STORY EXCERPT

In the busyness of the store, the woman’s stillness caught Nico Santi’s attention. She stood looking more than a little lost as she stared into the grocery store’s freezer bin full of spiral-cut hams. Nico tossed the packages of hamburger patties into the cart he was pushing before he slowly approached her. Something about her reached out to his heart, and his cock, making both squeeze with the need to help her. And maybe more.

He continued to watch as she picked up one foil-wrapped ham. She looked at the tag before putting it back. She then repeated the action with three others before heaving a sigh. When a tear appeared and rolled down her cheek, Nico knew he had to step in. Something was wrong, and if he had the ability to fix it, he would. His grandparents had raised him and his cousins to be gentlemen, even if they did prefer to wear denim and leather instead of business suits.

“Having a problem, sweetheart?” he asked as he sidled up next to her, keeping a one-foot distance between them instead of pulling her into his arms to comfort her like he wanted.

The woman jumped and swiped at the tears that were appearing at more frequent intervals. Her cheeks pinked up as she turned to look at his chin. “I’m sorry, I’ll get out of your way,” she whispered, sounding miserable.

He grabbed her arm as she turned away. “Whoa there, little one. You’re not in my way. I was just wondering if I could help. You look a little lost.”

The woman froze at his touch, then slowly turned just her head to look at him. At six and a half feet tall, his size often made most people hesitate, but he hoped she would at least give him a chance. Lifting the arm he still held, he checked for and saw no ring marking her as someone else’s.

His heart howled in his chest as his cock twitched with anticipation of making the pretty little lady theirs.

“Um…well…I…” she said before closing her eyes, taking a deep breath, and visibly relaxing her body. “I wanted to buy a spiral-cut ham because they taste so good, and it’s been such a long time since I’ve had any, but they’re all so big. The little ham slices just don’t taste the same.”

Nico smiled at her flustered speech. He then took a moment to study the woman a little closer. He had first thought that like him, she was in her mid-thirties. Now, he wasn’t so sure. The silver strands in her shoulder-length chestnut-brown hair were subtle but there, and the lines around her eyes and mouth made him revise her age upward, though he wasn’t sure by how much. Still, she had an air of innocence about her that pulled at his heart, and his body.

She was at least a foot shorter than he was, but her jeans and T-shirt skimmed a curvy body that had Nico licking his lips. Looking into her sky-blue eyes, he saw pain and loneliness that made him want to pick up a sword and shield to defend her against any and all who might cause her harm. Once he slayed all her dragons, he would be more than happy to take her home and dirty her up with some serious sexy fun that would continue until they were both boneless and satisfied.

He looked over the hams in the refrigerator case, finding a smaller one tucked in the back under several others. “I think this one is about as small as they come,” he said, pulling it out and offering it to her.

“Thank you. I guess I’ll be eating ham for the next month then,” she said with a small smile that had Nico’s cock twitching in reaction. “I just hope my freezer will hold all the leftovers.”

“I’d be happy to come over and eat ham,” he said with a smile that he hoped wasn’t too threatening. “I’ll even bring dessert. How does a cherry cheesecake sound?”

Once again, the woman froze. After a long moment, she blinked.

Then she blinked again. It was as if she had never had a man try to pick her up in the grocery store before. And how sad was that? She was too pretty to have never had a man hit on her in the frozen-foods aisle. Or over a cooler full of spiral-cut hams.

She blinked again before saying, “I don’t know you.”

“Nicodemis Santi, DVM,” Nico said with a grin as he offered his hand. “But please, call me Nico. Only my grandmother calls me Nicodemis.”

* * * *

Cara wasn’t sure what was going on. All she had wanted was to buy a ham and the fixings for a nice dinner. Now here she was shaking hands with a gorgeous veterinarian who looked as if he had stepped out of one of her naughtier dreams. But after being alone and lonely for the two years she’d lived in Texas, she had just about given up on meeting anyone who affected her like this big, black-haired man did.

“Cara Michaels, craft-store clerk,” she said, slowly lifting her hand and placing it in his.

When he gently closed his fingers around her hand, and their palms touched, she gasped at the electric shiver that raced up her arm and through her body to pool in her pussy. All at once her nipples beaded, and her entire body screamed fuck me now.

Looking up, up, up, she found herself falling into a pair of dark brown eyes that showed an interest she had not seen in a man’s eyes in longer than she could remember. Her pussy clenched and she had to lock her knees to keep from dropping to the ground and begging him to fuck her over the freezer case until neither of them could move.

“Excuse me.” An annoyed voice shattered the bubble of interest and arousal that seemed to be encircling them.

Cara’s cheeks burned with embarrassment as they both stepped out of the way so the older woman could reach the selection of hams. She didn’t study them—she just grabbed one, placed it in her cart, and left.

“So, Cara Michaels, what do you say? Ham dinner with cherry cheesecake for dessert tomorrow night?” The big man smiled down at her. The glint in his eye said that if she was very lucky, there might be more than ham and dessert on the agenda. All she had to do was say yes.

After stalling for a few seconds to swallow and look around to see who might be listening, Cara nodded. “Yes, that sounds wonderful.”

Before Nico could respond further, two other tall, dark, and dangerous-looking men approached. Their arms full of buns and bags of cookies made them appear only slightly less dangerous. “Come on, Nico, Nonna’s gonna hang us out to dry if we don’t get this stuff home and get dinner cooking.”

