14. Zane

Zane’s fingers froze. Quickly pulling the blanket back, he swooped her up from the bed and headed toward the bathroom.

”Whoa, Zaddy, what are you doing?” she asked breathlessly.

He noticed her trying to cover her body with her arms, something he would correct her on at a later time. Like after she went potty. Hmm. Maybe they needed to put her down for naps with a pull-up on.

“You said you were going to pee. I’m taking you potty,” he said, setting her down on the toilet seat.

She stared up at him with a shocked look on her face. “I could have held it, silly. Well, I mean if you guys had just stopped tickling me.”

Shaking his head, he pointed at her. “No holding it, little girl. It’s not good for your body to hold it. Now, go potty.”

Ruby furrowed her eyebrows at him. “I can’t go with you in here.”

Crossing his arms over his chest, he stared down at her without moving.

“Zane!” she snapped.

“It’s Daddy to you. Or Zaddy. Those are the only two acceptable names for me coming from you,” he said stubbornly.

She gasped and glared at him. “Get out, you big butthead!”

Okay, that was kind of cute. Not that he would tell her that because he wouldn’t allow name calling. But it was cute that she was back to being herself.

“Do you want me to spank your little bottom before you go pee? Because that’s what name calling is going to get you.”

Her eyes widened and then she glanced over his shoulder. Looking back, he saw Jace in the doorway of the bathroom.

“Jace, he won’t leave so I can go to the bathroom!” she cried out.

“Dude, you need to give her some space,” Jace said quietly.

Grumbling under his breath, Zane turned and stomped out of the bathroom with Jace following him, closing the door softly.

“I was trying to help her,” he said.

Jace gave him an incredulous look. “I know you have no limits when it comes to taking care of a Little, but she doesn’t know us well enough yet for that kind of care. Using the bathroom in front of a Top is something that takes trust between the two. Remember what we said, moving slow?”

Yeah, he remembered, and he hated it. When he was in, he was all in, and he never really understood why other people weren’t the same way.

The first night he’d met Ruby, he didn’t want to like her. Not because there was anything wrong with her but because he was tired of being told by women that they were too much. So, he had decided as soon as he met her that he didn’t want anything to do with her because the idea of being rejected by her made his chest ache. At least that’s what he had told himself the entire evening and the next day and the day after that until he was driving himself crazy thinking about her. The little pixie sprinkled her magic glitter on them or something because he was hooked.

Jace was looking at him expectantly, waiting for a response, so he nodded just to appease him.

The bathroom door opened and out came a grumpy looking Ruby, walking right past him to where Jace was standing.

Jace looked down at her and smiled. “He was only trying to help. Silent treatment and ignoring isn’t allowed in this relationship. I suggest if you’re upset with him, you go talk to him respectfully about what’s bothering you. That’s how these relationships work best.”

When she let out a long dramatic sigh, Zane couldn’t help but smile. Until she turned toward him and scowled.

“I am old enough to go to the bathroom by myself, thank you very much.”

Walking over to her, Zane picked her up and carried her to the leather couch, sitting down with her in his lap. Jace brought over an oversized t-shirt that was one of theirs and dropped it over her head. When Zane started helping her with getting her arms through the holes, he was pleased she didn’t protest.

“I know you’re big enough to go to the bathroom by yourself. I’m sure you’re big enough to do a lot of things. But I like being a part of my Littles daily caretaking. It’s the kind of Daddy I am. I will crowd your space and try to take care of even the most intimate things for you,” he explained.

She studied his face for a few seconds before reaching up and running her fingers along his jawline.

“You barely know me. It won’t take long before you decide all that stuff is just too much work and I’m too needy.”

Pulling his head back, Zane narrowed his eyes. “What? What do you mean by that? Why would you say that? We aren’t going into this lightly, Ruby. And why do you think we’re Daddies? We want someone to need us. Obviously, I want someone to need me a lot since I want to help you in the bathroom. Who told you that you were too much?”

She swallowed and then swallowed again, and he realized she was trying not to cry. Who had hurt his girl?

Jace came and sat beside them, pulling her legs onto his lap.

“Baby girl, we’re not going to get tired of taking care of you. We want to take care of you in every way you want or need. It will never be too much for us no matter how needy you are. Do you understand?” Jace asked.

When she didn’t say anything, Zane cupped her chin and stared into her eyes until she lowered them from his.

Someone had made her feel insecure and he wanted to kill that person.

“I think we need to talk about limits and rules. That way, if you don’t want Zane helping you in the bathroom, we know it’s a limit and he will respect that,” Jace told her.

She nodded, glancing at Zane from under her lashes with a pained look in her eyes. Wrapping his arm around her, he pulled her against his chest and kissed the top of her head.

“I’m sorry if I crossed a line, little one,” he said softly.

Looking down toward her lap, she sighed. “You didn’t. I’m just not used to people wanting to take care of me or even paying attention to me.”

It felt as though the entire world stilled at her admission. They knew next to nothing about Ruby, but they had felt her sadness and she’d just confirmed it, solidifying everything he’d felt inside about wanting to be her Daddy. She would never lack attention or care again. In fact, she’d probably be begging for them to pay less attention to her at some point.

“We’re not going anywhere, Ruby. Not unless you don’t want us. Understand?” Jace asked.

She looked over at him and then up at Zane who nodded, but he could still see the look of uncertainty in her eyes as she nodded her head.

“Okay,” she whispered.

“We still have a couple of hours until the club opens. We’d like you to spend the rest of the evening with us and in the playroom if you would like?” Zane asked.

A smile crossed her face as she nodded her head.

“Good girl. Let’s go to the kitchen and find some snacks while you tell us a little bit about you, and you can ask us anything you’d like to know,” Jace offered.

Zane stood, settling her on his hip as she wrapped her arms and legs around him, sighing contentedly as she lay her head on his shoulder.

“I like when you carry me, Zaddy,” she said quietly.

He nodded silently, swallowing the lump forming in his throat. He liked it, too. Too much for it only being the first night that she’d agreed to be theirs.