Before I can comfort her, she brings her thumb to her mouth, sucking the digit between her full lips and I can’t help but grin. Naughty Little girl, doesn’t she know that sucking her thumb is bad for her teeth?
Because I do indeed know this, I silently make my way to my suitcase and retrieve the bag I packed just for her. Making sure to move as quietly as possible so as not to wake her, I unzip the bag and pull out a specially designed pacifier. A dentist friend of mine with his own Little one at home created them specifically for Littles like ours, and it’s the only brand anyone on the island uses. This one is white, with a rhinestone sunburst on the front that reminds me of Camilla.
Paci in hand, I slip back over to the bed and gently tug her thumb from her mouth. Her brows crinkle again, and I softly shush her as I slip the pacifier between her lips. As soon as it’s in place, she sucks hard on the rubber tip, and the crease between her brows immediately disappears.
Humming an old, familiar tune, I go through my own bedtime routine before slipping beneath the covers with her, my arm wrapped around her middle as I will myself to sleep.
Three more days, little one. And then you’re mine.
Donovan
Much to my disappointment, Camilla is on her best behavior for the rest of our time at the conference. Every now and then, I catch her making a face or rolling her eyes at a request, but nothing egregious enough for me to take her to task.
Which means that other than the spanking on the plane and our first night at the hotel, she hasn’t given me any reasons to take her over my knee.
I donotapprove.
And I can admit that perhaps the lack of opportunities to punish my naughty girl has left me feeling more unsettled than usual as we dress for our final event of the conference. That, and the fact that more than one man here has made his interest in my assistant very clear. It’s taken every ounce of self-control I have not to snarl at them and stake my claim in front of the entire room whenever it’s happened.
Tonight, however, that all ends. We will go down to the reception, make nice, and then I will whisk my sweet Little girl back to the island where she belongs.
Whether she wants to go or not.
“Camilla,” I call through the closed door. “We’re going to be late.”
“Nobody is ever actually ontimefor these things, Donovan. We can be a few minutes late.”
“Let me rephrase that. If you aren’t ready to go in the next five minutes, you will be attending the reception with a red, plugged bottom.”
A drawn-out silence greets my threat, before I hear her aggravated sigh even through the thick door. “Fine. I’ll be ready.”
My palm physically itches. Once she’s back on the island, any response other than “Yes, Daddy” or “No, Daddy” will get her bottom warmed immediately.
Just a few more hours, and she’s all mine.
I cling to that knowledge as I finish fixing the tie on my tux while I wait for her. And when the bathroom door finally opens, I turn to tell her again we need to get going, but the words die on my tongue.
She’s a fucking vision. The dress she’s wearing covers her from neck to ankle, with shimmering sleeves that extend to her wrists. Yet, somehow, even though she’s completely covered, the effect is impossibly alluring, hinting at the curves beneath.
And when she walks, the skirt of the dress splits in half, revealing the creamy expanse of her leg all the way up to her thigh. Again, just a hint of the luscious body hidden beneath the bold red fabric, but it’s enough to have my mouth watering.
It isn’t until she shifts again, her cheeks turning the same color as the dress as she nibbles at her bottom lip that I realize I’m staring. “Do I look okay?”
Okay? She’s stunning, a goddess come to mingle with us mere mortals, which is saying something considering she’s about to walk into a room full of men and women who consider themselves gods in their own right. But not one of them can hold a candle to my Little girl, no matter how many lives they’ve saved.
“No, you don’t look okay.” Her face falls and I step forward, bringing my hand to her cheek and nudging her head up so she’sforced to meet my gaze. “You look like all of my wildest fantasies brought to life.”
Eyes wide, she stares up at me, inhaling sharply as her pupils darken with need. “You don’t mean that,” she whispers, her voice trembling.
“I do. You’re a vision, Camilla. And I’m pretty fucking tempted to keep you chained to that bed the rest of the night so nobody else gets to see you like this.”
Another of those sharp little inhales. “Why? I’m not—we’renot?—”
With an aching slowness that threatens to unravel my control, I lower my head until our lips are just a breath apart. “We have a lot to talk about, you and I. But it will have to wait until tomorrow. Tonight, you are unfortunately still my employee, at least for a few more hours.”
Straightening, I take her hand and place it in the crook of my elbow, and I flash her a dazzling smile. “It’s a good thing this is a convention full of doctors.”
“Why?”
