Jaxon watched as they went to the next couple. From what he could tell, the man had the patience of a saint.
“Oh, look, Daddy, I want a cape too.” Tazzy pointed toward Breezy and Gage.
It appeared that Breezy had somehow convinced Gage to let her borrow his favorite flannel shirt to tie around her shoulders like a cape.
Before he could reply, another Little ran up to them.
“Don’t forget to wear your stickers,” Winnie said. She handed Tazzy a sheet of stickers that read, “I Survived the Veggie Tyranny.”
Jaxon plucked the sheet out of Tazzy’s hand to examine it.
“Hey, that’s mine.” Yelled Tazzy. She cocked her hip to one side and crossed her arms in a pout.
“Just making sure it’s Daddy approved,” Jaxon said.
“You can bet it’s not.”
Jaxon looked up. Reid was standing there huffing and puffing.
“You know what else isn’t Daddy approved?” said Reid, now addressing Winnie.
“Uhhh…. No, Daddy.” Winnie gave Reid her most innocent Bambi eyes.
“Running off without Daddy. I think you know what this means.”
“Everybody knows what this means, don’t they, babygirl?” Jaxon asked Tazzy.
“Oh, look, there’s Georgia. She doesn’t have her stickers either.” With that pronouncement, Winnie took off.
Reid ran his fingers through his hair and growled, “See you two later at the warehouse,” before running after Winnie.
Jaxon shook his head with a sigh. “Okay, Darkling, you can wear the stickers, but just while the protest is going on.”
Tazzy jumped up and down. “Thank you, Daddy.” Then she snatched the stickers back and started putting them all over her shirt.
Jaxon looked toward Georgia and Hutch to make sure Reid hadcaught up with Winnie. Following his gaze, Tazzy squealed. “Doesn’t Georgia have the greatest sign?”
Jaxon shook his head in disbelief. “Well, it’s certainly the biggest.”
It was true, no one in the square could miss the giant “HUTCH CAN’T STOP THE BUNNY REVOLUTION!” written across a huge placard. No wonder she had to staple it to a couple of sticks just to hold it up.
And, yes, Winnie and Reid were there, handing Hutch the sticker sheet and talking.
Jaxon unslung his backpack and took out Tazzy’s water bottle. His voice came out low and steady, the kind he knew made Tazzy’s belly flip. “Drink this right now, Darkling. You’re yelling loud enough to scare the birds out of the trees. I put it in your favorite bottle.” He whipped out a bag of carrots, too. “I brought carrot sticks—three of them. Eat these, and you can have one Peep when we get home.”
Tazzy stuck her tongue out at him, still waving her sign like a battle flag. “No deal, Daddy! That’s enemy talk. Gabi says it’s our First Amendment right to demand chocolatebeforeveggies of any kind, including carrots!”
He exhaled through his nose, that familiar mix of loving frustration and raw possessiveness tightening in his chest. God, she was beautiful when she was like this… all wild and playful. Even when she was pushing her limits to the max.
He shook his head. Having pure fun like this had been foreign to him for so long that it was taking some getting used to. He had to fight the urge to get angry and enforce consequences in that anger, something he knew he would never do. Something that could easily get out of control.
“Babygirl, you know there will be consequences already. Don’t make the mistake of pushing too hard.”
“Everything’s under control, Daddy.” She gave him a seductively evil grin. “Well, maybe not everything.”
Damn it, she really knew how to push his buttons. He’d love nothing better than to put her over his knee, redden her ass, and thenfuck her speechless right here in front of God and everyone. But no, he’d have to control that particular urge.
It was clear that he wasn’t the only one having a hard time with control. All that the sugar from the contraband cookies and sweets the Littles had been handing out was already making the whole group loud and bouncy. He could see the sugar-induced frenzy building like a dark cloud over the mountains. They needed to get these girls to the warehouse before someone ended up sick or the whole town council showed up.