"You what?" she asked, her voice soft and surprised. "You didn't have to do that. I could have worked to pay off my debt." I smiled and nodded.
"I know you could have," I replied. "However, I had a feeling that something like this would happen, so I decided to repay your debt so that you could go back to town and try to live a normal life. Find work in a safer environment and live a normal life. You know?" She turned and stared back down at the ground, seeming to process this.
"But I should pay you back," she said after a brief silence. "It's the proper thing to do. How would I ever…?" I placed a hand on her shoulder and shook my head.
"You don't have to," I promised. "I don't want anything in return. I just want you to be safe and have a good life." She stopped and looked up at me, examining my face.
"But why?" she asked, sounding confused. "Why would you do this?" I shrugged.
"Because I care about you too much to let you keep living like this," I admitted. "We got lucky today, but what happens if I don't arrive in time to stop something like that from happening again? What if I'm not always around to save you from the others if any of them decide to try to hurt you? I'd really rather not take the risk." She lowered her gaze, looking more upset by the news than I had expected.
"Can I still see you at least?" she asked. When I didn't answer right away, she looked back at me with tears in her eyes. "I lied when I said I didn't have feelings for you. I have had a slight crush on you ever since we met, but, thanks to my situation, I didn't know how to go about it without making sure we both were truly serious about our feelings." Joy started to set in, and I nodded.
"Yes, we can still see each other," I agreed. "Somewhere off the compound, though. I don't want you getting hurt by anyone else." She thought for a second.
"Chase did pay the rent on my apartment so that, if I repaid everything early, I could go back," she remembered. "I'll go ahead and move back there, and we can go from there." I smiled and nodded as I hugged her close with my good arm.
"That sounds perfect," I told her, joy filling me as we continued to watch the sunset. "I do have a few requests, though." She stopped and she looked at me.
"What are they?" she asked, her voice sweet and curious, and I couldn't help but chuckle at her eagerness to please me.
"How do you feel about following a few rules when you're with me?" I asked. "Nothing too serious or anything. It would mostly be restrictions on stuff like cuss words and dressing modestly…" She considered this for a moment before shrugging.
"I'm listening," she told me.
CHAPTER NINE
Sarah
"Hey there, Little One," Adam said as he opened the door to my apartment with his new key. He smiled as he took off his shoes at the doorway and stopped at the counter to watch me work. "Something smells really good in here. What's for dinner?" I smiled as I turned around to face him.
"I'm making baked chicken, wild rice, green salad, and cookies," I announced, feeling proud of my work. Adam nodded as he smiled proudly at me.
"I guess I better go wash up," he decided as he showed off his hands, and I saw that the cast had finally been removed from his right wrist. "Looks like dinner will be ready soon." I nodded in agreement.
"After dinner, should I plan on our regular movie night?" I asked, and he thought for a moment.
"I think that would be fine," he agreed. "You don't have work tomorrow, do you?" I shook my head.
"Nope," I informed him. "Chase gave me the day off since I got caught up on the repairs all by myself." He nodded and disappeared into the bathroom to wash his hands while I started to set the table.
It had been almost a full month since the incident with Hank, and things were much better than I ever thought possible. Even though Adam had repaid my debt to Chase, he had given me permission to continue working in the shop, where Chase paid me twenty dollars an hour plus a small bonus for every repair I completed. It wasn't the same as owning my own shop the way Father and I had planned, but I still enjoyed my work. Motorcycles were a lot easier to work on than any other vehicle, and I had gotten really good at my job. Per Adam's insistence, I had moved back to the apartment for my own safety, and he visited me every night when he finished helping Chase with his work until he was able to remove the cast. Thanks to the incident with Hank, the doctors made him keep it on a little while longer, but Adam finally got it removed last week, and he had been helping me in the shop with the lighter work so he could rebuild the strength in his hand.
We were going steady by now, and I had adapted to his requests, which had seemed a little strange at first, but I didn't mind. Modest, rather childish clothing and side braids or pigtails were nothing to worry about, and I enjoyed the children's books and stuffed animals he bought for me. It made me feel like a child again. Pretty soon, I was even accustomed to the diapers, no swearing, and the rule of no movies rated above PG except on special occasions. It all seemed like a pretty small price to pay for the joy of his company, and I didn't mind any of it. There was something exciting about having him come over and seeming me in a pink T-shirt and overalls with the side braids.
We both sat down to dinner and laughed about the day we had while we ate. When dinner was over, I cleaned the kitchen and made microwave popcorn while he turned on a movie. While the living room lit up thanks to the colorful light of the animated movie we watched, we both cuddled on the couch under the fuzzy blanket he had bought me just days ago. As soon as the movie ended, he started twirling the end of my braid in his massive hand and smiled at me.
"May I make a request, Little One?" he asked rather suddenly, and I looked over my shoulder at him.
"It depends on what it is," I replied. Taking this as the closest response to yes as he would get, he continued.
"May I have you?" he finally asked, and I stared at him as butterflies formed in my belly.
"Have me?" I asked, and he nodded.
"I want to make you mine," he continued, his voice low and husky as he traced the curves of my neck and collarbone with the end of my braid. "We've been together almost a month now, and I want to have you all to myself. I need to feel you beneath me." Realizing what he meant, I stopped to consider this for a moment. Seeing nothing wrong with it, especially since I trusted him with every ounce of my existence, I nodded.
"Just be gentle, Daddy," I requested, my voice dropping into a soft whisper. "It will be my first time." He nodded and pulled me in for a passionate kiss.