Page 32 of Daddy!

"Don't be sorry, Daddy." I shook my head. "You did what you thought was best for me."

Mane nodded. "Yes. Yes, I did, and I would do it again, if I had to."

I gave him a tentative smile, then hiccough-sobbed, "I love you, Daddy."

That seemed to eliminate the tension he'd been feeling, and he cupped my cheeks—the ones that weren't sore but were wet. "Oh, little love, I love you so much." I could see the tears in his eyes when he confessed, "I worried that I'd gone a bit too far. You're so little, and that was such a big punishment. I worried that you'd be afraid of me or resentful, so I hung back a bit when I shouldn't have."

"It was a big mistake."

He nodded. "Yes, it was."

Then I did something I'd been considering doing for a while now and had been waiting for the right time, and I thought that this was probably it. So, I reached up and undid the latch.

Then I handed him the collar-cum-necklace I'd been wearing for much longer than I should have, considering who and what he had become to me.

The look on his face was priceless. The big man melted, right before my very eyes.

Almost, but not quite smiling, I teased, "Well, Daddy, did I make your decade again?"

He looked down at me, his fingers tracing my wet cheeks as he pressed his lips to mine and breathed reverently, "Don't sell yourself short, my precious little girl. You've made my whole damned life!"

The End