Page 44 of Daddy's Muse
“R-really?”
“I can go with you or sit with you on the phone if you’d like, but you really should report it. If it is something serious, then they’ll be able to help.”
“Okay…”
I smiled. “Pappa will keep you safe.”
“Promise?”
“Always.”
He didn’t argue when I told him I’d walk him to class the next day.
* * *
I jiggled his dorm room’s door handle three times at 2:14 a.m., then walked away before he could get to it.
At 2:17 a.m., my phone buzzed.
“Pappa, someone tried to get in. Please—I’m so scared, I don’t know what to do,” he sobbed, making my heart wrench. I hated him being so terrified, but it was necessary. He’d never have to be scared again once he was safely tucked away in my cabin.
I put on my most convincing urgency and told him, “Stay in your room with the door locked. I’ll be right there.”
When I arrived fifteen minutes later, he opened the door for me, hair mussed, wearing only a loose, faded blue T-shirt and white boxers. I had to bite my tongue.
His cheeks were tear-stained, and his eyes were red. He flung himself at me, burrowing into my jacket and wrapping his thin arms around my midsection.
Closing and locking the door behind us, I lifted him at his waist and walked us over to his bed. As I began to climb onto the mattress, he spoke, his voice meek and quivering.
“Can I lie with my head in your lap, please?”
I settled onto the bed carefully, making space for him to curl up against me. His body trembled slightly as he lowered himself down, resting his head in my lap just like he asked. The fragile weight of him was a tether, grounding me as much as it did him.
My fingers moved instinctively, threading through his soft hair, gently petting in slow, steady circles at his scalp. I could feel his breath hitch once, twice, then begin to even out. I tucked a loose strand behind his ear and lightly rubbed his earlobe with the pad of my thumb, knowing how sensitive he was there.
He let out a small whimper against my thigh.
“Shh,” I murmured, voice low and velvety in the dark. “Pappa’s here. No one can ever hurt you when I’m with you.”
I whispered things I wanted him to believe with every fiber of my being—soft promises that wrapped around him like a blanket.
“You’re so brave, my little prince. I see you—all of you. And I will keep you safe, always. I will never let anyone touch you.”
My fingers kept stroking, each motion deliberate and soothing, as if I could erase all the shadows clawing at his mind.
“We’ll make a home together. You won’t have to hide. No more fear, no more running. Just day after day of me taking care of you the way you deserve. I’ll give you nice, hot baths, feed you your meals. We’ll get you lots of toys to play with. You won’t have to worry about anything at all.”
I felt him relax against me, his body slowing, syncing with my rhythm. My hands moved to cradle his cheeks briefly, thumb tracing over his tempting, rosy lips.
“I want you to rest now, little one. Dream of quiet forests and snow that hushes the world. Dream of a place where only I can find you.”
The weight of those words pressed against my chest, filled with something fierce and terrifying—love and possession twisted tight.
I pressed a kiss just below his ear, then another at the nape of his neck, murmuring the only truth I could offer in that moment:
“You belong to me. I’m your Pappa now, and I will never, ever let you go.”
The tension slipped out of his limbs as I kept my hands moving, endlessly soothing, willing sleep to come.
