Boss Daddy, page 24
“You’re right. My life is busy. But up until now, I’ve not had much reason to change things. Now, I’m thinking I could hand some things off to others. Take some time off.”
“Really?”
“Yes, which is why I’ve taken the day off to spend with you.”
With her? Happiness filled her at the thought.
“I’m going to make sure you eat, rest, and maybe some play.”
“What sort of play?”
“I don’t know. Maybe you’d like some Little time? If you trust me enough to show her to me again.”
Oh. Crap.
25
“I can see you’re thrilled at that idea,” he said dryly.
“No, it’s not that. I mean, it’s not you.” She rubbed her hand over her face. “It’s hard to explain.”
“Come, let’s go talk.”
Standing, he pocketed the cream, then held his hand out to her. When she slipped her small hand into his, he could feel how cold it was. Was she cold? She was hardly wearing anything.
He should have asked Maria to fetch her a cardigan. He led her into the living room where they’d spent the night.
Maria had obviously put everything back where it belonged. Letting go of Dahlia’s hand, he walked over to the blanket box and drew the fluffy blanket.
“Come here.” He took her hand again, leading her to the sofa. He sat then drew her onto his lap.
Satisfaction filled him when she came willingly. He wrapped the blanket around her.
“You’re getting more used to my touch,” he commented. “I wondered if the more I touched you, the more relaxed you would become.”
She leaned into him, placing her cheek against his chest. “I like your touch. It makes me feel secure.”
“I think you feel it on a deeper level. Instinct. Didn’t you say that your tummy spoke to you?”
“Yeah, but that could be just gas.”
He grinned. Did she realize what she’d just said?
Suddenly, she sat up, smacking her forehead right into his chin.
“Ouch! Owie! Oh crap!”
Shit that hurt. But he shook off his own pain to see to her.
“Oh, baby girl. Are you all right? Let me see. No, move your hand.”
“I can’t!” she cried. “If I move my hand, it will hurt more.”
“I promise, I’ll make it feel better.” He settled her onto the sofa next to him, feeling a surge of satisfaction as she let out a whimper, leaning back toward him.
She really was feeling more at ease with him.
“No, just sit there for a moment and let me look.” He could see glimpses of her Little how she was reacting to the pain. Last night, her Little hadn’t spoken.
Another small whimper escaped her.
“That’s it, let me see. Good girl. I know it hurts, and I’m so proud of you for being brave.” There was a small lump there already. “Aww, my poor girl. I’m going to go and get you an ice pack.”
“No. No, don’t. It’s . . . it’s fine.” She heaved a big breath and he had to bite his lip to hide a smile. It was obvious she was trying to be brave. “I don’t want to make a fuss.”
“You’re not making a fuss. I am. Now, you hold your sore head and I’ll be back soon. Stay right where you are.”
He rushed to the kitchen.
Christ, if Gray could see him now . . . yeah, that bastard would laugh.
Grabbing an ice pack, he also retrieved a small chocolate bar from the pantry.
When he returned, he was pleased to see she was right where he’d left her.
His good girl.
Moving toward her, he tugged the coffee table closer, then sat on it so his legs bracketed hers.
“Here we are, baby girl.” He tugged her hand down again, placing the ice pack over her head.
She hissed. “Cold, cold, cold.”
“I know, but you need to keep it on there. That’s it. Well done. I’ve got a treat for you for being brave.”
She wrinkled her nose at his words. “We both know I’m not brave.”
He brushed her hair back off her face, tucking it behind her ear. “Actually, I think you’re very brave. You’ve shown that several times. Now, close your eyes and open your mouth.”
She’d likely seen the chocolate, but he wanted to test her. Gently.
To his satisfaction, she did as she was told. He grabbed the block of chocolate and broke off a piece, placing it in her mouth.
“Eat, baby.”
“Yum. So good.” She licked her lips.
Fuck. Him.
“You know, I think I need some of that sugar. Open your mouth again, but don’t eat it.”
He put another piece in her mouth and she closed her lips.
“I’m going to kiss you now.” Leaning in, he kissed her, his tongue sliding between her lips to tease her tongue.
Damn.
He pulled back. “Open your eyes.”
She blinked up at him. He licked his own lips. “Delicious.”
She smiled shyly.
“Now, let me put this on your nose as well.” He pulled out the tube of cream and squirted some out. She squirmed around on the sofa.
“Stay still,” he warned.
“I can do it.”
“No, Daddy will do it for you.” He gave her a moment to react.
Her eyes widened and she swallowed heavily as he placed a finger under her chin to tilt her head back. He put the cream on her nose and upper lip.
“There we are. Now, let me see the bump. No, you don’t get to hide it from me. That’s naughty. Good girl. Now, if Daddy kisses it, I’m sure it will feel much better.”
“You have magical kisses?” she asked.
“Most definitely. Most daddies do.”
He removed the ice pack, then gave her head the gentlest of kisses. He heard her sharp intake of breath.
“How long have you known you were a Little?” he asked her.
