Chapter 13
In the early hours of the morning, Rosa’s eyelids snapped open. The silence scared her. With her heart beating loudly, she closed her eyes to slits and scanned the darkness, checking for a threat. Slowly the terror faded to allow her to grasp where she was.
Rosa slid her fingers over the blanket draped over her to find the embroidered patch.
The Devil Daddies MC had created this magical, protected space.
She pulled the soft material up to her chin as she turned over to face Street.
The man who she’d saved from the Ravagers slept soundly next to her with Inky claiming the pillow space above his head.
Moving carefully, she retrieved her stuffie and hugged him to her chest. She studied his handsome face, considering how much he’d changed her life.
Hanging out with everyone at Inferno last night had been a blast. Struggling to survive for the last few years since she’d run away, Rosa had worked at least two jobs at all times since she’d had to support herself.
That didn’t leave any time for friends or money to waste on junk food.
Walking home or to work, Rosa had passed people her age laughing and having fun.
It had seemed so alien to her to have the opportunity to enjoy life when she struggled so hard to survive.
Uncomfortable at first, Rosa had clung to Street’s hand.
The other Littles had drawn her into the conversation, pretending they didn’t notice anything wrong.
Caroline, Honey, Winnie, and Angel had ordered frozen margaritas with salted rims. She’d hesitated to share that she didn’t want alcohol, but Street had spoken to her quietly.
When he’d ordered a virgin frozen strawberry daiquiri, they’d changed their orders to join her without a fuss.
The bartenders even made a whole pitcher of the festive pink mixture and sent the treat over as a second round with the guys’ beers.
Rosa had protested she didn’t want to ruin anyone’s fun, and they could have margaritas without her, but the women had confessed the limey concoctions usually had a negative effect on their tummies. They seemed happier with the nonalcoholic one. Their Daddies definitely approved of that choice.
Now safe and happy next to this amazing man, Rosa couldn’t have imagined her world would change so much after risking warning him. She pinched herself to make sure this wasn’t an elaborate dream. Her gasp woke Street.
“Dinorosa? Are you okay?” His low voice was husky with sleep. His hand swept under her blanket to rub over her shoulder and down her arm.
“Sorry. I was just making sure I wasn’t hallucinating all this.”
“What?” he asked. “Are you not feeling well? I can call Razor.”
“No, Daddy. I’m not sick or imagining things. Really.” She paused a minute before asking, “Are you sure you want me here? I’m sure the Ravagers have stopped searching for me. I could head out of town.”
Street shifted to switch on the lamp, lighting up the bedroom. He turned back to prop himself up on one elbow. “Talk to me, Little girl. Have you decided you don’t want to be here?”
She shook her head vigorously. “I love being with you. I don’t want to be a burden.”
“You could never be that, Little girl. You’re important to me—the one I’ve hoped to find for years.”
Rosa smiled at him before sobering. “That’s nice of you to say, but can you promise me you’ll tell me the truth when you decide I should go?”
“I will always tell you the truth, Rosa.” He leaned forward to kiss her lips softly. “Did you have a bad dream?”
“No. I woke up, and the room was so quiet.”
“And that’s bad?”
“No. Just completely different from the places I’ve had to sleep in for the last few years.”
“Do you think you can rest again?” he asked. “It’s super early.”
“Probably not. But you should. I’m sorry I woke you up.”
“I’m not. How about if we go get some warm milk and watch a movie?”
“At two in the morning?”
“Sometimes a distraction helps your brain unplug.”
“Have you had a Little girl before?” she blurted as the thought popped into her mind that he was really good at this.
“Only for casual play. I’ve known who I needed in my life.”
“And hadn’t run into her?” Rosa had to ask.
“I guess I was waiting for her to find me. I never guessed she’d be a badass that would ride my motorcycle off into the sunset with my barely conscious drugged self on the seat behind her to get away from the bad guys.”
He made the story sound as if she were the heroine who saved the day. “I didn’t do that much.”
“Did you drive my motorcycle?”
“Only because I had a friend who taught me on a whim.”
