Defiantly, another one said, “Can too. I spy something grumpy.”
In my periphery, I saw one of them point at me.
“It’s him! He’s the grumpy thing.”
Erika’s head popped up from the paper she was reading. “That’s not polite. Do you need me to get Master Derek?”
Letting Erika know I wasn’t offended, I saw my chance for a way out and pointed at Phoenix. “He’s the grumpy one. I was just preoccupied because a work thing from my day job came up and I need to?—”
Another cold breeze whipped through the reception area.
An adorable hot mess scurried in, her arms full, her hair windswept, and her cheeks flushed.
Our eyes met for a fleeting moment.
She needed me.
And as quickly as the communication passed between us, she diverted her gaze to a chair and sat.
I’d seen a lot of things in people’s eyes—irritation, deception, pride—but never a need like that. Never so much innocence. Never a connection that made my cock instantly harden.
But the innocence…. How old was she? Too young to be at a kink camp. Too young for me to think about how much fun we could have.
Before I understood what was happening, I was at her side. “Can I help you?”
“I just need a minute to regroup.” The gentle beauty waved me away and fussed with her belongings.
Everest coughed, making it known in a brotherly-love kind of way that he enjoyed watching me get blown off.
“I can get you checked in as soon as you’re ready,” Erika said, then motioned for me to back away.
Retreating to the counter where I could look official seemed like a good move until Erika addressed me. “You were saying something about your day job… do you need to leave?”
Fuck! Think fast.
“I need to leave when our contracted time is over. Won’t be able to sign on for another round.”
“Oh, okay, it sounded urgent.”
Screams erupted from the Littles. “She ruined the book.”
One of the Littles was standing squarely in front of my gentle beauty, pointing at the newcomer’s book. “She bent the pages. She needs a timeout.”
“That’s no way to welcome a new guest,” Erika said and rushed past me, creating space between the Littles and the woman I felt compelled to protect. Great fucking job I was doing.
Everest and Phoenix helped Erika by distracting the Littles while I stared, captivated by the young woman who was gripping the book she’d dog-eared nearly to death. Must be good. I tried to notice the title, but her hands were in the way.
After a brief inaudible conversation, the woman handed the book to Erika, who smiled as she turned it toward the Littles. “Penny’s not ruining the book. She’s turning it into art. Would you like her to explain it to you?”
Penny?My stepsister? No way. I stepped forward, swallowing the lump in my throat. Erika turned the book toward me, but that’s not why I was moving closer. I had to know if I’d heard right.
Penny shook her head in response to Erika’s question then craned her neck to look up at me.
“You’re Penny?” I would have felt better confirming her last name was Bowling but didn’t want to raise suspicions.
“Yes.” The softness of her voice drew me in even closer. This gentle woman needed someone like me to protect her. What the hell was she doing at Rawhide Ranch? And how could I cancel all of her activities to keep her to myself?
The connection was there again for the brief moment she allowed eye contact, taking away what tiny bit of doubt I’d had about having hallucinated our instant connection.