“Um, I’m not sure. I guess for years now. Soon after I started college, I read my first age play book. Before then, I just thought I was odd, you know. My mother used to complain to my sisters about how childish I was. She hated when my Little peeked out. So I learned to hide what I was. But I never realized . . . not until the books I read . . .”
“I understand,” he reassured her. “A lot of people misunderstand a Little and Top relationship.”
“I’ve never been in a relationship.”
“With a Daddy Dom?”
“Or at all.”
He blinked. “What?”
“Well, not since my high school boyfriend. We dated for a few months.”
“And you haven’t been in a relationship since?”
“No. I dated a few times in college, but nothing serious.” She nibbled at her lip. “I’ve never actually, um, had sex.”
Holy hell.
Possessiveness rushed through him. Followed by satisfaction.
He liked that she hadn’t been with anyone else. A lot.
But it was also another reason to go slow.
“Are you . . . does that put you off?”
“No. Remember, I’m a possessive bastard. I like that no one else will ever have you but me.”
She blushed but looked pleased. “When I read my first age play book, it really resonated with me, and I read everything I could about it. But I’ve never even met a Daddy Dom. Well, not that I knew . . . I don’t really interact with people on anything but a superficial level.”
He frowned and she tried to shrink back.
Oh, hell no. He wasn’t having that. He could tell she was feeling bad about herself, it was written all over her body language.
“Don’t try to make yourself smaller,” he said firmly. “You have nothing to be ashamed of.”
“Even though I don’t have any friends, I haven’t seen my family in years, and if I disappeared, I doubt anyone would care all that much?”
He scowled, then cupped her face between his hands. “That’s not true.”
“It is.”
“It’s not. Because I would care. If anything happened to you, baby girl. I would care.”
She hadn’t realized until that moment how much she needed to hear that someone would care if she was gone.
Tears welled in her eyes and she blinked them back.
“Oh, baby girl. That wasn’t meant to make you cry. I’ve hit you with too much today.”
She shook her head, wincing as it throbbed. Ouchie. She dropped the hand that had been holding the ice pack to her head.
“Keep that on there.”
“It’s feeling better,” she countered.
Moving slowly, he lifted her onto his lap. Grabbing the ice pack, he put it back on her head.
Tears continued to drip down her cheeks.
“Baby, what’s wrong?”
“It will sound stupid.”
“Nothing you can say will sound stupid.”
Yeah, she didn’t believe that.
“It’s just . . . it’s nice to think someone would care if I died.”
He grabbed her chin in his hand, tilting her face up to him. “You will never die, understand me? Never.”
Her eyes widened. That was such a stupid thing to say. “I’m sorry. I didn't mean . . . I’ll try hard not to.”
His face was intense as he stared at her. “You. Will. Not. Die. I will not allow it.”
And what he wanted, he got.
“I won’t die.”
She wiped at her cheeks, sniffling.
“Wait.” He put the ice pack down, then shifted his weight and slid a handkerchief out of his pocket.
“Who washes those?” she asked. “How do they get them so white? Or do you just carry them around for dramatic effect?”
“Dramatic effect?” he asked as he wiped her cheeks.
“Like when you have a damsel in distress lying on your lap, and you just whip out the handkerchief. You’re like the handkerchief hero, always ready to wipe up tears and snot. Oh my God! What is wrong with me? I just said the word snot. I don’t know if that or the gas thing is worse.”
He grinned down at her. “I think you’re adorable.”
“I think you might be getting senile.” Her eyes went wide with horror. “But not because I think you’re old. Just because you’re crazy. Oh my God, will you shut me up?”
“But then you wouldn’t be my crazy girl.”
“You’re so perfect.”
He let out a bark of laughter. “I can assure you I’m not. I most definitely have faults. Galina liked to remind me of them often.”
Well, she didn’t see them.
“Were you . . . were you and your wife . . . um . . .”
“Ask me,” he pressed.
“Were you her Daddy too?”
“Ahh. No. I wasn’t. We’re going to have a different dynamic. I wasn’t like you, I didn’t work out who I was early on. I suppose my life has two parts. Before Galina was killed and Emme was taken. And after. I had a lover who suggested that I might be a Daddy Dom. I looked into it and . . . I’ve played a bit, but I’ve never had a Little. You would be my first. And my last.”
Joy flooded her at the thought. She liked that they had something of their own.
Although she also wanted to kill that bitch who’d slept with him.
Whoa. Chill. That’s in the past.
He brushed his fingers through her hair. “Do you want me to be your Daddy as well as your man?”
“I . . . yes,” she whispered. “But I really don’t know what to do, Daddy.”
Happiness filled his eyes. “I like you calling me Daddy. Even though I’m old enough to be your actual father.”
“What are you talking about? You don’t look a day over forty-two.”
He grinned at her. “Forty-two, huh? I’ll take that.”
“How old are you?” she asked.
“Fifty-two.”
Wow. “You’ve hardly got any wrinkles.”
“A miracle, really,” he said dryly. “But I’m sure you’ll give me quite a few.”
Huh, rude.