“Male friend?” he asked, drawing the blanket under her chin. Rosa was tickled to hear the jealousy in his voice as she wiggled to a comfortable position. Watching a movie sounded fun, but spending quiet time with her Daddy in bed was a treat.
“Yeah, but he was in love with someone else.” When Street’s brow creased with worry, she quickly added, “He was kind and funny. No romantic feelings from either of us.”
“Okay. I owe him my thanks then for teaching you.”
“Maybe not. I crashed Tony’s bike the last time he let me ride.” Rosa couldn’t stop the laughter from spilling out of her at the horror on his face at the thought that she’d driven his pride and joy. “His bike was a piece of shit. The front tire got wobbly.”
“Anyone would go down in that case,” Street assured her.
“Exactly.” A yawn widened her mouth. “Oops, sorry.”
“How about if you close your eyes, Dinorosa, and I tell you the story of my first ride on a motorcycle?” Street relaxed onto his pillow and tugged Rosa and Inky to his side.
How did he know her eyes were tired? She snuggled close and followed his directions.
The sound of his rumbling voice surrounded her as he described rebelling against his mother’s rules to take lessons.
The instructor had shared a wide variety of boring information that Rosa tuned out as sleep reclaimed her.
When the alarm went off the next morning, Street diligently inserted the medicine Razor had prescribed before helping her into the pull-up style diaper the doctor had suggested.
Thank goodness, he’d only sent medicine for two days.
Rosa was sure her cheeks would stay pink permanently if she had to go bottom-up longer than that.
“The guys at the warehouse are going to get the idea that I get off on watching them work if I keep going in with a complete hard-on, Little girl,” Street said, smoothing her hair away from her blushing face.
“I enjoy taking care of you. I think Razor creates vitamins for the other Little girls. He’ll see what your blood work requires when he gives you a physical for birth control. ”
“No, Daddy. I can swallow pills.”
Street kissed her forehead. “I’ll leave you some breakfast in the refrigerator. No cutting pipe for seven days, remember? Your hands need to heal.”
“But I can work with Fury next week?” she asked.
“Of course. The lazy bastard told me he wouldn’t work on the piping until you could help him. He sent me a list of training videos. I’ll pull them up on the TV for you if you’re interested when you get up.”
“Can I join you for breakfast? And watch the videos this morning?”
“Of course. If you are still interested after checking a few out, we’ll research some local intensive programs.”
“I don’t have any money to pay for them, Daddy. I can learn a lot from checking out those videos and working with Fury.”
“Are you against taking classes? We’ll have to find one where you can be safe.”
“I’d love to have a skill that could travel with me. Something other than working at a dive bar or restaurant.”
“Then we make that happen. You don’t need money to stay with me here, of course. But, if you’d like to be independent, I could check to see what positions are open at the warehouse or at Inferno,” Street offered.
“I’d love that. Would you do that? I could get cleaned up and come to fill out an application.”
“Let me talk to a few people this morning. I’ll have a good idea of what’s available tonight when I come home.”
“Thanks, Daddy. I’ll learn as much as I can today.” She could jot down a few key points she picked up on paper towels if she couldn’t find scrap paper somewhere. Should she ask him for some?
“No stressing, Little girl. Don’t hurt your hand taking notes. You won’t be able to do anything until your blisters heal,” he reminded her.
Rosa nodded as she wondered how he always knew what she was planning. Her hand needed to get better quickly.
“Good girl. Let’s get you dressed and grab some breakfast.”
“Thanks, Daddy.”
In a few minutes, she wore another of his T-shirts with a pair of leggings that had arrived from his shopping order. Rosa padded barefoot to the kitchen, trying to distract Street from ordering her more items. “My shoes are fine, Daddy.”
“Little girl, if I have to spank your bottom to get you to tell me your shoe size, I will.”
One glimpse of his frown and serious expression told Rosa he wasn’t kidding. “You can’t spank me,” exploded from her lips. She slapped her hand over her mouth. She hadn’t meant to say that. Her heart raced inside her chest. Fuck! Did I just ruin everything?
