“Auntie Cat!” Squealing with absolute delight, she wriggles out of the man’s arms and throws herself at Catharina.
At my Mommy.
Catharina drops my hand to catch her, scooping Victoria up with an ease that has my stomach dropping to the floor as she settles the other woman on her hip exactly like one might a toddler. “There’s my sweet girl!”
Hersweet girl? What the hell am I, chopped liver?
My stomach is still churning with those ugly feelings when Catharina turns to me, and maybe it’s my imagination but I swear her smile changes when she locks eyes with me. “Victoria, I want you to meet Alexis. My Little girl.”
Okay, I’m definitely not imagining that note of pride in her voice, at least I don’tthinkI am. Determined to prove I’m deserving of such esteem, I plaster a bright smile on my face. “Hi, Victoria. Nice to meet you.”
“What a polite Little girl you are, Alexis.” The deep drawl of the man’s voice pulls my attention away from Victoria and I beam up at him. Bending at the waist, he holds a hand out, shaking mine with a solemnity that has a giggle rising in mythroat. “Your Mommy must be so proud of you, little one. I’m your Uncle Max, and I am very, very happy to meet you.”
Still holding Victoria on one hip, Catharina runs a hand over my hair, giving my ponytail a playful tug. “I am indeed very proud of you, little imp. Come, let’s go to the parlor. I’ll have Gavin bring us some of those lemon bars our Tori likes so much and fresh milk to celebrate.”
Ugh, lemon bars. Ihatelemon. But I also don’t want to cause any problems, not with Victoria beaming at my Mommy like she hung the freaking moon. So I follow along, allowing myself to be led to the most stunning room I’ve ever laid eyes on. Two long, deep couches encased in rich leather face each other, with several mismatched armchairs scattered around, forming a loose circle. It’s… surprisingly welcoming, for being the home of such a ruthless woman. As if it was designed for a very large family to come and sit and spend quality time together.
Then again, from the way she speaks of my new “uncles” and their Little girls, perhaps that’s exactly what she had in mind.
I don't want to feel the spark of affection in my chest this thought brings with it, so I do my best to smother it as Catharina bends down to place Victoria on her feet in the middle of the room. “You know where the toys are, sweet girl. Why don’t you show Alexis and you two can play while your Daddy and I chat?”
“Okay, Auntie Cat!” With a wide grin that absolutelyhasto be fake because nobody is actually that chipper, Victoria grabs my hand and drags me over to a neat stack of dolls and other children’s toys.
She reaches for one, then pulls her hand back, her smile turning sheepish. “Sorry. This is your house now, so you should get to pick first. Which doll do you want?”
Maybe it’s petty of me—no, Iknowit’s petty, and maybe even a little bit mean, but I reach for the doll she’d clearly wanted. “This one is so pretty! She looks just like you.”
It’s true, in so much the doll has similar dark curls and brown eyes, though the similarity ends there. Still, the comparison has Victoria’s smile widening. “Thank you, that’s so nice! Ummm, I think I’ll play with this one.” She reaches for a red headed doll with her hair in lopsided pigtails. “She’s not as pretty as you and we’re not as good at doing hair as Auntie Cat, but I love her. She’s one of my favorites.”
Dammit. I’m actually starting to feel a little guilty for my uncharitable thoughts toward her. Catharina is right, she really is sweet, so sweet I’m a bit worried I might get a cavity just from being near her.
Is this the kind of Little girl Catharina would prefer? One who is all sweetness and light instead of… me?
With those unsettling thoughts running through my mind, I settle in with my new “friend” to play with our dolls and Victoria glances over her shoulder at Catharina and Uncle Max before returning her focus to me. And when she speaks, it’s not with the high-pitched, childlike voice she’s used so far, but a much more grown-up tone. “So… how did you get here?”
Chapter Eight
Alexis
Unsure of what Victoria means, I shrug at her question. “A plane.”
A giggle slips past her lips as she shakes her head. “No, silly. I mean like, did Auntie Cat kidnap you? Blackmail you? It was blackmail for me. I did something really naughty and Daddy threatened to send me to prison if I didn’t come to the island with him. So, how did she get you?”
For a moment, I can only stare at her as she carefully pulls the ribbons from her doll's hair and runs a small brush through the poofy curls. “Um. She tricked me, I guess is the best way to put it. Told me she was sending me on an all-expenses-paid vacation. Then I got on the plane and she was there and… now I’m here.”
“Man, that’s quite the bait and switch,” Victoria says with another giggle. “Did she spank you? Auntie Cat spankshard. Sometimes even harder than my Daddy, but if you tell him that I will deny every word of it. I do not need him thinking he needs to be any stricter.”
This conversation is the definition of surreal, but it does help to ease the knots of jealousy in my stomach as I bob my head up and down frantically. “Yes! She spanked me, and then washed my mouth out and spanked me some more, and that was all before the plane took off!”
“Did she use her brush? Ihatethat brush.”
“She did. It’s the worst.” Well, I don’t reallyknowit’s the worst since I’ve never been spanked with anything else, but judging by the way Victoria nods in response, I’m not too far off.
“It really is. Or at least, it’s pretty close. Daddy’s used his belt on me a few times and that’sreallythe worst so I do everything I can to avoid that.”
“A belt? Really? That sounds awful.” And yet, despite having just been pleasured, my pussy throbs at the prospect of being bent over and whipped with Mommy’s belt. Does she even wear belts?
My body doesn’t seem to care about the logistics, just the fantasy, leaving me to wonder what’s wrong with me while Victoria chatters away about life on the island. The more she talks, the more the knots in my stomach unravel. Sheisreally nice, it turns out, and it’s not her fault I’m not as pretty as she is, or that I’m too big for my Mommy to pick me up and hold her the way she does Victoria.
