by Amy Brent
“Go to the play room.”
My grin grew wider and I turned, prancing towards the play room. We didn’t go in the room every weekend. James tried to reserve it for special occasions. He would always have me fetch things out of it, but we didn’t always play in it.
I stepped into the room, which he’d painted a lovely lavender color. The lavender was off set by the dark brown and black leather tools that James’ used on my delicate body. My favorite part of this room? It was sound proofed and I could be as loud as I wanted and was often encouraged to do so. Goosebumps rose on my skin as I considered what was going to happen next. James always kept me guessing and that wasn’t a bad thing.
I turned to face him, licking my lips as he closed the door behind us. The click of it closing was all I needed to be put in the right mind set. For a moment, the thought of my morning sickness crossed my mind, but I pushed it down, ignoring it and crossing the room to wrap my arms around James’ neck. A smile graced his lips and he ran his fingers down my thin, pale body.
“So Beautiful.” He whispered, brushing his lips alone my neck. “You’re so beautiful.”
My toes curled at the praise and I threaded my fingers through his hair, pressing our foreheads together. “Thank you, Daddy,” I breathed, my legs already weak from his touch.
The second I’d stepped into this room, I could feel the pleasure rising in my stomach. It was Pavlovian response to what had occurred here before. The walls were coated with my moans and this room held the essence of pure pleasure for me. It was something I couldn’t put out of my mind, no matter how hard I tried.
My body was flushed a pretty pink and I could feel James’ eyes on me as I pulled away. He touched my cheek tenderly. “Go pick your toys,” he whispered in my ear.
I shivered and nodded, prancing over to the wall that was lined with all manner of toys. James had every kind of toy imaginable and I took advantage of what was offered to me. I ran my fingers along the long tails of a flogger. It still had the distinct smell of real leather to it and the elk skin was soft against the pads of my fingers. It was my favorite by far. It wasn’t a very painful toy, but it was damn loud. I shuddered excitedly at the thought and pulled it off the wall.
“One more.” James called, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, watching me intently.
I turned to the opposite wall and picked up a toy I’d only used once. It was a butt plug with a delicate glass plug and a long, fluffy red fox tail that hung from it. Most of James’ toys were glass so that they could be properly cleaned. That was my job. It was my responsibility to properly maintain all the toys in the house and I adored it. I loved working the leather through my fingers with oil meant to soften the tails. It was a ritual that my obsessive mind had come to find calming.
I returned to him with the toys in hand and he put his hand in my hair. “Present them.”
The words were like lightning that ran through me. I dropped to my knees with care, my eyes never leaving his face. I always struggled with breaking eye contact with James, luckily that was never part of our agreement.
My lips parted as I finally hit my knees, raising the flogger towards him and offering it with a smile on my face. “Please, Daddy?”
He took the flogger and then I offered the plug, which he also took, silently approving my choices. He left me kneeling and crossed the room to an oak table, setting the toys on it for now. His hand rested on a leather pad that had been fixed to what looked like a sturdier version of a saw horse. Each of the four legs had eye hooks screwed into it at varying levels so that whoever was bent over it could be secured.
James raised a hand and curled his finger in my direction, beckoning me to come forward. I rose and all but ran over, grinning brightly.
“Yes, Daddy?”
He patted the leather surface and I nodded in understanding, bending over it easily. I was familiar with this particular piece of furniture. It was probably my favorite out of all the contraptions James had amassed over the years.
Once I was bent over it, the tips of my fingers and toes were barely able to graze the wood flooring. I shivered excitedly as James closed ankle and wrists restraints over my limbs, securing me into place. I gave them and experimental tug and moaned when I wasn’t able to pull free.
He chuckled and kissed between my shoulders tenderly, resting his hand on the round globe of my ass. “You look so pretty like this, baby girl.”
“Thank you, Daddy,” I breathed, trying to arch my ass into his hand.
He brought his hand down on my ass and the sound echoed through the room, only covered up by the sound of my own cry. “Hold still, baby girl.”
I whimpered but nodded, my cheek pressed to the leather padding. I could already feel a wetness between my legs. It was pooling on the leather, threating to drip down my pale thighs. My legs were spread and every part of me was exposed to him. I closed my eyes, panting from excitement. My legs were already beginning to quiver with anticipation and it took everything in me to not beg. I knew James would give me what I wanted soon enough.
The sound of leather being pulled through James’ fingers made me squirm excitedly and soon I was rewarded with those leather tails licked the round of my ass. Fire shot through every part of my body and every nerve was awake, crying and pleading for more of that delicious sound. The leather cracked against my ass and I moaned at the slight stinging sensation that started to radiate out from the impact site.
Ten more of those and I was a mess. I had soaked the leather padded with my essence, which had begun to drip onto the floor below. I knew I’d have to clean it up later, but I didn’t care. My ass felt hot now, the stinging of the tails magnified by the sheer number of licks I’d received. James paused to rest his hand on the part of my back side that had taken the brunt of the punishment and he ran his fingers over it. The skin was a hundred times more sensitive and every touch burned in the most delicious way. I cried out as he rubbed slow circles along the reddened skin, moaning as the pain faded into pleasure.