Do all Daddies spank? Was that a required part of being a Little? His swats hadn’t scared her, but Rosa doubted she could handle a harsh punishment. She would try to do it for him if that was something he enjoyed.
“Talk to me, Dinorosa. Are you afraid of being spanked? The truth, Little girl.”
“A pop on my butt to get my attention doesn’t scare me. The other Littles have commented about being spanked. I’m working on convincing myself to be chill.”
“But you think you’ll panic?” he said, zeroing in on her worry.
“Yes,” she admitted. “I want to be like the others. You know, be a Little girl with everything that goes with that.”
“No, you won’t. I didn’t fall for anyone but you, Rosa. They are perfect for their Daddies. You are the one I need in my life. How about if I promise you to never spank your bottom more than one attention-getter?”
“But you might enjoy spanking more….”
“I don’t want to punish my Little girl into a panic attack. If you are naughty and I need to correct your behavior, I’ll choose a different technique like corner time, a bottom plug, or no mustard on your sandwich.”
“Now that’s just mean,” she muttered, sizzling him with a fierce glance.
“Consequences are supposed to be something you avoid, Dinorosa. Now, tell me your shoe size so I won’t have to use one of those I listed.”
“You’ve done too much for me already. I’m not a leech. Help me get a job, and I’ll buy a new pair.” Rosa would never actually purchase new shoes until the others were totally destroyed. Yeah, she had a hole in her sole, but duct tape would keep the water out for a while.
Street pulled out his phone and called someone. Rosa stared at him, watching to figure out what her Daddy was doing. “Hi, Wraith. I’m going to be late. I have a stubborn Little girl who won’t tell me her shoe size.”
He listened to Wraith’s response as he held her gaze. “Yes. Good idea. Razor did send me home with a plug set.”
“I’m not stubborn!” Rosa whispered furiously.
“Yep. I’ll work through lunch to make up my time. See you soon.”
Rosa swallowed hard, feeling guilty. She’d already caused him so much trouble. Now, he would miss lunch. “I’m sorry.”
Street disconnected the call and stood. “I’ll go grab that set and be right back, Little girl. You sit here and think about your poor Daddy missing lunch today because you won’t tell him your shoe size.”
“It’s a seven, okay. Or a six in men’s. I always buy whichever is cheapest,” she blurted out.
“Which fits better?” he asked, returning to her side. Street opened a note on his phone.
“The men’s size. My feet swell when I stand all day on concrete. The six gives my feet extra room,” she confessed. “Do I still get… you know.”
“Do you promise to let me worry about what I want or don’t want to do for you? No more fretting about costing me too much?”
“Can I promise to do my best?”
“Yes, Dinorosa. That’s a good place to start.” Street waggled his index finger at her. “Next time….”
“I’ll say please and thank you,” Rosa said, crossing her fingers behind her back.
“Perfect. I should go. Let’s put these dishes in the sink and I’ll do them later.”
A few minutes later, he pulled her close for a steamy kiss that had her squirming eagerly. He squeezed her close and patted her bottom firmly. “Be good.”
“I don’t know how I’ll ever look at Wraith again. He won’t tell everyone you put a plug in my butt, will he?”
“I didn’t talk to Wraith, Dinorosa. I called the time and temperature number at the bank. There’s a thirty percent chance of rain today at one.”
She stared at him in disbelief. “I thought you’d never lie to me.”
“I didn’t lie to you. I simply called the weather and rehearsed what I would say to him if you continued to withhold information I needed.”
“I’m going to ask to talk to Caroline from now on,” she muttered, glaring at him.
“I’ll dial the right number next time you need punishing.”
Rosa processed that she’d escaped him discussing her so intimately with someone else. “I’ll forgive you.”
“Thank you, Little girl. Give Daddy a kiss and go watch some videos.”
Rosa bounced up on her tiptoes to press her lips to Street’s.
His kisses were even better than the delicious breakfast he’d prepared for her.
She waved from the kitchen door until he disappeared from sight.
After hitting the button to lower the garage door, Rosa headed for the sink. She could at least clean the dishes.