Page 68 of Saving Sophia

His sinister threat made me squirm. I kissed his inner thigh, feeling absolutely naughty and thrilled all at once. “How long do I have to wait?” I asked. “If I’m good?”

He played idly with a strand of my hair.

“You took your punishment well and what you did with your mouth was stellar. Behave the rest of the day, and I promise you’ll go to sleep satisfied tonight.”

My tummy flipped and my lower parts pulsed in sweet anticipation.

20

ETHAN

I left a message for Hayden. We would need to get Sophia’s statement on record and figure out a plan so her murderous ex-boss went away forever. Sophia wouldn’t be truly safe until that asshole was behind bars, so I was eager to make that happen.

While I waited to hear back, I went over some of the financials for the resort. Sophia sat on a pillow by my feet, humming to herself and patiently removing the matted hair from one of the broken dolls.

The rest soaked in a special solution she had passionately explained as the best way to get them clean without damaging them. Her depth of knowledge fascinated me. My lovely little Sophie had more skills than she gave herself credit for.

A lot more skills.

After her spanking, she’d been a different girl. She hadn’t gotten tongue-tied or stammered. My instinct would always be to spoil her, but she also responded to firmness and discipline.

And what she did with her mouth was fucking incredible.

She talked softly to the doll as she removed its hair, comforting it and promising to be gentle with none of the embarrassment that so often weighed her down. She was adorable and absolutely perfect for me.

A sharp knock on the door broke my happy train of thought. I told Sophia to stay put till I knew who it was then opened the door to Evie, surrounded by boxes on the porch.

“Sophia’s items arrived.” She walked in with a cardboard box and dropped it heavily on the dining table.

“Great.” I grabbed another and brought it in. “Sophie, the rest of your stuff is here.”

“Yay!” She jumped up then caught herself, her eyes on Evie. I hoped she would soon learn she didn’t have to hide her Little side around any of my family. And Evie was practically family.

“This one was damaged.” Evie pushed a half crushed, punctured box toward Sophia. “You’ll need to open it and check for anything that needs to be replaced so I can file a claim.”

“Oh,” Sophia said. “I’m sure it’s fine, I don’t—” She broke off when she saw the list of names on the box.

“Why does it have a bunch of girls’ names on it?” Evie asked.

“They’re my … dolls.” Sophia opened the box carefully.

“You collect dolls?” Evie adjusted her glasses and leaned in to peek inside the box.

I tucked my arm around Sophia. “She doesn’t just collect them, she rescues them. She’s very talented at restoration.”

“No, I’m not,” she said quickly, pulling out several and unwrapping them, scanning for damage.

“You did this?” Evie asked, gingerly picking up a doll that looked like she’d been a Barbie in another life, transformed into a forest fairy with skin the color of sun-dappled leaves. Her face radiated an ageless wisdom, compassion, and a slight sternness so different from the ones in the display boxes. Gossamer wings cleverly crafted from wire and tulle stretched behind her back, continuing the mesmerizing, dappled pattern on her body.

“Oh, yeah …” Sophia smiled fondly at the doll. “That’s Elowen. I found her at a thrift store. Now she’s a tree guardian. It took forever, but she looks happier now to me at least. I mean … I guess …” Her eyes dropped to the table.

Evie examined the doll’s dark hair, intricately woven with tiny flower petals and little crystal dewdrops dispersed throughout. “You painted her?”

“I did it all.” Sophia carefully unwrapped another doll. “She started off a lot like those.” She pointed to the dolls soaking in the cleaning solution.

Evie pushed her glasses back on her nose. “Ethan.” She looked at Sophia then back to the forest fairy doll. “She should take a look at Caroline.”

“You’re absolutely right,” I said, amazed at the suggestion. “She should.”

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