions that I didn’t want to wear anything so nice, I gasp at the pretty black dress covered with silver sparkles.

“Oh! It’s so pretty!”

“I thought you might like it,” he says with a chuckle. “My little princess of the dark.”

“I’m not dark, I just don’t like bright colors.”

“I like that darkness in you, kitten. It matches my own.”

Why that statement should have my heart doing a slow roll in my chest like he just made some grand declaration of love, I’m not sure. But it does and there’s no denying that this dangerous man does actually make me feel something.

Since I’m still not sure exactly what that something is, I don’t bother to respond as he carries me back to the bedroom to dress me and curl my hair.

An hour later, I’m standing in front of a full-length mirror, spinning in circles just for the simple joy of watching my fluffy skirt twirl.

I’ve never liked any dress this much, even the ones I wore on the red carpet, but there’s something about the way it flounces when I move that I can’t help but love.

“One last thing, kitten.”

Daddy appears in the reflection behind me and I watch as he drapes a small locket with a fancy “N” engraved on the front around my neck.

“All of our Little ones wear lockets like this. I will take it off every night and put it on every morning. If I ever catch you without it, you will be a very sorry Little girl. Am I understood?”

“Yes, Daddy.” I’m not really sure why he’s being so strict about this particular issue but if he wants me to wear the locket then I’ll wear it. No big.

“Good girl.” In the mirror, he smiles, the gesture crinkling his scar a bit as he runs his hands down my arms. “My beautiful Little girl. Time to go meet the family.”

Taking my hand in his, he leads me downstairs to a room I’ve seen in passing but haven’t spent any time in.

The parlor, I think he called it, is decorated in those same white and earth tones as the rest of the house.

Auntie Cat is perched on the arm of a couch beside a rather severe-looking man with dark hair and even darker eyes.

Maxwell Stone, the billionaire CEO who took an extended leave of absence around the same time one of his employees mysteriously went missing.

On the couch beside him is another man with equally dark hair but not quite as stern-looking. It takes me a moment to recognize him as Gideon Drake, one of Maxwell’s oldest friends. At their feet are two women dressed just like me, playing with dolls in dresses that match their own.

When we enter, Maxwell looks over at us, and it takes everything in me not to squirm under his stern gaze. “So. This is our naughty little Natalie.”

“Oh, hush, Maxwell.” Rising from the couch, Auntie Cat grins as she takes my hand and twirls me in a circle just like I did upstairs. “Look at this darling Little girl. She isn’t half as naughty as you all want her to be.”

Her words give me a boost of confidence and I return her smile. “They’re just mad a woman got the best of them.”

Head thrown back, Auntie Cat lets out a loud laugh. “You aren’t entirely wrong, little one. The men are all very much put out that you got past their security so easily.”

Maxwell frowns. “The only reason she got as far as she did was because Evander allowed it.”

“True, but the only reason she got anywhere at all is because she’s incredibly clever.” Leaning down, Auntie Cat taps a fingertip on my nose. “Aren’t you, sweet girl?”

I see no reason to deny it. “Yes, Auntie Cat.”

Behind me, Daddy chuckles. “She is a very clever, very curious little kitten.”

“That she is.” Pushing up from the couch, Maxwell approaches me, and even though he isn’t actively glaring at me, my stomach twists itself into a knot. “I’m your Uncle Max, little one. And this is my Little girl, Victoria.”

He gestures to a woman dressed just like me, only in pink and with a matching tiara tucked into her dark curls. Looking up from where she’s playing with her friend, she smiles widely and jumps to her feet, rushing over to throw her arms around me.

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry, Izzy and I were so wrapped up in our game I didn’t even see you come in! I love your dress, it’s so pretty with all the sparkles on it! Daddy, can I have a sparkly dress like this one?”

My head is spinning a bit by the time she looks up at Uncle Max, her bottom lip pushing out in a pout so profound you could land a plane on it.

And to my continued shock, everything about Maxwell Stone seems to melt at that pout. “You have plenty of dresses, little thief.”

Little thief? What’s that about? I don’t remember anything about her stealing anything. That honor, to my understanding, went to Juliet. Rumors had been swirling about her sticky fingers for months before she disappeared from the social scene.

“But not like this . Please, Daddy?”

Uncle Max sighs in a way that says Victoria is about to get whatever she wants. “We’ll pay Solene a visit this week and see what she can do.”

“Thank you, Daddy!”

