Page 31 of Koa's Little Girl
“Probably, but you should talk to him about it if you’re concerned,” Pippa told her. “Daddies are perceptive, but sometimes they don’t know you’re worried unless you tell them. Littles are good at hiding their feelings from others.”
“Probably because we’re so used to hiding who we are from the world,” Aspen guessed.
“I’m glad I get to be myself around you both. If it’s okay, I need to be close to my daddy now,” Giana confessed.
“Go, Giana. We’ll come with you. I could use a cuddle myself,” Pippa admitted.
“Me too.”
In a flash, they crawled out from under the blanket. Each walked quickly to their daddy’s chair.
Trailing the others, Giana watched out of the corner of her eye and saw Zale and Jerico scoop up their Littles to sit on their laps. Neither asked any questions, but simply welcomed their little girl happily.
“Daddy?” she whispered.
“Come here, Flame. I missed you.” Koa lifted her onto his hard thighs and squeezed her gently. He pressed a kiss to that sensitive spot under her ear and asked, “You okay?”
She nodded and tucked her head into the hollow in the curve of his shoulder. The reassuringly regular thump of her daddy’s heartbeat sounded under her ear. Koa rubbed her back, not asking questions, but letting her process through her thoughts and feelings. She pressed a kiss to his skin.
“Need to go home, Giana?” he asked softly.
“No, Daddy. I just needed you.”
Koa answered that confession with a kiss on her forehead and a pat on her bottom. Conversation hummed over and around her. Giana could feel the camaraderie and how much these men cared about each other. Teasing remarks were free of animosity, and the response from each man felt real. There was nothing fake here.
A feeling of calm serenity filled her. Giana hadn’t ever been this comfortable amid others. Sleeping at the fire station was always a challenge for her. She usually doubled up on caffeine and took power naps. Nothing had ever happened to her. Having people around at her most vulnerable kept her from being able to relax. The deep men’s voices blended together into an attractive hum.
“Daddy’s getting up,Flame. It’s time for little girls to be in bed,” Koa whispered to her as he tightened his arms around her.
As he stood, Giana wrapped her arms around Koa’s neck to stabilize herself. Blinking into the dim light provided by the fire pit, Giana struggled to figure out what was going on. “Daddy?”
“Hi, sweetheart. Hold on to Daddy. We’re heading home,” Koa told her gently.
“I’ll get the chair for you, Koa. Carry your Little to the truck,” a familiar voice said softly.
“Thanks, Hank. I owe you one,” Koa answered as he walked toward the corner of the house.
“I can walk,” Giana told him.
“I know, Flame. Maybe Daddy wants to carry you.”
“Okay, Daddy.” She laid her head back on his shoulder. “So sleepy.”
“Daddy kept you out too late.”
“Mmmhmm.”
He jostled her a bit as he opened the truck door. The interior light glared in her eyes as he set her bottom in the seat. Giana covered her eyes with her hands to block it out. Koa gently tugged her hands away to buckle her seatbelt when he had her facing the front.
When his heat moved away, she missed him immediately. The solid thunk of the door closing sounded next, and the light dwindled out. She peeked from under her hand only to slap her fingers back over her eyes as it flared back to life when he opened the driver’s side.
“Rude,” she grumbled.
“Sorry, little girl. I’ll put an eye mask in here next time. Close your eyes and drift back to sleep.”
“Okay, Daddy.”
It seemed only a few seconds later that darn light was back in her eyes. “Daddy!” she whined, burying her face against the seat’s upholstery.
