Chapter 1

P arking her battered car in the parking lot of the bus depot noted in the stack of orientation papers that she had received, Rylee Edwards looked around nervously. She’d saved for two years to afford this trip. Now that she was almost there, the worries she had kept tucked away during the hustle and bustle of getting to this place came crashing down over her. Her hands shook as she forced herself to turn off the car and drop her keys into the bottom of her purse. She was here to leave her lonely life behind for eight days. She needed to do this. It might be her only chance.

Rylee pushed her oversized sunglasses up into place. The assistant librarian in a small town that only had two librarians, Rylee was the queen of researchers. She had discovered the Castle in her quest for a place to explore and live out her secret desire. Confident that she was a Little, she had promised herself that somehow, someday, she was going to make her fantasy come true.

Thanks to online bookstores, she had hidden her fascination with age play from everyone around her. The small-town folk she interacted with every day would definitely never understand. They’d been aghast when she’d had a burger and a glass of wine at the local roadhouse. The head librarian had actually written a letter of reprimand for Rylee’s employment file stating that she would be fired for unbecoming conduct if there were any further transgressions.

Books alone couldn’t sate her need to be cared for as someone’s special little girl. When Rylee had discovered the existence of the Castle, she’d immediately enacted a plan to get there. Saving every possible penny of her salary, the quiet assistant librarian had made her reservations after cashing in all her vacation and sick days to have as many consecutive days off as she could get. Twelve had been the lucky number. She vowed to make the most of those twelve days.

To say the head librarian was not happy didn’t begin to describe the anger Rylee had faced when she had filled out the paperwork. Fortunately, she had not been able to refuse when Rylee had produced her contract and the paystubs from the last year to back up her request. It was either give her the time off or pay her for the unused days. The library didn’t have the funds to pay anything over their base salaries. There would be hell to pay when Rylee returned, but for those twelve days, she was free.

Driving to and from Ohio where the Castle was located would take her two days. She’d made her reservations for eight days and nights—a strange number but she wasn’t willing to lose one day and only stay for a week. There hadn’t been any questions as she reserved her days. It appeared that people came and left each day.

Rylee looked around the parking lot. The Castle wasn’t in sight, but she’d received instructions to park here and ride the bus onto the property. Her battered car had seen better days. She quickly scanned the other cars in the lot ranging from high-end luxury sedans to kid-toting minivans, and her car didn’t look out of place. They all looked—normal.

She squeezed her eyelids shut to give herself a lecture. You can do this. You want to do this. Don’t wimp out now. Go! Her fingers blindly hooked around the latch on the door and pulled it to open the car door. Without opening her eyes, Rylee forced herself out, looping her purse over her shoulder. You owe this to yourself. 

With that thought, her unique blue-green eyes blinked open. She leaned over to release the trunk latch and stepped back to slam the door closed. Rylee was doing this. She busied herself with pulling her small suitcase from the back of the car and making sure everything was locked. After one last check that she had everything, the plump brunette headed to the awaiting bus.

Several people milled around by the side of the bus. Rylee supposed that they were reluctant to sit any longer than necessary after driving to reach this destination. She knew she needed to get on before she chickened out. Leaving her small suitcase with the driver, she forced her trembling legs to climb the stairs.

Rylee collapsed onto a seat about halfway back. Immediately, she closed her eyes and repeated the phrases that had gotten her this far. You can do this. You want to do this. Don’t wimp out now. You owe this to yourself.

She didn’t notice the incredibly muscled man across the aisle to her left. He, however, had noticed her. Had she opened her eyes to look around, she would have been distracted from her thoughts. Rylee, unfortunately, concentrated on locking her legs under her seat to keep herself from bolting from the bus. She was going to do this.