“Angel, look at me.”
She shook her head.
“Angel. Look. At. Me.”
“Nope.”
“Testing me so soon, huh, little bit?”
Testing him? No, she wasn’t testing him. She just didn’t want to look at him. But she raised her gaze anyway. She wasn’t ready yet to see what happened if she tested him.
She’d probably have to endure another scolding.
“Good girl.” He cupped the side of her face. “There is nothing to be embarrassed about.”
“The paparazzi would have a field day with this. I’m meant to be up here having orgies. Not sitting around in my pajamas watching Shrek.”
“Who cares what other people think? Only matters what we think.”
But she’d been raised to worry about what others thought of her. Especially her family. But she knew he was right. And who would even know?
“You’re right,” she told him.
“I’m always right.”
She snorted.
“This goes as slow or as quick as you want. You have the reins. At least in this. While I’ll have rules for you and I’ll be in charge when you’re Little, you always have the ultimate control. This is your choice. You choose to trust me with your Little, to gift me your submission. You agree to obey my rules and submit to my discipline. You’ll have a safeword to use if you ever feel uncomfortable or scared.”
“You won’t get mad if I use it?”
“I’d never get upset with you for using your safeword. I would never retaliate against you, understand? You use it, we stop and talk about what scared you. All right?”
“All right. What should be my safeword?”
“That’s up to you, angel. Something that you wouldn’t normally say in that situation.”
“Donkey.”
His lips twitched. “Good choice.”
She sighed with a smile.
“When you feel comfortable with showing me your Little, with trusting me fully, I will be in charge. And there might be some special rules for your Little. Understand?”
“I think so. I don’t know when I’ll be able to. . .to let her out.”
“That’s okay. Got some ideas to help. But that’s your choice. There’s no pressure. Things move at your pace.”
Damn. He was being so amazing. She’d almost expected him to push her because he was so pushy in other areas.
“You’ve already got some rules for your protection. They haven’t changed. They might get adapted once this threat is past. But what has changed is how you’ll get punished if you break them.”
“Punished? I was going to get punished before?”
“With a firm scolding. Now, you’ll get your butt roasted.”
Her eyes widened.
“Any triggers I should know about when it comes to discipline? Hard limits? Soft limits?”
“Umm. I don’t know.”
“You know what I’m talking about though, right?”
“Yeah. I’ve seen some movies.” She blushed.
“Okay. The punishments I’ll use will depend on what rules you’ve broken. Corner time, lines, spankings are pretty standard. A paddle or similar when you’ve very naughty. Any issues with that?”
“I. . .I’ve never been spanked.”
“Never? Hmm. Could explain a few things.” He winked.
“Hey! I’m a good girl.”
“That’s what all Littles say, angel. Usually right before they go over Daddy’s knee and get their bottom spanked.” He tilted her face up. “A lot of Littles don’t like being punished. . .”
Did that mean there were some who did like it?
“But they feel more secure with boundaries. Rules. With knowing their Daddy or Mommy cares about them, about their safety and health and won’t hesitate to correct any naughty behavior. Especially when it puts them at risk. Then after a punishment, everything is forgiven. Slate wiped clean.”
“Really? It’s never brought up again?”
“No. I would take you in my arms, cuddle you close and remind you that you’re my special, good girl.”
“That sounds nice,” she murmured.
“It is.”
She blushed. “I’m okay with all that. I always have my safeword.”
“Always.”
“Now, other rules. You know how I feel about lies. No lying. Ever. You can tell me anything. All right?”
She nodded. “I know.” She got it. She didn’t like lies either.
“No putting yourself down.”
That might be a bit harder, but she’d try.
“When you’re Little, I expect you to call me Daddy.”
“Okay.” She felt her cheeks go red.
“We need to talk about adjusting your sleep. Sleepwalking can be due to fatigue. You need to get more rest.”
He’d been doing research into sleepwalking. Damn, that was sweet.
“We’ll start off with some afternoon naps.”
“What? No! I don’t need to take naps.”
“Baby, you’re exhausted. There are dark smudges under your eyes. You don’t sleep well. Naps will help.” He gave her a stern look.
Well, that just sucked.
“I don’t want you exercising to the point of exhaustion like the other day. I’d prefer you exercise with me so I can keep an eye on you, but I won’t go that far. Yet. I find out you’ve pushed yourself too far, we’re going to adjust that, understand?”
“Yes.” She didn’t push herself that hard very often so she didn’t think it would be a problem.
“Any questions for me?”
“Umm, yeah, should we talk about sex?”
He tilted his head to one side. His lips tilted up at the corner. “Yeah. We can do that. You might not have much experience, but have you had fantasies?”
“F-fantasies?”
“Yeah.” He ran his thumb over the back of her hand. “Ever dream of being restrained? Of role play? What do you think about when you get yourself off?”
“Bain! I can’t talk about that!”
He raised his eyebrows. She squirmed on the stool.
“Tell me,” he said huskily.
“I guess I’ve thought about being restrained,” she said, sounding slightly breathless. “And dominated.”
