Page 26 of Lily
"Oh, well, I don't think tonight will…" She cleared her grief and looked away, hating that she was suddenly sad.
"Lily, what is it?" Ashley asked, putting a hand on her arm. "Why are you sad?"
Lily shook her head and forced a smile into her face. "It's nothing," she lied.
"Secrets don't make friends, Lily Bell."
She looked at Sam to see that he was giving her a stern look. While he had indulged her before, there was no doubting that Sam was a Dom. He looked every bit the Daddy he was, and she didn't know if she wanted to flee the room or throw herself into his arms.
"It's just," she picked at her dress and sighed, "I got sad thinking about how you wouldn't be in charge of me after tonight." Her voice was quiet, almost lost in the background chatter of the movie that still played, but they all heard it, and Ashley shook her head, hands reaching out for Lily as she murmured soothingly to her friend.
"That doesn't have to be true," Sam said, and they both looked at him. James leaned against the doorway, content to observe from a distance.
"What do you mean?" Lily asked.
"I mean, I can, I can be in charge of you after tonight."
Her mouth dropped open. "Really?"
He nodded at her and then straightened up to his full height. "I would be honored, little one."
She smiled, unsure and shy of what was happening in front of her new friend and a stranger, but she wasn't afraid. Sam felt right, everything that night from the moment they had met felt like it was meant to be, and so she smiled at him, and when she trusted herself to speak, she said, "Will you be my caregiver?"
* * *
"We will make up a list of hard limits and rules, of things you want from this and what you expect of me. I'll do the same for you."
Sam was tucking Lily into one of the guest room beds, one of six, six whole bedrooms that no one slept in! Lily couldn't believe he had so many unused rooms in his home.
"But for now, you sleep," he said, smoothing a hand over her hair and tucking it behind her ear.
"But in the morning?" Lily didn't like not talking about their new arrangement, especially when she was so excited, but even so, she tried to be patient.
"In the morning, I'll make breakfast, and we will talk."
"Pinky swear?" she asked.
Sam held out his pinky to her. "Pinky swear."
She brightened at that and hooked their fingers together with a happy sigh.
"Okay, good night, ah," she stumbled over what to call him. They hadn't had that talk yet, but when she managed a mumbled "Sam,” he smiled at her.
"Good night, sweet girl." He turned the light out and left, but the door was open a crack, letting in enough light from the hall that Lily wasn't nervous about sleeping in a new place. Instead, she closed her eyes and got the best sleep she could remember having in months.
When Lily woke the next morning, she had a moment of disorientation and panic. The room was warm and quiet, the bed soft and plush beneath her, a far cry from her drafty noisy walk-up with the hard mattress and pile of quilts she used to keep warm. Slowly, she opened her eyes and blinked at the room. The sun was shining in through the window, and she could hardly believe the luxurious room she was in. Dark hardwood floors, floor to ceiling windows, and high ceilings were the perfect backdrop for the trendy furniture of teak wood and cream finishes. This had to be the nicest place she had woken up in since she'd arrived in New York.
Lily lay in bed for a beat, her brain trying to work out how she had gotten here when the previous night all hit her in a sudden rush.
"Will you be my caregiver?" she asked Sam. They were standing in front of Ashley and "her man" James. The couple held their breath while Sam walked toward her.
"There is nothing I would love more, Lily Bell. You picking me means so much to me." He took her hand in both of his and raised it to his mouth and pressed a gentle kiss there. It was just a brush of his lips against her skin, but it had the pulse at the hollow of her throat speeding up.
"Thank you, Sam," she whispered. Ashley and James looking on in approval would have normally caused Lily to be shy, to look for a way out of such an open exchange, but with Sam, things were different. She felt safe and valued, and when she looked over to the other couple, she saw there was no judgment in their eyes. If anything, Ashley and James were practically beaming, and Lily felt welcome among the friends because this could also be her place.
She flushed and yanked her blanket over her head, feet kicking in excitement as she held back an excited laugh. It was still early and the house was quiet. The last thing she particularly wanted was for Sam to think she was losing her shit, even if she was, all by herself. Throwing back the covers, she got up from the bed and shuffled forward. She was wearing a borrowed shirt and pajama pants from Sam, both of which were massive on her. The pants were rolled up at the ankle and tied tightly with the pants' drawstring, but she liked them.
They were comfortable and smelled like Sam, both bonuses in her book. Speaking of which, he had promised her, pinky swore, to continue their conversation from the night before, and she wasn't going to let it go now that it was morning.
