Chapter 16

Chapter 16

When Derek left them there, Heaven immediately turned to the chocolatier. “Angel, I…”

“Don’t.”

Heaven’s stomach sank when he cut her off. His expression and tone were both cold. She’d never seen that from him before, not even when he’d punished her. She couldn’t help worrying that she’d ruined things between them.

He stared at her, shaking his head. “Come on, we’re going to my place to deal with this.” He jerked his chin to get her moving and she reluctantly obeyed.

He didn’t say anything else, and she was afraid to try, so the trip to his apartment was completely silent, except when he exchanged greetings with people they passed. By the time they were outside, she was blinking back tears and it was hard to see.

She stumbled on the path once and he caught her arm to steady her. She thought that was a positive sign, but as soon as she had caught her balance, he let go again.

Her nerves were shot when she followed him into his apartment and stood just inside the door while he turned on the lights. She had no idea what to expect and wasn’t even sure if she was allowed to speak, so she just waited there awkwardly.

“I’m too angry to punish you right now, so you’re going to do some thinking time, Heaven.” He pointed to an empty corner. “Nose to the wall. Hands on your head.”

She rolled her bottom lip under and fixed pleading eyes on him, but he just waited for her to obey. After a minute she trudged across the room. Corner time was awful, and she hated it just like every other Little.

Her arms started to ache after a few minutes had gone by, and she shifted, sighing loudly. How much time passed was a mystery, but it had been a while already when Angel pulled a chair over to sit behind her. She could feel the weight of his stare on her back, and she began to fidget.

“Do you know how hurt I was when I realized you’d lied to me about why you wanted the kitchen time, Heaven?”

The need to correct him forced the words out before she had time to consider them. “I didn’t lie, Angel! I said it was for a surprise and it was.”

“I’m adding ten to your punishment. I suggest you remember that it’s ‘Sir’ when you’re in trouble, unless you want to make this a lot worse.”

She winced. “Sorry, Sir. I just… I was really careful not to lie. Everything I said was true, but I guess I did lead you to believe I had a different kind of surprise in mind.”

There was a sound she couldn’t decipher, but the harshness of it probably meant it wasn’t good. “Maybe by the letter of the law you didn’t lie. But I’m pretty sure if you have to twist your words into pretzels to make me believe something that’s not true, then it still counts as concealing the truth. I trusted you and you broke my trust, Heaven. What am I supposed to do about that?”

“I-I’m sorry.” And she was sorry now. She hadn’t even considered how Angel might feel about her tricking him, or that he might be hurt over it.

“Are you?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Then make up for it by being completely honest with me now. Did you want me to punish you? Was that why you decided to pull off this elaborate trick?”

It was the worst question he could possibly have asked, and the hardest to answer. The words swirled around in her mind but getting them out took time. “I’m not sure what to say, Sir.”

“The truth. I need to know what motivated all of this, and you’re not leaving the corner until you have answers for me.”

Her forehead thumped against the wall and she sighed. “It was a lot of reasons, but… yes, I admit getting in trouble with you was on the list. I mean, it wasn’t just that. It felt really unfair. I’ve been punished for things that weren’t my fault too many times to be comfortable with that. And Hayleigh…”

Angel shifted in his seat. The rustle of his clothing made her tense up. “Hayleigh what?” he asked.

“She was trying to explain why Littles looked for trouble. Why the pranks were part of it. What they got out of it—and what the Bigs get out of dealing with it after.”

“Ah.”

“It was like the stuff you told me, about people sometimes needing a spanking, even if you didn’t want one. I just thought… it seemed like a good reason to give it a try. And I hoped…” She trailed off, but this time he didn’t prompt her.

As the silence drew out, she finally forced herself to continue. “I hoped you might step up and deal with it. Then I’d know.”

There was a pregnant pause, and a sense of intensity filled the room even without words. “Know what, Heaven? What was it that you thought this would tell you?” Angel’s voice had gone softer and the coldness had melted, at least somewhat.

It wasn’t until she tried to answer that she realized tears were running down her face. She sniffled. “If you… wanted me. For real, I mean. Not just to play with. Not just for sex. But wanted to really be my—my Daddy.” She was aware of how Little and lost her voice sounded, but she couldn’t do much about that.

Angel let out a long loud breath. “Turn around, Heaven.”

