Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

A fter turning into the Shadowridge compound, Faust reached over the console to wrap his hand around her thigh. He squeezed slightly. Immediately, her squirming stopped. "People are going to love you, Molly. You've already met several of them."

"I don't know their names."

"That's okay. They don't know your name, either."

He lifted his hand to turn the steering wheel as he parked then replaced it to hold her in place. "Stay where you are until I help you out."

"I'm not going to play in traffic," she promised, sounding a bit exasperated.

"Daddy will open your door. You will stay there." He let that statement fade out in the posh interior.

"Okay," she whispered.

Faust knew she'd figured out there was an implied punishment that would follow if she didn't choose wisely. "Thank you, Pixie."

Sliding from the cab, he scanned the parking lot to see who was at the clubhouse. There were two helmets on several bikes. He nodded, inwardly pleased that there would be Littles to make Molly feel at home. Faust opened her door and plucked his Little from the cab.

He drew her close and let her brush his body as he lowered her to the ground. Her quiet gasp pleased him. Making love to Molly would be explosive. She was so responsive.

When she stumbled, visibly affected by their contact, he took her hand and led her to the back of the truck. "Here's a traffic crossing. What do you do?" he asked.

"Look left and right." She followed what they had practiced on the way. "There's no one here, Daddy. It's a parking lot."

"Ahem."

"Oh, yeah. Right. I'll try again."

This time after she'd checked for traffic, he allowed her to tug him forward. He led her to the door and squeezed her hand. "If at any time you feel uncomfortable, let me know and we'll leave."

"Really?"

"Absolutely."

When she smiled, Faust opened the door and walked in first to check out the clubhouse. Molly walked in right behind him as if glued to his body. He gave her hand another squeeze.

"Faust!" Several club members shouted his name to welcome him.

"This is Molly. She's mine," Faust declared.

"Hi, Molly," the members greeted her.

He saw a movement to the left catch Molly's attention. Three women poked their heads out from under the edge of a blanket draped over the furniture. They'd made a fort. That was fun.

Faust watched Molly's reaction and loved the wide smile as she returned their greeting wave before Carlee called, "Come join us, Molly."

He knew she wasn't quite ready to leave him yet. "She needs to eat first. Then I'll see if she wants to play," Faust answered for her and felt her squeeze his hand in a silent thanks.

"How many tacos can you eat, Molly? I bet three," a man asked from behind the kitchen island.

"That's Gabriel. He's an amazing cook," Faust explained.

"Hi, Gabriel. Could I have two?" Molly asked politely.

"You can. Chicken, beef, or one of each?" Gabriel asked as he grabbed a plate.

"One of each."

Gabriel held out a plate to lure her forward. "Come put all the toppings on that you like while I dish up ten tacos for your Daddy."

"Ten tacos?" she repeated in wonder.

"That will be a good start," Faust answered.

He watched her take her plate and survey all the things she could add to her tacos. The Shadowridge Guardians didn't skimp on taco night. There was a huge array of choices as well as rice and beans to top everything off. Molly skipped the jalapenos and added sour cream, cheddar cheese, lettuce, and salsa. Faust approved of all those choices.

"Put a bit of the corn salsa on your plate to try," he suggested.

Molly nodded and put a small pile on her plate. She added a bit of rice and beans to finish off her choices. When she returned to hover close to him, Faust rubbed her back quickly before finishing his selections. Placing his hand on her lower back, he guided her to a partially filled table that included Blade, Kade, and Steele.

"You all remember Molly, right?" he said to remind them of her name.

"Of course," Blade said. "He still hasn't shared his banana pudding, Molly."

"Oh. I guess I should have made some for everyone," she rushed to say.

"Maybe you'd share your recipe with me one evening? It's obviously the best thing ever," Gabriel said, setting a plastic glass in front of her that was topped with a lid. He gave Faust a glass of cola.

"Thanks, Gabriel."

"I figured you were driving a special passenger," Gabriel commented.

"Exactly," Faust said, setting a possessive hand on Molly's slim thigh. "Eat, Pixie. Don't let your food get cold."

He watched her pick up a taco and take a small bite. Her expressive face revealed her delight as she chewed quickly to eat more. "Gabriel has a special touch with tacos. Everyone likes them."

