Chapter 3
CHAPTER THREE
Connor bided his time as Bliss stood with her nose in the corner. One day, she’d be doing it naked. But that would come later. When she was his in every way that mattered. When she chose him, the way he’d already chosen her.
The thought settled deep in his chest, but Connor wasn’t a man who rushed what mattered. Some things had to be built slow. And Bliss… Bliss was the kind of woman who would bolt if pushed too hard, too fast.
He’d have tracked Bliss whether Winnie asked him to or not. But somewhere in the months he watched from a distance, he’d come to care about her. He couldn’t tell Bliss that because it made him sound like a stalker.
He never wanted to be the kind of man she feared. Only the kind she ran to.
He wanted to be the kind of man she looked to when her world turned upside down. The kind she looked for without realizing she was looking.
What was it about her that pulled at him, at his inner Daddy, from the first time he’d seen her? He’d gone out of his way to be in Darling when he knew she’d be there. He wanted her, not just her body. He wanted her trust. Her surrender. Her stubborn, skittish heart.
She’d sealed her fate when she told him he was beautiful when he was angry. When Connor found the truck empty, every worst-case scenario he’d ever heard of played through his mind. He would never have forgiven himself if she’d been hurt because he’d left her unprotected.
From now on, he was treating her like a China doll wrapped in bubble wrap. Locking her behind steel doors? Done. Posting himself at the entrance like a feral guard dog? Every time. Hell, he’d probably install cameras, alarms, motion sensors, and a damn moat if it meant she stayed safe.
Those thoughts lasted right up to the second he spotted her standing at the entrance to the parking lot, talking to a couple of complete fucking strangers. He’d almost had an aneurysm when she leaned over and rested against their car door. Hell, she’d even been on the man’s side of the car.
He could have grabbed her, stuffed her in their car, driven away, and there would have been nothing he could have done to stop it. The image sliced through him with surgical precision. The way she’d leaned there, trusting, oblivious to how quickly things could go wrong…
Yeah, at that point, he’d lost his mind. What. The. Fuck. His pulse had thundered in his ears, and every protective instinct he possessed had slammed into overdrive.
When he’d gotten his hands on her, he’d wanted to wring her neck. He’d settled for smacking her ass three good times when she wouldn’t mind him. The feel of her beneath his palm had branded him.
She had a great ass. Firm, with just the right amount of bounce when spanked.
The swats had surprised her, but otherwise they hadn’t seemed to make much of an impression. He could see the guilt and regret she felt for her actions and the flicker of something she didn’t yet understand.
But he did. He understood she wanted the relief of someone else being in control. She wanted the knowledge that someone stronger was standing between her and whatever might try to harm her. She needed a Daddy.
What he needed to do was make sure she wouldn’t sit comfortably for the rest of the ride back to Darling. Besides, he couldn’t keep her safe if she didn’t listen to him and do as he said.
Obedience wasn’t about his control. It was about her survival. And survival was one lesson Connor had learned the hard way years ago.
A voice in the back of his mind told him he shouldn’t have spanked her. She wasn’t his to spank.
But she was his to protect.
She was drawn to him the same way he was drawn to her. It had been the same in the chemistry-filled conversations they’d shared in Darling. That, and the way her breath hitched whenever he stepped too close. That little hitch of breath hadn’t escaped him once. Not a single time.
When he’d popped her ass, she hadn’t demanded he stop. No, she’d submitted to his correction without protest. They both knew she’d earned every swat and then some. That knowledge simmered between them now, thick as heat before a storm.
She was unlike any Little—hell, any woman—he’d ever met.
That was saying something, since he lived in a small resort town that catered to people in the DDlg lifestyle.
He’d see people who practiced complete submission and those who played at it.
Bliss was neither. She wouldn’t know complete submission if it bit her on the ass. But she was real.
Did she know anything about the lifestyle? As long as she’d been in Darling, she had to have picked up something about how the couples behaved. She’d been around Winnie and Reid often enough.
But to be fair, no one in Darling was all that discreet because they didn’t have to be. It was the kind of town where everyone knew exactly who they were and didn’t bother pretending otherwise.
Did she even realize she was a Little? Best he could tell, she pretty much lived in Little space. If she ever came out of it, he had yet to see or hear it.
Except when that wariness crept into her eyes.
When fear hardened her gaze. Fighting for survival had a way of sharpening a person’s edges.
If it didn’t flat-out get them killed first. And as much as she tried to hide it, Bliss had the look of someone who had walked that razor line before. Or been forced to.
Yeah, there were times when life had forced her to handle adult things.
That woman intrigued him just as much as the Little in the corner.
He liked her resilience as much as he hated that she’d had to develop it.
He and his Sabre Security brothers would make sure those who had forced her into those situations paid for it.
He understood her. Being a Daddy wasn’t a bedroom game to him.
Of course, he didn’t usually go around spanking women without consent or act as if he had authority over them because he didn’t.
Control without consent wasn’t dominance.
It was abuse. Connor had zero tolerance for that line being crossed.
Still, being protective and nurturing, taking care of someone twenty-four-seven, wasn’t a choice for him.
The Daddy in him couldn’t be turned on and off like a lightbulb.
It was who he was. So, what was he going to do with the little girl fidgeting in the corner?
The one who looked like she’d been waiting her whole life for someone to step in and steady her world?
There was nothing to do except be himself. There was no time like the present because he needed to know certain things. “Are you a Little, Bliss?”
She shot up straight and spun around. “You can’t just ask a question like that.”
Color flooded her cheeks, but he didn’t know if it was from shock or embarrassment. Or both.