She did, slowly, almost afraid. He was standing in front of the chair and holding out his arms to her. She practically dove into them. “I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you,” she said, while her tears soaked into his shirt.

He didn’t say anything at first, but his hand rubbed slow circles on her back. The motion was soothing, and she calmed a little.

“Trust is a delicate thing, chiquita. Once broken it’s hard to fix, but knowing the reasons behind it helps.” He let her go and his hand dropped to catch hers. He led her to the sofa and sat her down. “I think we have some things to talk about before anything else happens today.”

Obviously that was true because she was a wreck. Her wants and needs were all at odds and the smug delight she’d felt over managing two very dramatic pranks had dwindled away to guilt. She couldn’t regret the cake sprouts though.

Well, not much. It was a fun treat and she still thought sprouts for dinner every night was too mean, especially when it included everyone. But the things Master Derek and Angel had said made her realize that going after all the Bigs had been just as unfair. She wished she’d skipped the second prank.

More than that, she wished she hadn’t had to trick Angel in order to pull them off. He’d believed in her, trusted her, and she’d used that. At the time it really hadn’t felt like a big deal. Littles were expected to be tricky sometimes.

But this was different. She’d already been given special privileges most Littles didn’t have. Angel had extended that even further by allowing her to be there alone, without supervision. It had been a gift based on trust.

She felt awful and her eyes wouldn’t stop running. “I really am sorry, An—Sir. I never meant to-to…” The words wouldn’t come. She trailed off with a loud sniffle.

Angel regarded her quietly. After a moment he got up and left the room, leaving Heaven to stare after him, but then he returned with a box of tissues. He handed it to her as he sat back down. “Well, if you don’t regret it now, you will soon. I intend to take out my disappointment on your cute little backside, chica, but for now… we have other things to discuss.”

She wiped her eyes and then her nose. “We-we do?”

“Yes, we do. I can’t say I don’t have feelings for you, Heaven. I do. And I was pretty sure you had the same feelings for me, but I’m not used to moving this fast. We both have painful things in our past that made me even more hesitant to jump into a relationship.” He paused, giving her a chance to say something.

“I know. Taking our time is the smart thing to do. I just don’t want to.” And that was something it had taken her awhile to realize. Her heart had already decided on him, and it was hanging out in limbo, while waiting for something to happen, that was making it so hard.

“Well, if tonight made anything clear, it’s that I don’t want to wait either. I’ve been fighting to keep things slow, but I don’t want to do that anymore. Remember when we kissed?”

She tilted her head, eyebrows going up. “As if I could forget.” She’d been reliving that moment in her head multiple times a day since it happened.

“You said you needed me to be sure before we went any further. Well, I’m sure, Heaven. I’m sure that I want you and I think you feel the same—”

“Yes, I—”

He placed a finger over her mouth, hushing her, so he could continue. “But before we commit to this, I need to make sure we’re both looking for the same thing. I want to be your Daddy, but that’s not all I want to be. You said you hadn’t really had a chance to explore anything, right?”

She nodded.

“I can help you explore. I can take you into the dungeon and teach you about submission. I’d like to put a collar around your neck one day. I want a Little to coddle and take care of, but I also want a submissive to kneel at my feet. I want to teach you everything I know about kink and D/s, and then I want us to continue to explore and learn together.”

Her breath caught in her throat, and she made a little sound without realizing it.

His eyes met hers, but he didn’t stop. “The kink dynamic will be important in our lives. It will shape how we live, but that’s still not all I want. I need a partner, Heaven. I’m happy to be in charge but some decisions should be made together. I know it’s a lot, but I’ve had years to think about what I need and—"

She cut him off. “Yes, please. I want all of that too.”

He took a deep breath through his nose and let it out slowly. “Daddy, Dom, Master, lover, partner… maybe even co-workers. That’s a lot of roles to play, Heaven. Are you sure that’s what you want? It’s not going to be a simple Daddy/Little dynamic where I take care of everything for you.”

“Yes, yes, yes. All of it. Please, Angel.” Heaven burst into tears, and it caught her off guard nearly as much as it did him. She hadn’t expected it, but suddenly there were tears everywhere, and he was pulling her into his lap holding her.

