Build-A-Daddy

  Build-A-Daddy

  by

  Maren Smith

  Build-A-Daddy

  by

  Maren Smith

  A Red Hot Romance Erotic Novel

  All rights reserved.

  Copyright 2018 © by Maren Smith

  and Red Hot Romance Spanking Novels

  This book may not be reproduced, in whole

  or part, by mimeograph or any other means,

  without permission of the author.

  thetarantularanch@yahoo.com

  This book is a work of fiction.

  Any resemblance to actual persons,

  places, and events are purely coincidental.

  Edited by:

  Maggie Ryan

  Sandy Ebel

  Rose Lipscomb

  Cover design by:

  Allycat’s Creations

  Special thanks to my editors:

  Rose Lipscomb

  Sandy Ebel

  and the lovely Maggie Ryan.

  Also, to my beta group,

  Maren’s Lil’ Miss Behavin’s

  I’d be so lost without you.

  Prologue

  Madgie Angelette always knew. Her employees—Uma and Markus—had gotten used to it, so they no longer teased her about being a witch; even if they did, it was fine, nobody burned witches anymore. Occasionally, they still teased her about being old as dirt, but that was okay, too. Age had long ago bent her back, shortening her by a good four inches. Her frizzy, shoulder-length hair was mostly white now, having long ago lost its lovely midnight-black luster. It still refused to be tamed, by either brush or comb; a girl could go broke just trying to buy enough bobby pins. Most days, she just let it do what it wanted, but that was all superficial nonsense. The important stuff was little kids loved her, sullen teenagers rushed to get the door for her, and adults carried her groceries and her bags. Because she looked like somebody’s grandma and smelled like vanilla and sugar cookies.

  And, of course, because she knew things.

  Which was why Madgie never questioned the mild disturbance she felt in the air when someone unknown stepped through Towne East Mall’s sliding food court doors and made her way down the hall. Madgie’s humble Build-A-Bear was located in the lower north wing, not far from Dillard’s. Madgie saw a lot of people pass by, but with the feeling growing stronger by the step, only one paused to browse. The person was so short Madgie almost missed seeing her when the girl paused to look over the trio of Honey Girls and sparkling outfits in the display closest to the door. Actually, Madgie and the girl were both pretty short, which was why Madgie came shuffling out from behind the counter to get a closer look.

  In her younger days, Madgie would have been subtler about her curiosity. She’d have meandered through the store, pretending to straighten the merchandise until she found something to stand behind. Then she would have looked her fill of the young blonde woman currently loitering in the threshold, as if her white and pink sneakers were rooted to the mall’s tile floor. But Madgie wasn’t young. She was old as dirt, and old-as-dirt people were smart enough to know they risked death at any moment, so she didn’t waste her time.

  Instead, she walked straight up to the display in question and stuck her head around the back corner. Thrilled to find the blonde woman had turned her back, the old woman had plenty of time to look her fill. And she did. That one had secrets, Madgie thought. She loved secrets; they called to her with a siren’s allure, the same way something in this shop called to the young blonde. Madgie crept closer, angling to get a peek at the girl’s face. The older woman loved the wistfulness in the younger’s blue-gray eyes. Her mouth was open, lips rounding in a look of naked longing, touched with sadness. That called to Madgie, too.

  She had to get closer.

  She crept right up behind the younger woman. Where the front displays were mostly plushy clothing and accessories, the wall which held the young woman’s attention was nothing but Build-A-Bears in all their various colors and forms. Two rows of display shelves lined high above the unstuffed plushy bins. Children could pick out the playmate of their dreams—from teddy bears to puppies and kittens, select Care Bears, Star Wars bears, Promise Pets, and even the Beast, newly popularized from Disney’s live action version of Beauty and the Beast. The kids loved this store, and with Christmas right around the corner, adults flocked here just as eagerly. Stock was flying off the shelves. But this… something was different here. That wonder, it was almost…

  Childlike.

  And just like that, Madgie knew.

  Chapter One

  “Hello, dear.”

