Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

Connor

Bliss blinked her eyes, stalling for time, which only served to aggravate him more. Clenching his jaw, he leaned in and grabbed her arm, pulling her out of her car. “I don’t think blinking will give you long enough to come up with an excuse for not wearing your seatbelt. We’ll discuss this inside, but you should note for the future I treat stalling the same as lying.”

Holding her hand, he led her to the opposite side of the car. “I’ll get Sadie and Sophie. You take Nori.”

Once the girls were in their cribs and sleeping, Connor pulled Bliss back into the great room. He led her to the corner next to the front door. “You know the drill. I want your nose in this corner until I tell you to do something else.”

After grabbing a wooden spoon from the kitchen and sticking it in his back pocket, he propped against the back of the couch with his ankles crossed and sucked in a breath through his nose. It did nothing to change the blaze in his chest. The idea of her driving around, of her having another blowout or wreck, and not having on her seatbelt made him physically ill.

It was time to let her know the plan, and if she kicked him out—well, if she kicked him out, that would suck. But he’d go. If he didn’t do something, she was going to wind up dead.

“I’m going to share the plan that I have come up with to set everything, and everyone, straight. You will keep your nose in that corner and listen without interrupting. When I’m finished, you may turn to face me, and we will discuss any reservations you have. Am I clear? Yes or no.”

She nodded.

He barked out, “Words!”

She jumped but answered. “I understand, but?—”

“That’s one,” he said, cutting her off before she could say anything else.

He was glad her back was to him because his lips twitched when she slowly raised her hand to speak. “What, trouble?”

“One what?”

He kept his tone stern. She needed to hear her Daddy right now. “One strike. You don’t want to reach three, trust me. Now, tell me, do you remember our conversation in Vegas before we made love? Yes or no.”

She stiffened, but after a pause slowly nodded her head. “Yes.”

He’d thought she would. He hoped she remembered every detail of that day, just like he did.

“Good. Do you remember the part where I told you that if we made love, we were going to give our relationship a serious try? Specifically, that you were coming to Darling and we would continue the commitment we made. Yes or no?”

“Yes?”

That came out like a question, but he’d take it. He decided he’d rather watch her face during this conversation. “Turn around and face me, naughty girl.”

His cock stirred as he replayed the conversation in his head and all that followed. He took off his leather jacket and tossed it on the armchair. She startled when it landed with a thump. It would only be in the way shortly. But it did wonders as a prop getting Littles in the right headspace.

She repeated her answer. “Yes, Sir.” Breathy. Her voice was getting breathy.

He wanted to demand she call him Daddy, but that would be getting ahead of himself. He could be patient. Those stunning turquoise eyes he’d seen every time he closed his for almost a year were wide. Her breathing quickened when she’d watched him remove his jacket.

He nodded. “Good. Good.”

Never taking his eyes off her, he slowly rolled up first one sleeve then the other. She was so reactive. She watched, transfixed by his every movement. The rolling up of the sleeves set a good tone, foreshadowing what was to come. And hopefully encouraging her to regret her earlier choices.

“We agreed our relationship would include every aspect a typical Daddy has with his Little girl. Isn’t that right? Yes or no.”

They both knew the answer was yes. It was the only reason he allowed her to get away with nodding that time instead of giving a verbal response. Her breaths were now coming in shallow pants. The throbbing in his cock was meeting the rhythm breath by breath.

“Look at me, babygirl. I still mean every word I said then. I know we have things to talk through, but I would like to try. The question is, do you still want that, or have you changed your mind?”

Her eyes were the most expressive he’d ever seen. Right now, she looked as if he were holding something precious just out of her reach. And if she tried to grab it, he’d snatch it away again. That was on him, but carrying forward with his plan was the only thing he could think of to fix the situation he’d put them in.

Was he rushing her? He didn’t think so. He was a Daddy and he wanted to be her Daddy. She needed him. Those girls needed him. Today was one more show of proof she was going to wind up hurting herself if someone didn’t step in, and that someone was damn well going to be him.

She was amazing at taking care of children, family, and friends. He’d seen it and heard about even more times she’d done heroic things for others. But when it came to taking care of herself, she didn’t have a clue.

She raised her hand again. Her bottom lip trembled, but at his nod she asked, “I didn’t have the girls when we said all of that. Can I still be a Little if I’m a mom?”

His beautiful, wonderful little trouble. It was hard to live the life of a Little in freedom. Especially if there were no clear boundaries. The worry of going too far or not far enough was a heavy burden to bear. Too heavy for his Little girl. He’d give her boundaries, but being a mother was not a boundary she needed to worry about.

“You absolutely can, babygirl. We will figure out what works and what doesn’t together.”

He waited, knowing she needed time to process his words.

Should he work harder to convince her to say yes? Probably not. He didn’t want her agreement to be because of him. It had to be her choice. He just wished he could look into her mind and see what she was thinking.

She began to nod her head before she spoke. “If you promise to stay, I still want to try, too.” The tentative smile she gifted him lit every corner and crevice of his heart.

He strode toward her then, needing to hold her. “I’m not going anywhere, babygirl. I promise. You’ll still have your safeword, for now at least, because there is still a lot we don’t know about each other. Your safeword is there whatever we’re doing, in or out of the bedroom. I want to know when something upsets you. Do you understand? Yes or no.”

“Yes, I do. But I want to trust you. I don’t want a safeword.”

“I’m glad you want to trust me, babygirl but until you can, you need a safeword. But it isn’t just you. I need your safeword. My first job as your Daddy is to keep you safe. I would never intentionally hurt you. The problem, as you now know firsthand, is unintentional things hurt just as much. When we talk about everything that has happened since Vegas, and have more time to learn more about each, then we can discuss safewords again. For now, they have stay for me to feel safe being your Daddy.”

“But if I get to say yes or no, that puts me in control. I don’t want to be in control.”

Of course she didn’t. She was not just submissive, but a Little submissive. As such, giving up control was one of her defining qualities of Littles. “Wanting Daddy to be in charge is a big part of being Little. And Daddies want to take charge so their Littles can be free to explore. Daddies are the boundary keepers. But they can’t keep the boundaries their Littles need if they don’t know where their Little’s personal boundaries exist. Having boundaries is not the same thing. And what if Daddy needs to use his safeword? Would you not want to know if you were doing something that hurt me?”

Tears welled in her eyes. His girl was so tender. “Of course I want to know. I never, ever want to hurt you.”

“I feel the same way. This isn’t about who has control. It’s about keeping each other safe. The closer we grow, the fewer and fewer times we’ll need to use our safewords. We’ll start slow and learn together. Okay?”

Her nod came much faster this time. “Okay.”

And that was his cue to set his Little straight about a few things. Holding her hand, he led her to the couch. He sat down and pulled her between his thighs. “Eyes to me, little girl.”

Her gaze lasered on him at his tone.

“Did you know that riding without your seatbelt was wrong?”

Her breathing sped up. She opened her mouth to speak, changed her mind, and whispered, “Yes, Daddy.”

There it was. He’d never heard anything more beautiful than the word Daddy coming from her lips. He’d thank her properly later. Right now, he had a job to do.

“Did you know it was illegal?”

A sniffle preceded a wobbly, “Yes, Daddy.”

“Have you been driving around without wearing your seatbelt frequently?”

Her lips had a definite tremble now. His girl had a soft heart. “Y-Yes, Daddy.”

He hugged her and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I’m proud of you, babygirl. Thank you for being honest with Daddy. Now, let me show you what happens to Little girls who refuse to guard their safety.”