13. Sean

His heart shattered as he listened to Gabby tell him about her life growing up. He had known that she must have had a rough life, based on her fears, anxiety, and the way she avoided the topic, but he wasn't prepared for anything that she had told him.

He wasn't a violent man, but he had felt a rage inside of him that made him feel capable of murder, and he had to try to control it so he didn't scare his little girl. He would never understand how someone could abuse a child but knowing it had happened to Gabby made it feel almost unbearable to fathom.

He couldn't believe that she would think he might not want her after telling him everything. If anything, it made him love and want her even more so he could show her how wonderful she was and give her the life that she so deserved.

Until she asked him to kiss her, he had only kissed her on the forehead because he didn't want to push her too far or frighten her. But when she asked so sweetly, there was no way he would turn her down. Lowering his face to hers, he gently kissed her lips, once, twice, and then, the third time, he didn't pull away. Instead, he kissed her so deeply that he didn't know where his mouth ended and hers began.

When he pulled away, she let out a soft whine that made him smile. He could have kissed her all night, but he also knew he needed to move slowly, and a man could only kiss for so long before he exploded.

"You are amazing, Gabby girl."

She smiled up at him, her sparkling eyes nearly making him forget about moving slowly, and her pouty lips making him think the most naughty thoughts of what they would look like wrapped around him. He needed to get it together. She wasn't ready for that.

"I love you, Daddy. Thank you for making me feel so safe."

"Always. Daddy will always keep you safe."

The next couple of weeks were exhausting for Gabby. Sean had encouraged her to share her past with Savannah and had even offered to sit in on the sessions with her. Gabby took him up on that, and for much of her therapy appointments, she sat on his lap while Gabby and Savannah talked. He liked supporting her however he could, but the result of her working through the memories of her past left him with one tired little girl.

For the most part, she was well-behaved and sweet toward him. However, every once in a while, she would refuse to eat her dinner or have a complete meltdown. As silly as it sounded, he was thrilled when she acted that way around him because it meant she was feeling safe, knowing he wouldn't hurt her if she wasn't always perfect. Not that he told her he was thrilled. Usually, he plastered on a stern look, and she got the message that she was treading on thin ice. Keyword, "usually".

"Gabby, it's time to put your toys away and come take a bath. I'm not going to ask again."

Her tongue was sticking out as she tried to fit a different dress on one of her dolls while completely ignoring him.

"Gabrielle."

"I don't need a bath, Daddy! I'm playin' right now. Go away."

Oh no, she did not. Sean strode into her room and snatched her up off the floor, carrying her into the bathroom. Gabby let out a screech and kicked her feet, trying to break free.

"Don't wanna take a bath! Let me go, mean Daddy! Bad, Daddy, bad!"

He was thankful that she couldn't see his face because he couldn't stop the grin spreading across his lips as she had her first big tantrum. He couldn't help but notice how much younger she seemed to have become.

"It's your bath time. You work tomorrow, so you need to get clean and go to bed. You know the drill, little girl."

She made a loud noise of protest before kicking her legs some more until she nailed him right in the shin. He groaned but didn't let her go.

"Little girl, you're getting yourself into trouble."

"I didn't mean to kick you, Daddy; I'm sorry."

She was scowling at him, and he raised his eyebrow at her.

"Whether you meant to or not, if you hadn't been having a fit, it wouldn't have happened."

"I just wanted to play, and you were being a big dumb meanie head."

"Okay, that's it. You've just earned a spanking."

Her eyes widened, and she looked at him like he had told her that her puppy had died.

"I'll take a bath, Daddy! No spanking. No, no, no!"

"Too late."

He sat down on the closed toilet lid and adjusted her, so she was face down on his lap, though she didn't make it easy on him as she fought and clawed at him.

"No spank Gabby! I be good!"

He landed his hand on her legging-covered bottom, making her squeal.

"You had a chance to be good, but you decided to push your boundaries, so I am showing you exactly where your boundaries are."

Smack! Smack! Smack!

He spanked his little girl repeatedly as she fought against his hold on her. In one swift move, he pulled down her leggings and panties, baring her pinkening bottom for him to continue to spank.

"When Daddy tells you to do something, that means he expects you to do it. But you decided to disobey and be rude to Daddy, which is not allowed, and you know that. Daddy isn't rude to you, is he?"