"Even your Daddy and he doesn't like anything," Blade joked.

"He likes me," Molly stated firmly, standing up for her Daddy.

"He does. I guess I can't say that anymore," Blade agreed.

"Nope," Molly said cheerfully before trying the rice and groaning at the delicious taste.

She didn't hold a grudge at all. Faust could tell Blade was immediately forgiven for his mistake. Even in a situation she wasn't comfortable in, Molly hadn't let someone speak poorly of him. Faust knew Blade always had his back. The weapon expert had just made a joke.

Faust was used to everyone expecting the worst from him. He definitely didn't approach others with a smile and an open heart. His actions convinced everyone to notice his hot temper that was quick to respond to any slight. If others were frightened by him, that was okay in Faust's view.

"How about tomorrow afternoon to look at your engine?" Faust suggested.

"I can wait until you're caught up," Blade assured him.

"Tomorrow afternoon," Faust repeated.

"Perfect." Blade agreed with his rigid suggestion.

"Do you always work on engines?" Molly asked as she poked her fork at the corn salsa he'd told her to put on her plate.

"Faust's good at everything, but he has a magical touch with engines," Steele said. "Mine is running smoother than it did straight off the assembly line."

A woman appeared next to Steele, and he wrapped his arm around her waist to pick her up. He set her gently on his lap before leaning down to press a kiss to her lips.

"Did you get tired of the blanket fort?" he asked.

"No. I wanted to get to know Molly better. I also thought I could eat one more taco," Ivy answered.

"Let's see." Steele gently poked her tummy in three different places. "There's enough room in there for two tacos."

Ivy laughed. Her delighted giggle made everyone around smile.

"Here you go, Little girl," Gabriel said, placing a plate with two tacos on it in front of her.

"I can't eat both of those," Ivy protested.

"You won't have to. Eden's on her way over to help you," Gabriel said, nodding at his Little girl who approached.

"Oh, good." Ivy smiled at Molly. "Hi, Molly. I'm Ivy."

"Hi, Ivy," Molly said and wiggled a bit closer to Faust.

He wrapped his arm over the top of her chair and hugged her to him reassuringly. "The motorcycle club has officers that guide the actions of the group. Steele was chosen to be the president. He's Ivy's Daddy."

"So, you're like the head of the Littles group?" Molly whispered.

"Oh, no. We don't have any leaders. We just have fun," Ivy reassured her as the other woman sat down.

Gabriel placed an empty plate in front of her and two similar cups in front of each Little. "Ivy would like you to eat one of her tacos. Could you help her out?"

"Sure, Daddy," Eden said with a smile at the handsome man taking care of the kitchen before scooping up the nearest taco. "Mmm. Just how I like them."

"A little birdie gave me the inside scoop," Gabriel said before dropping a kiss on her head and wandering off.

"I'm Eden, Molly. I'm glad to meet you." The new arrival waved her taco Molly's way and added, "My Daddy makes the best tacos."

"Hi. They're delicious. If Ivy's Daddy is the president, is your Daddy the vice president?" Molly asked.

"Nope. That's Storm." She turned and pointed to a bearded man with tattoos covering his muscular arms. "Gabriel is the chaplain."

"So, he's a minister?" Molly asked, leaning forward.

"Not like a church minister who gives a sermon on Sunday. Gabriel supports everyone. A lot of people come to him to talk about things. He does fun activities like taco night to get everyone together," Eden said. "He and Bear feed us a lot. Everyone loves when he makes food."

"Everything is amazing," Molly said and took another bite.

The other women followed suit and they all munched happily for a minute as Faust methodically devoured the ones on his plate. He knew Molly watched him out of the corner of her eye.

"The record for number of tacos eaten at one meal is twenty-seven," Ivy whispered.

"Who ate that many?" Molly asked.

"Me. I was hungry," Blade volunteered.

Molly looked at Faust and he shook his head. "I'd have to run miles to work those off." He rubbed his hand over his abdomen and stifled a groan as Molly's gaze followed his movement before shifting a bit lower.

She is going to be the death of me . Faust clamped down on his control. He didn't need to get a hardon at the table.

"Drink some milk, Pixie," he suggested, and her gaze zipped up to meet his. Her cheeks turned pink as she realized he'd caught her ogling him. Quickly, she picked up the cup and drank deeply.