I was shaking now and unable to stop. That wasn’t abnormal for me in the least. I didn’t think much of it, moaning and jerking my hips a little as James brushed his fingers along my back entrance, slowly starting to slip one in.
That’s when things went all wrong. The shaking got worse and my body tensed up. I cried out when James pulled his finger out, the tightened muscles making it a little more painful than I would have liked. My eyes started to flutter closed and I felt James franticly unlocking my restraints. I was struggling to move my body and slid off the leather pad, though James caught me before I could hit the ground. A warm sensation trickled down my thighs and for a moment I was horrified. Had I wet myself?
James pulled me to the ground and his next words assured me that I had not wet myself.
“Oh, my God…You’re bleeding!”
That was the last thing I heard before the world went black.
Chapter Nine
The warmth in the darkness was comforting. I wasn’t even entirely sure I wanted to wake up from it. The abyss was silent, but lonely and I knew if I stayed asleep I’d never see James again. As the thought crossed my dreaming mind, my eyes fluttered open to the sound of a soft, mechanical beeping. It was so predictable that I found myself whispering ‘beep, beep, beep’ in time with the machine.
My body ached and felt heavy, but even so, I groaned and put my hands flat on the bed and forced myself into a sitting positon, grunting softly. The room spun and I collapsed back in the bed as James came through the door with two bottles of water in hand.
“Shit,” he cursed under his breath before coming to my bedside and stroking hair out of my face.
“Lie down, Aria.”
“Lie down?” I whispered. “I’m already…Lying down?” My brain was clouded with the drugs that were running through my system.
“I’m meant stay down.”
“What happened?” I whispered, pressing a hand to my forehead.
�
�You passed out from an electrolyte imbalance.”
“What?” I’d always been hypermetabolic, but I’d never passed out before.
“You weren’t taking good enough care of yourself.”
I frowned deeply, looking up at him for a moment. “I haven’t changed anything.”
He nodded silently and stared down at the floor. The disappointed look on his face killed me. It was like someone was reaching into my chest and pulling my heart out.
“Daddy?” I reached out and gently touched his hand.
He pulled his hand away and shook his head. “Don’t call me that.”
My heart was beating faster now and despite his warnings I tried to sit up, but he just pushed me back down. “What did I say?”
Panic was rising in my chest and a soft sob left my lips as I held my hand out, fingers curling around his wrist. “What did I do? What happened? Why don’t you love me?” I choked.
The words were tumbling out in a mindless mess. I knew that they probably weren’t true. James had been there for me my entire life and I honestly didn’t believe for a second that he’d stopped loving me, but that didn’t make the prospect any less scary in my drug hazed mind. I clung to his shirt, the tears already spilling over my cheeks. He closed his eyes and pressed a hand to my back, holding me close.
“Don’t be ridiculous. I love you with every piece of me, Aria.”
“Y-You keep saying my name.” He hadn’t used my name since we started this relationship. I cupped his cheeks and stared at him with tears in my eyes. “Why?”
“I’m upset with you.”
Another sob left my lips and I shook my head. “Why?” I was asking that a lot.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“What?”
“Why didn’t you tell me you were pregnant?” His voice was farm more firm now and when he gripped my shoulders I slumped forward, the words sinking in.
“Pregnant?”
“You didn’t know?”
I shook my head slowly, my eyes wet and wide. “No…”
“You must have had some signs!”
He was right. I’d missed my period and I’d been sick every morning for months, but that hadn’t been enough to make me admit what I knew I was true. I didn’t want to accept it. The idea of being pregnant in college was horrific enough, but then there was the fear of having to tell James.
“I’m sorry…”
He cupped my cheek gently and made me look up at him. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I was scared.” The answer was simple, but honest. I was afraid to tell him the truth.
He shook his head back and forth. “I’m so…I don’t know what to do about this, Aria.”
I put my hands in my lap and fell silent. I wanted him to love me through this. I honestly thought he would. I didn’t see our relationship ending like this, but here we were. Tears were still rolling down my cheeks and I dropped my head into the pillow, pulling the blanket over my head.
We sat in that silence for hours. Every time I’d wake up, I would roll over and see him sitting the chair he’d been in since I’d first woken up. He didn’t say anything to me. He’d just stare at the TV screen, mindlessly watching whatever was on.
At night, he would be asked to leave, but he came back every morning. I was supposed to stay at the hospital for the next three days, and I did. They replaced everything I had lost and on the third day, a doctor came in to tell me the things I needed to do in order to keep my baby healthy. James was there for all of it. I watched him listen nodding knowingly as he passed the information to James, clearly worried that I wasn’t taking it in. James was taking in every word he said, and I suppose that should have comforted me, but it didn’t make up for the silence.
