Daddy's Little Bride Read online

  Daddy's Little Bride

  Laylah Roberts

  Laylah Roberts.

  Daddy’s Little Bride

  © 2021, Laylah Roberts.

  [email protected]

  laylahroberts.com

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author / publisher.

  Cover Design by: Allycat’s Creations

  Editing: Celeste Jones

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  Books by Laylah Roberts

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Daddy in Cowboy Boots

  Books by Laylah Roberts

  Doms of Decadence

  Just for You, Sir

  Forever Yours, Sir

  For the Love of Sir

  Sinfully Yours, Sir

  Make me, Sir

  A Taste of Sir

  To Save Sir

  Sir’s Redemption

  Reveal Me, Sir

  Montana Daddies

  Daddy Bear

  Daddy’s Little Darling

  Daddy’s Naughty Darling (novella)

  Daddy’s Sweet Girl

  Daddy’s Lost Love

  A Montana Daddies Christmas

  Daring Daddy

  Warrior Daddy

  Daddy’s Little Cowgirl (novella)

  Daddy’s Angel

  Heal Me, Daddy

  Daddy’s Little Bride (novella)

  Daddy in Cowboy Boots

  A Little Christmas Cheer: a crossover novel

  MC Daddy

  Motorcycle Daddy

  Hero Daddy

  Protector Daddy

  Untamed Daddy (coming March 2021)

  Haven, Texas Series

  Lila’s Loves

  Laken’s Surrender

  Saving Savannah

  Molly’s Man

  Saxon’s Soul

  Mastered by Malone

  How West was Won

  Cole’s Mistake

  Jardin’s Gamble

  Romanced by the Malones: two novellas (coming Feb 2021)

  Harem of Daddies

  Ruled by her Daddies

  Men of Orion

  Worlds Apart

  Cavan Gang

  Rectify

  Redemption

  Redemption Valley

  Audra’s Awakening

  Old-Fashioned Series

  An Old-Fashioned Man

  Two Old-Fashioned Men

  Her Old-Fashioned Husband

  Her Old-Fashioned Boss

  His Old-Fashioned Love

  An Old-Fashioned Christmas

  Bad Boys of Wildeside

  Wilde

  Sinclair

  Luke

  1

  The damn monkey suit was too tight.

  Clint tugged at his collar. “What the hell? Why does the top button have to be done up?”

  “Because you’re wearing a tie,” Kent replied calmly.

  “A tie! Are you kidding me?”

  “Clint, do I look like I’m joking?” Kent glared at him. “Now stop fidgeting, we’re supposed to make certain your suit fits properly since you wouldn’t have a final fitting.”

  “I haven’t got the time. I’ve got work to finish before we go on our honeymoon.”

  That was the one thing he was holding onto. A honeymoon. Two weeks. Just him and Charlotte. No damn suit fittings or Kent harping on about things like vests and ties and rings. Did he want to marry Charlotte? Of course, he did. He wanted to tie her to him every way he possibly could.

  But he wished he could do it without all this … this fluff.

  This is what Charlotte wants.

  It had kind of surprised him how much of a traditional wedding she desired. The church. The white dress. Him in a monkey suit. There was even a horse and carriage involved.

  “Can’t believe she wanted a horse and carriage,” he muttered. “I’m a respectable rancher not Prince Charming.”

  “Believe me, no one thinks you’re Prince Charming,” Kent said dryly.

  Clint had left the wedding details up to Charlotte. But the honeymoon was his area. He’d made reservations for them to spend two weeks in a house right on the water near Galveston. Where he was going to ensure that his baby slept and ate and got plenty of Little time.

  In between tying her to the bed and having his way with her. Yeah, he could see why men did this wedding stuff…it was all for the honeymoon. And the ability to proclaim that their woman was their wife.

  Clint was a possessive bastard, so he was going to enjoy the shit out of that as well.

  If he didn’t fucking shoot his brother and end up in jail first. Because he swore, if Kent didn’t stop poking and prodding at him…

  Clint blew out a breath. “Didn’t know you were so into fashion.”

  “I’m the best man. It’s my job to get you to the church on time. I also need to make sure that you’re dressed properly. It’s a lot harder than I’d thought it would be.”

  “Your job is a piece of cake.”

  “We’ll just see what you say when I get married.”

  “You’ve got plans to ask Abby?” He’d expected it. Kent’s girlfriend, Abby meant everything to Kent. And she adored him.

  “I have,” Kent said quietly.

  “How you gonna do it?”

  “Oh no.” Kent shook his head as he put the tie around Clint’s neck. “I’m not telling you. You can’t keep a secret to save yourself.”

  “You have to tell me because I’m gonna be the best man.”

  “Still not telling you.”

  “You’ve got to tell me because I’m your brother.” If it was possible for him to pout, he would.

  Kent shook his head. “Not happening.”

  “I’ll pay for the whole thing if you tell me,” he bribed.

  Kent just raised his eyebrows. “I can pay for my own damn wedding. And I’m still not telling you.” He tightened the tie until Clint could barely breathe.

