Sadie's Little Christmas - Maren Smith Page 0,39
was anything but amused. “She won’t be judged,” Derek repeated meaningfully, “for things that aren’t her fault.”
Nodding, the detective looked around the room. His gaze fell on the assorted pictures hanging on Derek’s wall—nothing special, just a few of the many Littles he’d developed a great fondness for over the years, frozen in photographs in the midst of exploring various Ranch life activities. Forrester moved in closer to study each one.
“You know, I don’t think I believe you,” he said conversationally, leaning in to get a closer look at a Little girl, laughing as she was held across Moses’s knee at last summer’s fun camp games. Other places had kissing booths; they’d had a spanking booth where winners could turn in their tickets for either toys or spankings. Poor Moses had worn his arm out. “I’ve been looking online, and I’ve got to admit, according to what I’ve been reading, there a lot of things a submissive like her could get judged for,”—Forrester tossed him a grin, which again didn’t touch his eyes—“and punished for in a place like this. Makes me wonder, what exactly do you do here, Mr. Hawkins?”
“Nothing illegal.”
“How did she know about this place?”
“Through a mutual friend.”
“Who?”
“Her lawyer. You should already have his name.”
“I do, thank you. What confuses me is this. She goes through what I’m supposed to believe is hell for her…”
“She was nearly killed,” Derek cut in.
“If that were true, she wouldn’t be here. She’d be too freaked out to want to be here.”
If? Derek’s ire rose high.
“One would think she’d be too traumatized to want anything more to do with any of this crap.”
“Sadie has her scars,” he assured the man.
“Yet here she is, asking you to give her more. Like it was no big deal. Yeah.” Leaning away from the wall of pictures, Forrester turned back to face him. “I think I’d really like to talk to Sadie again.”
Derek would sooner cut off his own arm than fetch her. “I suggest you contact her lawyer and make an appointment.”
“That’s for her to tell me, not you. Bring her out, or I’ll have you arrested for interfering.”
Crossing the room, Derek didn’t stop until he was directly in front of the watchful detective. He promptly offered up his wrists for cuffs.
“Go on,” he challenged. “Jump, you’re feeling so froggy. I promise I’ll be out before I’ve been booked in, and you’ll be out of a job even faster.”
“You think so?”
“I know so. The minute those cuffs go on me, this place will go into lockdown, my secretary will be on the phone with my lawyer, and my lawyer will be on the phone to your police chief. An amicable man. I’ve played golf with him many times.”
Forrester clenched his jaw but otherwise didn’t move.
Derek eased another step closer, wrists still offered up.
“Go on. I’ll admit I’m usually the one who puts the handcuffs on. This will be my first time bottoming for another man. I’m all a-tingle,” he deadpanned.
The detective jerked back. “The fuck is wrong with you!”
“Is that a no?”
Stepping back, Forrester snapped, “Expect my phone call.”
“You expect mine.”
Frustrated, the detective turned on his heel and stormed for the door. He very nearly ran into Headmaster Jenkins on his way out.
“Who was that?” Jenkins asked, eyebrows arching at the force of the man’s slamming exit.
“One of our local detectives, and a man without any kink tolerance whatsoever. I’m going to need our lawyers to make a phone call to his captain, I think. What’s up?”
“Looks like Marcus might be coming down with something. He’s spent the last hour in the toilet, so he doesn’t think it’s a good idea for him to play Santa and spread whatever he’s got to the Littles. What are the odds, huh? First year you ask someone else to play Santa for you, and he gets sick.”
If he played Santa, that would give him all the excuse he needed to not just check in on Sadie but to hold her on his lap.
“No problem. I should do it anyway.”
“Are you sure? I could probably get one of the others to do it if you’d—”
“No.” Derek was already grabbing his hat to shoot out the door, his heart kicking up and his blood already heating in his veins. “I’ve got it.”
“Okay,” Jenkins said, but he didn’t leave. “You should also know, I ran into Erika—literally—on her way to hyperventilate in the bathroom.”
Derek straightened abruptly. “Is she all right?”
“Yeah, yeah,” Jenkins hurriedly assured. “She wasn’t prepared to see police