Chapter 4

Chapter Four

“ B ear ?”

The hair on the back of Bear’s neck stood on end at the sound of his name being shouted from one of the Littles. He was pretty sure it was Eden, and as he turned around from where he’d been stirring a pot of chili at the stove, sure enough, Eden burst into the room.

Her eyes were wide with…fear?

“What is it, Little one?” He set the spoon down and hurried toward her.

She was breathing heavily, as if she’d run hard to get to him. She pointed over her shoulder. “Addie is stuck in the bathroom. In the shop. I went to check on her, and I couldn’t find her, and then I heard her calling out from inside the bathroom.”

Eden grabbed his hand and tugged him in that direction, but she didn’t need to. He was already running. Damn, that knob. It had been acting with a mind of its own for weeks. Now, he was furious with himself for not fixing it.

He jogged through the clubhouse and into the front office of the motorcycle shop, where he skidded to a stop outside the bathroom at the back of the reception area. “Addie? It’s Bear. You okay?” He grabbed the handle and jiggled it. All it did was spin. Shit .

“Yeah. Just…embarrassed.”

“No reason to be embarrassed. I’m sorry you’re stuck. I should’ve fixed this knob a while ago. What’s it doing on your side?”

“It just spins.” Same as his side then.

“Okay. Hang tight for me. I’m going to grab some tools and take the knob off. If that doesn’t work, I’ll pop off the door.”

“Thank you,” she said softly. “I’m sorry.”

He drew in a breath. “Not your fault, Little one. I promise.”

The door leading to the shop opened, and Kade stepped in. “What’s wrong?” he asked as he glanced back and forth between Bear and Eden.

Eden threw her hands up in the air and practically wailed. “The door knob finally decided it was done working altogether, and Addie is stuck in the bathroom.”

Bear felt pretty bad about the situation, especially because he should have fixed it before now, but it was hard not to chuckle at Eden’s dramatics. This wasn’t exactly a life-or-death situation. After all, if a person had to be trapped somewhere, they’d want the space to have water and a toilet.

But these were Little girls he was dealing with. When Littles got fully into their space, everything was a drama. Eden was clearly there now.

Kade turned toward the shop. “I’ll grab the toolbox.”

Gabriel dashed into the room from the rear entrance. “What happened? I got a text from Eden that there was an emergency.”

Bear shot Eden a narrow-eyed, stern look. “Eden…”

Eden’s cheeks pinkened, and she clasped her hands behind her back and rocked on her feet. “What? It is an emergency.” She turned toward her Daddy. “Addie is stuck in there.” More drama.

Why am I about to laugh ?

It wasn’t funny that Addie was trapped in the bathroom, but it was humorous that Eden thought it was an international event. But even more poignant was how damn cute she was, with her eyes widening with the intensity of her emotions. Why did these Littles have to tug at his heartstrings so hard?

Gabriel set his hands on her shoulders from behind and pulled her back. “Let me guess. You ran through the clubhouse to get Bear to come help.”

“She sure did,” Bear agreed, not the least bit bothered by throwing her under the bus.

“Tattletale,” she blurted at the same time she stuck her tongue out.

If Addie hadn’t known Eden was Little before now, she certainly was getting an education. Bear just hoped it didn’t cause her to run from the club and never come back.

And why would I care if she didn’t return? He’d spent the day giving himself a pep talk that involved not letting himself think about the Little angel working so very close all day while frequently reminding himself he needed to keep his distance. And now this.

Kade returned with a toolbox.

Bear grabbed the Phillips screwdriver and quickly removed the knob, which disengaged the mechanism. “Addie, can you pull the knob on your side out of the hole?”

She wiggled it free, and he bent to examine the hole. “Good job.” He reached his middle finger through the small hole to pull the lever back and disengage the door.

When it popped free, it swung open in his direction, and he removed his fingers and opened it farther.

Addie stood inside, rubbing her hands together. Her cheeks were dark pink. “Thank you,” she muttered.

“No problem. I’m sorry this happened. I bet you were scared.”

“Only because it took a while before Eden came into the room and heard me calling out.”

Eden rushed into the bathroom and pulled Addie in for a hug. “I’m so sorry.”

Addie took a deep breath and stepped out. “I’m fine now.”

Gabriel cleared his throat. “My apologies, too, Addie. If you’ll excuse us for a bit…” He took Eden’s shoulders firmly in his hands.

Eden sighed heavily and rolled her eyes.

Bear was a little shocked by her blatant display of age play in front of Addie. As far as he knew, Eden didn’t let her Little out in public, including at the university.

