Chapter Nine

Ella’s eyes fluttered open and then closed again.

She finally settled on a half-awake, half-dreamy state. She slowly brought her head up and looked around. A moment later, she realized she was in an exam room.

She wasn’t surprised to see Dr. Bryan Kirk standing there.

She had this dream often.

“Mmm. Dr. Kirk,” she said, smiling as she reached out her arms. “Take me, Daddy. Take care of me and just…take me.” She giggled and fell back.

She finally opened her eyes all the way to see him grinning down at her as he stood near the padded exam table where she lay.

“You’re not drunk,” he said.

“No.”

“I thought perhaps that was why you passed out.”

“I never drink in this dream.”

“Oh. I see.”

“What?”

He cleared his throat. “I have some news for you. Brace yourself.”

She giggled. “You’re going to take me right here on the exam table? I freaking love this dream!”

He chuckled. “No. You’re, eh, not dreaming.”

“Mmm. If only that were true.”

He cleared his throat again. There was something about it that got her attention. She sat up quickly, but the room spun just as the world had out on the deck, and she felt woozy all over again.

She laid back down and groaned.

She was now acutely aware that she was in fact not dreaming.

“What’s g-going on?” she said.

“Well, Little Ella, I’m afraid you passed out again. I think it was an anxiety attack, but we’ll give you a quick exam to make sure.”

She was covering her face with her hands now. Her words came out muffled, filtered through her fingers, as she said, “Why are you here?”

“Honey, you don’t have to be nervous or embarrassed,” he said in a patient, paternal tone.

She liked the way it felt when he called her honey. It went a little way in easing her mortification—but she still had a long way to go.

“Think about it,” he continued. “If I’m on this cruise, then that means I’m a—”

“Daddy!” she said, lowering her hands and sitting back up again.

She was a little wobbly, but he put a steadying hand on her shoulder.

“Breathe deep,” he encouraged. “You’re going to be fine.” He kept his hand there, not pressing down too hard but reminding her that he was there.

“Is it okay if I move away?” he asked after a minute.

“Yeah. I’m fine,” she said.

He stepped back where he could look at her. “Do you remember what happened out on the deck?”

Ella was so nervous she couldn’t even speak. Her mind was still reeling as she tried to grasp what was occurring. A little sliver of her brain proposed the idea that all of this—not just Dr. Kirk’s presence, but the entire cruise itself—was nothing more than a long dream. She’d wake up back home, in her own bed any moment.

But the rest of her brain rejected this, reminding her yet again that this was no dream.

She read the concern on the doctor’s face.

“I can speak,” she said, trying to calm his fears that she’d hurt herself or was experiencing some other sort of medical issue.

“There’s no rush. A panic attack can be debilitating,” he said. “Please. Take all the time you need.”

She nodded.

Despite the circumstances she found herself in, excitement slowly crept over her, fighting with the anxiety and somehow winning the battle. She felt her toes stop tingling. A warm sensation bullied its way into the pit of her stomach and tangoed with the sickening, anxious one.

The warmth somehow won.

You don’t have to hide that you’re a Little anymore. You don’t have to wonder if those Daddy vibes from Dr. Kirk are real or in your imagination. You’ve been handed a golden opportunity. Thank the Universe and run with it!

“I remember,” she said. “I was getting nervous because I’m…being Little…in front of people for the first time. It was kind of overwhelming.”

“Sure. I can see where it would be,” he said.

He stayed there, leaning his butt against the counter, his arms crossed, while he looked at her. He was still wearing his white shorts and light blue T-shirt. It clung to his muscles, highlighting his sculpted chest and bulging shoulders.

Mmm. Yummy. Positively yummy.

Seriously, Ella. Don’t mess this up. You’ve been handed your dream-come-true on a silver platter.

“Do you feel better now?” he asked.

“I feel great! Now.” She didn’t mean to say it so eagerly. She chanced a glance up at him and saw him smiling.

“Good,” he said. “I need to look you over. Just to make sure.”

“You’re the doctor on the cruise?”

“One of them,” he said with a nod. He turned and grabbed a stethoscope from the counter. Once he was facing Ella again, he stepped closer. “There are a handful of us. It’s a working vacation. We volunteer our services, that way, between us all, the sick bay is covered. But we have a lot of fun, too. There’s plenty of time to relax and enjoy all the amenities.”

“You’re here with your Little?” she probed, hoping she wasn’t being too obvious.

“No,” he said. “Here looking for a Little. Or I was.”

What does he mean by that? Ella wondered. Has he found another passenger? Or is he referring to her? The grin he wore—along with the suggestive gleam in his eyes—suggested the latter.

Her heart thumped. Her blood was racing. He’d discover her excitement soon enough when he put that stethoscope to her chest.

“Dr. Kirk?” she said.

“Yes, Little Ella?”

She swallowed the lump in her throat and focused on forcing out her words. “I signed up for the Little experience.”

It took him a moment to realize the meaning of her words.

When passengers fill out their registration, they indicate how they are to be treated. Dr. Kirk understood and smiled.

“Of course, honey. That makes perfect sense. You are a Little, after all.”

She nodded.

And you’re a Daddy, she thought. But she didn’t say that part.

“I’m going to listen to your heart,” he said.

“But I’m excited,” she admitted.

At this point, she was just going for broke. Why not?

“Why are you excited, honey? Because you’re on the big boat?”

She giggled. “And because you’re here.”

“Ah. I see,” he said. He was all smiles as he put the stethoscope’s end on her chest and listened. After a few seconds, he moved it to her back.

“Everything seems fine,” he said. “Let me check your temperature. Now typically with Littles, we use your cute bottom. It gives a more accurate reading.”

Ella tensed. She’s the one who’d pointed out she desired the full Little treatment. And she had an agreed upon safe word that was listed in her paperwork—which the doctor had reviewed in her chart. If she wanted to stop this, she could.

She decided to let it ride.

“Are you steady enough to stand?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Hop down, then. Let’s get those cute shortalls off you.”

Miraculously, Ella didn’t feel unsteady on her feet as she slid off the exam table. There was something calming about Dr. Kirk’s presence.

About Daddy’s presence…