She covered her face with wet hands. “You’re going to make me cry again.”
“Cry if you need to. I’ll take every tear. I caused the soreness; I can carry the reaction.”
I washed the inside of her thighs with care. So fucking gentle. Nothing that would turn her on. This was about comfort. About honouring the fact that she’d saidyesto me and paid for it in tenderness.
Every time her muscles twitched, I slowed, swore quietly under my breath at pain itself, then adjusted.
“You hear me, angel? There is no part of you that is ruined in my eyes. Not this.” Another soft pass of the cloth. “All I see is my girl. My perfect little sub who trusted me with her body and her heart at the same time.”
Her hands dropped from her face. Her eyes were shining again, but something steadier sat behind them now.
“You really mean that,” she said, like she hadn’t quite believed it until this second.
“I don’t waste words on you,”
She went quiet, letting me finish. Letting me tip a little water over her shoulders.
At some point, her head rested back against my thigh where I knelt. Trust, casual and unthinking. It hit me harder than any declaration.
She wasn’t dynasty bound yet. But she was bound to me. And as far as I was concerned, that outranked any codex.
“Daddy?” Her voice was small.
“Yeah, baby.”
“Why does it… bother you? That it hurts this much? You seem… more invested then I expected.”
“You’re pain…” I thought about lying. Then decided against it.
“It kills me. Every little flinch feels like someone took a swing at my chest. But I’d rather it be from me loving you open for the first time than from any other man using you wrong.” I leaned closer, kissing her temple. “And I am going to spend every fucking day making sure that pain turns into nothing but good memories.”
She stared up at me, with an expression that was neither confusion.
Her breath hitched, but it wasn’t from the ache this time.
“Get used to it,” I murmured. “You agreed to be my sub, angel. You gave me your first. You don’t get a half-measured Daddy after that. You get all of it. Obsession included.”
A tiny laugh broke out of her, helpless and wrecked. “You’re insane.”
“For you? Completely.”
I gave her a few more minutes of silence, just the sound of the water and her breathing and my hands moving slow over her. When I was satisfied she’d relaxed as much as she was going to for now, I reached for the drain.
“Time to get you out. I want you dry, warm, and back in bed.”
She made a noise of protest. “I’ll drip.”
“You can drip on me. Wouldn’t be the first time you’ve soaked something that belongs to Daddy.”
Her head dropped forward with a mortified little groan that made me smile.
I stood and offered both hands. “Up.”
She put her palms in mine. I took her weight, lifting her gently to stand as the water slid off her skin. Her knees wobbled. I stepped in immediately, bracketing her with my body and a towel, wrapping her up before the air could make her shiver.
“Better?” I tucked the towel under her arms and around her back.
She nodded against my chest. “Yeah. It… helped.”
