Page 13 of Rekindling Little River (Littles of Rawhide Ranch #14)

River

Ugh, had Dave, er, Daddy left the lights on?

River kept their eyes closed as they attempted to stretch, not wanting to sear a hole into their retinas with light already shining so brightly through their eyelids.

As they tried raising their arms, one bumped into a solid object.

That was the moment they realized their cheek wasn’t resting on a pillow.

While much more comfortable, the object their head lay on was much firmer than any pillow they had, and it was warmer, too.

Curiosity overrode their worry about their future ability to see, and River cracked an eyelid to find that the bright light was not from bulbs inside the room, but the sun shining through open curtains.

They’d slept all night for the first time in longer than they could remember.

They looked to where their head had rested and found that they most definitely had not been sleeping on a pillow, but a firm chest covered in a dress shirt.

River let their eyes roam over the other occupant of the bed to find him dressed in the same clothes as last night, positioned atop the blankets and even still wearing his shoes.

Apparently, Dave had fallen asleep without meaning to.

They wondered if his presence had anything to do with them getting more sleep but before they could think more on it the corners of Dave’s mouth turned up in a smile and his sleep-graveled voice said, “I can feel you staring, little one.”

River’s cheeks heated at being called out but they didn’t apologize. They weren’t sorry for taking the time to study their new Daddy, after all. “You’re still here,” they said instead.

“Mmhmm.” He stretched his arms out much like River had been trying to do when they discovered him still in their bed. “So I am. I must have fallen asleep.” He finally opened his icy-blue eyes and pinned River with a look they couldn’t decipher. “Does that upset you?”

Did it? It probably should, but they couldn’t find a single part of themself that had a problem with sleeping wrapped up in Dave’s strong, capable arms. They reached up and cupped his cheek to make sure that he was listening closely. “I know we didn’t discuss it, but I’m not at all upset by this.”

Dave brushed back a few strands of hair that had come loose from their braid and sat up to place a chaste kiss on their forehead. “Good. I was hoping to run something by you that I was thinking about last night when you latched on to me and wouldn’t let me go.”

Oh gods, that was so embarrassing. They couldn’t say they were particularly surprised; they’d been told more times than they could count that they were clingy and needy.

It made sense in a sad and pathetic way.

But when they groaned and tried to bury their face in their hands, Dave gently grasped their wrists and pulled them down to look them in the eyes.

“I liked it,” he assured them. “I more than liked it.”

River could see nothing in their gaze but honesty and they relaxed just a bit.

“I especially liked that I slept all night for the first time in years while holding you.”

This time when River blushed, it wasn’t in mortification. No, this blush was a direct result of the warmth flooding through their insides at the idea that they could have given Dave something he needed.

“I’d like to bring some things to your room.

I’ll keep stuff in mine and if you need space at any point I will give it to you.

It isn’t about sex either, but I’d like to spend as much of this week by your side as I can and, at least subconsciously, I think you feel the same. Would you be okay with that?”

River couldn’t disagree. It had only been one full day, and already they were dreading getting back to the real world.

They hadn’t talked about what would happen when they headed home, but for now, River wanted to pretend that wasn’t an inevitability and just enjoy the moment.

So, River agreed to the suggestion and headed for the shower while Dave went to gather some things to bring over.

Dave

Dave rushed through his room, gathering up some things and changing clothes.

He was eager to get back to his Little one.

He had plans for the day. Dave knew that River struggled to immerse themself fully into Little space, and he desperately hoped he could provide the security needed for River to let their Little out.

That was Dave’s main goal. To be the security River required to be able to give themself what they needed: Time spent immersed completely in Little space.

Dave had several ideas on things that could help his Little one. He just needed a bit of time and some help getting everything together. With that in mind, Dave picked up the phone and pressed the button to connect him with the Ranch Shop.

“Gift shop,” a pleasant and cheery voice greeted him. “This is Becky, how can I help you?”

“Can I have things delivered to my room?”

“You certainly can.”

“Even if I’m not there when it’s delivered?”

There was a long pause before Becky answered, but when she finally did, he let out a sigh of relief and gave Becky a list of all the things he needed and his room number. Then, gathering up the things he was taking with him, he headed back to River’s room to take care of his babysaurus.

He let himself in with the key River had given him and stopped in his tracks, quickly closing the door behind him.

Sure, he’d seen River mostly naked last night, but he’d prepared himself for that.

Nothing had prepared him for the sight of River bent over, digging in a drawer, in nothing but a towel.

Droplets of water ran down the backs of their thighs and Dave wanted nothing more than to lick them up.

He closed his eyes against the tempting view and took a deep breath to clear his suddenly foggy head.

He couldn’t do much about the fact that all of his body’s blood flow had detoured to his cock, but he was able to subtly adjust so the evidence of his arousal in his suddenly tight jeans was less… obvious.

“What are you looking for, babysaurus?” His words came out much less strangled than he expected so he counted that as a win.

“I don’t know what to wear today.”

This was something he could absolutely help with. “Let Daddy have a look. I’ll pick out something amazing for you.”

With a small smile River stepped aside and Dave took their place, rummaging through the available options until he found an outfit that not only reflected the Little beside him, but would be perfect for all the plans he had for the day.

When he showed the outfit to River, they clapped their hands and bounced on their toes, letting Dave know he’d done well. He just hoped they would be as excited for the things he’d ordered.

It didn’t take long to get River into the blue shorts with multicolored dinosaur footprints all over them, a pair of matching blue leggings and blue t-shirt, and two braids in their hair with little bows that matched the color of the shorts attached to the ends.

They looked absolutely adorable and Dave couldn’t wait to spend the day with them.