  Aubrey’s heart jumped, so did the rest of her. She hadn’t heard anyone creeping up behind her until, suddenly, the elderly saleswoman was standing not two feet away. Stumbling, Aubrey grabbed her chest, the feeling of having just been caught flooding her with embarrassment’s unexpected heat.

  “Oh, my God,” she gasped before she could stop herself and then laughed because it was such a guilty reaction. What did she have to be guilty about? She was just a customer. Customers walked into stores all the time and this one in particular, especially at this time of year. “I’m sorry.” She patted at her overreacting heart, willing it back to calm. “You scared me.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry.” The old woman beamed, more pleased than apologetic. “Welcome to Build-A-Bear. May I help you find something?”

  “No, I…” Aubrey sucked inside herself so fast, it felt like a physical snap. She turned away. At least, she tried to, but her gaze locked back on that wall, her sneakers rooted to the floor, and she found herself hesitating all over again. “I-I just… I…”

  What was wrong with her? It was her birthday in two days, and Christmas was less than two weeks away. Why was she having such a problem with this? She should be allowed to treat herself now and then, especially since she didn’t have anyone volunteering to do it for her.

  “Getting a present for someone?” the old woman guessed, but she did it in a way that said, Go ahead. You can lie to me. It’s all right, I won’t take it personally.

  “No.” In spite of herself, Aubrey melted a little. “I mean, I am getting a present… Yeah, okay. It’s for, um… someone.”

  It wasn’t a lie, either. She absolutely qualified as a someone.

  “Wonderful.” Stepping up beside her, the hunched, old woman waved her hands at the wall. “What kind of present does someone want? A Honey Girl?” Taking a few steps along the bins, she plucked out a purple bunny with giant ears. “Or perhaps a Pony?” Looking up at the wall, she spotted a My Little Pony. It was white, with a metallic blue mane and tail. Turning back to Aubrey, her wizened features wrinkled into a pixie grin. “What do you need, dear?”

  That was the million-dollar question, wasn’t it? What did she need? Aubrey looked up at the rows of shelves, sudden frustration making her want to either laugh or cry. What she needed couldn’t be plucked from a bin or bought in a store. It wasn’t any different than what everybody else in the world wanted and needed. To come home from work to somebody who cared about her. To be taken into strong arms and have her forehead kissed, her bottom rubbed—maybe spanked, just until she felt better—before a hot bath was run, crayons and dinosaur chicken nuggets provided, and a Disney movie put on TV until bedtime.

  That wasn’t… weird, was it? It wasn’t weird for a twenty-something, working on her gender studies thesis, to want to dress up sexy in Rainbow Bright panties and Daddy’s oversized t-shirt. Or for him to call her princess when she crawled to him on all fours because she was being a ‘good girl’. Or for him to draw the line when she wasn’t being good, because sometimes, Aubrey wanted that, too. Sometimes she wanted it more than she had ever wanted anything in her life, and she didn’t know why. She’d always been
that way for as far back as she could remember. The more hectic and crazy her life became, the more she wanted to curl up on the couch with a stuffy, a blanket, and this idealized-in-her-mind faceless, voiceless, up-to-this-point completely non-existent Daddy. She’d never met a Daddy in real life, although she had met a few dick-pic-sending Daddy-wannabes online. She didn’t even have a stuffy, and maybe that’s why she was here. If she couldn’t have the first part, at least she could have the latter.

  Did that even make sense? Aubrey stared at all the grinning plushies on display, part of her feeling like ten-pounds of Little-crazy in a five-pound sack. And yet, how could buying a Build-A-Bear to get her through what was bound to be yet another lonely Christmas possibly be wrong? She didn’t even live in this city. It was the weirdest thing; she’d been on the road for about an hour, traveling north on I-35 from Arkansas City, where she lived. With five more weary hours before she reached her parents’ home in Lincoln, Nebraska, she should have whizzed straight through Wichita without so much as a second glance. Instead, she had been compelled to stop. Towne East Mall couldn’t even be seen from the interstate. She’d had to switch highways; she’d been that compelled. And now, here she was.