“I’ll be back later,” she groaned as Gabriel turned her around and guided her toward the rear entrance that led to the clubhouse.

Addie stared at the door for a long time as it closed. Finally, she turned back to face Bear.

Kade cleared his throat. “Yeah, I’m gonna let you handle this, man. I’ll be in the shop.” He turned and jogged back through the adjoining door as though the room were on fire.

Asshole . Bear never took his gaze off Addie, though.

Addie cocked her head. “Is he, uh…” She licked her pretty lips. “Gabriel. I mean, is he going to…spank her?”

Bear let one corner of his mouth tip up. At least he wasn’t going to have to explain things quite as thoroughly as he’d feared. He would get back at both Kade and Gabriel for abandoning him here to talk to Addie. Someone else should be doing this. Anyone else.

“Definitely.” No sense beating around the bush.

“Why…exactly?” Her eyes were wide with curiosity as opposed to disgust.

“The simple answer? Because she likes it.”

Addie licked her lips again and… My God . She rubbed her palms together and shifted her weight around nervously. Her pink cheeks turned pinker. She was intrigued. “You keep calling me Little.”

“I do.” If she was going to explain their entire way of life to him without him needing to contribute, he would let her.

Addie once again glanced at the door where Eden and Gabriel had disappeared. “I’ve read about this. I didn’t know it was a real thing.”

Thank fuck . “It’s very real for a lot of people. I know Eden doesn’t ordinarily let her Little out in front of people not inside her bubble, but I suspect having you here at the MC has caused her to have trouble straddling the line,” he explained.

“Because she’s Little when she’s here. When she’s home.”

“Yes.”

She held his gaze again. “And no one minds?”

“Most of the members of this MC are involved in the age-play community to some extent. Most of the men are Daddies. Most of the girlfriends and wives are Littles.”

She took a step back and then another until her back was against the wall. “Are you a Daddy?”

“Yes.”

“Why would you assume I’m Little?”

He gave her a slow smile. “I have excellent Little radar.”

She swallowed hard. “But that’s not fair.”

He furrowed his brow, confused. “What’s not fair, Little one?”

She shivered when he used that endearment. “I’ve never even thought about it before. How could you know something about me before me?”

Fuck, but she was precious. She was in no way denying the accuracy of his observation. Instead, she was ticked off that he’d realized it before her. Adorable. He shrugged. “Angel, it just happens sometimes. Like you said, you didn’t realize age play was a real thing outside of books. Therefore, you have never considered it as more than just a titillating fantasy. That doesn’t mean you don’t have a Little inside you who’d love to come out and play.”

He shouldn’t be nudging her like this. He should be fixing the door and leaving her alone. He didn’t want to give her the wrong idea. Even though he’d suspected she had a Little inside her and could benefit from a Daddy’s firm hand, that didn’t mean he was offering himself. He wasn’t. He couldn’t.

“Do you have a Little girl of your own?”

Shit . He inhaled slowly. “No, Little one, I don’t. I did once. It didn’t work out.” Tell her. Tell her you’re not interested in taking that kind of risk again. Tell her it was too painful .

Bear did neither. Instead, he pointed toward the door. “I’m going to run to the hardware store and get a new knob. If you need to use the potty again this afternoon, there are several inside the clubhouse. Someone can show you where.”

She stared at him, breathing heavily. “Will you be back soon?”

Fuck . Her voice was filled with hope. He couldn’t let her hold on to that hope. “I’ll wait until this evening to fix the door so I don’t get in your way.”

“Oh, okay. Sure. Right.” She lowered her gaze and scurried behind the receptionist’s desk to pick up a pile of papers and straighten them. “Thanks for helping me.”

“You’re welcome.” Angel . This time, he held back the endearment. “Have a great rest of your day.” It took every ounce of his willpower to turn and walk out of the room. As soon as he shut the door behind him, he found Kade in the shop and called out, “I’m heading to the hardware store. I’ll fix that knob this evening.”

“Thanks, man. I should’ve fixed it weeks ago, but we’ve been swamped here lately.”

“No problem.” Bear hurried out of the shop, aiming for his bike. He needed to put some distance between him and Addie. He needed to stay away until after she got off work.

After mounting his bike, he shot off a text to Gabriel. “Heading to the hardware store. Chili is simmering on the stove. Keep an eye on it.” He stuffed his phone in his pocket and started the engine. The hum between his thighs calmed him somewhat, but the truth was nothing was going to calm the Pandora’s box that got split wide open today the moment he’d seen that sweet Little angel.

Fuck .