he suggested, writing this at the top of his page. “Number one, know that Daddy cares for you deeply.” He met her gaze straight on. “I’m not going to call it love because we haven’t known each other very long. I plan on updating this page soon, okay?”
“Okay.” His first rule was one to reassure her. Kenzie liked that a lot.
“Number two, follow Daddy’s instructions.” When she nodded, he added, “Number three, Daddy’s in charge.”
“Always?” she asked.
“Always,” he confirmed. “If you aren’t ready to trust me, this relationship won’t work.”
“I trust you,” she rushed to reassure him. “What’s number four?”
“There isn’t one yet. As we settle together, we’ll come up with more rules if we need them. Your turn.” Osiris pointed to the paper in front of her.
Kenzie wrote “Rules for Daddy” at the top of her page. She took as much time as possible to allow her to think. Looking up at Osiris, she clarified, “I can add more later too?”
“Of course, Baby girl.”
Putting her pen back on the paper, she wrote fast. “Number one, take care of me as if I were the most important person in the world.” Before she looked at him, Kenzie scratched out “world” and added “universe.”
“That’s an important rule, Kenzie.”
She looked back at the paper and added, “Number two, Daddy will only have one Little.” Before she checked with him, she added the third. “If Daddy gets tired of me, he will take me somewhere safe before dumping me.”
“I will not get tired of you, Baby girl. But I will promise to always keep you safe. Will that reassure you?”
She nodded and scratched out the rule, replacing it with the simpler, “Daddy will keep me safe.”
“Anything else you wish to add?” he probed.
“No. I’m happy with those, but I might want to add another later,” she rushed to clarify.
“We can revisit the rules anytime you wish. Shall we put these on the refrigerator and finish lunch?”
She nodded and watched him stand to carry the sheets of paper to the appliance. Using magnets, he attached them in a prominent space. Kenzie would ask to pretty hers up sometime, but now she wanted her Daddy to eat.
When he settled in his chair, she stood to place another sandwich on his plate. She enjoyed taking care of him. When he smiled at her, she felt warm inside. Kenzie quickly pointed to the floor plans on the table and asked, “Can I look at those again?”
As he pulled them closer for her to see, Kenzie studied the plans. “What would you have done if you hadn’t found a Little?”
“If I hadn’t found my Little,” he answered, stressing the word my, “I would be lonely.”
Happy with that answer, Kenzie picked up her sandwich and took another bite herself. Chewing happily, she listened as Osiris pointed out different rooms and features of the house.
Chapter 8
“I’ll do the dishes.” Kenzie stood and offered quickly when he had emptied the plate of the last sandwich.
“Now that our stomachs are full, it’s time to talk.” Osiris lifted her onto his lap. His face was serious, making Kenzie’s palms sweaty. “You didn’t hang your clothes up as I asked.”
“I was in a hurry…” she tried to explain.
“No excuses, Baby girl. You didn’t do as I asked. Normally, your punishment would be a spanking. Since we hadn’t established the rules, I’m going to send you to stand in the corner for ten minutes.”
“The corner!” She stared at him in astonishment.
“Yes, Kenzie.” He lifted her back to her feet and pointed to the empty corner.
Shaking her head in disbelief, Kenzie walked slowly to the corner. She glanced back several times to make sure that Osiris was really going to make her stand there. His expression didn’t change.
“Nose against the wall. I’ve set the timer. When it dings, you can come out.”
“This is stupid,” she muttered under her breath.
“Watch your comments, Little girl. The timer goes up to an hour. I can always add minutes.”
Making faces against the paint, Kenzie fidgeted. Standing in the corner had sounded like a lame punishment. It was a lot tougher than she’d imagined. She could hear him putting the dishes in the dishwasher. When that noise ended, she heard only the tick, tick, tick of the timer as the seconds went by.
Was he even there? Kenzie angled her face slightly to peek to the left and then to the right. She couldn’t see him. Pissed that he’d left her standing in the corner while he left to do something more