“High,” the others answered.
Lily watched in awe as Talia then counted to three. At three, each woman held out fingers from one to five. Only Hollister held out all five. The others held out either four or three, except Emory who held out one.
Hollister nodded then patted Lily’s arm. “Just follow me and do what I do, and you’ll be fine.”
Lily nodded but wasn’t sure what to expect as she hadn’t played these kinds of games since elementary school. When Hollister turned and started skipping toward what looked like an adult-size jungle gym, Lily followed, stumbling as she skipped because she was out of practice.
When the other woman began to climb the ladder that led up to the slide, she followed a couple steps behind, smiling when she reached the top and then slid down. Hollister was waiting at the bottom, and they then moved out of the way to wait for the rest of the Littles to come down the slide.
By the time the Daddies called for an end to the game, Lily’s face hurt from all the giggling and smiling she’d been doing. Sailor led her to the hand-washing fountain near the entrance of the playground and helped her get cleaned up, just as the other Daddies were helping their Littles.
“Have fun?” he asked softly as he pulled a bandana out and wiped her hands dry.
“Uh-huh. It was so much fun,” Lily gushed as she bounced in place. “I think they liked me. So you don’t have to tell their Daddies to spank them.”
Sailor chuckled as he pulled her in for a hug before dropping a kiss on her head. “Are you sure? Because I think some of them don’t get spanked nearly enough.”
Lily giggled and nodded. “I’m sure.”
Sailor was very happy to see Lily making friends. They still needed to talk about the rules and limits for the resident Littles, as well as his rules for her. From observing the other Daddies, he’d learned that Little girls functioned best under strong guidelines. While they had been mated for several days, he had yet to outline the boundaries that would guide her life from now on.
Though he still had a feeling she was holding something back, she was fitting in so well that he didn’t want to hurt the Littles by challenging her to share her past with them. Instead he would have to continue waiting and watching.
CHAPTER 12
“Papa, it’s too early,” Lily complained as Sailor carried her from the apartment a few days later. Dropping her head to his shoulder, she closed her eyes and relaxed, knowing he would never drop her.
“I’m sorry, little flower, but Papa has to go back to work today. You’re going to spend the day with Hollister and Sullivan and the animals,” Sailor said softly before brushing a kiss on her temple.
“Yay,” she breathed as the cool early morning air wrapped around them as they left the dormitory.
Lily’s life at Bratburg had fallen into a comfortable routine of sleeping late in the mornings and then coloring or playing at the apartment or walking in the woods in the morning. This allowed Sailor the near solitude he’d enjoyed before her arrival to Bratburg.
After eating lunch in the apartment, she would lay down for a nap. After that, she would join the other Littles for playdates and movies and various other activities followed by dinner in the dining hall. Since there were currently no trainees, the Littles pushed tables together and ate as a rowdy, noisy giggle while their Daddies watched from tables nearby.
Evenings included a bath and new bath toys before snuggling in bed while Papa read to her from the book of fairy tales he’d gotten from somewhere.
While moving around Bratburg, Lily kept watch, searching for infractions of health and safety laws, unhappy residents, or any other negative issues that she could report to the governor.
Her problem was that there was nothing negative to report. The Littles were happy, cheerful, and obviously loved their Daddies with their entire beings. The men—while some were grumpier than others—watched over all the Littles and kept them safe and out of trouble, for the most part. She witnessed small pranks but nothing dangerous or so offensive as to close Bratburg Institute down.
Even if the governor did manage to shut the place down, Lily had a feeling the residents would not scatter as the man might hope. They were an extended family who loved each other, and she was growing to love them as well.
She would have a hard time leaving everyone, but especially Sailor, which stunned her. She had not come to Bratburg to fall in love, but that’s what was happening. She’d also learned to relax and release her Little side, allowing her Papa to make most decisions. She was having a hard time even thinking about returning to the capital and her job in another six days.
When the air turned warm again, Lily opened her eyes and looked around, squinting against the bright light. They’d just entered the dining hall.
“Do you want to choose breakfast or do you want Papa to fix your plate?” he asked as he set her down on a chair.
“Pancakes and chocolate,” she said before folding her arms on the table and laying her head down.
“Excuse me?” Papa’s voice turned hard.
Sitting up and opening her eyes, she blinked and studied Sailor’s face for a moment. Obviously her answer was not what he’d been looking for.
She swallowed hard before trying again. “I’d like pancakes and hot chocolate, Papa. And crunchy bacon, please.”
Sailor nodded as he stroked a hand over her hair. “Better, little flower. Stay here, and I’ll go get the food.”