"I like that. Pixie. My Daddy calls me Ladybug," Eden shared.

When Molly looked over at Ivy, she answered the unspoken question. "I'm Little girl," Ivy offered.

"Does everyone have a Little girl?" Molly whispered.

"Not everyone is so lucky," Blade answered.

"She's out there, Blade. You just need to find her. We thought Faust would be the last one…" Ivy's voice drifted off as if she felt she'd stuck her foot in her mouth.

Faust snorted and took another bite. It didn't bother him at all to have the others skeptical that he could attract someone as special as a Little girl. He couldn't believe his luck, either.

"What do you mean? Why would Faust have trouble finding his Little girl?" Molly demanded in a defensive tone Faust had never heard from her.

"Unruffle your feathers, Pixie. They didn't mean anything bad."

"Oh, no! The minute that came out of my mouth I knew I'd said that wrong. Sorry. Faust would protect any of the Shadowridge Guardians and their Littles until his last breath." Ivy rushed to smooth over her blunder.

"Definitely." Eden backed her up.

"Does anyone feel like playing Simon Says?" Faust asked to distract everyone.

"Could we? You'll be Simon?" Eden asked.

"I'll be Simon," he agreed.

"Faust is the best Simon. No one can ever tell from his expression if he's trying to get you out," Ivy shared.

"And he's so fast. No one can think that quickly," Eden said. She took the last bite of her taco and looked over at Ivy. "Are you finished? We could go move everything out of the way."

"I'm done!" Ivy agreed.

The two women stood up and picked up their dishes. Molly surprised Faust by standing as well. "Can I come help? I can't eat another bite."

"Of course. Come on. We'll introduce you to everyone," Eden answered with a smile.

The three reached the sink and Faust knew Ivy and Eden were explaining they could only carry their plate to the sink. He watched Ivy say something to Molly. When the two hugged, he knew Ivy had apologized again. Eden threw her arms around them both and they swayed for a second together.

"I wasn't expecting Molly to join them," Blade said, turning in his chair to see what happened.

"She's full of surprises," Faust acknowledged.

Faust stood at the front of a cleared area. The Little girls had formed a line in front of him. He stared them all down and heard their giggles. Pleased to see his Little standing between Eden and Ivy, he knew she was acclimating to the group.

When the tension had built, he barked orders.

"Simon says, take a step back."

"Simon says, hop twice."

"Simon says, turn in a circle."

"Turn again."

He paused and one Little caught herself in the middle of a twirl. "Carlee, you're out."

"Simon says, belch."

That one made everyone laugh in the audience as the Littles tried to follow his orders. Molly let loose a loud one that made everyone freeze. Faust clapped and everyone joined him, turning her embarrassment into giggles.

"Simon says, quack like a duck."

"Simon says, walk like a duck."

"Flap your wings like a duck."

"Ivy, you're out."

"Oh, man!" Ivy walked over to join her Daddy who gave her a consolation kiss to cheer her up.

In the next round, Adelaine and Elizabeth slithered like a snake when they shouldn't have and were eliminated. They were followed immediately by Harper who took a giant step forward while everyone else stood still. She whacked herself playfully on the forehead and moved to the side to sit with Carlee and the others.

Only two remained: Remi and Molly. Faust watched the two Littles look at each other assessing their competition. He ran through five Simon says commands in rapid succession before saying, "Sit down."

Remi dropped to the floor followed a split second later by Molly. He could tell by the look on her face that his Little had thrown herself out so Remi wouldn't be upset.

"You're both out! I win," Faust declared, holding his arms up over his head as the victor.

"Blanket fort," Carlee called and linked her elbow with Molly. "You'll come with us?"

"If you'd like," Molly agreed.

"Of course. You're one of us now," Carlee told her.

Molly looked back at Faust and waved before crawling into the blanket fort. He loved the smile on her face. When everyone was inside, he could hear giggles and laughter. Exclamations of delight abounded when Gabriel slid a plate of warm cookies on a skateboard into the opening.

"It's a good feeling, isn't it, big guy?" Atlas asked, whacking him on the back. "Good game. They love it when you call for them."

"It is a good feeling," Faust agreed. He turned down the beer he was offered at the bar. He wanted to be fully able to drive Molly home safely.