A Little’s Unicorn: A Stuffie Hospital Romance
Ellie Rose
Genre
LGBTQ+, Romance, Contemporary Romance, Erotica Romance, Steamy Romance
Publication Date
22/11/2022
Series Name
Stuffie Hospital
Book Number
1
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About the Book
Lillie Cooper loves her brand new job at Stuffie Hospital, where she helps restore well-loved stuffies to their former glory. It’s the perfect job for a secret Little, and means that she doesn’t miss having a Daddy quite so much.
When journalist Aiden Havers comes to interview the SH team for the local paper, he’s quick to notice how quiet Lillie lights up when she talks about her patients. But when he discovers that she has none of her own, he goes on a mission to find her the perfect stuffie…
Visit Stuffie Hospital, a fluffy and steamy romance series, where toys get a new lease of life and queer Littles get their very own happy ever afters!
Book Excerpt
Lillie almost reached out her hand to grab his, before she remembered herself and stopped just in time. There was a pause and she closed her eyes, praying that he hadn’t noticed. It wasn’t her fault; he made her feel Big and Little all at once, so that she was completely confused.
“Lillie?” His voice was closer and when she opened her eyes, she realised that he’d leaned in slightly to see if she was okay, his hair brushing softly against her cheek.
“I’m sorry.” The words blurted out in a bit of a rush and even as she heard herself speak she tried to pull them back, stem the flow of the tide. “I didn’t mean to- I wouldn’t have- I’m just so embarrassed. It’s best to start the tour over there, and I forgot for a moment that you don’t work here and-”
“It’s okay.” His words cut through the babbling brook of her voice, and she stopped. Breathed. Waited for the scrunch to kick in and remind her to keep her Little firmly reined in. Waited for him to make an awkward joke that hid how too much he thought she really was. “I think it’s lovely that you’re so enthusiastic about your job. And I’m sorry for teasing you; I didn’t mean to make you flustered.”
He seemed genuine.
And he was looking at her cautiously, as if she were a skittish horse who’d rear up and run at the slightest provocation.
She checked for the scrunch.
No scrunch.
“I don’t mind the teasing. I’m just not used to it, is all.”
He nodded sagely, and she wanted to bury her face in his chest and have him stroke her hair until she knew–truly knew, deep down in her soul–that he wasn’t just saying that it was okay. “That seems fair. How about I dial it back a bit for the tour then?”
Lillie nodded. “Yes please.”
She still felt his eyes on her throughout the tour though, even if he wasn’t teasing her, and he listened to her–genuinely listened–as she talked about treating particularly delicate fabrics, and the differences between all the different kinds of brushes on the brush station. He even asked questions about the process, and she liked that he was interested, even if it was just for the article.
And finally they came to what Ralphie, who did patchwork, called ‘The Great Wall of Stuffies’. It was made up of the oldest, tattiest stuffies you could possibly imagine. Some, where their stitching barely bound joints to body, or where they’d been so well loved that they were patchy all over.
“Well, they all just look so sad,” Aiden commented, and Lillie rounded on him furiously.
“No they don’t, they’re just waiting patiently.”
He didn’t call her out on answering him back, but she felt an undercurrent of something as he looked at her.
“It’s mean to say that they look sad; and I don’t like to think that they’re sad because then it would be too hard to walk past them every day.”
He nodded as if to say that he understood. “So, they’re waiting patiently?”
“Exactly.” She walked over to the wall and looked up at it, taking in all the worn faces. “They’ve all had such happy lives, and they’re waiting for us to repair them so they can go out and make more people happy.”
“Oh, so they’re not clients?”
“Kind of,” she paused, gathering her thoughts together, and trying to place her firmly in Bigspace. It didn’t really work; the Great Wall of Stuffies always called to her Little. “These are the stuffies who have been given to us by people who don’t need them anymore. And when we’re a bit quieter, or our current project is having to wait before the next stage,” she gestured over to where Daryl the Dino was drying out, “then we work on restoring one of these.”
“And what happens to them after that?” Aiden’s voice made Lillie feel a little bit wobbly, like he knew where all her weak spots were, and his words were poking at them. A gentle poke, and a poke that was probably long overdue, but one that made her want to cry a bit, nonetheless.
“After that we give them away. To the children’s ward, if there are new patients who don’t have stuffies of their own; to the local DV shelter; sometimes, one of the team falls in love with one and asks to take them home. They get homes, it just sometimes takes a little time.”
“Which ones have you taken home?” he asked, and she felt herself shrink.
“I don’t have any stuffies.”
As soon as she spoke, Lillie wished she could pick up the words and hoover them back into her mouth. She hadn’t intended on answering him; why couldn’t she have just lied and said that she’d picked up a rabbit or something? But that something in his voice that made her feel wobbly, also made her realise that she couldn’t lie to him. That she didn’t want to lie to him.
Aiden was silent, and when she peeked at him, he looked sad.
“It’s okay, really.” But it wasn’t, and the brightness in her voice was brittle.
“There are so many children who deserve a stuffie far more than I do.”
He took a step towards her, and she was surprised to notice a look of determination on his face. “Lillie, everyone deserves stuffies. Even stuffie doctors who spend their time repairing bears for everyone else.”
Oh. Her mouth fell open, and then she almost did cry.
He thought she should have a stuffie.
“Really, it’s…”
“No.” Now that look of determination was rock solid, and it did not budge.
“It’s not okay. You deserve a stuffie. I will find you a stuffie.”
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About the Author
Ellie Rose
Ellie Rose is a queer author who writes fluffy and steamy Little romances. Her books are kinky and neurodiverse, and always have a Happy Ever After!
When she’s not writing, she can invariably be found reading in her princess tent, surrounded by a mountain of stuffies, or dancing in a silent disco for one in her living room.
