Page 29 of Slash
NICOLE
Six Months Later
Nicole stood in the doorway of Kayleigh's new bedroom, watching as Slash tucked her daughter into bed. The room was perfect with princess pink walls that Kayleigh had picked out herself, a canopy bed that made her feel like royalty, and enough stuffed animals to populate a small zoo. But the best part was the way Kayleigh's face lit up every time Slash walked into the room, the way she felt safe enough to sleep without nightmares now.
The therapy had helped. Mace’s wife Mia, a pediatric nurse, had recommended the best play therapist ever and Kayleigh had taken straight to the older woman. The nightmares were rare now, and when they came, Kayleigh knew she could crawl into their bed and find safety between them.
"One more story?" she pleaded, giving him the puppy dog eyes that rarely failed to work.
"Nice try, little one," Slash said with a smile that transformed his scarred face into something beautiful, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "But Daddy's rules are Daddy's rules. Lights out at eight-thirty on school nights."
"Fine," Kayleigh sighed dramatically. "But will you check for monsters?"
"Always do," Slash assured her, making an elaborate show of checking under the bed and in the closet, even though they all knew the real monster was dead. Brock would never walk again, never hurt anyone again. "All clear. Nothing but dust bunnies and that missing sock you've been looking for."
As he moved toward the door, Kayleigh called after him: "Daddy?"
Slash stopped, and Nicole saw the way his expression softened at the title. It had taken months for Kayleigh to start using it consistently after everything that happened, but now it came as naturally as breathing.
"Yeah, baby girl?"
"I love you. More than chocolate chips. More than pancakes. More than Mr. Peanuts. More than anything."
"I love you too, little one. More than motorcycles. More than pancakes. More than all the stars you can see from here to forever. Sweet dreams."
Nicole stepped aside as Slash joined her in the hallway, pulling the door mostly closed behind him. The small night light shaped like a unicorn cast soft shadows, keeping the darkness at bay.
"She's getting better," Nicole observed quietly as they walked to their bedroom. "The nightmares are less frequent. She doesn't flinch when men raise their voices anymore."
"She's resilient," Slash agreed, his hand finding the small of her back possessively. "Just like her mom."
They made their way to the living room of the house they'd bought together three months ago, close enough to the clubhouse for security, but far enough away to have privacy. It was the first place Nicole had ever lived that felt like home. Every room held memories they'd made together. The kitchen whereSlash taught Kayleigh to cook. The bedroom where he'd shown her that sex could be about pleasure and trust along with power and discipline.
"How was your session with Paisley today?" Slash asked as they settled on the couch together, pulling her into his lap like he always did now. Paisley, Dax’s wife, and fellow little, was a therapist on Valhalla. She’d helped several of the men with their PTSD and was helping Nicole cope with her domestic violence trauma and her own PTSD. “You don’t have to tell me anything more than you are comfortable with. That time is sacred and I would never push.”
"I know. It was good," Nicole said, curling up against his side, her hand automatically finding the steady beat of his heart. "We talked about trust issues, about learning to recognize the difference between protection and control. About how your rules make me feel safe instead of trapped."
"And?"
"And I told her about how you handle discipline," Nicole said, her cheeks warming slightly. "How it makes me feel cared for, not punished. How different it is when the person correcting you actually loves you."
It had taken months for them to fully explore their dynamic, moving at Nicole's pace, building trust one small step at a time. But now, six months later, she couldn't imagine living any other way. Slash's rules, his expectations, his gentle but firm corrections when she needed them, it all served to make her feel cherished rather than controlled. When he spanked her for breaking a rule, it ended with him holding her, praising her for taking her punishment so well, reminding her she was his good girl.
"What did she say about that?" Slash asked, his arm tightening around her.
"She said it sounds like I've found someone who understands what I need," Nicole replied. "Someone who can be strong enough to take control when I need to let go, but secure enough to step back when I need to feel independent."
"Paisley is one smart woman."
"We also talked about something else," Nicole continued, suddenly nervous about bringing up the topic that had been on her mind for weeks.
"What's that?"
Nicole took a deep breath, gathering her courage. "We talked about me asking you to make things official. About us getting married, you adopting Kayleigh and eventually… maybe having a sibling for her."
Slash went very still beneath her. "Official? A sibling?"
"You know. Marriage. Making you Kayleigh's legal father. She never knew Brock. I ran from him when she was two. You’ve been more of a father to her in the last six months than he ever was. And I thought maybe… once I’ve done the work on my mental health, a baby that's both of ours." The last part came out in a whisper.
