That quiet dependence soothes the violence simmering in me.
When we reach the apartment, I unlock the door and guide her inside with a hand at her back. The moment the door closes, the tension shifts. The world outside disappears and it’s just us.
She moves automatically, slipping off her shoes, setting her bag down. “I’ll make tea,” she says softly.
“No, baby.”
She pauses and turns to me. The way she looks at me—hesitantly—almost breaks me.
I take a breath and hold out my hand. “Come here.”
She comes without hesitation.Always.That trust is a weight I carry in my chest. When she’s close, I cup her face, my thumbs brushing the faint tear tracks on her cheeks. “You scared me tonight.”
“I’m sorry,” she whispers immediately. “I didn’t think—”
“That’s the problem.” I keep my voice low but steady. “You didn’t.”
She lowers her eyes. “I didn’t want to waste the money.”
“It wasn’t a waste.” I lean closer. “It was to keep you safe.”
“I know now.”
I study her. She means it. But fear like that doesn’t fade just because someone says they understand.
“You don’t make those decisions alone anymore,” I say.
“Why?” she asks in a small voice, slowly raising her eyes to mine.
“Because you’re mine.” I say quietly, smirking when she immediately flushes red. “This means I keep you safe. Even from your own stubbornness.”
A small breath leaves her. “I understand, Daddy.”
She says it like an apology and a question at once. But she’s still trembling—not the soft tremor from before, the other kind. The kind that doesn’t stop on its own. Her hands won’t be still. Her eyes keep darting to the door like the street followed us up here.
“Hey.” I tip her chin up. “They’re not coming. Not tonight, not ever. You understand me?
That part of the city, those men—none of it touches you. That’s my job now.”
“I know,” she whispers. But the shaking doesn’t ease. She’s wound too tight, holding it all in the way she’s clearly spent her whole life holding things in. She doesn’t know how to put it down.
So I’ll help her.
“Come here, baby girl. Daddy’s going to take care of you.”
I sit on the couch and pull her across my lap, face down. She startles but doesn’t fight it.
“Now, I’m going to spank you for being disobedient.”
Her breath hitches as my hand settles on her lower back. I slide her pants down slowly, revealing her lacy black panties. It’s simple and sexy, but I don’t intend to dwell on that. I pull them along with her pants, revealing the smooth milky skin of her ass. I slide my palm over her left cheek once, then I raise my hand and bring it down with gentle force.
She gasps and flinches, her fingers gripping my thigh.
“Count,” I demand.
“One.”
I land the second and third smack in quick succession.
