He nodded once. “Yeah. It wrecked me. But it also… freed me. I read it, and it was like everything came together. She loved me. She didn’t leave because of me. And I’ve been letting that pain shape every decision I’ve made since.”
“And now?” I cocked my head.
He pulled me in until our foreheads touched, his fingers brushing a stray strand of hair behind my ear. “Now I want to live. Really live. Not just exist in guilt. And part of that… part of that means letting myself give to someone else. Someone like you, if you’ll let me.”
My breath caught. Not because I didn’t want to hear it, but because some small part of me, the broken girl who thought love was a luxury she didn’t deserve, still struggled to believe it was real.
“I’m not easy,” I laughed. “I’m chaotic, I have a medical device attached to me 24/7, I’m stubborn and bratty, I shut down when I feel too much, and-”
“Shh,” he murmured, cutting me off with a gentle kiss. “I know. And I don’t care. You’re not too much. You never were.”
I felt my throat tighten, emotion swelling until I thought I might crack open from it. So instead of answering with words, I pressed myself closer, curling into his chest and breathing him in.
“I’m scared, too,” I whispered. “But if we’re jumping, I don’t want to do it alone.”
He wrapped both arms around me, holding me tight. “Then we’ll jump together, Little Fighter.”
* * *
“Connor, I have to go home.” I rolled my eyes. “I’m okay now.” I’ve been trying to leave for an hour, and Connor had other plans. Like breakfast in bed and shower sex. Now he wanted me to stay for lunch, and fuck, so did I. But we were new… Hell, I didn’t even know what we were. Dating? Couple? Talking? I had no clue. I knew whatever it was, we were in it together, but this was all new to me. Something I didn’t really have experience in. Staying over again seemed like whatever we were was too fast, too much at once. He would get tired of me, and this would be over before it even started.
“Just one more day,” he raised his eyebrow with a smirk. “I can do that thing with my tongue you really like.”
“Are you trying to keep me here for sex or for something else?” I countered.
“Both,” he laughed. “But even if we weren’t having sex, I would want you to stay. You need someone to take care of you. Let that person be me.”
“Is this… because of the daddy thing?” I cocked my head.
“Slightly,” he shrugged.
“I’m not new to the lifestyle. Actually, I considered going to some local munches to find some other people in the lifestyle. But I’ve never really been in a Daddy/Little relationship before.”
“Do you want me to explain what I expect out of you as my little and the ways I’m a Daddy?”
“Yes.” I nodded. I really did.
Connor leaned back against the headboard, arms folded behind his head, his smile softening as he watched me sitting cross-legged in his bed. My cheeks were a little pink, notknowing how this was going to go, but I knew I was going to like it.
“Okay,” he said, his voice lower now, more serious. “When I say Daddy, I don’t mean I want to control every little thing you do. I’m not trying to play house or make you into something you’re not.” He reached over, brushing a strand of hair from my cheek, letting his fingers linger a second too long. “For me, being a Daddy is about making sure you’re safe. Physically, emotionally, and mentally. It’s about knowing your needs sometimes before you even do. And yeah, it can be kinky. It can be fun. But more than anything, it’s about giving you space to just… be.”
I swallowed, watching him closely as I squeezed my thighs together.
“I want you to know you can drop your guard with me,” he continued. “If you’re tired, I want you to rest. If you’re scared, I want you to tell me. If you’re hurting, I want to be the one holding you through it. That’s what I expect.”
I let out a shaky breath. He made it sound so simple. So perfect. Not transactional. Not demanding. Just presence. Stability. Something I’d never had.
“And you,” Connor added, voice dipping as he tilted my chin up, “you don’t have to earn that care. You already deserve it. Every messy, beautiful part of you.”
“I don’t even know how to accept that,” I admitted.
“Well,” he smirked a little, that spark back in his eyes, “lucky for you, I’m very patient. We’ll take it slow if you need. Or fast, if you want. I just need you to stay right now. Let me prove that I’m not going anywhere.”
I bit my lip, half-laughing through the emotion building in my throat. “That tongue thing might help convince me.”
Connor grinned, wrapping an arm around my waist and pulling me into his lap. “Then I guess I better do it twice. Just to be sure.”
As soon as Connor pulled me into his lap, I was already shifting, straddling his thighs, my mouth on his like it belonged there. His kiss was hungry, tongue brushing mine like he was staking his claim. My fingers were already tugging at the hem of his shirt, impatient, and he let me strip it off him in one motion.