  That was when she saw it, sitting up high on the wall shelves next to a rainbow-colored Pony dressed in half a sailor’s suit. It was a bear. A regular, brown teddy-type bear in denim jeans, white t-shirt, and cowboy boots. He wore a black leather jacket and an Indiana Jones-style hat. Kind of like a Daddy and a stuffy all rolled into one. He was just what she had always imagined he would be, and from the moment she saw it, Aubrey was hooked.

  She pointed straight at the bear. “That one. That’s the one I want.”

  Plucking a deflated brown bear from one of the bins, the old woman winked and beckoned Aubrey to follow her. “Right this way, dear.”

  The excitement was undeniable as Aubrey trailed the hunched old woman through the store to a giant gypsy-style wagon with a glass top showing the cloud-like fluff inside. Taking a red cloth heart from a bucket hanging on the wagon, the saleswoman handed it to Aubrey. It was tiny, no bigger than the tip of her thumb.

  “What is this?”

  “His heart, of course.”

  Aubrey looked at the bear first, then the heart in the palm of her hand.

  “Hold it tight to your chest,” the old woman said, her wizened features taking on a whole new level of intensity. “Close your eyes.”

  Inexplicably breathless, feeling a little silly, Aubrey clutched the heart in her hand and held it between her breasts. She had to check to make sure they were the only two people in the store before she relaxed enough to close her eyes. Once closed, she had trouble keeping them that way. She kept stealing peeks.

  “Think deep.” The creak of a wooden chair told Aubrey the old woman was now sitting. She caught a startled breath when the vacuum whir of the wagon turned on, churning the fluff inside. “Think about all the things you want him to be.”

  “Wh-what—” Who, her teddy? Aubrey puffed an embarrassed laugh and almost opened her eyes.

  “Should he be good?” the old woman coaxed as she put the wagon nozzle into the open seam of her bear’s back. Depressing a foot pedal sent bits of fluff flowing through the nozzle and slowly, the deflated shell of her bear filled with clouds of plushy stuffing. “Should he be kind?”

  How did she even know Aubrey meant for the bear to be a ‘he’? Fifty-fifty guess, she supposed, but still…

  “Kind of creepy,” she half-laughed again.

  “You want him to be creepy?” the old woman asked in surprise.

  “No! No, I meant…” She meant this whole thing, but she caught herself before she said that out loud.

  “How about just plain kind?” the saleswoman suggested.

  “Yes, please,” Aubrey sighed, almost sure now she was taking what the old woman was saying out of context. Twisting it somehow and making it strange.

  The vacuum started up again.

  “Would you like him to be loving? Affectionate? Nurturing, perhaps?”

  Okay, now that was definitely strange. How could an inanimate teddy bear be any of that? But, what the hell. Aubrey nodded and gave herself over to both the ridiculous and the impossible. Mentally, she even added on her own checklist of attributes. This was her bear, after all, her pseudo-Daddy until the real deal found his way into her life. Yes, she wanted kind and loving, affectionate and nurturing, but she also wanted protective. Someone who would make her feel cared for. Someone strong and earthy.

  “Good girl,” the old woman hummed, though Aubrey barely heard her. She was too busy thinking about strong hands petting her hair and rubbing her back. Calloused working hands which knew when to treat her like the capable person she was and when to let her go Little. Gentle hands which would make her feel loved. Stern hands which knew sometimes she needed help to feel sorry, the way bad girls had been made to feel since the very first one ever had stepped out of line.

  “Yes,” the saleswoman chuckled.

  Aubrey wasn’t saying any of this out loud. Her deepest, most secret wishes were still locked silent and safe inside her. She thought about cowboys because she’d always had a thing for cowboys. And horses. And old leather belts being whipped out of belt loops and doubled over, making them ready for business. She thought about old ranches, gingham kitchen drapes, and handmade quilts perfect for cuddling under on cold winter mornings. Or for throwing off the bed at night because the sex was so damn hot, all that squirming, writhing, and gasping made her overheat.