The other man rises from the couch to scoop Isabella up into his arms. His voice is much softer, gentler than Uncle Max’s when he speaks. “Say hello to your new friend, little doll.”

Isabella smiles shyly and waves from her Daddy’s arms. “Hello. I’m Izzy. Um, Isabella, actually, but the others all call me Izzy.”

“And I’m your Uncle Gideon,” her Daddy says with a smile of his own that’s much more welcoming than Uncle Max’s stern expression. “It’s lovely to meet you, little Natalie, even if your arrival did create quite a stir here on the island.”

“In my defense, I didn’t know exactly what I was getting into when I got on that boat. I just wanted to find Juliet.”

“Did someone invoke my name?”

Turning, I lock eyes with Juliet Blackwood, her blonde hair in perfect loose curls around her face and a dress very similar to the ones the other Littles and I are all wearing.

Only hers is a gorgeous shade of deep purple and the stones in her tiara match it perfectly.

She looks as royal as she’s always thought herself to be, and some mean, bitter part of me wants nothing more than to see her brought to her knees.

The realization doesn’t sit well in my stomach. Is that the real reason I put so much effort into figuring out where she’s been hiding all this time? Because I’m, what, jealous of her wealth, her beauty, her status? Because I’m small and petty enough to want to see her ruined?

Pushing those nasty thoughts aside, I force a smile for her and Jasper, who is planted right behind her, one hand on her shoulder in a gesture so sweetly protective it makes my chest ache a bit to see it.

“Sorry. I was just saying that I didn’t really know what the island was all about, I was just looking for you.”

One pale eyebrow arches regally. “For your tabloid story.”

Temper sparks in my chest. “I don’t write for a tabloid.”

“Of course not.” Waving a dismissive hand, she lets out a short laugh of pure derision. “Just for a gossip column in a magazine nobody even reads anymore. Your parents must be so proud. After all, they made sure you got into the best state school they could afford, didn’t they?”

A hand comes to rest on my own shoulder, squeezing gently. “Enough, Juliet.”

I am not without my own protection it seems, and my heart stutters a bit at the realization.

The corner of Jasper’s mouth pulls back in a sneering sort of smirk. “So your Little girl is allowed to call me an asshole, but my Juliet can’t point out a simple truth?”

“Natalie was punished for her rudeness. And there is a difference between impertinence and cruelty. I will not allow my Little girl to be treated cruelly, especially in her own home.”

Before Jasper can respond, Uncle Max steps between them, his expression unreadable. “I’m calling a timeout on this conversation. Evander, why don’t you have Lucas take the girls somewhere to play for a bit while we talk this out.”

Crossing my arms, I glare up at him. “I’m not going anywhere. You want to talk about me, you can say whatever it is you want to say to my face.”

Uncle Max’s eyes narrow slightly and I instinctively take a step back, but my progress is blocked by the brick wall that is my Daddy. I’m not convinced Daddy would actually let someone else spank me, but I do know for absolute certain I don’t want to test that theory on the man in front of me.

I’m saved from that stern expression when Daddy gently forces me to turn around. He crouches a bit so we’re eye to eye, his expression serious but not severe like Uncle Max’s. “I’m going to talk to your uncles and Auntie Cat for a bit. Can you trust me to protect you, even when you’re not with me?”

Up until this point, I’ve put my trust in him in ways I never could have imagined. I trust him not to kill me, to harm me. But trusting him enough to leave the room while everyone talks about me?

That’s a level of trust I don’t think I’ve ever had in any other human being. Ironic, given my career choice, but the thought of anyone gossiping about me makes my stomach churn.

“What if I say no?”

“Then you can stay,” Daddy says simply, earning him a sigh from Uncle Max and a scoffing laugh from Jasper.

“See? This is what I was talking about Maxwell. No discipline.”

“Don’t be an ass, Jasper,” Auntie Cat snaps.

Ignoring all of them, Daddy cups my cheek in one large, rough hand. “What are you afraid will happen if you go, kitten?”

To my utter humiliation, tears sting my eyes at the simple question. “I just don’t want everyone talking about me behind my back.”

“Ah. I see. What if I promise that nobody will be allowed to say anything mean about you?”

“Can you really promise that?”

“I’ve cut out tongues for far less, little one.”

From the corner of my eye, I can see Jasper raise a hand to his mouth, as if protecting his tongue and I can’t help but giggle. “Okay, Daddy. I trust you.”

“That’s my good girl. Let’s go find your Papa so you and your friends can go play for a bit while the grownups talk.”