  He reached for the tie, loosening it. “Hey!”

  “Sorry,” Kent said.

  Clint glared at him. He could tell he didn’t mean the apology. “Shouldn’t have let you play with my toys as a kid. It’s made you ungrateful.”

  Kent rolled his eyes. “You were a selfish brat as a kid. You didn’t share anything.”

  Clint turned to look at himself in the mirror. Black suit, cream vest and a black shirt and dark blue tie.

  “Well?” Kent asked.

  “Yeah, it’s okay.” He’d probably never wear this again. Unless…

  “Guess it will also work for when I’m best man at your wedding. Get more bang for my buck.”

  “Like you’re short a buck.” Kent shook his head. “You just offered to pay for my wedding.”

  “Because you won’t tell me how you’re gonna propose!” He hated not knowing things. “I still say we should have just eloped. All this fuss for one damn day. And I wouldn’t have to wear a damn monkey suit. Think about it, quick trip to Las Vegas, some Elvis look-alike then a honeymoon. Done.”

  Kent gave him an exasperated look. “I know you don’t really mean that.”

  “How do you know? These past few weeks, I’ve bar
ely seen Charlotte even though we live in the same damn house. We’ve both been so busy. It’s crazy.” He couldn’t even remember when she last had some Little time. “I remember Bear warned me it was gonna be madness but I scoffed at him. Damn bastard was right.”

  He started pulling off the tie. These things should be illegal.

  “It will all be over soon,” Kent reassured him.

  Thank God for that.

  2

  She knew he didn’t mean it.

  Most of the time Clint was filled with bluster. He had the hugest heart. He took care of everyone on Sanctuary ranch like they were family. She loved him. He was everything to her.

  But it still kind of hurt to hear him say he’d rather elope than go through with the wedding she’d meticulously organized. The day she’d dreamed about for years.

  Her hands shook as she pulled on her jacket and boots and stepped into the cool, winter air. All her life she’d dreamed about the big, white wedding. It had gotten her through a lot of bad times. Growing up with an abusive aunt, she’d never received any affection or love.

  She’d only had her daydreams. Didn’t all little girls dream of the big, poofy dress, a carriage and handsome guy in a suit staring at them adoringly?

  But maybe most of them grew out of that. Perhaps she’d gone too overboard. She’d pushed Clint into something he didn’t want.

  Guilt swamped her.

  You should go tell him he doesn’t have to wear that suit if he doesn’t want to. That you don’t need any of it if it’s not what he wants as well.

  Did he even want any of it?

  She should probably tell him that she’d overheard his conversation with Kent. Then she’d likely get her butt roasted for eavesdropping.

  She deserved it.

  Turning, her mind made up, she was caught by surprise as her head spun. She leaned a hand against a tree until the dizziness faded. That was weird. She took some slow breaths to calm the nausea bubbling in her stomach. When she was certain it was under control, she looked around. Well, shoot.

  She’d walked off the path. Clint would kill her if she got lost. She wouldn’t need to worry about the wedding, because she’d be dead.

  Okay, she knew she could make her way back. This wasn’t like the time she’d gone chasing after that bunny and Jed had to rescue her. Rambo to the rescue.

  She grinned.

  She started walking back the way she’d come. She quickly found the path she’d been following earlier. Soon she found herself stepping out of the trees and behind the large barn. Thank goodness she hadn’t gone too far. She let out a relieved breath then moved around the barn, shivering slightly. The air was growing even colder. Was it going to snow?

  “Charlie?”

  She startled at the familiar voice, turning with a smile as she saw Linc, the ranch manager, coming towards her. But she must have moved too fast. Her head spun. Dark spots danced in front of her vision. She heard her name shouted just as the ground rushed up to meet her.

  Then nothing.

  3

  “What the hell is wrong with her? Is she sick?”

  Clint’s bellow stirred her.

  “Clint, shut up, you’re waking her,” Kent said.

  “Don’t we want to wake her up? We shouldn’t let her sleep, right? What if she hit her head?”

  “I don’t think she did,” someone else said. Who was that? How many people were here? “Think she just fainted. You’ve called Doc?”

  She groaned at that. Doc? Someone called Doc? She didn’t need him. She felt fine. Well, she was nauseous and she wasn’t that keen on moving just yet, but she was certain she’d be fine soon. Doc would want to examine her. Which meant things getting stuck up her butt.

  That sounded worse than it actually was. But Doc didn’t believe in taking temperatures the normal way. Nope, he had to use a rectal thermometer. He claimed it was more accurate. She wasn’t buying that baloney. She was certain he just liked sticking things up people’s butts.

  Okay, that sounded bad too.

  Only up Littles butts. He had a normal thermometer for when the men on the ranch were ill or injured.

  Then there were the vitamin suppositories that he liked to prescribe for Littles. Yeah, there was a lot of butt stuff. And she hadn’t even gotten to the things Clint liked to do to her backside.

  She could feel herself blushing at the thought.