“Give me a minute,” Nico said as he pulled out his wallet. In the next instant, he handed Cara a business card. “Text my cell with your address and I’ll see you tomorrow night about six?”

Cara nodded, still a bit stunned that she’d come in for a ham and was leaving with a date.

“I’ll see you then, pretty Cara,” Nico said before leaning down and brushing the back of a finger across her cheekbone. As he turned to follow his friends, her gaze dropped to notice the rather sizeable bulge pressing against the zipper of his well-fitting faded jeans. Oh, my.

ADULT EXCERPT

Cara sighed with relief as she nodded her agreement. Knowing her Daddy wouldn’t put her in diapers, or demand she eat from a bottle or sleep away from him went a long way to easing the fears that had been building up since she’d woken that morning. Her always-busy mind had been doubly so as she realized she didn’t want to be a newborn Little girl.

She wanted to be old enough to care for herself in some ways, but also dependent upon her Daddy to take care of her in others. Voicing her opinion was one of the hardest things she had ever done. The fact that Nico not only had listened, but also hadn’t let her run away when she’d tried made her feel that maybe things would be all right between them.

That lasted until they started shopping and Nico pulled her into the more expensive clothing shops instead of the thrift store across the street like she had wanted. They were in the third store, having already spent way more than Cara felt comfortable with, when she tried to put her foot down and learned that while Nico was determined to spoil her, he could also be a very strict Daddy.

Never having enjoyed shopping, Cara had never had an extensive wardrobe. As long as she had a couple of pairs of dress slacks or skirts, two pair of jeans, and a couple of nice blouses, she was good to go. Until now, she had always kept her wardrobe small enough to fit in a single carry-on suitcase. But Nico had already carried a half-dozen bags to the SUV, full of everything from jeans and T-shirts to skirts and dresses. He had already promised to do some online shopping for more Little-appropriate clothing. Finally, Cara had had enough.

“Stop, please. Enough, Nico. I don’t need anything else. I just need a couple of pairs of jeans and some T-shirts to work at the rescue center, don’t I?”

As soon as the words were out, she gasped, realizing how loud her words had come out. At least she had called Nico by name, and not Daddy as he was encouraging her to do.

Nico didn’t say a word, but grabbed several things off a discount rack. He wrapped his free hand around her arm, then headed to the back of the store where the changing rooms were located. Cara watched him as they walked, but his expression had gone strangely blank. She couldn’t tell how angry her outburst had made him.

After hanging the clothes on the return rack, Nico pulled her along behind him past the changing rooms and into the employees-only area beyond. By the time he looked around to confirm they were alone, Cara was growing frightened and not sure how to calm the man down.

“Nico?”

Nico turned to face her and laid heavy hands on her shoulders to hold her in place. Then he bent closer until they were nose to nose. “Who am I?” His words were soft and laced with a power that sent a shiver through Cara.

“Daddy,” she murmured.

“And who knows best for his Little girl?”

“Daddy does,” she said, blinking back tears. “I’m sorry, Daddy.”

Nico looked around the storage area and then pulled her behind a tall stack of boxes. “Drop your pants and panties to your ankles and bend over that table,” he said softly, pointing to a folding table in what appeared to be a break area. “You’ll have to be very quiet or someone will come back and find us.”

Fear raced through Cara as she undid her pants and pushed them and her panties to her ankles. She shuffled over to the table and lay across it. She began to tremble as she waited for whatever Nico was going to do to her.

“Daddy always knows what’s best for his Little girl,” Nico said, his tone softening slightly as he stepped up behind her. “I know you’re not used to someone else making decisions for you, but I’m your Daddy now. I will not allow such disrespect at any time, but especially when we are in public.”

“Yes, Daddy. I’m sorry,” Cara said softly.

“Lift your arms and hold the far edge of the table. Because this is your first spanking, and we’re liable to be caught, you’ll only receive five spanks, but they’re going to be hard and fast so you’ll remember.”

“Yes, Daddy,” Cara said before lifting her arms and wrapping her fingers around the table’s edge. She rolled her lips over her teeth to keep her mouth shut as she tried to relax in preparation for her first spanking.

Smack, smack, smack, smack, smack.

Cara closed her eyes and fought down the scream that fought to escape. Fiery pain flashed through her ass from each site where Nico’s hand had come down hard on her ass. But, as promised, the last slap landed almost before she fully registered the first. Her clit pulsed as the heat and pain spread, and she arched her back when no more strikes fell.

“Breathe, sweetheart. It’s all over,” Nico said as he brushed a hand between her legs. She closed her eyes when she realized how wet she had become in the past few seconds. “You’re all wet. Did getting spanked turn you on, little one?”

She moaned softly when two fingers slid into her and twisted around.

“Oh, yeah, I can see you liked your spanking. I liked it too,” Nico said. “I was going to wait until we were home and had plenty of time to play, but I can’t walk around like this, and I’m not sure you can either.”

Cara heard a zipper and then fabric rustling behind her. A moment later, Nico pushed her feet as far apart as her pants around her ankles would allow. His blunt-tipped cock then slid up the valley of her ass before he dragged it down over her back hole and slid it further between her legs and over her clit. After pulling back again, he slid into her cunt in one strong thrust, not stopping until his balls were pressed against her clit.

“Damn, feels good, sweetheart,” he whispered as he bent over and kissed on the side of her neck. “This is going to be fast and rough. You can come, but you cannot make a sound, remember?”

“Yes, Daddy,” Cara breathed, tightening her hold on the table as she arched her back.