Chapter 29
It’s my job to care for you…
Delaney
Ifell asleep in his arms. As he laid me on the bed, I felt him slide the blanket over my naked body. He pressed a soft kiss on my forehead, his lips lingered a moment.
Quiet steps and the door clicked closed before I realized he must have taken his mask off. I fought to open my eyes, I wanted to see the man hidden behind the mask, but sleep swept over me and I was overtaken by my blissful exhaustion.
* * *
When I opened my eyes, I quickly sat up looking around at the extravagant curtains that hung from the floor-to-ceiling windows.
A huge wooden frame held the bed and a white fur carpet sat strategically in front of the oversized chair in the corner of the room.
As the fog cleared, I realized I was in my room – well the room I would call mine, for the next thirty days.
I gripped the sheet with a sudden flush of embarrassment completely aware of my lack of clothing. Throwing myself against the mattress as I recalled what happened last night, I swiped my hands over my face. “Oh my God!” I groaned out loud to no one.
Startled by the deep chuckle that filled the room, I gasped when I looked to see Dallas standing tall, leaning against the door frame in nothing but a pair of gray sweatpants, his abs glistening in a sheen of sweat.
My eyes hungrily explored his body, his tattooed arms flexing as he moved to cross his arms in a domineering stance.
“Easy, sweetheart, keep looking at me like that and you won’t make it out of this room today,” he teased, tilting his head to the side.
“Mmmm, good morning–” I paused because I wasn’t sure how to address him. I know I call him Daddy in the red room but what exactly do I call him any other time?
Confusion must have been written on my face because he pushed off the door frame and strode over to the bed where he sat beside me. I pulled the sheet a bit tighter, hiding my body from him even though he knew exactly what I looked like underneath the silk sheets.
“In the red room is the only place it’s required that you address me as Daddy,” he spoke softly but directly. “And when we are not there, you may address me as Dallas,” he finished, reaching up to move the hair from my face and pushing it behind my ear.
“Yes, D…Dallas” I quickly responded. There was a palpable dynamic shift between us.
“Miss Kennedy is off on Sundays, so we will be fending for ourselves today. Get dressed, I’d like to take you somewhere I think you will enjoy,” he stated more as an order than a question.
I felt my face heat up when I looked up to see Dallas was looking right at me with that head tilt. I think that’s the tilt that Lacy described. She hates it but I find it very intriguing.
“Please eat the breakfast I set out for you in your dressing room, I am sure you’re hungry.
I’ll leave you to get ready. I put a dress out for you, put it on and wear your hair down.
I like how beautiful it looks framing your face,” he finished his orders before getting up and walking out of the room, closing the door behind him with a gentle thud.
My stomach grumbled loudly, noticeably hungry from our…activities.
Racing to the closet, I realized it was a separate room entirely: closet on one side, dressing room on the other.
There was a vanity set up with designer makeup, face moisturizer, a bamboo hair brush, and all variations of perfume.
Anything a woman might need to get ready was right here at my fingertips.
Before I got any food residue on any of this fancy stuff, I devoured the pastry and fresh berry parfait then chugged the healthy-looking green juice I was sure would cleanse me of my sins.
After satiating my ravenous appetite, I walked over to the oversized drawers and opened one, revealing its purpose as a sock drawer.
I picked up a pair, the tag said $150. I was baffled at the amount of money he spent to stock this closet for me.
I was only going to be here for 30 days, why on earth would he spend such an obscene amount of money on all of this stuff? !
I turned to see a small bench with a lilac-colored dress placed on it.
I picked it up and held it under my chin in front of the gold-framed floor-length mirror in the corner of the room.
The dress was perfect. It was my size. I was curious how he even knew my size, but I wasn’t going to dwell on it.
I hurried to get ready, nervous I was taking too long. I grabbed a pair of cute strappy sandals from the shoe rack and carried them to the living area where Dallas was waiting for me already dressed to the nines in a fitted shirt and jeans.
He stood gesturing for me to take a seat.
He reached for my sandal to slip it on my foot for me and started to carefully fasten the buckle.
He rubbed the top of my foot with the pad of his thumb before placing it on the floor and doing the exact same thing for the other.
Being taken care of felt really unfamiliar…
“Thank you,” I whispered, shocked by the royal treatment. I was stiff, unsure how to react to his gesture.
“Shouldn’t I be doing things like that for you?” I asked, my voice laced with confusion.
“See, that’s the most common misconception, just because I’m a dominant doesn’t mean that you are beneath me, a true dominant knows how to separate a scene from reality. It’s my job to take care of you, Delaney,” he said before reaching out to offer his hand to me to stand up with his support.
“Come on sweetheart, it’s a great day to have a great day.”
* * *
On our way down to the car park Dallas stood close to me with his hand placed on the small of my back. He noticed I was stealing glances at him in the mirrored elevator doors.
“What is it, Miss Delaney?” He asked with bounce in his tone, almost as if he anticipated my concern.
“Um, are you going to wear that mask out? I mean in public?” I asked timidly.
“Mhmmm, I am.”
“Oh,” was all I could think of to say. I had never seen anyone walk around in a mask, especially a shiny silver Ghostface one, in public unless it was Halloween or some costume event. All I could think about was how eating would work while wearing that thing…
He must have seen the obvious confusion written on my face because he said, “don’t you worry about me, sweetheart, I’ll be just fine.”
PING
The elevator chimed as the doors opened simultaneously to Jacob standing tall and at attention, expecting us.
“Morning, Sir,” Jacob greeted. “Miss Bennett,” he nodded politely in my direction.
“Hey, Jacob, morning to you, too,” I said as Dallas gently squeezed my hand, guiding me to the passenger side seat and closing the door once I was settled in.
I watched as Dallas leaned in to say something to Jacob. I couldn’t tell what exactly he said, but after whatever Dallas said, Jacob looked over to me, cracked a dubious smile, turned, then finally walked toward the elevator.
Once Dallas had gotten in the driver’s seat, I settled in and reached to grab the seat belt but Dallas beat me to it. His strong hands reached over my body as he pulled the seat belt over my shoulder and buckled me in before doing the same for himself.
I was starting to understand what he meant when he told me he would be taking care of me, and as much uncertainty that I may have felt at having someone else take care of me…I can’t deny how deeply satisfying it feels to be cared for, even if it is fleeting.