  “She’s flushed. She’s ill,” Clint said worriedly. A huge, cold hand rested on her forehead and she jumped, letting out a startled cry.

  “Your hand is like an icicle,” she said, her throat scratchy.

  Oh shit. She wasn’t actually ill, was she? Nope, she didn’t have time for this. She had stuff to do. She needed to call the caterer. She had to check with the florist. Her bridal shower was soon.

  She reached up and lightly pushed Clint’s hand away. Then she opened her eyes, nearly gasping at the sight of three men staring down at her, concern filling their faces. She glanced quickly around, noting that she was lying on her bed, with a blanket over her.

  “Umm, hi.”

  She tried to sit but Clint reached out and grasped hold of her shoulder, keeping her flat on her back.

  “Lie there, Charlotte. Don’t move.” Clint’s voice was so stern that she immediately nodded.

  She reached up and rubbed her throbbing head.

  “Charlie, do you remember what happened?” Linc asked. He was the other voice she’d heard. “Do you remember seeing me outside the barn?”

  She frowned, thinking. Bits of memories came back to her. “Ahh, yes. What happened next?”

  “You went all pale then you collapsed. I picked you up and brought you home.”

  “What were you even doing out there?” Clint frowned as he sat on the bed, facing her. “It’s freezing outside. You shouldn’t be leaving the house. Where were you going?”

  She cleared her throat. Hmm. This was going to take some explaining. And she wasn’t sure she wanted an audience for this chat.

  “What is everyone doing in here? Why are you all crowding over my patient? Can she even breathe with all the looming?” a deep voice barked grouchily from the doorway.

  Doc was here.

  She’d thought he might be less grumpy now that he’d found Caley. Both he and his brother, Archer, were involved with Caley, which had kind of surprised Charlie. Doc didn’t seem the sharing type. But it seemed to work well for the three of them. She guessed Archer’s smooth calm evened out Doc’s gruffness.

  But, unfortunately, he only seemed to soften when Caley was around. At least from what Charlie had seen. Then again, if he could get the room cleared of Kent and Linc she’d be grateful. She wasn’t really in the mood to be stared at.

  “Out. I have work to do and I can’t do it with all of you in the way.” Doc stepped into the room and made shooing motions with his hands.

  Kent sighed and glared at him. “You do know you work for me, right?”

  Kent owned Jensen Security International. His headquarters were situated on Sanctuary Ranch. While Kent ran JSI, Clint ran the ranch. Technically, Doc was employed by Kent although he looked after everyone on the ranch.

  “I’m vaguely aware of it,” Doc replied as he set his bag on an armchair in the corner of the room. “What of it?”

  “You’re not supposed to shoo me.”

  “I don’t remember that being in my employment agreement. I’m supposed to do what is in my patient’s best interests. And right now, what Charlie really wants is for me to shoo you, isn’t that right, sweetie?”

  Sweetie? That was new. He’d never called her that before. In fact, mostly he didn’t address her, preferring to bark orders at Clint, which she’d always thought was rather brave of him.

  Perhaps having Caley around was making him soften up.

  Kent reached down and squeezed her hand. “Feel better soon, Charlie. Let me know if you need anything.” That last part was directed at Clint who nodded in reply.

  �
�Hope you’re okay, sweetheart,” Linc told her, giving her a smile. She hoped he found someone special soon. She just knew he would make a great Daddy.

  “Right, now that they’re all gone, someone tell me what happened.” Doc reached for her hand, resting two fingers on her pulse.

  “I was outside for a walk and Linc called out to me. I must have turned too quickly or something. Because the next thing I knew, I woke up here.”

  “Right. Did you feel sick? Have a headache? Have you noticed any dizziness before this?”

  “Umm.” How much to tell him? She didn’t want him to think she was actually ill. She didn’t have time for that.

  “Charlotte,” Clint said warningly. He was standing at the end of the bed, his arms crossed over his wide chest, a scowl on his face. He’d changed back into jeans and a plaid shirt. She’d wanted to peek in on him in his suit earlier. Which is how she’d come to be outside their bedroom door, accidentally eavesdropping on his conversation with Kent, when she’d heard him talking about eloping.

  Guilt swamped her. He didn’t want any of this wedding. She’d pushed him into it.

  “Tell Doc the truth,” Clint warned.

  She licked her lips and glanced over at Doc. “Umm, well, I guess I felt a bit dizzy earlier today.”

  “All right, anything else? Headache? Sore throat?”

  She shook her head then winced. “I’ve got a bit of a headache right now.”

  Doc nodded. “Think you can sit up okay? I want to check your throat and have a listen to your chest.”

  “Yes, I can.” She put her hands down to push herself up. Suddenly, Clint was there. He moved pillows around so she was half-reclining. She gave him a small smile.

  “Thank you.”

  Clint’s face softened before he moved away so Doc could examine her. He looked down her throat, felt her glands. Then he peered in her ears, before checking her breathing with his stethoscope.

  “Right, Clint, can you help her lie on her side and pull down her pants. I’ll take her temperature.”