Chapter 7

“What was all that about a tablecloth?” Juniper asked as soon as the elevator doors closed.

Zara sighed. “It was my fault. I didn’t take my Daddy seriously when he told me not to leave the top floor. We were planning a party, and we needed a tablecloth, so we went down to the laundry room to get it, but it turned out the man who managed the laundry room was working for the bad guys.”

Celeste shuddered. “I still get chills when I think about it. Mark was so nice.”

“Yeah.”

“Who was after you?” Juniper asked.

“Human traffickers,” Zara murmured. She lowered her face. “Some people seem to think I’m…pretty.”

Celeste chuckled. “Don’t say it like that. You are pretty. We are all pretty in our own ways.”

“I agree,” Juniper said as the elevator doors opened. “I might not have thought much about my own looks before today, but after meeting Magnus… Well, he makes me feel like I’m the most beautiful woman in the world.”

“And he should,” Sadie said as she came out of the stairwell to join them at the entrance to the apartments. “That’s what Daddies do.”

Warmth filled her chest. Juniper hadn’t felt this light and happy in months. Not since before her father had died, for sure. She’d been in a slump. She hadn’t even taken as many pictures as usual, and photography was usually her life.

Suddenly, she had three amazing friends who seemed to accept her exactly as she was, and she already knew they were family.

She chewed on her lip, pondering that thought as she led them to Magnus’s apartment. It’s yours, too. He said so. She hadn’t intended to stay here for any length of time. She’d come to Danger Bluff because she’d been feeling nostalgic about her father.

Now, it seemed like her mind was twisted around and upside down. For one thing, she was questioning what her father’s involvement might have been in what appeared to have been a very large robbery. She hated doubting him. She’d always thought he was the most amazing man, larger than life.

Had he been involved? Had he been killed for something he’d known?

“You okay?” Zara asked softly.

Juniper realized she’d stopped walking as soon as they’d entered Magnus’s apartment. She’d gone into her head. “Yeah. I was just thinking about my father. I miss him.”

“That’s understandable. I’m sorry he passed,” Sadie said.

Juniper took a deep breath and waved a hand toward the apartment’s interior. “Were all your apartments this boring when you moved into them?”

Zara giggled. “Yeah. The Daddies aren’t too focused on aesthetics. They’ve been busy saving us from the moment they arrived to work at the Bluff.”

“I can understand that.” Juniper looked around, thinking about what the place could use to make it seem more like someone lived here and less like a display home.

“I know he worked on your playroom, though,” Sadie said sheepishly. “I saw all the packages arriving. Working at the front desk sometimes means I know things.” She giggled.

“He did. He even figured out my favorite color was blue. Come see it.” Juniper led her new friends through the master bedroom and into her special room. She felt hesitant, though, as she stepped inside. “Do all of you really have rooms like this one?”

Celeste nodded. “Yep. We all have the same basic furniture, and then we’ve decorated according to our personal styles.”

“But like…” Juniper wandered in and dragged her fingertips over the top of the bookcase, suddenly feeling embarrassed. She hadn’t had time to really think about this room or explore it.

Sadie came closer and slid her hand over Juniper’s, giving it a little squeeze. “Yes, we all have toys, dolls, and stuffies in our playrooms. It’s supposed to be a safe place to be yourself and let go of your grownup side. Trust me. This room is perfect.”

“Oh.” Juniper turned to look at the other women. They both nodded in agreement. Juniper lowered her gaze to the shelves and smiled as she scanned the games and toys. Was that a talking doll?

She moved to the dresser next. Was there anything in it? When she opened the top drawer, she gasped softly. Immediately, she shut it before anyone else could see what was inside. Her face heated a hundred degrees.

Even more unnerving was the fact that her panties dampened and her nipples puckered. The thought of Magnus, Daddy, using the contents of that drawer on her… All of that made her heart rate increase.

The drawer contained things she wished she hadn’t seen. Restraints, sex toys, and even butt plugs. She was pretty sure she’d also seen a tube labeled “Anal lubricant.”

She spun around to face her friends. “I should unpack.”

“We’ll help.” Sadie opened the closet while Zara pulled over one of Juniper’s suitcases. “Oh wow.”