“Good.” His grin was almost wolfish.
Oh hell. She thought she just might be in trouble here.
“Arianna, stop running through the house!”
Whoops. Caught. She sighed. She turned to find Bain glaring at her. He folded his arms over his massive chest. She actually had to resist the urge to lick her lips. These past two days since Bain had told her that he wanted her as well had been the happiest of her life. They’d spent most of their time together. They’d included Dominic, but he seemed to be happy doing his own thing. Although they forced him to watch a Shrek movie each night.
There hadn’t been any more threats, at least. She’d noticed how quiet everything was. She knew that Bain had taken her laptop and phone. She should demand them back. She couldn’t just cut herself off from work like this.
But it was so nice to have a break. She hadn’t realized how tired and stressed she’d been until that had all been taken off her shoulders.
Of course, the biggest source of her stress was gone. Larry. She hadn’t heard from him since she told him to leave. But she knew it wouldn’t last. No doubt he was plotting something.
She just didn’t know what.
The good news was, the fire the other night at the concert had nothing to do with her. The police had arrested a disgruntled employee who had set off a small explosion. All of the reporters had disappeared from outside her apartment. She guessed they had moved on to something else. Thank God. The bad news was that the cameras hadn’t caught anyone suspicious entering or leaving her dressing room. So they had no leads on who left that last letter.
“But if I don’t get up speed, I can’t slide across the floor.”
His eyes wide
ned. “What?”
“I get up speed on the carpet then once I hit the marble, I can slide with my socks on. It’s fun. You should try it.”
“Now that, I’d pay to see.” Dominic came up behind her. She turned to look at him with a grin.
“You want to try, Dominic?”
He held up his hands. “No thanks, sweetheart. I’m too old for those sorts of shenanigans.”
She snickered. Shenanigans? “You’re not that old, Dominic.”
“Thanks, sweetheart. But I certainly feel old.”
“No one is going to be doing any sliding along the marble,” Bain grumbled. “It’s too dangerous.”
She rolled her eyes at Dominic.
“And I saw that.”
Considering that she hadn’t yet felt comfortable enough to fully let her Little out, he sure didn’t seem to have the same problem with letting out his Daddy side. He’d been showing her more and more of that part of himself. It was intriguing.
“Have to go out for a while,” Bain said abruptly. “Dominic, you’re in charge of her.”
“Uh-oh,” Dominic muttered.
“Where are you going?” she asked nosily.
“Just to run some errands. You stay here. Listen to Dominic. Behave yourself. No sliding on the marble.”
He walked forward and kissed her gently on the lips. They were still tingling as he left.
“The boss man has spoken,” Dominic told her with a grin.
She smiled back. “What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him, though, right?”
Dominic held up his hands. “Oh no. I’m having no part of that.”
“Wimp.”
“I prefer to think of it as older and wiser. I also don’t want to endure his grumpiness’ wrath. The man can hold a grudge.”
“His grumpiness? I bet you don’t say that to his face.”
He widened his eyes comically. “Good Lord no. See this pretty face? I like it just where it is, thank you very much.”
“I call him an ogre,” she confessed.
He nodded. “Bet you don’t say it to his face either.”
“Oh no. I like to be able to sit.”
15
“Ari, what are you doing?”
She started, closing the laptop with a screech. “Oh God, I didn’t hear you come in. You move like a ghost.”
Bain frowned down at her. “Why are you looking up things about yourself on the internet?”
“Because I’m a masochist?”
“If you’re truly a masochist, I can help with that.” He sat on the desk facing her.
She leaned back in her chair, gaping up at him. “What. . .no. . .umm. . .”
He grinned.
“You’re teasing me. Since when do you tease people?”
“I tease all the time.”
Uh-huh. Sure he did.
“How did you get your laptop, little miss?” he asked sternly.
She squirmed on her seat. Uh-oh. “I found it in your room.”
“You snuck into my room and searched through all my stuff. That was very naughty.”
She bit her lip, feeling bad. Until she remembered that this was her laptop. And he’d taken it without her permission.
She straightened. “You went into my room without my permission when you put that monitor in.”
“That was different. I was taking care of you.”
She gave him a skeptical look. “You stole my laptop and phone and hid them from me.”
“Because you needed a break. Last thing you needed was to be hassled by reporters, wanting the juicy details. You can’t tell me that you don’t feel better for it.”
She rubbed her aching head. She wasn’t truly angry with him. If she’d wanted her stuff back, she could have gotten it at any time. It had been sitting on the dresser in his room.
“I guess I did need a break. But I have to go back to work sometime. I can’t hide forever.”
“Give it a bit longer. And stop reading stuff online about yourself. Ninety-five percent of it is rubbish. Don’t want you getting upset by what you read.”
“You can’t protect me from everything.”
“I can try,” he replied stubbornly. “Come on. I have a surprise for you.” He stood and held out his hand. She slipped her hand into his and let him lead her out of her office and down the passage, into her bedroom. She froze with surprise as she saw the picnic that had been set up.
