Chapter Six

Courtney cleared her throat. “Well, you see, my mother doesn’t care. Oh, I know she loves me, but her obsession with becoming upper-class is turning her into a bad person. Since my father died, she’s made me into a person she can use to get there. I’ve put up with it for years until I found out she has me engaged to a man…” She sniffed. “He’s awful. I can’t be his wife.”

She looked at the girls, who nodded again. “I met him at the fundraiser a few days ago. Within two minutes, he had me on the dance floor and was holding me tight even though I told him not to. Then … he rubbed…”

“Daddy,” Larkin said. “He rubbed his cock against her. For God’s sake, they just met. That’s yucky, isn’t it?”

Darian nodded. “Yes, Baby. It is. No girl should have to deal with that.”

“I started to feel sick to my stomach, so I went to the bathroom. That’s when I ran into a few of the girls,” Courtney said.

“We could tell right away she was upset. We gave her our numbers so she couldcall if she needed us to pick her up,” Sienna told them. “She called the next day, so we drove to her house and got her.”

“I panicked when my mother told me that man was coming over. I just couldn’t let that man touch me again.”

“I don’t blame you, Honey,” Ronin saidand rubbed her back.

“I told my mother I didn’t like him, but she told me to stop being dramatic andthat this was our chance to become a part of the upper-class circle. I’ve told her so many times I didn’t care about that, but she didn’t listen to me. She never does.”

“What a bitch,” Shelby said.

“Language, Love,” Warrick said.

“But she is,” the other girls burst out.

Courtney watched the men talk with their girls and was envious of how close the couples were.

“So, why didn’t you call your mother or leave a note?” Darian asked.

“I did leave a letter. She knows I just ran, but the girls and I guessed she was lying so she’d have help finding me.” She turned to look at Ronin and felt tears start to fall again. “I don’t want to see her. Please.”

“How old are you?” Ronin asked.

“Twenty-three.”

“Then, Honey, there is nothing she can do. You’re an adult. She can’t drag you back home.”

“But I’m afraid she’ll find a way,” Courtney said.

Darian cleared his throat. “How about a few of us go with you to the police department tomorrow, and then you can tell them you left on your own?”

“They can’t arrest me?” she asked.

Ronin squeezed her side and smiled gently at her. “You’ve done nothing wrong.”

“But innocent people get arrested all the time,” she told him.

“Honey, I used to be a cop. Right now, I’m a co-owner of a security company. We deal with the police in the city all the time, and I know how they think.”

“I can vouch for him,” Kyla said. “He saved me from a bad man and took care of me until my daddy came.”

Kyla’s daddy kissed the side of her head. “And I’m very thankful he was there.”

“You said she makes you do things. Can you tell us what you mean?” Darian asked.

“I’m on a very strict diet. That’s why I’m so skinny. She had me dye my hair light blonde because she didn’t like my brown hair. She said it looked like mud. I wasn’t allowed to go outside because she didn’t want me to get freckles, and the only things I got to do were exercise, read nonfiction books, and learn to speak French and Italian.”

She could tell everyone in the room was angry at the way she was treated.

“I’m going to get my girl home unless you need me for anything,” Travis said.

Darian shook his head. “I might call you tomorrow, but right now, I don’t see a problem.”

“Call anytime.” Travis waited until Nia hugged every girl before taking his hand.

The others left soon after, leaving Darian, Larkin, Courtney, and Ronin.

“You girls look tired,” Darian said. “Why don’t you go upstairs, bathe, and put on your nightgowns?”

“You’re going to let me wear a nightgown, Daddy?” Larkin said and grinned.

“Just until you come to bed, Pet.”

Larkin giggled, making Courtney smile.

Larkin tugged her up from Ronin’s lap and started to pull her out of the room. Courtney stopped and turned back to Ronin. “Are you going to be here?”

Ronin looked at Darian, who nodded. “I think it’s an excellent idea,” Darian said. “She already seems to trust you to some extent.”

Ronin looked at her. “I’ll be here, Honey. Go get ready for bed.”

Courtney nodded and let Larkin drag her up the stairs.

“Go get your nightgown and come into my bathroom. We’ll shower together if that’s okay?” Larkin asked.

Courtney had never bathed with anyone, but it sounded like fun. “Sure.”

“Good. I’ll meet you there.”

