Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen

F ive days later …

Addie was so excited. Today, her Daddy and Doc had finally cleared her to resume all regular activities. Her week in bed had been fun, considering how many toys and games her Daddy had pampered her with, but she’d grown antsy and had wanted to get up and get back to her life.

Although she had missed several classes, she had kept up with her assignments, communicated regularly with her two professors, and felt confident she was on track.

Tonight, Daddy was finally letting her join the other Littles in the common room for a movie night. He’d even made popcorn and hot chocolate to make up for the first night she’d joined the Littles when they’d all gotten into trouble and missed out on the snacks.

The Littles had piled up dozens of pillows and blankets in front of the giant television, and they all sat in a circle, sipping hot cocoa while Bear and several of the other Daddies set up the movie they had requested.

“I’m kind of picturing a popcorn fight,” Elizabeth whispered.

Talon turned from the television, stomped over to the Littles, set his hand on his hips, and gave them all a narrow-eyed glare. “No popcorn fights.”

Elizabeth gave a fake groan. “You’re no fun.”

“I mean it. Any of that popcorn that isn’t in the bowls or your tummies after the movie will be picked up by your toes one kernel at a time until every last piece is in the trashcan.”

Addie fought the urge to giggle at the visual.

Elizabeth flopped onto her side dramatically. “Daddy, that would take forever. Our toes?”

Bear joined him. “That’s an excellent punishment. No hands. You girls can waddle around in here, picking up each piece with your toes until it’s all cleaned up. Still want to have a popcorn fight?”

Addie shook her head. That sounded awful.

The other Littles shook their heads in agreement.

“Good,” Talon growled. “Now, if you need a round of spankings, we’ll be happy to deliver after the movie is finished. I propose you whine when we tell you to go to bed. That’s a much better way to get what you need. The popcorn idea is terrible.”

Addie glanced at Eden to find all the Littles looking around at each other. They all nodded in agreement.

Eden licked her lips and spoke for the group. “We can whine.”

Addie started giggling so hard she nearly dumped her bucket of popcorn by accident. What a life she lived. She suddenly had a gigantic family filled with so much love and happiness.

When she’d been young, she’d had good times with her father, and she would always remember him fondly and miss him, but apparently, her mother wished to remain estranged. If her heart was so cold that she couldn’t accept her daughter for who she was, Addie had to find a way to live her life without wasting time thinking about the bitter woman.

She tipped her head back and found her Daddy smiling down at her. Yeah, this was where she belonged. These were her people. Her family. I love you , she mouthed at him.

He smiled broadly and mouthed back, I love you, too, Angel .

As soon as the Littles were all comfortable and ready for the movie to start, the door to the common room opened, and Faust stepped in.

Addie gasped. So did the others.

Faust was scowling as he glanced around. He had a black eye, and his knuckles were bloody as though he’d been in a fight. From Addie’s perspective, she assumed he’d probably won the fight, but he’d also taken a few hard hits.

“What happened?” Steele asked.

“Don’t want to talk about it,” Faust growled before he stomped through the common room and down the hall.

Steele sighed. “That man is going to need to get a grip on his temper, or it’s going to bite him in the ass one of these days.”

Bear came to Addie’s side, leaned over, and kissed the top of her head.

She tipped her head back. “Will he be okay?”

“Yeah. He’s hot-headed. This isn’t unusual for him. He’ll be fine.”

Bear leaned closer, tipped her head back, and kissed her lips. “Love you,” he repeated, bringing her back into her warm and happy place.

“Love you, too, Daddy.”

“Enjoy your movie. I’ll spank you afterward if you need it,” he teased.

She squirmed as she settled in while someone turned the lights off. Daddy hadn’t spanked her in over a week, not since before she’d gotten sick. She was kind of craving that sort of attention. While the movie started, she mentally worked on the perfect whiny voice.

Being Little was so much fun.