Total pages in book: 248
Estimated words: 236036 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1180(@200wpm)___ 944(@250wpm)___ 787(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 236036 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1180(@200wpm)___ 944(@250wpm)___ 787(@300wpm)
He stifled a groan. Who was he kidding? If he wasn’t careful, this Little wildfire would burn past his defenses and straight into his heart, leaving nothing but ash when she moved on.
Sage helped Rose adjust her glittery crown, then slipped on her own darker tiara as if they were real undersea royalty. Long and flowing fabric swirled around her legs, and Grady had to force his eyes away from the way it clung to her legs and ass.
“Today we are mermaid princesses doing our lessons,” Sage announced cheerfully. “Mermaid princesses are very smart, so we have to do our letters and numbers extra well.”
Rose nodded solemnly, but her little face was lit up like fireworks on the Fourth of July. Everything in him wanted to forget about the ranch and join in their fun.
I’ll bet they have room for King Poseidon.
Oh, for fuck’s sake.
Grady’s jaw clenched so hard he didn’t think he’d ever be able to pry it back open. He was there to make sure the woman he’d hired was doing her job, not to get caught up in Little play. No matter how much the fucking Daddy inside him wanted that very thing.
He pried his arms away from his chest and held up his hands. “Sorry, ladies. I’ve still got work to do.” Their faces fell at his words. Yeah, he was the biggest fucking asshole on the planet.
Grady checked in several times over the next couple of hours. Once they were coloring letters, another time they were counting starfish stickers, and then playing learning games. Sage turned everything into a song or story, pretending Rose had answered even when she stayed quiet.
But each time he stopped in to check, Rose was participating more. Pointing. Choosing. Even giving the tiniest little nods.
Each time he watched from a distance, not wanting to break the mood that had Rose so responsive. Eventually, Sage caught his eye. Her tender gaze lasered straight to his heart before heading further south. What was it about this woman?
With a lift of his chin, he beat a hasty retreat to the kitchen. With Sage working so hard, the least he could do was take care of lunch.
Thirty minutes later, he returned to the family room, a picnic basket full of goodies in hand, and waited until Sage looked at him. The second their eyes met, her face brightened, and that familiar blush tinted her cheeks an adorable pink.
Would her cheeks have that same blush when she came on his mouth as he licked up every drop of her sweet cream?
What the hell?
Now was not the right time for that kind of thinking. There was no right time for that kind of thinking.
His cock, however, didn’t agree. By the way it throbbed, his cock wanted to find out the answer to his question. Fortunately, his cock wasn’t in charge because he wasn’t sure his heart would be able to take it.
Grady cleared his throat, trying to sound as gruff as possible. “Lunch.”
He stepped into the Pillow Palace without waiting for an invitation and set the big wicker picnic basket down. Sage’s eyes locked on him as he opened it.
For himself, the sandwiches were simple, the same thick ham and cheese on good, sturdy bread he ate most days. But for Sage and Rose? For them, he’d gone all out.
He’d cut their sandwiches into seashell and starfish shapes, as any decent Daddy would do. They were mermaids, after all. He’d also cut star-shaped watermelon slices and included multi-colored goldfish crackers.
He’d even poured blue “ocean punch” with floating blueberries into two small bottles with striped straws. Rose clapped her hands and bounced up and down on the blankets, thrilled by the treats Grady had provided.
With no hesitation, Sage joined in Rose’s celebration, every bit as excited. Laughing, her blue eyes sparkling, she unashamedly threw herself into a rousing chorus of “Under the Sea,” while Rose silently mouthed the words.
And Grady had almost missed all this. He’d come a hair’s breadth from heading back out to the barn.
Sage kept catching his eye and smiling at him, like she was so proud of him for being there. It would have irritated him, but that brilliant smile held nothing back. He couldn’t even pretend to be upset. It was all he could do not to shuffle his feet like a damn teenager on his first date.
Scratching the back of his neck, he pointed to the food. “Well, go ahead. Lunch isn’t going to eat itself.”
“That’s true. But it looks too pretty to eat. What do you think, Rosie-girl? Should we eat these treasures, or admire them?”
“I think you’ll find eating them would be a wiser choice,” Grady said.
“Hmm, I need to think about it.” In typical Little fashion, Sage tapped a finger to her chin before taking a long drink of her punch. “This is delicious. You should have some punch, Daddy.”