His Little Sunshine by Della Cain

Chapter Twenty-One

Brad

I held onto Quinn’s hand like it was my life force, and in a way it was. He gave me the strength to come here, not little but also not hiding my little side. I didn’t know if I’d ever want to come here and be little, but being Quinn’s? That I was all about.

The place was packed and had Marion not saved us a small table near where all of the ceremonial part of the evening would take place, odds were good we’d be standing. I’d assumed all of our friends would be here, but, unfortunately, Daniel and his men had already booked a vacation on the coast, and Johnson and Kasper were going to something for Johnson’s office that had also been preplanned.

Out of all the people I knew, Evan and Sebastian were the only ones who would be here, and, given Evan never met a stranger, I wasn’t sure we’d run into them for more than a hug. And I wouldn’t blame them for not wanting to join us. Our table was front and center.

“There is a lot of interest in our display,” I noted.

Declan was taking that part of the event, Holden standing behind him and not getting in his way but also being present.

Declan was the star, and me being there would detract from that. Had this not been for charity, Declan wouldn’t have been cool with that, wanting us to be even Steven, but it was, and some things were better left ignored.

The display was great. We had unidentifiable pictures and layouts for people to look at, one of his most popular episodes playing on the iPad on repeat, and examples of the furniture he was able to have custom ordered just for them. It was the one-stop design for all your kinky needs. Sure, we did a lot of nurseries and playrooms, thanks to word of mouth, but we’d branched out and were willing to branch out more.

“They have some cool things.” Lots of them. Everything from a vacation on the Cape to some fancy motorcycle that had quite a few people drooling. They even had a Birkin bag and, from the whispers, it was a sought-after one expected to fetch over twenty thousand dollars. It was cute and all, but, for that kind of money, I’d want it to do the dishes, too.

“I was thinking of bidding on a couple.” We’d gotten the list early to make sure our part looked good. “How about you?”

I had planned to donate, but it would probably be by depositing a check in the beautiful piggy bank Evan somehow created out of nothing but sugar and food dye. I swore he was magic sometimes.

“Not sure. Probably just put my check in the cool bank. Shame they are going to have to break it.” It was enough to make a difference in someone’s life but not enough to win anything.

“Evan was looking forward to that part.” Quinn was right. Evan had mentioned it during more than one call we had with him about tonight.

Which meant, I probably should worry less. It was challenging with all the things going on around me and my expectations for the night rapidly changing with each new bit of information flooding in.

“It is really mind-boggling that a person could create that.” Daddy put his arm around my shoulder, and I scootched my chair closer to him.

We ordered an appetizer sampler and iced tea for the four of us, thinking it would get there when Declan and Holden returned, and the timing was perfect, our server setting down the napkins as the lights began to dim. Showtime.

We ate and listened to Marion regale the audience about the night’s events, the organization sharing about their projects, and even a local designer doing a little fashion show. Their work was beautiful.

“You would look sexy in that one.” Quinn spoke low in my ear at just about each pair of shorts, only bolstering my adoration.

Next came the auction. One at a time, things were sold to the highest bidder. There were so many zeros in the checks being written tonight, I’d lost count of the number of scholarships that had been funded.

“For our next item, we have a week at the ranch.” Unlike our donation, Holden didn’t have a fancy table set up to woo people. People had been calling all week about the offering, and an assistant had two people on the phone live bidding by proxy. “This is very popular, and we already have a starting bid of ten thousand dollars.”

I very much underestimated the draw of the ranch. Sure, I loved it there, but that was because I had a cowboy to ride and a daddy to cuddle, not because I loved the scent of manure and couldn’t wait to muck barns, which was one of the things promised to the winner.

The bidding only went up from there and as Marion declared a winner, she announced the availability of a second one at the same price, it, too, being immediately snatched up. I just stared at her, almost wondering if it was going to be followed by a “gotcha.” It was not.

Everyone clapped and cheered. The auction had already surpassed its initial goal, and Marion had raised the bar, asking us to see if we could double it.

We were last and, while it wasn’t meant to increase the pressure on us, it still felt that way. Or rather, I felt that way.

“Daddies, mommies, masters, and owners—this is the item you have been waiting for.” Please let that be true. Somehow, this winning bid held the key to me feeling like our business was legit. It was ridiculous. Of course, it was. But this was the first thing I did that wasn’t being someone’s assistant and…it felt huge. “Get a custom-designed nursery, playroom, kennel, cat condo…or, if you are feeling a bit vanilla, even your living room from the star of more shows on the home network than anyone in their history.”

He was no longer on that hamster wheel, but he had built an empire, that was for sure.

“All of the details are on your bidding sheet and, just a reminder, the booking is for April of next year which is sooner than you could get by booking directly.” It was true. We had a pretty extensive waiting list.

“Who shall start us off with five?” Marion nodded. “We have five thousand. Do I have ten?”

Quinn raised his paddle. Quinn. My Quinn. My daddy was bidding on our design package.

He was quickly outbid, the numbers coming in as the highest of the evening. We later discovered it was an owner looking to create a kennel. That would be a fun project. But I couldn’t focus there, my mind on Daddy’s bids.

Holden and Declan didn’t mention it, instead eating the appetizers and discussing whether they were going to play or go home. They had to have noticed. The man had bid ten thousand dollars on a nursery. A nursery he could’ve had for free. A nursery for…me?

“I’d like to go to the room for a bit.” I needed a time-out away from all the noise and excitement and people stopping by to congratulate Declan.

“Let’s go. Mind if I stop at the pig first?”

We walked past the pig, and he dropped a ten thousand dollar check in it, letting the person manning the table know for her recordkeeping.

I waited until we were in the room to ask him about it. There was too much stimuli around us before that for me to be able to give his answer the focus it deserved.

“You gave them ten thousand dollars. Your bid wasn’t just to bid up.” I plopped down on the bench. “Why did you bid?” I didn’t ask him why he donated. That answer was simple; it was a great cause.

He sat down beside me. “What did you think when I first bid? The very first thing before you let logic and adulting get in the way.”

“That it would be a forest.” The idea flipped through my mind so quickly, I hadn’t thought about what that meant until he slowed it down for me. “I want my nursery to be a forest with fairies and gnomes and animals.”

“And that’s why I did it.” He pressed a small kiss on my temple.

“I don’t think I want a crib.”

“Then we won’t get one. I prefer you in my bed anyway.” He ran his fingers through my hair. “I like trolls.”

“Papa Troll.” I giggled.

“I’ve been called worse things.” He pulled me against him. “No pressure. This was my way of showing my support. You’d been hinting when you were little, but then when you were big…you let being big get in the way.”

“I do that. Good thing I have you.”

“Always, Sunshine. You always have me.”

“Promises, promises.” I stuck out my tongue. “That first night at your place you mentioned me having that ass, but have I? No. Not once.”

“You needed to speak up, Sunshine. I thought that was awkward, trying to figure out where we stood on sex talk.” He stood and held out both hands, and I took them. He pulled me up. “Grab your satchel. It’s time to go.”

“Already?” I wasn’t saying no. The whole evening had been rather overwhelming.

“Unless you want to fuck me here.”

“I’ll get my bag.”