Daddy Claiming His Little by Jess Winters
CHAPTER ONE
Maya
I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw it. Big, with shaggy grey fur and snarling teeth. The wolf looked more evil in the moonlight as its yellow eyes narrowed and mouth dripping saliva onto the concrete. I was cornered.
“Nice…puppy…” I said, my voice shaky.
It was definitely not a puppy, let alone a nice one.
I had thought that walking back home from my best friend’s house would be a good time. We were both graduating from high school in a few months and had been celebrating our eighteenth birthdays by marathoning old movies and eating bag after bag of popcorn.
“Are you sure you’re going to be okay walking home?” she had asked me.
I hadn’t even given it a second thought when I gave her a quick hug and said, “Yes, of course, you don’t need to worry about me.”
Steph told me to text her when I got home. Little did she know, I might never get home.
I took a cautious step back, then another. The wolf growled again, low and deep. I hoped it wouldn’t howl and alert other wolves in the area. Living in West Virginia was gorgeous, but the wildlife was sometimes out of control.
I hadn’t thought in a million years I would be face-to-face with my untimely doom.
“That’s a good boy,” I said quietly.
The wolf seemed fine, allowing me to step away slowly. And then I made a critical mistake; I accidentally stepped on a twig which set the wolf off again.
“Please,” I pleaded, tears running down my cheeks.
The wolf didn’t care. Then, just when I thought it was going to leap and tear at my exposed neck, I heard the familiar sound of a pickup truck on gravel.
The truck appeared out of nowhere, golden headlights illuminating the wolf’s angry face in swaths of yellow. But the wolf wasn’t afraid.
“Now, if you don’t step away from this fine young woman, we’re going to have a problem,” came a voice deep and sweet as honey.
It was the town’s sheriff, Sheriff Ajax Stone. He had come just in time to save me.
“Don’t move,” he instructed me.
I could hear the cocking of a gun behind me, but I knew Ajax was only pointing it at the wolf. He was the best sharpshooter in town. Don’t get me wrong, we had good sheriffs before, but no one was like Ajax. He was capable of protecting anyone at any time.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
I was anticipating a loud gunshot, but instead Ajax leaned into his car and laid on the horn sending the wolf back into the forest.
I turned around and practically leaped into Ajax’s arms. He chuckled, stroking the top of my head softly.
“There, there, Maya,” he crooned. “Now you know better than to be walking home alone at night.”
“I know,” I sniffled. “I thought it would be fine since there’s not a lot of cars out here. I guess I made a mistake.”
“Nah, you were just doing what you thought was safest. But you need to be careful.”
I didn’t want to let go. Ajax was probably used to hugging all sorts of beautiful girls, and I was just another random resident to him.
“Come on then,” he said, letting go slightly.
“Oh,” I said, protesting softly.
“I’ll give you a ride home.”
I smiled at him, enjoying the way his navy-blue eyes looked almost ocean-like in the moonlight.
We walked towards his truck with me safely tucked in his arms, and I wondered if he knew I was a Little. Of course, that would’ve been impossible because he didn’t know anything about me. Besides, he probably had plenty of other women in his life to distract him.
“Now, be careful you don’t get your hair caught on that seatbelt,” he told me as he buckled me in.
“Ok, I will be,” I responded.
I lived in a one-bedroom apartment close to the college. And even though I loved the way the natural light filtered in through the blinds in the morning, I hated being alone.
“Um,” I said quietly, unsure of how to ask him if he could take me to his house or not.
How did one make such a request of an older man?
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“It’s just that I’m scared to be alone in my apartment— but I don’t want to invade your space—”
“Say no more.”
He swiftly turned his car around in a parking lot.
“Honestly, I don’t want to bother you,” I started to protest, but he just shushed me.
“You had quite the scare tonight, and I wouldn’t want you to feel like you’re not properly taken care of after an incident like that. You’re coming home with me, no arguments about it.”
I had to stop myself from calling him Daddy. I couldn’t reveal how handsome and caring I thought he was, otherwise, he might feel like I shouldn’t stay at his house.
We took the long way to his house, listening to old country songs on the radio that I grew up with. When we finally got to his ranch, I was in awe—a beautiful, enormous property surrounded by glistening sycamore trees.
Wrapped around the porch were faded blue and green lights that no doubt kept the bugs away.
“Well, this is home,” he said.
“It’s beautiful,” I responded.
I went to unbuckle my seatbelt, but he stopped me.
“Oh no you don’t,” he said.
He quickly ran around to my side of the car, unbuckled me, and scooped me into his arms.
I wrapped my hands around his neck, enjoying the feeling of his scratchy beard against my skin.
Once inside, he tucked me into the guest room, making sure the temperature was just right before he pressed the blanket around me to make sure I was secure.
“Sleep well, and just holler if you need anything.”
“Will you be close by?” I asked, knowing it was a big request, but I couldn’t help how vulnerable I felt. That wolf had scared the living daylights out of me, and I didn’t know if I’d ever be able to sleep again without getting nervous at the sights and sounds of the forest beyond.To my pleasure, Ajax gave me a soft smile. “Don’t you worry about a thing,” he said in his soft yet gruff tone.
Instantly I was warm and wanting to press my face against that beard of his. I wanted to know what it felt like in other places if it might tickle between my legs.
“I’ll be right down the hall if you need anything, and I’m a light sleeper, so I’ll be able to hear in case anything goes wrong. So, you sleep tight, okay?”
I beamed. “Thank you,” I said softly before closing my eyes and drifting off to sleep.
