9. Emma
Nine
Emma
Waking up in Connor’s arms was something I never thought I would do. I knew the night I met him that this was the end goal I wanted. But not in this way. I had it all planned out. I was going to walk up to him and ask why he was alone in a bar. Lay on the flirty smile and whatever else I could say to get him to take me home. Sex was all I wanted at that time. I knew I was a lot, between my father issues and my diabetes. My mom not knowing how to love us and only resorting to the bottle and drugs. I guess I really never found myself worthy of love, but that wasn’t true.
Just like Connor blaming himself for Clair. It wasn’t true. So here we were, both of us giving each other a chance. Both of us decided that running wasn’t the answer anymore. The night I met him, I didn’t think I’d see him again. That was it. He punched Blake, and I’d never see him again. Wondering what one night with someone like him could be like. I never would have guessed he was in the lifestyle, too. He didn’t judge me. He didn’t make me feel like I was crazy for wanting what I wanted. He matched me, and I swear I never came harder in my life.
Fate had some other things in mind, though. Maybe this was the time to jump. They always say it’s worth it to take the leap, and I never had. Never once, because nothing was worth that. Connor might be, though.
“What are you thinking about right now?” Connor rasped in a sexy-as-fuck sleepy voice.
“The night you punched Blake.” I admitted, looking into his eyes and feeling calm for the first time ever.
“Blake?” He raised an eyebrow.
“Oh, shit, yeah,” I sighed. “Um, I knew him.”
“You did?”
“We were… sleeping together. I told him I didn’t want to anymore because he couldn’t give me what I wanted. He showed up that night, and that’s why he said all those things.”
“Hmm.”
“I’m glad you punched him.” I laughed.
Connor didn’t say anything at first, just studied me with those sharp, stormy eyes. His fingers brushed lightly up and down my arm and left goosebumps.
“I hated the way he talked to you,” he finally muttered. “Like you were just something to use. I saw red, and then… there was your face. The way you looked at him, like you weren’t okay.”
“No,” I mumbled. “I wasn’t. But then this hot stranger punched him in the face and vanished like a damn ghost. Kind of heroic, actually.”
“Heroic?” He huffed a laugh and tugged me a little closer. “I think that’s the first time I’ve ever been called that.”
“Well,” I smiled, pressing a kiss to the edge of his jaw. “You earned it.”
He turned his head slightly, our eyes meeting again, slower this time. There was something intense in his gaze, something deeper than just post-sex haze or sleepy morning affection. It was that vulnerability again. Something I wasn’t sure I’d ever get out of Connor.
“I don’t want to be that guy anymore,” he said quietly. “The one who ghosts. The one who runs. I’ve done too much of that. With Clair… I ran from that letter for years. I told myself I couldn’t handle it, that knowing the truth would destroy me.”
“Did it?” I asked, my fingers brushing his chest.
He nodded once. “Yeah. It wrecked me. But it also… freed me. I read it, and it was like everything came together. She loved me. She didn’t leave because of me. And I’ve been letting that pain shape every decision I’ve made since.”
“And now?” I cocked my head.
He pulled me in until our foreheads touched, his fingers brushing a stray strand of hair behind my ear. “Now I want to live. Really live. Not just exist in guilt. And part of that… part of that means letting myself give to someone else. Someone like you, if you’ll let me.”
My breath caught. Not because I didn’t want to hear it, but because some small part of me, the broken girl who thought love was a luxury she didn’t deserve, still struggled to believe it was real.
“I’m not easy,” I laughed. “I’m chaotic, I have a medical device attached to me 24/7, I’m stubborn and bratty, I shut down when I feel too much, and-”
“Shh,” he murmured, cutting me off with a gentle kiss. “I know. And I don’t care. You’re not too much. You never were.”
I felt my throat tighten, emotion swelling until I thought I might crack open from it. So instead of answering with words, I pressed myself closer, curling into his chest and breathing him in.
“I’m scared, too,” I whispered. “But if we’re jumping, I don’t want to do it alone.”
He wrapped both arms around me, holding me tight. “Then we’ll jump together, Little Fighter.”
* * *
“Connor, I have to go home.” I rolled my eyes. “I’m okay now.” I’ve been trying to leave for an hour, and Connor had other plans. Like breakfast in bed and shower sex. Now he wanted me to stay for lunch, and fuck, so did I. But we were new… Hell, I didn’t even know what we were. Dating? Couple? Talking? I had no clue. I knew whatever it was, we were in it together, but this was all new to me. Something I didn’t really have experience in. Staying over again seemed like whatever we were was too fast, too much at once. He would get tired of me, and this would be over before it even started.
“Just one more day,” he raised his eyebrow with a smirk. “I can do that thing with my tongue you really like.”
“Are you trying to keep me here for sex or for something else?” I countered.
“Both,” he laughed. “But even if we weren’t having sex, I would want you to stay. You need someone to take care of you. Let that person be me.”
