Page 34 of Daddy's Princess

I look around, trying to see it through her eyes. I’m reminded of why I bought this apartment over the dozens of apartments that my real estate agent showed me. This one isn’t nearly as big as most people with my financial status would choose, but a big flashy penthouse isn’t something I ever wanted.

Some people buy for status and show. I don’t give a fuck about that. I wanted a space that I could retreat to at the end of a stressful day. The moment I saw this place, I knew it was the one for me. The previous owners managed to turn a penthouse in the middle of Manhattan into a rustic retreat. From floor to ceiling, the space is done to mimic the feel of a lodge. There are large, exposed wooden beams making the vaulted ceilings give the room a more intimate feel while still keeping the openness. The wood floors mimic a rough-hewn look, and the walls are painted cream with brown accents. Everything from the ceiling to the floors is rustic. The furniture is the same. Masculine, heavy pieces that would be at home in a cabin in the woods.

“Do you like it?”

She takes her time answering, and I have a moment of doubt that the ‘wow’ wasn’t a good wow. “It’s amazing. My favorite place in the world is this amazing cabin that my dad used to take my brothers and me every summer. Mom would go on these week-long retreats with the other ladies at the country club, and we would go to the lake. I was so mad when my mom started making me go with her. I missed the cabin and being able to swim in the lake and fish with my brothers. It was the best. I can’t believe there is a place like this in the city.”

Sugar’s smile is contagious, and I can’t help but return it. “Make yourself at home, sweetheart.”

If I thought her smile was contagious before, the one she gives me is beatific. She walks around the room, taking in the finer details. Her fingertips run over one of the thick curtains that helps soften the floor to ceiling windows that take up the entire wall. “It’s almost surreal looking out at the city from here. I almost expected to see the mountains and lake instead of skyscrapers and a sea of taxis.”

I come up behind her, wrapping my arms around her and pulling her against my chest. “We can close the curtains and pretend the rest of the world doesn’t exist.”

Sugar sighs a sad little sigh. It’s then that I realize she carries the weight of the world on her shoulders. I want nothing more than to lift that burden and carry the load for her.

“What’s wrong, babygirl?”

She moves and, at first, I think she’s pulling away, but instead, she turns in my arms and wraps herself around me, snuggling into the comfort I freely offer. We stand in silence for so long that I think she’s not going to answer me, but then her quiet words stab me right in the heart.

“I’m scared. I-” Sugar stops herself from saying more, but I get the feeling it’s not because she’s not going to say whatever is on her mind, more that she is trying to collect her thoughts. Even though I can barely restrain myself from asking what she’s scared of, I somehow manage. I’m rewarded a few moments later when she starts talking…

“Even though it’s been months… it feels like I just got out of a really bad relationship.” She rests her chin on my chest and looks up at me with wide eyes that say more than her words how much that relationship scarred her. “Cody was my boyfriend and my daddy. It was great, at first. He was my first real D/s relationship outside of B&B. It was amazing… at first.” Sugar sighs almost wistfully. “It was so freeing to not always have to be ‘on.’ Some days… Well, sometimes it just sucks to have to be an adult. Yanno?” The look she’s giving me begs that I understand what she’s saying and that I won’t judge her.

“There’s nothing wrong with wanting to escape from your day-to-day stresses.” I run my fingers through her silky soft hair, loving the way her eyes close in pleasure at my caress. “You don’t have to explain yourself to me. If you want to tell me what happened with Cody, I will listen, but know this, there will be zero judgment from me. You did nothing wrong, beautiful girl. You have no reason to feel ashamed.”

Sugar’s expression is solemn as she considers my words. I can almost see her thoughts turning circles in her mind verifying the pluses and minuses to opening up to me fully. I’m prouder than I can say when she decides to trust me and starts telling her story.

“When we first decided to date outside of the club, we still kept all of our… playtime at the club.” Sugar’s cheeks turn a pretty shade of pink, but I have a feeling it isn’t any memory from the past that’s causing her to blush. I suspect it has everything to do with what happened the last time she was at the club. With me.

She clears her throat before continuing. “Outside the club, we basically had a normal vanilla relationship, with the exception that I had rules to follow. Nothing big, just normal things, like answering Cody’s calls and texts promptly. Getting plenty of sleep. Eating healthy meals.” She gives me a rueful smile. That’s a rule that will definitely make the list if she decides to give this thing between us a chance.