“I think… if that’s how you feel, then you better start calling me Daddy. Don’t you?” The gentle, amused tone didn’t help to stop the tears, but they came from a place of happiness and relief so that was okay.

“Yes, Daddy. Oooh, I love saying that.” Despite the tear-streaked face, she smiled.

“Good, because I love hearing it from you. You’re actually the only woman who’s ever called me Daddy.” He took some tissues from the box and blotted her face, wiping away all the tears, and then he leaned in and pressed his lips to hers.

Like their first kiss, this one was filled with fire. The heat raced through her body, and she leaned into it, responding with an equal amount of passion. All of her worries and concerns about not fitting in, and never finding anyone to give her what she needed, slipped away.

Her arms slid around his neck as she wiggled closer. It wasn’t enough. After a few seconds she broke the kiss, letting out a sound of frustration as she rearranged herself in his lap.

Finally, she shifted around until she straddled his legs with her bottom settled on his upper thighs. Now she was facing him with as much of their bodies touching as possible. It felt comfortable and safe, but it also brought them closer and upped the intensity.

She wanted more kissing and leaned in eagerly to catch his mouth. Her tongue explored his with an enthusiasm that shocked her. Kissing had never been her favorite thing, but now she was beginning to understand the appeal of it.

His hands settled at her waist at first, then slid around to grab her backside, pulling her even tighter against his body with a hard yank. She gasped against his mouth and he took advantage of it to drive his tongue between her lips. It felt… downright sexual and there was an answering pulse between her thighs.

She wasn’t the only one affected. There was a hardness growing. The way their bodies were pressed together it was impossible to miss.

Flushed and feeling very daring, she slid a hand down between them, squeezing the front of his trousers. He bucked against her palm, growling as his head dropped back, breaking the kiss. “If you keep that up, we’re going to have to delay the rest of this conversation, chica.”

“Does that mean you want me to stop?” She grinned and stroked her thumb over the bulge.

“Hell no, but… I wanted to get some things settled. And then there was a punishment to deal with.”

Her insides flipped. She’d forgotten about the punishment but being reminded also gave her squirmy feelings and she shifted in his lap, grinding down. “I think we settled the important part. You’re my Daddy. I’m all yours… everything else can wait. Can’t it?”

While thinking about the punishment made her wet, remembering how much it hurt last time had her perfectly happy to put it off until later. Besides, it felt like she’d been waiting for this forever.

He groaned again. His hands came down on her thighs, squeezing as he pinned her in place. “Stay still so I can think.”

She tried to wiggle again, found that she couldn’t, and obeyed—since she had no choice. “What are you thinking about… Daddy?” Just calling him that made her hotter. She could feel her panties soaking through.

“I’m thinking—” He stopped and took a deep breath, blowing it out as he straightened and looked at her. “You sure you’re ready for this? If you want to wait…”

She cut him off with a quick head shake. “No, I’m tired of waiting. I’ve been waiting for a thousand years already, Daddy.”

“Heaven Leigh, I haven’t even known you a month yet.” He laughed.

“I never said I was the patient type.” She leaned down, resting her forehead against his. “You’ve only known me a few weeks, Daddy, but you’ve been on my mind since day one. And besides, you don’t know how long I’ve wanted someone like you in my life. Someone—someone who was mine.”

She paused and just as he was about to say something, she added, “I honestly never thought there would be someone who wanted me, all of me. You made me feel like that was possible, and now it’s happened.”

“It did.” He groaned. “I guess the punishment can wait until later.” He squeezed her bottom with both hands and shifted forward on the couch. When he stood, he lifted her with him.

A gasp escaped at the sudden change and she tightened her grip around his neck. Her legs wound around his hips until she was clamped to him like a koala. “Where are we going?”

“I’m taking you to my bed, sweetheart. We’re not having our first time on a tiny sofa. I’m going to need some room for what I do with you.” His voice practically dripped with sensuality, and she shivered.

She didn’t need to see his face to know he was smirking as he carried her through the apartment to the bedroom. Instead, she focused her attention on the part of him she could reach—his neck. She sucked and licked at the spot just above his collar, leaving a mark that everyone would see tomorrow.

Angel was all hers now. Her Daddy. Her Dom. Her lover… and maybe someday more. Maybe Halloween wasn’t so bad if it brought her everything she ever wanted.