“Is this… because of the daddy thing?” I cocked my head.
“Slightly,” he shrugged.
“I’m not new to the lifestyle. Actually, I considered going to some local munches to find some other people in the lifestyle. But I’ve never really been in a Daddy/Little relationship before.”
“Do you want me to explain what I expect out of you as my little and the ways I’m a Daddy?”
“Yes.” I nodded. I really did.
Connor leaned back against the headboard, arms folded behind his head, his smile softening as he watched me sitting cross-legged in his bed. My cheeks were a little pink, not knowing how this was going to go, but I knew I was going to like it.
“Okay,” he said, his voice lower now, more serious. “When I say Daddy, I don’t mean I want to control every little thing you do. I’m not trying to play house or make you into something you’re not.” He reached over, brushing a strand of hair from my cheek, letting his fingers linger a second too long. “For me, being a Daddy is about making sure you’re safe. Physically, emotionally, and mentally. It’s about knowing your needs sometimes before you even do. And yeah, it can be kinky. It can be fun. But more than anything, it’s about giving you space to just… be.”
I swallowed, watching him closely as I squeezed my thighs together.
“I want you to know you can drop your guard with me,” he continued. “If you’re tired, I want you to rest. If you’re scared, I want you to tell me. If you’re hurting, I want to be the one holding you through it. That’s what I expect.”
I let out a shaky breath. He made it sound so simple. So perfect. Not transactional. Not demanding. Just presence. Stability. Something I’d never had.
“And you,” Connor added, voice dipping as he tilted my chin up, “you don’t have to earn that care. You already deserve it. Every messy, beautiful part of you.”
“I don’t even know how to accept that,” I admitted.
“Well,” he smirked a little, that spark back in his eyes, “lucky for you, I’m very patient. We’ll take it slow if you need. Or fast, if you want. I just need you to stay right now. Let me prove that I’m not going anywhere.”
I bit my lip, half-laughing through the emotion building in my throat. “That tongue thing might help convince me.”
Connor grinned, wrapping an arm around my waist and pulling me into his lap. “Then I guess I better do it twice. Just to be sure.”
As soon as Connor pulled me into his lap, I was already shifting, straddling his thighs, my mouth on his like it belonged there. His kiss was hungry, tongue brushing mine like he was staking his claim. My fingers were already tugging at the hem of his shirt, impatient, and he let me strip it off him in one motion.
“You said ‘twice’,” I breathed against his mouth. “I’m holding you to that.”
His hands gripped my hips, fingers digging in. “I’ll give you three, Little Fighter, just to watch you fall apart again.”
I grinned, then gasped as he grabbed the back of my thighs and flung me under him. Clothes hit the floor faster than I expected. His eyes raked over my body like he hadn’t just seen it last night.
“You’re a fucking dream,” he murmured, voice rough and low. “Every single inch of you.”
“Then stop staring and start touching.”
“You don’t tell me what to do.”
“I’m sorry, Daddy.” I blinked.
“You should be.” He leaned down, biting my bottom lip gently.
“I know what my princess needs.” His fingers found me fast. He didn’t tease me. He already knew how to play me, how to pull me apart with just the right pressure, the right speed. I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him down for another kiss as he replaced his fingers with his cock and slipped inside me with ease.
The stretch stole my breath. I moaned into his mouth, and he groaned low in his throat like the sound alone did something to him. “You’re such a good girl for me, you know that?”
“Yes, Daddy.” I moaned.
“My pretty baby girl.”
The praise does something to me… knowing he wanted me to feel good. He knew what I needed and gave it to me. He thrust in deep, his hands everywhere, my hips, my waist, tangled in my hair as he held me to him like we could fuse into one person if we tried hard enough.
“You feel so good, baby,” he whispered against my jaw. “You take me so fucking well.”
My legs locked around him. I met every thrust, chasing the edge I knew he’d push me over. “Harder, Daddy. Don’t hold back.”
He held onto me so tight I knew I’d have bruises tomorrow, but he gave it to me. Without hesitation.
“Come for me, baby.”
And since I was willing to please him, I did. I came so fucking hard all over his cock, a panting, breathless mess under him. He kept going, chasing his own release, and, fuck, the sounds he made when he came had me wanting to go again. Slowly he pulled out of me and collapsed beside me, pulling me against his chest immediately.
His hand traced lazy shapes across my back. “You okay, baby girl?”
“Better than good,” I whispered, cheek pressed against his shoulder.
“That’s all I want to give you. Better than good,” he said simply, then kissed the top of my head. “Now don’t move. I’m gonna grab us water and a warm rag, and then I’m holding you for the rest of the damn night.”
“Thank you,” I murmured, eyes already starting to close, the afterglow sinking into my bones.
“Don’t thank me for taking care of you. That’s my job.” He left the bed, naked and gorgeous, and I let my eyes linger because, well, that ass. Definitely worth the view.