“But then one day I broke a rule. Well, I guess it was three rules in one. I didn’t answer his call because I had fallen asleep. I fell asleep because I had stayed up all night working on a project two nights in a row. I also skipped a meal or three.” She takes a deep breath, and I get the impression she’s trying to find the courage to continue her story. Not wanting to make her feel pressured, I remain silent. I run my palms up and down her back in a slow, soothing sweep, offering up quiet encouragement.

“He came to my apartment, fuming mad. It was the first time he’d ever yelled at me. I felt so small and helpless. He pushed me over the kitchen table and spanked me first with his hand then with his belt. We—Anyway, the sex afterward seemed kinkier… hotter than at the club. Like we were doing something illicit even though it wasn’t anything different than at the club. Just like in the club, he took me in his arms afterward and treated me like his little princess.

“A million battered women worldwide have the same story. They thought they imagined it. They thought it was their fault. He won’t do it again; he was just angry. I basically fit all those clichés. Things went downhill from there. He kept adding rules. We rarely went to B&B. My punishments were more and more severe. He was power-hungry in his dominance. He didn’t want the submission I was willing to offer, he wanted more. Total control.

“He wanted me to move in with him. He hated Candace with a fiery passion and didn’t want her meddling in our relationship. When he first brought it up, he was sweet and sincere. The old Cody was back. I told him I would have to think about it. I was already in a place where I wanted out of the relationship but didn’t really know how to get out without drama. Cody had completely isolated me from all of my friends except Candace, and that was only because I live with her. If he talked me into moving in with him, he’d have cut me off from everyone.”

Sugar closes her eyes, and one lone silvery tear trails down her cheek. I kiss the droplet away. “You don’t have to talk about this, sweetheart.”

She shakes her head. “No, you deserve to know what you’re signing up for with me.” Her green eyes are bright and shiny with the tears she’s holding back. “I was ready to leave him. I had to get some school things from his apartment that I couldn’t leave behind. I didn’t think he would be there…” Sugar sucks in a shuddering breath. “He came while I was packing up my things. He flew off the rails when he realized I was breaking up with him. He hit me so hard that I was knocked unconscious.”

Her voice cracks, but she powers on with her story. Every word is both a dagger to my heart and fuel for the fiery pit of rage that’s been steadily growing since Sugar first started telling me her story. “Three days later, Andre showed up at Cody’s apartment looking for me. When I didn’t come home and wasn’t answering my phone, Candace got worried and called Andre to check on me. Cody had cuffed me to his bed and kept me gagged so I couldn’t scream for help. He refused to let me leave. The one time he left me unattended to use the restroom, I managed to slip past him, but he caught me before I got to the door.” Sugar swallows thickly, tears streaming silently down her cheeks as she relives the events. “I thought he was going to kill me. He dragged me back to the bedroom by my hair. After he got me cuffed to the bed, he wrapped his hands around my throat and told me I would never leave him. When he finally let go of my throat, I saw dark spots around the edges of my vision, and it physically hurt to breathe.”

My fingers unconsciously move to the long line of her neck, and I run my fingertips over the pale skin gently. My vision blurs to red when I imagine the bruises that would have been left there by her ex’s cruel hands. That fiery pit is a fucking inferno burning inside me. I want to raze the world until I find the fucker who hurt my girl.

“I’m so sorry you had to go through that, babygirl.”

Sugar quickly wipes away her tears and stands a little straighter. I can see her visibly pulling herself back together. “I didn’t tell you this so you’d feel sorry for me. I just want you to understand why I’m scared of this connection between us.”

“Would it be completely inappropriate for me to say that I’m ridiculously happy you’re admitting there is a connection between us?” I say it with a teasing tone, trying to lighten the mood just a little.

Sugar rolls her eyes and smiles. “You can be happy about it.” Her smile fades. “Though you shouldn’t read too much into it.”

“I would rather cut off my own hand than ever raise it in anger against you. I have zero desire to control your life. I want to give you a safe space to be who you are.” I gently grip her shoulders, willing her to hear and trust my words. “I only want what you will freely give me. Nothing more. If you never want to do a scene outside of Bidden and Bound, I will respect that. We can be the vanillaest kinky couple in the world outside the club.”

“That’s the problem,” she admits reluctantly. “I don’t. It terrifies me because I can see me giving you everything. I don’t want to lose myself again.”

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