Page 12 of Sanctuary After Dark

"Look at me, little one."

Tearing my eyes away from Lincoln and Raven as Raven started nudging Lincoln away from the pantry, I looked at Lucas, who was standing a little closer than he had been before. He tilted his head down to look me in the eye while he spoke. My mismatched eyes looked between his before looking back at Lincoln and Raven, and I whimpered a little. My breath started to pick up before I felt a finger under my chin and turning my face back to look at Lucas.

"I promise you, no one is going to get in trouble for talking back unless that's a rule in their dynamic. They're not actually fighting, and they're not angry with each other. Everything is okay, Elias. Just take a deep breath for me, alright?"

Swallowing, I nodded and sucked in a breath following his instructions. He smiled softly at me and made me take a few more breaths before I was feeling calmer. Feeling his hand squeeze my shoulder had my muscles relaxing some more as my anxiety lessened under his instructions.

"Good boy."

The praise settled over me like a warm blanket. It wasn't often I heard those words, and it was as if I was starving for them. All I ever wanted to be was a good boy, and hearing Lucas say that I was had my stomach tingling in a good way.

Looking back at Lincoln and Raven, I blinked when Lincoln started laughing, and Raven tried to fight from smiling. My shoulders relaxed seeing that and knowing that they weren't actually fighting.

"See? Everything is all right. Come on. I'll show you one of my favorite rooms in the house." Lucas smiled brightly at me and winked before he led me out of the kitchen and back through the living room.

Before

Giggling as we walked through the door, I kicked off my shoes and stumbled a little bit, catching myself on the wall before giggling again. My head was delightfully swimmy and fuzzy from all the yummy drinks that I had tonight, and the floor moved without my permission. Rude.

"Oops."

I am a little drunk, but it's fine because Daddy drove us like he always does. He likes to drive and let me be comfy in the passenger seat. He's such a good Daddy, and I'm super-duper lucky to have him. He tells me all the time, and he's right. Because Daddy is always right and I love him.

I love him so much, and he's amazing for putting up with me sometimes. I know I can be a bit much for people, and that's why I hadn't found a Daddy before him. But he's been really patient with me and has been teaching me how to act, and I'm super grateful to have him in my life. That he loves me so much, he would do this for me. I didn't even know that I was annoying people until he pointed it out to me. And he wasn't mad about it; he just gently pointed it out. He's the bestest Daddy.

Today was the annual Easter cookout and egg hunt for our kink community. As always, Deacon held the event at his house, and I really enjoyed spending time with my friends. I found so many eggs, and we had yummy food and yummy alcoholic drinks with sprinkles and glitter! Some of them even had cotton candy! I didn't even know that was a thing. I may have had too many, but that's okay because they were delicious and I couldn't waste them. Wasting stuff was bad, and we didn't waste stuff in our house.

And this was my house too, now. I had officially moved in with Daddy about a month ago after he asked me. He said it was silly of me to keep my apartment when I was over at his house all the time anyway. It would save me money, and he enjoyed having his boy in his bed, too. So it was a win-win for both of us. He was so smart about things like that, and I was thrilled that I could cuddle him whenever I wanted to.

Daddy even suggested I quit my job at the local bookstore, too. He paid for everything, and he gave me an allowance, so it wasn't as if I needed the job. I told him I would think about it because what he said made sense, and he knew best. But I loved my job at the bookstore. My coworkers were amazing. I got a fantastic discount I could use on books or in the cafe, and I even met some of my favorite authors when they came in for book signings. How could I give that up?

I planned to talk to Daddy about it tomorrow, and I had written a list of pros in my notebook to show him that, even though I didn't need the money, it would be good to put it into savings so that he and I could go on a vacation or something. But not to the beach because I hated the feeling of sand getting everywhere. Who thought that was relaxing? It was annoying and scratchy, and I just didn't like it. Maybe we could go on a weekend trip somewhere close. Like the Poconos! Or Nemacolin! Oh, that would be so much fun!

See? There would be perks to me keeping my job. Daddy knew best, but maybe he just didn't know all the benefits of my job because I didn't tell him. I would have to fix that.

I was forgetful sometimes, like that. Daddy pointed it out to me, which was super helpful. It was okay before because I didn't know any better. I didn't have a Daddy to point it out to me that I could be a bit much sometimes, or that I forgot stuff. But now I had a Daddy who loved me enough to point out my flaws so that I could fix them.

He was the best Daddy.

The best Daddy, who said I could have a piece of my Easter candy when we got home, and that was what I was planning to do. Go into the kitchen, dump it all out, and pick the perfect piece. I had gotten so many eggs at the egg hunt because I was an amazing egg hunter. I also think that the doms hadn't tried hard enough to hide them this year. They would need to up their game for next year, though!

"Eli. How many times do I have to tell you to put your shoes away properly instead of just kicking them across the entryway? Come pick them up."

My head fell back between my shoulders as I let out a dramatic groan. I just wanted my candy.

"I'll get them later, Daddy. I wanna pick out my piece of candy first!"

I didn't look back as I kept walking towards the kitchen. I would pick out my piece of candy, I was thinking the chocolate bunny that was wrapped in gold foil with the blue bow on its neck, and then I would pick up my shoes and put them in the closet by the front door like I was supposed to.

Pain suddenly shot through my scalp as Daddy yanked my head back. I stumbled and cried out before I looked up into Daddy's face. He gripped me tightly by my hair, twisting his mouth into an angry sneer and slitting his eyes into a glare.

"Did I say to pick them up after you get your candy?"

"Ow, Daddy! That hurts!"

"Did I?!"

My hands flew up to where he was gripping my hair in a tight fist. I usually like hair pulling, but the way he's gripping my hair is too much and causes sharp pain to radiate from my scalp. He shakes my head with the hold he has and pulls harder, making my eyes sting with tears.