28. Ian

Ian had no idea how he had been so lucky to get Maddie, but she was heaven. She was everything he'd always dreamed about in a woman and a Little, and she had been right under his nose the entire time. Sure, he had known he had strong feelings for her for years and thought she would make an adorable Little, but his feelings and thoughts didn't come close to comparing to how amazing she was.

Weeks had passed since he'd taken her virginity, and he'd taken her every day since then. Not that she was complaining. She was the most responsive woman he'd ever known, and when she came, she came hard, and it was a beautiful sight.

For some reason, though, he felt like something was going on with Maddie, and he couldn't put his finger on it. When she was in Little space, everything seemed normal with her. She would play with all her new toys or color or dance around to whatever animated movie she was watching, but she seemed quieter and more withdrawn when she was her big self. He figured she was missing Cameron and was still feeling sad. He had his moments of sadness too, and if it hadn't been for Maddie keeping him distracted, he didn't know where he would be.

Sitting in the rocking chair of her bedroom, he watched as she sat on the floor with three of her stuffed animals, her Stitch stuffy, and two Barbies in a circle around her, serving them tea and cookies from her new tea set. He smiled when she asked each one what kind of cookie they wanted. He loved watching her play. When she was in Little space, she was usually completely immersed in it and had no reservations about showing him that side of her. He knew for some Littles, it took time to be themselves around their Daddy. He guessed that since she knew him so well and already trusted him completely, she didn't have to ease into it.

"Can Daddy have a cup of tea?"

She looked up from where she was sitting with her legs crossed, wearing one of the frilly dresses that he'd ordered her, and grinned.

"Of course, you can, Daddy!"

She got up from the floor and carried her teapot and a cup over to him.

"Here's your cup, Daddy. Sorry, it's pink. I don't have any blue ones."

He grinned, "Quite alright, princess."

She pretended to pour tea into his cup and then smiled proudly at him. Ian took a drink of the air in the cup and frowned.

"How much sugar did you put in this tea?"

Maddie looked confused, "I didn't put any sugar in it, Daddy."

He gave her a thoughtful look, "I don't know. It's pretty sweet. Ah, I know what it is. I saw you stir it with your finger earlier, and that's why it's so sweet."

Her face lit up, and she giggled, "You're silly, Daddy!"

Ian winked at her and pulled her closer to him, planting a kiss on her lips before turning her back to her tea party and giving her bottom a swat, sending her on her way.

Later that night, while he was cooking dinner, Maddie was sitting at the kitchen island working on her laptop. She often worked in the kitchen while he made dinner and kept him company.

"I got a call from one of my clients in California a bit ago. There's an issue with one of their systems, and I can't fix it remotely, so I'm going to have to make a trip down there."

Maddie looked up from her laptop, frowned briefly, and then schooled her face and nodded.

"Oh, okay."

He walked over to the island and stood across from her.

"You could come with me. It will be a quick trip. Only two days."

"You have to work while you're there. I'd just be a distraction," she said.

Ian tilted his head and studied her, "Baby, you are never a distraction. You are my everything and my first priority."

She smiled at that, and he relaxed a little.

"I'll be okay. I have a deadline coming up anyway, so it will give me a chance to focus."

"Okay, baby, but I don't want you working long hours, and you're still going to stick to your bedtime each night. And you're going to track your meals and water intake and send it to me each day."

She let out a long and dramatic sigh, "Okay, boss."

Raising an eyebrow, he walked around the island and leaned down close to her, "If you know what's good for you, little girl, you will call me the correct name."

Maddie shivered and turned her face to look up at him, "Sorry, Daddy."

He smiled and cupped the back of her neck, leaning in closer to kiss her.

"Good girl."

Ian called a car to take him to the airport the next day. Maddie wanted to take him, but he told her no. He didn't like her driving around in traffic if she didn't need to. As she stood at the front door when he was leaving, he was sure he saw tears in her eyes.

"Are you going to be okay, baby? I can have Damian come to watch over you."

She shook her head, "I'll be fine, Daddy. I don't need a babysitter.

He grinned, "But you're my baby."

Sliding her arms up around his neck, she hugged him close.

"I'll be fine, Daddy. I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too, baby. I'll call you as soon as I land."

The flight seemed to go quickly. Ian worked on his laptop during most of it, but he was worrying about Maddie in the back of his mind. He knew it would take time for her to heal from losing Cam, but he wondered if there was something else going on with her that she wasn't telling him. And what a terrible Daddy he was for not figuring it out already.

As soon as he landed and was in a car, heading to his hotel, he called her. She picked up after the second ring.

"Hi, Daddy."

He smiled to himself, "Hi, baby girl. What are you doing?"

"Working."

He frowned. He hated one-word answers like that.

"It's past lunchtime. Did you eat?"

"Uh… not yet. I will, though."

"As soon as we get off the phone, you need to go make yourself a sandwich. Am I clear?"

"Yes, Daddy."

Ian nodded and looked at his watch, "I gotta go, baby. I need to head over to meet my client, but I will call you later this evening. Text or call me if you need anything. Remember, you come first, always."

"Okay, Daddy."

Yeah, something was definitely going on with her, and as soon as he got home, he was going to get to the bottom of it.

"I love you, Maddie-Rose.

"Love you too."

He ended the call with a sinking feeling in his gut. Maybe he needed to get her an appointment with a therapist. He'd thought she'd been doing okay since Cameron's death, but perhaps it was catching up to her. Whatever was going on, he would take care of her, but he needed to start doing a better job of it. Maybe give her more Little time since she seemed to be the most relaxed and happy when she was in that frame of mind.

She was his baby, and he'd waited long enough to get her, so he was going to damn well do whatever it took to keep her happy. And one of the things he planned to do first while he was in California was to make a visit to another client that he'd called and who was expecting him. It was a client who owned one of the most prominent jewelry stores on the West Coast, so he could promise to make her the happiest woman and Little in the world, for the rest of their lives.