I'm wearing the lavender dress from the party because it's the nicest thing I own. Ethan is in a dark suit that makes him look like he walked off the pages of GQ. It is clearly not the one he had on at the party.
We're seated at a corner table with a view of the city lights, and I can't stop staring at him.
"What?" he asks, amused.
"You're really pretty."
He laughs. "Pretty?"
"Handsome? Gorgeous? I'm running out of adjectives."
"How about we focus on you?" His gaze travels over me appreciatively. "You're stunning tonight."
"You've seen this dress before."
"Doesn't make it less true."
The waiter appears with menus, and Ethan orders wine without consulting me. The gesture should probably annoy me,but instead it turns me on. I trust him to know wine better than I do. His age and profession tell me he has more experience in drinking wine than I do. I don’t even like wine. I should probably tell him that at one point. Not right now. Not when he’s ordering for me.
He's taking care of me.
"So," I say once we're alone again. "What are we celebrating exactly?"
"Many things. First, the success of the party, my mom called me again today to let me know how much she enjoyed it and how much it meant to her. Your new design opportunity, I have faith you will land the job. Us." He reaches across the table and takes my hand. "The fact that you walked into my life carrying groceries and changed everything."
My throat tightens. "I didn't change anything."
"You changed me." His thumb traces patterns on my palm. "I've been going through the motions for years, Lily. Work, home, family obligations. Rinse and repeat. And then you showed up, flustered and apologetic, with a book you were embarrassed about, and suddenly everything felt different."
"How?"
"Like I was waking up. Paying attention. Seeing possibilities I'd stopped looking for. After years of dating and never finding what I was looking for, I’d all but given up until you appeared."
I swallow hard. "I feel the same way. Like my life was this narrow little path, and then you appeared and suddenly there's this whole world, I didn't know existed."
"What world is that?"
"One where a much older man who is way out of my league takes interest in me." I take a shaky breath. "One where I can be honest about what I need without feeling dirty."
His expression softens. "You're not out of my league and I don’t like you speaking about yourself that way, and you are farfrom dirty. You are pure. One of the most pure hearted women I’ve ever met. I can’t imagine anyone ever thinking of you as dirty."
"I know. Logically, I know. But there's this voice in my head that says wanting this dynamic makes me weak and perverted."
"And what does your heart say?"
I close my eyes, letting myself feel. "My heart says this is exactly what I've been looking for my whole life."
When I open my eyes, Ethan is looking at me with such tenderness it steals my breath.
"Then trust your heart," he says quietly.
The food arrives, and we eat slowly, talking about everything. My design aspirations. His work at the hospital. Our families. Our fears.
"How long have you known you were interested in being in a Daddy little girl relationship?" I ask over dessert.
He sets down his fork. "Honestly? I was sixteen when my high school girl introduced me to kink. Dom and sub, BDSM, Fifty Shades types. I was intrigued and I tried it out. Then, I explored more a few times over the years with different relationships, but it never quite fit. Once I sat down and really thought about what I wanted and defined it, I knew I was a Daddy Dom and not a regular BDSM Dominant or Master. I want to be in charge but I also want to take care of my girl and cuddle and spoil her. Once I knew I was a Daddy, I tried to introduce my girlfriends into the lifestyle. Either they wanted something more extreme than I was comfortable with, or they weren't really interested in the dynamic, just the aesthetics of it."
"What's the difference?"
