Page 8 of Grace's Daddy

I lift the blue crayon. “Tell them your neighbor has invisible crayons, of course. They have to use their imagination. See how well I stay inside the lines?” I point to the sky. “I did this part in blue, except for the clouds, of course.” I move my finger down to the tree. “This part is green. And the flowers are pink.”

His deep rumbling chuckle makes me squeeze my thighs together. His voice does things to me I’ve never experienced. Not in the presence of someone else that is. Butterflies are dancing in my tummy. I’ve felt them before but only when I’ve been alone in my bed with my sexy Daddy books.

Eli looks around and then points to a door across the room. “Is that your office?”

I nod. “It’s boring in there. It’s an adult room.”

“Ah. Creative. Do you wear adult clothes when you go to work?”

“Sort of.” I glance down at myself. “No one sees me, so I can wear whatever I want. But I put on adult clothes when I’m in my office or when I leave the house. Like this. Nothing fancy. Jeans. T-shirts. Boring tennis shoes. I worry I might slip into a more Little headspace if I don’t dress the part and put on a bra and panties.”

I flush as those last words leave my mouth. Why on Earth did I mention my undergarments? Sheesh. I look down, holding my breath.

Eli tucks a finger under my chin and nudges me to raise my head again. “Such a smart girl. I noticed you have a lot of pretty dresses in your closet. I bet you’re adorable in them. No reason to be embarrassed. I’m in awe of how you’ve managed toarrange your life to accommodate both sides of yourself without a caregiver. It must get lonely.”

I shrug. It does, but I’ve never thought much about it. It has never occurred to me that there might be a man out in the world who would want to be with someone like me. I mean I know there are in books, but I’ve never considered such a thing in real life.

On top of that, it wouldn’t have mattered. I’m too shy to go out and look for one. He’d be a needle in a haystack. Apparently there’s a club nearby where I could have gone, but even if I’d known about it, I never would have had the guts to go. That would be way outside of my comfort zone.

“I like you, Grace. I wonder if you’d consider spending some time with me. Maybe you would like me, too.”

I lick my lips. “I like you already,” I murmur.

He smiles. “Good. But you don’t know me well. Let’s fix that, huh? I’m here for two weeks. We could spend evenings together. Get to know each other.”

“I’d like that,” I manage to whisper. This is surreal. In fact, without thinking, I reach with one hand to pinch my other arm hard. “Ouch.”

Eli grabs my fingers in his. “Why did you do that, silly girl?”

Embarrassed, I look down at the red mark on my arm. “To see if I was awake,” I mutter.

“You’re awake, sweet girl. I promise.”

“Where do you go when you’re not here?” I ask. I’m already thinking ahead. In two weeks, he will leave. What if I get attached to him? It’s a silly thought since I’ve only entered into this odd relationship with him a few hours ago, but my mind goes there anyway.

“Have you ever heard of Littleworld?”

I shake my head.

“It’s a trio of amusement parks on an island off the coast. I spend half my time working at the pharmacy on that island and half my time working here in town.”

“Amusement parks? I’ve never seen them advertised.” How could something like that be so close to me, and yet I’ve never heard of it?

“You wouldn’t, Little one. The entire island is private. It’s called Regression Island. It’s strictly for Littles and caregivers. They don’t advertise to the general public. They don’t allow anyone to visit who doesn’t adhere to the specific age-play practices of the island.”

I stare at him. “Wow. I had no idea.”

“Yep. There’s a zoo, a waterpark, and an amusement park. Collectively it’s called Littleworld. Many people live on the island fulltime. Some people go there for vacation. There’s a beach, too. The town itself has everything people need to live there.”

“And you live there half the time?”

“Yep. I’m one of the pharmacists.”

“It sounds amazing. Why would you want to come back here half the time?”

He gives me a huge grin. “How else would I have met you?”

I furrow my brows.