Juniper looked toward Sadie and gasped. The rack was already half-filled with clothes. “Whose are those?” she asked as she stepped closer. Suddenly, she thought maybe another Little girl had used this room before her, and that made her feel icky.

Celeste giggled. “I’m certain they’re yours.” She joined Sadie and lifted the sleeve of one of the dresses. “See? The tags are still on them.”

Juniper shook her head in wonder. “How did Magnus do all this? I just met him.”

“Daddies are quick to fill a playroom when they meet their Little girl,” Sadie said.

The closet was filled with dresses and matching outfits, all carefully organized on the hangers. The age range was wide, but everything looked like adult-sized clothes in the styles a young girl would wear.

More heat went to Juniper’s pussy. She found herself desperately wanting to try all of the outfits on. She knew instinctively if she put on one of those pretty blue dresses, she would feel as young and carefree as intended.

“We can hang your adult things on this side,” Zara said, pointing to the other end of the bar. “There’s plenty of room.”

“Do you all wear clothes like this, too?”

“Yes,” they said in unison.

“Alone in your rooms?”

Three heads shook, and Sadie responded. “The nice thing about having the fifth floor and the basement all to ourselves is that we can also be ourselves anytime we want. A lot of times, when we get off work, we come up to our apartments first thing, change clothes, shed our adult mindset, and emerge in Little space. It’s refreshing. We’re comfortable enough with each other now that we know we don’t have to worry about being judged.”

Juniper picked up a frilly blue dress and held it out in front of her. “It’s so pretty. I wish I’d had one of these when I was young.”

Celeste beamed. “And that’s the benefit of age play. Now, you can be Little. Try it on!”

Sadie bounced excitedly. “We can all get dressed up so you don’t feel alone.”

“That’s a great idea,” Zara added. “I love any reason to wear a pretty dress. I’ll go put one on, too.” She darted from the room. Sadie and Celeste did, too. It was a whirlwind. One moment, they were all three standing here talking. The next moment, everyone was gone, and Juniper was alone.

She quickly removed her outfit, dropped it on the floor, and pulled the poofy dress over her head. It fit perfectly. How had Magnus known her sizes? She grinned as she spun around in a circle, letting the layers of ruffles flounce out around her.

As she started hanging up her adult clothes on the other side of the closet, her three new friends returned. They were all giggling. Juniper spun around to face them. “Oh, wow. So pretty.” Each of them had on an equally youthful fancy dress.

The mood in the room shifted immediately. Gone were four women. In their place were four Littles. Smiling. Happy. Carefree. Juniper grinned. It felt so good to shed her serious side.

“Let’s get the rest of the clothes hung up,” Sadie suggested. “If we work together, we’ll have it done in no time, and then we can play a game.”

Zara clapped her hands. “I love games. It will be even more fun now that there are four of us.”

“You’re going to love living here,” Celeste said. “It’s like one big family with acres of things to do.”

Juniper wasn’t so sure she would be living here indefinitely. That had never been her plan. She’d come for a vacation. She’d come to experience the nostalgia that had been her childhood. Could she really stay?

She felt like she was walking in two worlds. One where she would be going home soon to her empty, sad apartment, and one where she stayed here. Could she do that? Maybe. It was all so sudden, though.

Was it possible that Magnus really liked her as much as he insisted? She knew she liked him a lot, but she’d never dreamed of moving in with someone she’d just met.

In minutes, they had everything put away, and Sadie was looking through the pile of games on the shelf next to the toybox. “Oh, your Daddy got some good ones. Who wants to play this one?” She held up a colorful box Juniper remembered from her childhood.

Everyone agreed, and they all plopped down on the floor to sit with their legs crisscrossed. In no time at all, they were deeply engrossed in the game, and Juniper didn’t notice someone else had entered the room until she heard her Daddy’s voice. “There you girls are.”

Juniper looked up to see him leaning into the room. She couldn’t see his eyes because they were shaded by his ballcap, but she knew the corners would be creased based on the silly smile on his face. “We weren’t lost. You knew we were coming up here to unpack.”

He glanced at his watch. “Little girl, that was over an hour ago. Dinner is on the table downstairs. Looks like you four Littles got a bit distracted based on the party dresses and the gameboard. We got nervous when none of you answered your phones.”