When he gave her his best ‘Daddy’ look and raised his brow, she spun back around to face the corner.
He crossed his arms and stretched his legs out in front of him. “I can ask any question I want. The decision to answer or not is yours. I’ll never judge you for what you say. I can’t make you talk to me, but I hope you choose to answer.”
He had the kind of patience that could outlast any storm. So he waited, calm and quiet. Littles hated silence almost as much as they hated vegetables, naps, water... or choices. His Little’s trouble was no different. Her shoulders slumped as the silence pressed down on her like a weighted blanket.
Seconds later, she stomped her foot. “Argh! You are so infuriating!”
Not the answer to his question, but she kept her face to the wall. At this point, he’d take whatever progress he could get. “Does that mean you’re choosing not to answer me?” He kept his voice mild, though he couldn’t hide his amusement.
Heaving an aggrieved sigh, she answered him. “You wouldn’t ask if you didn’t already think I was.”
“It’s not what I think that matters. It’s what you think.”
He’d be willing to bet that if he looked, she’d be nibbling that luscious bottom lip. He let the silence intensify the room’s atmosphere until she gave him an answer. Patience was a weapon he wielded well, and this was a battle he intended on winning.
Her shoulders hunched as if bracing for his judgment. “Okay, fine. Yes, I think I’m a Little, but I’ve never had a Daddy. I want to have a Daddy. One day. I love books about Daddies and their Littles.”
He released the breath he’d been holding. She knew the lifestyle, and she wanted it. Standing, he walked toward her with silent steps. “That’s good, babygirl. Books are a great place to start. Did you realize, based on what you’ve read, that I am a Daddy?”
He stopped just behind her, close enough to feel the warmth radiating from her body. Her breathing quickened, and one heel started bobbing up and down like a jackhammer.
Someone was nervous. Good. Nervous meant she cared. Nervous meant this mattered.
She shrugged her shoulders. “Well, the tossing me over your shoulder and spanking me kind of gave it away.”
Hm. It seemed that being nervous also made her sarcastic. That was all right. He had several ways to deal with a smart mouth, if her was her Daddy, every one of them involved teaching her that he was in charge.
The way she wiggled her head back and forth on certain words for emphasis was adorable.
He stood mere inches from her back, so he leaned close enough that his breath would tickle her ear when he spoke.
“I am a Daddy and have been for a long time. I must say, in all my years, I’ve never met a Little who needs a Daddy as much as you.
I don’t like to repeat myself, but I’ll make an exception this once.
Did you understand that you were to stay in the truck? ”
She turned her head to look at him. Not going to happen. “Nose in the corner, Trouble. You do not want to add to your tally. Answer the question with that nose pressed into the corner as far as you can.”
“Tally?” Her voice came out as an adorable squeak. “If I don’t have a Daddy, how can I have a tally?”
The Little logic in that question made his mouth twitch. “Now that is a very good question, babygirl. Can you think of a good answer?”
He wanted to be her Daddy, even if it was only a scene. At least, that’s what he told himself. But she had to want it, too. She had to agree with open eyes. He wouldn’t be another man who took from her.
Now, her heels alternated bopping the carpet as if she were gearing up to march in double time. Curling his arm around her, he pulled her back to his front and placed his palm over her heart.
Her heartbeat felt small and frantic beneath his hand, like a trapped bird. He wanted to cup it gently. Keep it safe.
“There is no wrong answer, babygirl. Would you like me to give you a hint of what I’d like the answer to be?”
This had all the elements of a bad idea.
If he were her Daddy, even just for a scene, it could affect her relationship with Winnie and the other girls.
Hell, it could affect his relationship with them, too.
But walking away from her now would cost him more.
But then, he had never been good at walking away from something that mattered.
He wouldn’t do anything that made her life uncomfortable. His goal was to relieve her of the pressure to be in control for a time and, hopefully, to teach her to make better decisions. Show her she didn’t have to survive alone anymore.
Her heels stopped moving. Was that a good sign?
When he stepped to her side, she cut her eyes toward him. She still kept her nose pressed in the corner. His dick hardened at the idea of her being his good girl. Beneath the arousal was something deeper, something he couldn’t afford to think about right now.
The vulnerability on her face had him itching to take her in his arms and assure her everything would be all right. All she needed to do was ask, and he would burn the world down before he let it hurt her again.
“I’d like a hint, please. I don’t know what I want.”
Oh, but she did. If the longing in her gaze was any indication, she knew exactly what she wanted. But life had taught her some hard lessons. As far as he knew, no one had wanted her enough to make her their priority in a long time.
That was going to change. He would make sure of it. Starting now.
“I know what you want, babygirl. It’s the same thing I want, I promise. I’ve wanted it since you trusted me to catch you when you jumped from that bathroom window at the truck stop. Maybe longer. If you’re brave enough to tell me what you want, I’ll give it to you.”
He let the promise hang between them.
She stared at him as if he held out a priceless treasure, but feared he would snatch it away when she reached for it.
She needed more from him. So he gave it to her.
“You can do this, little girl. I’ll catch you this time, too.
A Daddy would never let his Little girl fall. ” His voice dropped to a rough whisper.
Not again. Not ever. Not if he had anything to say about it.
Bliss searched his eyes, and whatever she saw had her squaring her shoulders, even as her legs trembled. His babygirl was brave. She was a fighter, and she was choosing him. And that choice struck him straight in the heart.
Notching her chin, she gave him what he’d asked for. “I want a Daddy. And I want that Daddy to be you.”