Page 37 of Tinley's Daddy
“I know every part of your brain is screaming no, but I need you to try to trust me.” He sighed. “Remember my promise. I will never hurt you.”
“Never,” I whispered.
“Never.” I leaned back. “Do you trust me?”
I shrugged.
“Tinley?”
“Yes, sir.”
He shook his head. “Would you like me to tell you what’s going to happen once we land?”
I nodded.
“We will have a car waiting for us on the tarmac. I will drive us to an office building in Manhattan. It’s a doctor’s office where you will meet Dr. Anna and Dr. Maria.”
I attempted to get up, but the seat belt held me captive.
“Hey, Tinley.” Josh’s voice vibrated in my chest and stopped my attempt to escape, although I didn’t know where I would go.
“Please listen to me.” He placed a hand on my knee, and I settled back. “They both work with women in your situation and I trust them.” He stilled my bouncing leg. “That’s why I need you to trust me.”
“What are they going to do?” My voice squeaked.
“Dr. Anna is a medical doctor. She wants to do a full exam, but she will only do what you are comfortable with.” He sat back and I missed his touch. “Dr. Maria is a psychiatrist. This morning it will only be an introduction and if you want, she would love to help you. If nothing else, give you an ear to listen. She works with Rayna, Kyler’s” —he paused— “girlfriend and she raves about her.”
“What happened to Kyler’s girlfriend?”
He told me they’d met while breaking up a sex-trafficking party. Was she like me? Was she a little, too?
“She was almost taken by a sex trafficker in Las Vegas, but Kyler and I were there to stop them.”
“So this is what you do, go around saving women to get them to fall in love with you.” I slapped a hand over my mouth and shook my head.
I didn’t mean to say that out loud. Especially the falling in love part.
“I hadn’t thought about that before and maybe it goes along with my theory. But I assure you, this is not a typical thing for us. We’ve rescued hundreds of girls, and I’ve never felt a connection to any of them, until I met you. Something about you speaks to me.”
It was my little. He was under the impression my little was calling out to him, but he would understand soon enough that I was no longer worthy of being someone’s little.
CHAPTER 12
JOSH
Tinley shut down. She was in self-preservation mode. She didn’t agree to see the doctors, but she didn’t refuse either. I called that a win.
We landed and she shuffled out behind me. I opened her car door, and she slid into the passenger seat. She immediately buckled her own seat belt. I had gone too far with doing it on the plane. It was her little way of reclaiming some control. Or maybe her non-little way.
I was proud of her for feeling comfortable enough to do it.
We drove through the streets in silence. The sun began to peek between the buildings from the east. I pulled next to the curb in front of a building with a green awning. I shut off the car and turned to Tinley. She already had her seat belt off and reached for the car door. I jumped out and rounded the front of the car to meet her before she ran away. She stood, waiting for me. Hands in the pockets of her hoodie. The chill in the air made me shiver. I needed to get her a bigger coat. I stepped toward the door and Tinley fell in step next to me. I opened the door,and she shuffled in. I followed her and while side by side, she reached up and placed her hand in mine.
My whole body lit on fire. A simple gesture, but it made me feel better.
Selfishly, I wanted her to want me as much as I needed her.
My brave, beautiful girl.
