“Fine. Better than I expected.”
“What were you most worried about?” I ask her as I brush a lock of hair from her forehead.
“I just thought they might be disappointed to find out I wasn’t going to come home anytime soon. They were fine with it though. They understood. They were actually excited. They asked me a thousand questions about you.”
I smile at her. I only stayed long enough to hear her tell them she’d met someone, that she’d known me six weeks—which is a bit of a stretch, but acceptable—and that she was going to stay in Seattle.
“I also thought they might flinch about your age, but that didn’t happen either. They didn’t care that I’m staying with you or that I haven’t found a job or that I’m not coming home.” She sighs, her face lowered. “I’m not sure they cared about anything.”
I hug her against me and set my hand on her thigh. “They care, baby girl. I’m certain they care.” It’s becoming more and more obvious to me that Sabine’s lure to be a little stems from this lifetime of thinking no one cared. I’m aware that one of the things she needs from me is constant reassurance that I give a damn.
She draws in a slow breath and lifts her gaze. “Thank you for giving me another chance.”
I shake my head. “Thank you for giving me another chance. I let you down. It won’t happen again. I promise to earn your trust back.”
“I promise to be more obedient.”
I chuckle. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”
Her eyes widen. “I mean it, Sir. I’m going to be better.”
“You don’t need to be better. Just be you. I like you just the way you are. I’m aware that you’ll misbehave and that you need to in order to ensure I will not waver on my rules. Over time, you’ll learn that I’m here no matter what and you won’t need the constant reassurances.”
She smiles.
“Plus, you’ll get tired of being horny all the time and eventually decide to be more obedient in order to get something I intend for you to crave more than negative attention.”
She flushes. “I’m looking forward to it, Sir.”
“I want you to be happy, Sabine. If there’s anything you need, emotionally or physically, I want you to let me know.”
“Yes, Sir.” She glances around. “If I’m going to live here, I should help out with the expenses.”
I roll my eyes. “Not a chance, baby girl. You’re my responsibility.”
She chews her bottom lip. “You know I have a trust fund. I’m so spoiled that I don’t even have to work.” She lifts a finger to make a point. “Though I intend to. I’ve always wanted to have a career. It’s important to me. I want to feel like I can support myself.”
“That’s understandable. You said you wanted to write about your experiences. Is that still something that interests you?”
She nods. “Yes. I think it would be cathartic, and who knows, maybe someone will like my work.”
“Then that’s what you should do. I’ll set you up with a computer so you can do whatever research you need and start plotting the next great novel.”
She scrunches up her face. “Let’s not get carried away. I might suck.”
“You won’t suck. I’m certain. But you won’t know until you try. You should also read other material written by littles. It might help you in your life and in your work. We’ll set up times each day when you’ll be required to work. I’ll schedule it into your days.”
“Thank you, Sir.” She throws her arms around me and hugs me tight.
I slide my hand up under her dress and grip her waist, loving the way she shivers at my touch. When I lean back, I meet her gaze again. “I want you to focus on what you need from this relationship for the next few days. When you write in your journal, I want you to make a list of what you like and don’t like.” I narrow my gaze. “Not to say I will necessarily suddenly change anything, but I want to be aware.”
“I left my journal with you,” she whispers.
“And I set it on your table in my office. It’s still there, waiting for you.”
“Did you read it?”
I shake my head. “Nope. Those are your private thoughts. I don’t ever want you to hold back out of fear I might read something and then react to your musings. I won’t violate that trust.”
“Okay.”
“Starting Monday, we’ll have a new routine. You’ll have a new chore chart.”
She groans. “You know I’m not very good at chores.”
I chuckle. “I do, and I was too lenient with you the last two weeks. That’s going to change. Surely you maintained your own apartment for the last few years.”
She cringes. “Poorly.”
“Then you’ll have some things to learn.”
She groans again like any little girl would when assigned chores. I’m not surprised. It’s one more thing she missed out on in her real childhood. She needs responsibilities and consequences. She’ll have them in abundance.
“Also, you should know, I have an assistant who works for me. I gave her the past two weeks off so that her presence wouldn’t cause you stress. She’ll be back on Monday, too.”
She swallows. “Right. Josie. Abby told me about her. Is she…pretty?”
I laugh again. “I’m sure her Dom thinks so.”
Sabine’s eyes widen yet again. “She’s a submissive?”
“Yes. She and her Master are members of Surrender. She has a business degree, and she keeps me organized. She and Master Grayson have been together a year, but twenty-four seven is too much for them, so she’s been working for me for about six months. It’s been the perfect arrangement. Master Grayson knows me and trusts me.”
“That worked out well.”
“Yes. They had been struggling for a while. I overheard them discussing it one night and provided the perfect solution. It’s a win-win because it would be difficult for me to have an assistant who isn’t in the lifestyle.