On the third day, I signed myself out of the hospital. I was old enough to leave without James’ consent and I took full advantage of it. I was still feeling a little rough around the edges, but I managed to get a cab back to the dorms.
I’d left my keys at the house and I could only pray that Luna was there. When I knocked on the door she answered almost immediately, wearing nothing more than a bathrobe. I leaned against her, pressing my face into the soft, pink terry cloth. She gasped and wrapped her arms around me, holding me tight and putting a hand on the back of my head.
“Aria?”
“Hey,” I murmured, my voice weaker than I expected. I probably should have still been at the hospital, but I couldn’t stand another day of silence and disappointed stars.
“I thought you were with James?”
Luna didn’t really know my relationship with James. Well, she knew we were dating, but she had no idea that he was also my step-father. My relationship with Luna had been rocky for the first few months (that was entirely my fault), so she didn’t know much about my personal life. All she knew was that I went with James on the weekend.
“We had a fight…”
She frowned and helped me to my raised bed, nudging me onto it before pulling the blankets over me. “Are you alright?”
“I’m okay.” I just needed sleep.
She hesitated but nodded and got me a glass of water before returning to her desk, glancing over her shoulder every now and then to make sure I was okay. I turned my back to her, forehead pressed against the cool stone wall so I could doze off. I was exhausted and sad. I just didn’t want to be awake anymore.
I wasn’t sure if James would be worried about me. Maybe it would be better if I just disappeared from his life. Maybe I was doing him a favor.
Chapter Ten
James’ persistent calls and texts proved my theory wrong. My phone constantly buzzed and rang as the man I loved more than anything tried to get a hold of me. Deep down, I knew I should have returned his calls. It wasn’t fair of me to keep him in the dark and it was borderline cruel, but I didn’t know how to handle what was happening. My emotions were running wild and I wanted to be able to take a moment and collect myself.
I didn’t intend to stay away forever. I couldn’t do that. At some point I was going to have to face him and face what he wanted from me, but now wasn’t that time. I curled up on my bed, the sheets pulled over my head. My eyes were puffy from crying and they hurt, but I’d expected that. I’d even expected the pounding headache that was starting to form just behind my left eye.
I rubbed my belly gently, my face hot and raw from the tears. When a knock came at my door, I didn’t come out from under the blankets. I didn’t say anything, I just curled up tighter and pressed myself against the wall.
The door creaked open as someone came through the door. Heavy footsteps crossed my bedroom and I felt the bed sink as someone sat beside me. Fingers gripped the blanket I was hiding under and pulled it back.
I closed my eyes against the sun, covering my face as I felt a familiar hand rest on my arm. It was far too large and strong to be Sara’s. I peeked through my fingers and the tears started all over again.
“James?”
He offered a sad little smile and stroked my hair back. “There you are, baby girl.”
My heart fluttered when he called me that and I forced myself to sit up, wiping my face and sniffling a little, blinking away the tears. “W-Why are you here?”
“Because I was worried about you.”
I looked away, fighting the urge to move closer to him. “How did you know where to find me?”
“Luna called me. She was very worried about you.”
“Is she the one who let you in when you knocked?”
He nodded and glanced over his shoulder. “She left, though. She wanted to give us some alone time.”
I nodded and swallowed. “Are you here to tell me to go away?”
“Go away?”
I grunted and closed my eyes. “I know you don’t want me around anymore. You can just say it.”
He sighed and leaned down, wrapping his strong arms around me and scooping me up, pulling me close and rubbing my back. “You’re so damn smart, but then you say sh
it like that.”
“Huh?”
“Why in the world wouldn’t I want you around?”
I frowned and looked up at him and then away, my eyes darting to an empty space on the wall. “Because I’m pregnant.”
“That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard,” he murmured, stroking my hair.
“What?” My voice was breathless.
“I wasn’t mad because you were pregnant. I was made because you didn’t tell me and I got scared. I was afraid that I hurt you or our child. I was mad that you put yourself at risk and didn’t go and see a doctor when you started seeing the signs.”
I swallowed a little. “Are you still mad?” I asked, dreading the answer he was going to give me.
“No. I’m worried and I want you to be alright, but I’m not mad.”
I nodded slowly and looked up at him. “You still want to be with me?”
He chuckled softly and kissed the top of my head. “I think I want to be with you even more if that’s possible.” He stroked his thumb across my cheek.
The ache in my chest finally dissipated and I looked at him with wide eyes. I’d spent so much time being scared that I hadn’t considered the fact that he might actually want this. I swallowed thickly and pressed my forehead to his chest.
“I love you, Daddy.”
“I love you too, baby girl.”
I’d wanted to hear those exact words for so long, and now that he’d finally said them, I felt a weight lifted off my shoulders and I couldn’t help but think that maybe, just maybe, things were going to be okay. Maybe I’d been silly to worry so much.
He pulled away and kissed my cheek. “Are you ready to go home?”
“Yeah.”
I was already home, though. I was with him.