Page 47 of Tanner
“Well, you thought wrong, babygirl. Answer the question.”
“I thought if you knew about it, you might really hurt him.”
Tanner nodded. “That’s a valid concern, but still not a good excuse for ignoring Daddy’s instructions.”
“I was afraid that if you hurt him, you might go to jail.”
“And…”
“And… what, Daddy?”
“And you thought you would just handle it yourself.”
“Well, I guess that’s right, at the time I really didn’t think he was dangerous.”
“Babygirl, you know what this is really about, don’t you?”
“Me obeying you?” she guessed.
“It’s about trust. About you trusting me. Trusting me to know what I’m talking about when I tell you someone is dangerous. Trusting me to do what needs to be done to protect you.”
He stood and held out his hand. “Come here, Cupcake.”
She hesitated for only a heartbeat before rising to slide her smaller hand into his.
He led her to the foot of his bed. “Sit down, baby. And don’t move.”
She obeyed, perched on the edge of the mattress, watching him with those wide, nervous blue eyes that made his chest pull tight.
He crossed to the heavy sliding barn door that hid his private playroom. A moment later, he was back. He placed a black box on the bed beside her, keeping the other object out of her sight.
Junie stared at the box in disbelief.
“Recognize this, babygirl?”
Junie gulped hard. “It looks like the box the chastity belt came in.”
“It does. As a matter of fact, there’s a chastity belt in there. Can you tell me why there is a chastity belt in this room?”
“Does it have something to do with the whole punishment fits the crime thing?”
“Close but try again.”
Junie squirmed on the mattress. Tanner couldn’t help but notice that she couldn’t take her eyes off the box.
“It’s here because you didn’t trust me, Cupcake. It’s here because you didn’t call me when the gifts started arriving, so I could put a stop to it. It’s here so that I can teach you what happens to Little girls who don’t listen to their Daddies.”
He dropped to one knee in front of her, placing the second item he’d retrieved on the floor beside him before bracketing her hips with his big hands to cage her in. Close enough to feel the warmth radiating from her body. Close enough to see the rapid flutter of her pulse at the base of her throat.
“Lots of people see a bunkhouse or cave as temporary shelter,” he said, “I don’t. This is home. A place to belong. A place to protect what’s mine and hold it close.”
He looked straight into her eyes, letting her see everything—the hunger, the need, the absolute certainty burning in his chest like a brand.
“I realize you think I don’t have forever in me,” he said, his thumb brushing slowly along the soft line of her jaw. “But I do, Junie.”
He hoped to find belief in her eyes. Instead, there was still reluctant uncertainty.
“If you’ll give me the chance, I’ll prove it to you every single day.” He held her gaze, letting her see the sincerity and certainty burning in his heart. “I want forever with you, baby. I want to be your Daddy. Are you willing to let me?”