“You did all this?” she asked as he tugged her gently forward. He’d laid out a blanket on the floor and set out some plastic plates and cups. In the middle of the blanket there was a large platter filled with sandwiches with all the crusts cut off. Then there was a bowl of grapes and some cheese and crackers.
“Yep. Wasn’t hard. Can I pour you a sparkling grape juice?”
She giggled. “Yes. Please. How did you know I like picnics?”
“You told me, when you said I needed to cut the crusts off my sandwich.”
She blushed. “Oh yeah.”
“I’d take you outside for a picnic, but it’s not safe. Also a bit cold out there. Got to keep my baby warm.”
She smiled shyly.
“You can have your juice in a big girl cup, or you can have it in this.” He pulled a sippy cup out of the basket.
Her breath caught in her chest. “Where did you get that?”
“Got it this morning.”
“That was the errand you had to run?”
“Yep. Also grabbed a few other things.” He stood and walked out of the room, returning with a bag, which he handed over to her.
The first thing she pulled out was a puppy onesie. It was so soft, and she immediately rubbed it up against her face. “Oh wow, I love it!”
“Thought you might. It will keep you warm and it’s cute. Added bonus, it’s got a butt flap. When you’re naughty, I can just flip you over my knee, pull down the butt flap and spank you.”
She gaped at him. Then she shook her head. Had he seriously just said that? “That’s not what a butt flap is for.”
“Sure it is. Or if it’s not, it should be. Found it at a store for Littles that’s not that far from here.”
“Really? There’s a store that sells things for Littles?” Come to think of it, that sippy cup was kind of adult sized.
“Yep. Was a good find.”
She reached into the bag and drew out an oversized pacifier. She immediately went bright red. “I don’t think my Little is that young.”
“You were sucking your thumb when you were sleepwalking. Not great for your teeth. That one is orthodontist approved.”
“Seriously?” An orthodontist actually approved this over-sized pacifier that could only be for an adult?
“Yep. I asked the woman at the desk. She was very helpful.”
She cleared her throat. “I’m still not sure. . .”
“Don’t have to use it right away. But I catch you sucking your thumb, I’ll replace it with the pacifier.”
She wrinkled her nose but moved on to the next item. She squealed as she pulled out the pen. It was bright pink with a huge, sequined heart at the end of it.
“I love this! How did you know I love sequins!”
“Saw your notebook. It’s cute. This is cute.” He shrugged, looking slightly embarrassed. “I like cute things.”
Oh my God. He was so adorable sometimes.
She drew out the next thing. It was a set of pastel coloring pens. Followed by a coloring book. Holy crap. He was spoiling her.
The next item shocked her. Well, items, but they were all packaged together. Her face grew hot. “Is this. . .”
“Anal plugs. Trainee anal plugs. Did you decide anal play was a hard limit?”
“I guess I’d like to try it but if I don’t like it. . .”
“Then we wouldn’t do it again.”
“But you like it?”
“Yeah. But I won’t enjoy it if you don’t. Angel, look at me.” He leaned forward and waited for her gaze to meet his. “Listen care
fully. Don’t ever want you to agree to something or do anything that you’re not comfortable with because you think I might want it.”
“But I won’t know until I try, right?”
“Some things you’ll try and won’t like. Some things you will enjoy. You always have a safe word. We start something and it hurts, or you don’t like it, or you get scared, say your safeword and everything will stop.”
She nodded and squealed at the next thing she brought out. “Dolly!” He’d bought her a doll along with a collection of dolls clothes.
“You like?”
“Yes, thank you, Daddy!”
She froze as she realized what she said. But Bain just gave her a smile. In fact, it was the most unguarded she’d ever seen him. Like a screen had come down and she could see the man underneath.
Maybe he needed this as much as she did. She hugged the doll tight.
“I like hearing you call me Daddy,” he told her. “But don’t force it, all right? You need more time, that’s fine. This is all at your pace.”
Back was her honey-voiced man. This sweet side of him was going to kill her.
Had she really only known him for a few weeks? Was she ready to be this vulnerable with him? To completely let down her shields?
Then again, hadn’t she already shown him her vulnerable side? When she was sleepwalking, she could easily be harmed. Anything could happen to her. He’d taken care of her. Like he’d done while she had her period. Like he was doing now.
She drew out the last item in the bag, staring at it in puzzlement.
“It’s a sleep sack,” he explained. “Ever heard of them?”
She shook her head.
He opened it up to show her. It was a pale green color. And it looked snuggly and soft.
“You sleep inside it. Feels a bit like being swaddled. It applies gentle pressure, meant to help with sleep issues and anxiety.”
“You shouldn’t have bought me so much.”
“Why not? I can afford it.” He frowned.
Shit. Why hadn’t she thought before speaking? “No, I didn’t mean it like that. I just. . .I’m not used to anyone buying me things. Not without a reason. And that you bought me something to help with my anxiety and sleeping, it’s so thoughtful. I wasn’t saying that I thought you couldn’t afford it. Sorry.”
Daddy's Angel (Montana Daddies Book 7) Page 13