They all jumped up.

“I’m sorry, Daddy,” Juniper said as she spun around to find her discarded clothes on the floor. She picked up her pants, searched the pocket, and pulled out her phone. “Oops.”

“I guess we all left them in our apartments when we changed,” Sadie added, looking chagrined.

“Well, it doesn’t matter now. I’ve found you. Go straight downstairs for dinner.”

“Is Daddy mad?” Zara asked.

“I think the better word is concerned. We figured you were all together, and we were confident you wouldn’t leave this floor for any reason. So we assumed you’d gotten into some sort of shenanigans.” Magnus stepped to the side as the other three darted past him.

“Will they really get in trouble?” Juniper asked. She started trembling at the idea. What did it mean to get into trouble while they were in Little space?

“Mmm.” Magnus stalked toward her. “I can’t say for sure. I’m betting there will be some red bottoms and some tears.”

Her breath hitched as he grabbed her waist and pulled her close before kissing her.

“Daddies spank Littles in real life? I keep thinking most of this stuff only happens in books.” She glanced past him in the direction of the dresser.

He let out a low chuckle. “First of all, let me say before I forget, you look very pretty in this dress.”

“Thank you, Daddy.” She returned her gaze to his, but thoughts of the contents of that drawer were distracting her.

“Second of all, yes, Daddies most definitely spank Little girls when they’re naughty, if they do something that isn’t safe, if they break the rules, or sometimes just because they need a good spanking.”

Her breath hitched, and her eyes widened.

“I assume from the color of your cheeks and the fact that you keep glancing at the dresser that you snooped in the top drawer,” he drawled.

She gulped, feeling her face heat.

He smiled, and then he surprised her by lifting one hand to remove his ballcap. Maybe he knew she needed to see his eyes. “It’s okay, Little girl. I don’t mind. I’m sure you were curious.”

“Are you going to use all that stuff on me?”

“Yes. Eventually.”

“But…”

“Is that butt with two T’s or one?” he asked, chuckling.

She rolled her eyes. “Daddy…”

“I really like the sound of that.”

“Are you going to spank me?” she asked. Part of her was curious.

“Would you like me to spank you, Juni?”

She shook her head, lying to him. The more she thought about it, the more she thought she might like to try it. “Maybe,” she admitted.

He chuckled again. “It’s okay to ask for a spanking sometimes. You don’t have to misbehave for me to swat your bottom, Juni. Sometimes, it just feels good. How about we explore that after dinner? It’s going to get cold, and we don’t know for sure how emotional you might feel after I spank your pretty bottom.”

“Okay. I should change out of this dress so it doesn’t get dirty.”

“Nope. You should wear the pretty dress to dinner. Clothes get dirty sometimes. We’ll just have it washed, and it will be as good as new. How about we find you some shoes, though.” He released her, headed for the closet, and bent down to pick up the prettiest blue flats she’d ever seen.

“I didn’t notice all those shoes on the floor, Daddy.” The word Daddy felt so natural coming from her lips. “You really did a lot of shopping.”

“I wanted you to feel at home and have pretty things.”

“It’s all happening so fast,” she murmured as he squatted down in front of her to put her shoes on her feet. She grabbed his shoulders to steady herself.

When he stood, he cupped her chin. “When you know, you know.”

She felt like he was right. She was so comfortable with Magnus. Deep inside, she wanted him to not only be her Daddy for now but her forever Daddy. However, she was too scared to trust those feelings yet.

“Ready, Juni?”

“Yes, Daddy.” She let him take her hand and lead her from the room.

“You need to clean up your game and put your dirty clothes in the hamper when we return.”

“I will, Daddy.” She wanted to please him.

“Good girl. We’ll come back to the apartment after dinner so Daddy can spank you, and then we’ll try out some of the things in that drawer.”

Her eyes rounded. “We don’t have to do everything in one night, Daddy. Maybe we should save the drawer for another day.”

He laughed as they reached the elevator. “Maybe you shouldn’t try to manipulate your Daddy and let him decide what’s best for you.”

She sighed. It was going to be hard to eat dinner with her mind repeatedly wandering to the contents of that drawer.