“Just something to keep you nice and safe,” I answered.
I tugged his softened dick gently, fitting the ring around the base first, then sliding the cage over the head, locking it with a soft click.
Elior looked perplexed. “I don’t get it,” he said.
I placed the key on the nightstand with intentions to find a nice chain for it so it could sit around my neck.
“Well, it keeps you from getting hard,” I said, patting the cage possessively.
“But why?”
“Because you’re mine, cherub,” I said, my voice low, leaning in close so my words brushed against his ear. My hand stayed on the cage, fingers tracing the cool metal bars that now enclosed his soft cock, a constant reminder of my control. “This keeps you safe from anyone who might try to take what’s not theirs. No one else gets to touch you here, make you feel good like I do. Only I decide when you get hard, and when you come. It’s locked away, protected, just for me.”
His eyes searched mine, budding understanding flickering there, his chest still rising and falling from the intensity of his release. I cupped his face, thumb stroking his cheek possessively, holding him still so he couldn’t look away.
“Without this, baby, you might get tempted by someone else’s attention, let them think they have a claim on you. But now, you’re sealed up tight. Your pleasure, your hardness—it’s all mine to unlock. I hold the key to you, and I’ll keep you safe, keep you focused on me, right where you belong. No distractions, no risks. Just us. My good boy, locked and owned.”
I leaned down, pressing a firm kiss to his forehead, then trailed my lips to his mouth, claiming it slowly, deeply, letting him taste the truth of my words on my tongue.
As I pulled away, he murmured, “Okay, Daddy. Thank you for protecting me.”
Fuck.
I wondered if he knew I would quite literally kill for him.
11
Elior
“One for you,” I said softly, relishing in the feel of the soil on my fingers, “and one for you.” I pressed the little green spike down into the dirt until it disappeared, then brushed my hands together. The plants sat in a neat row along the wall of our screened-in back patio—ferns, a pothos, something with thick waxy leaves I could never remember the name of, and a few others. Daddy had gotten some of them for me while I was still in the hospital, but the others we’d picked out together a few weeks ago, Daddy guiding the cart while I read the tags out loud.
Low light.
Easy care.
Water once a week.
I liked that there were instructions—things you could follow and get right.
At the compound, plants had either survived or they hadn’t. No little spikes that fed them slowly, no labels. You watered when you were told to water, and if something wilted, thatwas just… how it was.
I liked this much better.
I poked another spike into the next pot, humming quietly to myself. The sun was warm on my shoulders, patches of it filtering through the screen.
“I hope you like it,” I told the fern, completely serious.
Inside, the house was quiet. A little too quiet, maybe, but not in a bad way. Daddy had been going into work more lately. He told me it was boring desk stuff, lots of paperwork and meetings, nothing exciting. He said it like it was a punishment, but I thought it sounded sort of nice.
I missed him when he was gone, though.
When I finished with the plants, I washed my hands at the kitchen sink, taking my time with the soap. It was a new one—lavender and something else, maybe vanilla? I bought it last week just to try it. I loved that I could do that now—try things just because I was curious.
I leaned in, sniffing my hands, then smiled to myself.
Laundry day was tomorrow, and I already knew which detergent I wanted to use. The blue bottle smelled clean and sharp, like fresh air. The pink one was sweeter, almost like candy. Daddy said it didn’t matter which I picked, but I liked deciding. Liked lining them up and smelling each one at the store, like they were choices meant just for me.
I padded into the living room and curled up on the couch, pulling my knees to my chest. Sunlight spilled across the room in a bright square, and I shifted until my feet were right in it, toes warming through my socks.