“And you don’t have to do anything except be honest with me. And follow my rules.”
“What are the rules?” she asked.
“We’ll discuss them later, you’re looking tired, and I’ve hit you with a lot today. You need a nap.”
“B-but I just got up!”
“Yes, but you’re not sleeping well.”
“How . . . how do you know that?”
“I know everything that happens in my house.”
Don’t blush. Don’t blush.
He doesn’t mean that.
“Why, L’venok, what’s that blush for? What are you thinking about? Let me think, what would make you blush like that. Were you thinking about how you were touching yourself the other night?”
Oh, God.
How did he know that?
She buried her face in her hands.
“Have you been touching yourself a lot?” he asked. “Were you thinking about me while you got yourself off?”
“Yes!” she cried. “All right, yes I’ve been touching myself and thinking about you.”
“Good. Because I’ve been doing the same. Now, that wasn’t so hard to admit, was it?” He drew her hands down from her face. “Although now that you’re mine, you’re no longer allowed to make yourself come without my permission.”
“Wh-what? You can’t be serious.”
“Oh, I am, baby girl. And if you break that rule, you will be punished.”
“Will you spank me?”
“Do you want to be spanked?”
“I don’t know.” Nerves flooded her. “I don’t know how I’d react to a spanking. I don’t know how to be a proper girlfriend or a Little.”
He smiled at her gently, setting her down on the sofa before kneeling in front of her.
“What are you doing?” she asked in alarm. He shouldn’t be kneeling in front of her. It made her nervous. “You don’t have to kneel in front of me.”
“Worried I won’t be able to get back up because I’m so old?”
“What? No! Sheesh. Like I said, you don’t look a day over forty-five.”
“Shit. I’ve aged three years in less than two minutes? That’s harsh.”
Oh. Whoops.
She bit at her lip.
“What is it?”
“I just . . . what if I freak out when you’re spanking me?”
“If you panic while I’m spanking you or at any time, then we’ll stop whatever we were doing. We’ll figure out what’s going on or what scared you so I can avoid it in the future.”
“You’ll just stop?”
“You can have a safeword if you like. As soon as you feel yourself starting to panic then you say it. Something simple. Red works.”
“Okay. I could try that.” The knot of worry in her tummy started to unravel.
“And I will keep an eye on you. I’m not going to just start spanking you without monitoring you closely.”
She let out a breath. “Yes. Okay.”
“Nothing is set in stone. You can change your mind about anything.”
“Anything?”
“As long as you don’t change your mind about being with me. That’s not allowed. Secondly, I don’t like how you say ‘freak out.’ It sounds derogatory. That’s one of your rules. I don’t want to hear you saying anything bad about yourself, understand? I don’t want you to think it, either.”
“I’m not sure you have control over my thoughts.”
He eyed her. “Who is in charge?”
“You are.”
“I don’t like you thinking badly about my girl. You are strong. I might not know what happened to you, but I know you survived it. That you’re here. That you keep moving forward. Working at the bar had to be hard. Terrifying. Yet, you did it. That is not a sign of someone who’s not strong. And there is strength in submission.”
“There is?”
“Yes. And it’s a beautiful gift. Your trust. I want to keep the outside world from beating you down. I’ve never had a Little. Never fully explored my Daddy side. By now, you’ve figured out that I like to be in charge. I’ve learned that I have to tone that down with my men. I’m sure they’d be more than pleased if I turned most of my attention to you. Gray especially.”
“Oh dear Lord, you didn’t threaten to spank Gray, did you?”
That was not a vision she needed in her head.
He threw back his head and laughed until he had to wipe tears from his eyes. “No, but I cannot wait to tell him you thought that.”
“Don’t do that. He’s already upset with me.”
Warmth softened his face. “He’s not upset with you. I told you, he’s upset with whoever hurt you. Last night something triggered you. The storm?”
She sighed, rubbing her hands up and down her arms. “Yeah. I guess that was partly it.”
He leaned in closer. “Before we move forward, we need to discuss your past. Dahlia, we need to talk about what happened to you.”
26
She wanted to say no.
For him to tell her that she didn’t have to.
But she knew that wasn’t going to happen. Because she had to tell him.
Letting out a shaky breath, she concentrated on his hands where they lay on her thighs.
“My dad died when I was thirteen. I can’t remember if I told you that or not. I have this idyllic view of life up until he died, even though I know that everything wasn’t wonderful before he died. It’s just . . . I really loved him. My sisters are older than me. When he died, they were at college. I’ve never been that close with my mom. Nothing much has changed there. I’m not sure my parents got along all that well. There was a lot of tension and stony silences in our house . . . and I think that was partly my fault.”
“How could that be your fault?”
“My mom has a stepbrother. Uncle Thomas.” She swallowed heavily.
He rose up on his knees and clasped her face between his hands. “We can do this another day if you’re not ready.”
“I don’t want to tell you this. I don’t want to think about any of it. I want to forget it all. But I can’t. I barely sleep because I’m plagued by nightmares. At least . . . at least I was before I came here. I’ve been sleeping better since I came here.”