"No, Daddy. But I wanted to play with my dolly," she whined loudly.

He smacked her bottom several times, paying special attention to the tender skin at the tops of her thighs.

"You have lots of time to play, little girl. But you also have to take a bath. It isn't any different than any other night."

She cried out with each smack to her upper thighs and tried to push off his lap, but he had a firm grip on her, so she was no match for him. He spanked her hard and rapidly, turning her cheeks from pink to an angry red. He didn't stop until she was sobbing limply over his lap, promising to be a good girl forever and ever.

"I'm s-so s-sorry, Daddy. I wasn't being a nice girl."

"Shh, I know, baby. It's all over, and I forgive you. I know in the future you'll try to be Daddy's good girl."

She continued to cry, her tears dripping onto the bathroom floor until he flipped her up to sit in his lap. He wrapped his arms around her small body and kissed the top of her head, letting her cry her little heart out. He set her on the bathroom counter when she finally calmed and turned on the bathtub taps.

They still hadn't done anything more than kissing, and when he gave her baths, he didn't linger or let his hands wander. Although she wasn't as tense when he washed her privates any longer, he still didn't want to press his luck. In the meantime, his privates were constantly pressing painfully against the zipper of his pants.

"Daddy, can I pick out a bath bomb?"

He nodded and helped her down from the counter. She took her time choosing and ended up picking out a heart-shaped bath bomb that smelled like lavender. Once the tub was full of water, she dropped it in and clapped as the water fizzed and turned purple. He loved watching how excited she got over such small things. She didn't seem to take any happy moment for granted.

"In you go, little girl."

Lifting her, he set her in the tub and raised his eyebrows when she hissed as the water came into contact with her red bottom. She pouted but quickly became distracted when he dumped in her basket of mermaid bath toys. He soaped up her hair and massaged her scalp while she played, although she let out several moans of pleasure that had his cock jumping inside of his jeans. He definitely needed to take a shower and relieve some pent-up arousal.

After her bath, he brushed out her hair, dried it, and then dressed her into a snap crotch onesie with a pair of fuzzy socks. It was his first time putting her in a onesie, and he wasn't sure how she would like it, but when she looked down and ran her hands over the rainbow print and then across the snaps along her pussy, she grinned.

"This is so cute. How do I go potty, though?"

He chuckled, "You tell Daddy that you need to go potty, and I'll unsnap you and take you to the bathroom."

She gave him a skeptical look.

"Are you always going to go to the bathroom with me now?"

He had been following her into the restroom frequently, and he was surprised when she never really protested unless she needed to make a bowel movement. He always left her alone to do that, although he knew that she would be comfortable taking care of all her business in front of him one day. He was her Daddy after all, and nothing was off-limits for him. He would take care of his baby girl in every way that she would allow.

"Yep, I sure am. I like taking care of my baby girl."

Instead of embarrassment, he saw a look of relief flicker in her eyes. She didn't like being alone when she didn't have to, and he thought that in a way, him taking care of her most basic needs was a way for him to show her that she could trust him for anything.

"I like when you take care of me too, Daddy."

Sean grinned and leaned down to kiss her as she sat on his bed. She was so tiny and delicate, like a little doll that he wanted to put in his pocket and keep safe forever.

"Crawl into bed, little girl. I'm going to go pick out a story and make you a bottle."

Gabby crawled across the bed on all fours and wiggled down under the blankets as he left the bedroom and headed for the kitchen. He quickly mixed up a bottle of her vanilla nutritional shake and then jogged up to the nursery and chose a book. Ever since her panic attack at the club, she had been sleeping in bed with him at night and only sleeping in the nursery for her naps.

When he walked back into his room, his baby girl already had her eyes closed, with her stuffed dog clutched to her chest.

Therapy, a spanking, and a bath must have really tuckered her out. Poor thing.

He climbed into bed next to her, setting the book on the nightstand for another night, and pressed the bottle against her lips. She immediately began sucking down the liquid without so much as opening her eyes. He watched her for a long time, even after the bottle was long gone, and made a promise to himself and to Gabby that he would always take care of her and love her so much that she would start to forget about her past life.

"I love you, baby," he whispered before getting up from the bed to go take his shower.

When he emerged from the bathroom a while later, he felt much lighter in his nether region and sleepily made his way across the room, climbing into bed with his sleeping angel.