  The old woman giggled.

  But mostly Aubrey thought about being with someone who would just let her… be. Someone she could be safe with, and who would never, ever laugh at her, no matter how silly or Little she was.

  The vacuum shut off and the whine of the air-blower wound down.

  “Open your eyes,” the saleswomen said.

  When Aubrey did, she found the old woman staring at her with the most intense gaze she’d experienced since Pastor Daniels caught her with a pack of cigarettes in the church bathroom. She swallowed hard, feeling the force of that stare boring straight through her. Her stomach quivered. Her heart pounded, almost painfully, at her ribs.

  “Here.” The old woman held out her bear, upside down with the gaping seam in its back yawning open, and all its fluffy white innards bulging out. “Kiss it for love and luck and put his heart inside.”

  Kissing the backs of her fingers, Aubrey stretched out her hand to poke the little cloth heart into her bear. Funny how easily she could get caught up in the fantasy of the moment. With the tip of her finger, she buried the heart deep in the soft white fluffing.

  Putting the bear face down on her lap, the old woman grabbed the two long threads that zippered the open seam and quickly tugged, pulled, and tightened until the gap was closed. When she stood, her cherubic smile was back, but the intensity was still there.

  “Come along,” she called to Aubrey and headed across the store to the dressing station. While the wall behind them had been devoted to plushies of all types, this wall and most of the aisle dividers all around them were devoted to their clothing. Laying Aubrey’s bear on a short table, the old woman began to pull items off their cardboard hangers. She never once asked what Aubrey wanted, but Aubrey didn’t object. The things the old woman chose had an eerie echo to what the Daddy of her imaginings had worn, from the cowboy hat she eventually plopped on its head, to the cowboy boots on its pudgy bear feet, and everything—the baby-sized denim jeans, white t-shirt, and leather jacket—in between. When she was done, the old woman held the bear out to Aubrey.

  “Well?” she asked. “What do you think?” Her grin was all creepy, old salesperson and the sparkle in her dark gypsy eyes said she knew it. The way her grin broadened suggested she might even have practiced that smile in front of a mirror until she was sure she could get it just right for moments like this. It kind of detracted from the magic of the moment.

  “Um.” Aubrey took her bear. “Tha
nks.”

  “Will there be anything else?” the woman asked.

  “N-no, um… thank you.”

  “Right this way then.” Beckoning, the saleswoman led Aubrey to the cash-out counter where she paid for her purchase. Mentally, she was still trying to tell herself that this whole wonderful experience truly hadn’t turned weird at the end. When the old woman handed Aubrey the receipt, she laid her withered hand over Aubrey’s and in a mock whisper, said, “Just let it happen, dear.”

  It had been snowing off and on all week, brief flurries melting away almost as quickly as they fell. Aubrey didn’t think too much about it as she walked out of the mall into a brand-new outbreak of snowfall. The bear felt strangely heavy in her arms. She kept replaying the conversation with the saleswoman in her head, trying to find that precise moment when things went from normal to odd to spooky-odd, not quite able to put her finger on it. By the time she’d reached her car, she had about convinced herself that it was all in her head. For whatever reason, she was freaking out over… what? A Build-A-Bear? Don’t be ridiculous, she chided herself. Glimmers of unease still haunted her as she popped the locks to drop her purse on the passenger-side floorboard and the bear on the seat.

  The bear seemed to grin straight at her.

  Giving herself a mental shake, Aubrey shut the door and walked around the car to get in on the driver’s side. The tiny hairs on the back of her neck tickled as, keys hovering near the ignition, she looked at the bear again. Still grinning, because… of course it would be, it looked back at her in that unique way all plushies had. Dolls’ eyes followed people; everybody knew that.

  “Yeah, that’s not spooky at all.” She felt a little silly saying that out loud. The bear grinned in agreement. Trying to shake the weirdness, she started the car.