Courtney pulled her suitcase from the closet in the playroom and rummaged through until she found her gown. She hadn’t worn one since she’d been at Larkin’s because she wanted to stay dressed when there was a chance she’d get caught.

When she got to the massive master bathroom, Larkin was already naked and in the shower. Courtney undressed and stood right outside the shower.

“Come on, girlfriend. There’s nothing to be shy about,” Larkin said and giggled.

Courtney rolled her eyes, opened the door, and stepped in. Her eyes widened when she saw Larkin’s body. “God, you’re so beautiful.”

Larkin stared at her with wide eyes. “That is so sweet. I was going to tell you that you’re hot.”

Courtney chuckled. “I’m too skinny.”

“You’ll fill out,” Larkin said and squeezed her arm. “Even skinny, you’re gorgeous.”

“I wonder what I’ll look like when my hair goes back to its original color, and I fill out.”

“It wouldn’t matter if you had purple hair,” Larkin said.

Courtney giggled.

Larkin held out a band for her hair. “Do you want one of these?”

Courtney shook her head. “No, I think I’ll wash my hair. I haven’t done it in a few days.”

Larkin rinsed her body and stepped aside. “Do you like baths?”

“Heck, yeah. I love them.”

“We’ll take a bath tomorrow. My bathtub is to die for. It can fit five of us girls easily.”

Courtney’s eyes widened. “You’ve really done that?”

“Oh, God, yes. This group is open about our sexual lives to some extent. I’ve been naked in front of all my friends and most of the daddies.”

“Why?” Courtney couldn’t believe it. She didn’t think she’d ever be able to do that.

Larkin wrapped a towel around her midriff and sat on the bench on the other side of the huge shower.

“We get together a lot. The daddies like to stick together because they say the littles would drive them crazy if they didn’t have help and support.”

Courtney pressed her hand over her mouth and giggled. “Really?”

Larkin grinned. “Yeah, and it’s true. The girls try to poke at them to get a response.”

“What kind of response?”

“Usually a spanking.”

Courtney choked. “Wait. You want to be spanked?”

Larkin nodded. “Yeah.”

“Doesn’t it hurt?”

Larkin shrugged. “I feel pain, but it’s not bad, and it always ends up with me getting laid.”

Courtney started laughing as she rinsed her hair.

“How is everything, girls?” Darian said from the doorway.

Courtney squealed and tried to cover herself with her arms, making Larkin laugh hysterically.

“We’re doing okay, Daddy. We’re just about done.”

Courtney knew the glass was foggy because of the watersohe couldn’t see a lot, but just being in a room, naked with a man, made her heart rate spike.

She rinsed the conditioner out of her hair and turned off the water. Then, Larkin handed her a towel to wrap around herself and another for her hair. Courtney exhaled when she saw Darian had left.

“You should have seen the look on your face,” Larkin said, giggling so hard she bent over and wrapped her arms around herwaist.

“You’re a brat,” Courtney said and started to laugh.

The two got dressed, and Larkin helpeddry her hair.

“Do you think you’ll go back to your original color?” Larkin asked as she pulled the brush through her hair and held the dryer in her other hand.

“Yes. I never liked the way I looked being this blonde. I always saw a ghost instead of myself in the mirror.”

The way Larkin took care of her hair felt so good, and shecould never remember her mother doing it, even when she was young.

“God, that feels good.”

She watched Larkin grin in the mirror. “I think so, too. The girls and I will brush each other’s hair all the time,” Larkin said.

“Can I brush yours?” Courtney asked.

“Yes. Let’s go sit on the bed. We can watch a movie until Daddy comes.”

The two got comfortable on the mattress, with Larkin sitting cross-legged in front of her. Courtney took her time at first so she didn’t pull on any tangles Larkin’s hair might have. Both of their eyes were on the TV.

Courtney froze when the cartoon came on. She thought it would be like a child’s cartoon, but this one was like Anime—a very sexual one.

“Are you sure it’s okay to watch this?” Courtney murmured as her eyes were fixed on the TV screen.

Larkin looked over her shoulder and grinned. “Have you ever seen this kind of stuff?”

“No. I can’t remember the last time I watched a show on TV. This would have never been allowed at my house.”

Just the thought of the look on her mother’s face when she walked into the room almost made her smile.