Page 30 of Cage

I reach out and put a hand on her cheek. “Breathe, baby.”

She does. The entire time she holds my gaze, her eyes are tortured with emotion. I want to fix it. Make everything right and perfect for her.

“Does this happen a lot? All these things in your head at once?”

“Yes,” she whispers, tears filling her eyes.

My stomach twists, and I’d do just about anything to keep her from crying.

“What do you normally do when you’re overwhelmed like this?”

Her mouth opens and then closes.

Leaning closer so our faces are only a few inches apart, I slide my hand down her cheek to cup her chin. “Tell me, firefly. You’re safe to tell me anything.”

She wets her plump lips and lets out a slow breath. “Usually, I spend time in Little Space to clear my head for a bit. And by the time I come out of that headspace, I feel a lot better.”

“How old is your Little, firefly?”

I would never press her to play at a certain age. Whatever makes her comfortable is all that matters. But fuck me, I hope she plays young so I can take care of her more intimately. She may not be mine, but she’s mine for now. My job is to protect her and giving her what she needs to be happy and healthy is part of that. This is the safest place for her to be Little anyway.

“I think, like, two,” she whispers, looking everywhere but at me. “Maybe sometimes younger, and sometimes a little older.”

Her cheeks turn bright pink, and she uses her hands to cover her face. If only she knew I found her embarrassment to be a turn-on.

“Good. Then, for the rest of today, you are two. Now, I’m going to give you thirty minutes to go potty, brush your teeth, and get dressed, and then after that, we’re going to head over to the main house.”

She bolts upright, her eyes practically popping out of her skull. “Wait, what? Cage, no. I’m fine.”

I rise from the bed and make my way to the door. “Your safeword is red. If at any time you want this to come to a halt, say red and it will. Otherwise, you have thirty minutes before I come back in here and start taking care of you the way I want to. Do you understand me, firefly?”

Seconds stretch by as I wait for her answer. As a man who likes control, giving her the out is hard, especially since I know she needs this more than anything right now. I won’t do anything without her consent, though. But once she gives it to me, unless she safewords, all her choices go out the window. All she’ll have to think about is being Little.

“Yes,” she finally murmurs. “I understand.”

With a nod, I disappear from the room and pull the door closed behind me. I reach down and adjust myself, inwardly groaning. Being around her is delicious yet painful torture.

That should be enough time for her to decide whether she needs to say red or not. Something tells me she needs this time in Little Space too much to use her safeword, even if she is shy about showing that side of her. She needs this, and so do I.

I can hardly fucking wait to Daddy her. I have a feeling there’s going to be a lot of push and pull, but there will also be satisfaction for both of us once this is over. Because it will end. Just not today.

11

EMBER

Is this really happening? Did I seriously tell Cage how old my Little is? He didn’t blink an eye, though. Oh, God. My stomach twists, and I think I might be sick. I’m not sure if it’s with excitement or humiliation. Maybe both.

I’m not sure why I’m embarrassed. Rowena is clearly Little in front of all the men, and they indulge her the entire time. Maybe being Little isn’t as rare as I thought? Maybe I’m not a total freak.

He gave me an out. A safeword. I’ve read about them before. Considering what a control freak Cage is, I’m surprised he’s offered me one. Then again, consent is everything when it comes to this lifestyle. Even consensual non-consent should be consented to. And I have a feeling that even though Cage doesn’t play by the rules very much in life, he would never do anything I didn’t really want him to.

The opportunity to slip into my smaller headspace sounds perfect. I need it. Badly. Before Cage came into the room, I was pouring my heart out to Spike because he never judges me when I’m overwhelmed like this. Surprisingly, dragons are very good listeners.

I don’t know if I can let go in front of Cage, though. I’ve never been Little around anyone. What if I do it wrong? What if he laughs at me?

Tears prickle my eyes, and my sinuses begin to burn again. Gosh, I’m such a mess. I feel like I could spend the entire day crying. Which is a clear indicator that I definitely need to regress. Italwayshelps.

There’s a quick tap on the door before Cage walks in like he owns the place, but then again, I guess he does.

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