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I held Juliana’s hand in mine as I led her down the sidewalk of downtown. She was walking so close to me that our arms were always touching, and her eyes kept darting around nervously, like she was expecting something or someone to jump out at her at any given moment.
I finally wrapped my arm around her waist and tugged her close to me. I noticed the moment her body relaxed, and surprising the fuck out of me, she turned her head and pressed a quick kiss to my chest before focusing back on the direction we were walking.
I was coming to learn that this woman was full of surprises.
I’d wanted to bring her out yesterday, but she was so tired – so exhausted. I couldn’t bring myself to make her get out of bed, so I just let her sleep. I didn’t know what kind of hell this woman had come from, but I was determined to protect her from it and show her that not everyone in the world was a monster.
I’d protect her and take care of her until my last, dying breath.
When we got to the restaurant that I wanted to take her to, she silently followed me inside, trusting me not to take her anywhere dangerous. She never voiced her questions or her thoughts.
She was practically mute.
I had a feeling that was a survival mechanism for her, but I was determined to get her to trust me. I wanted her to feel safe speaking freely to me – within the limitations of our boundaries – so I could hear her voice outside of the throws of passion when she was pleading with me to let her come.
We were led to a secluded booth in the back. This restaurant wasn’t anything fancy like my brother tended to frequent. I liked as much normality in my life as I could get, which was where my brother and I differed. He liked to enjoy the finer things in life.
Prison had humbled me, made me realize that within the blink of an eye, all of the money could disappear. I hadn’t had a single comfort while inside those walls, and it had humbled me.
Juliana continued to remain silent as we waited on our server to come take our drink orders. She didn’t reach for her menu. Instead, she just stared down at the old, wooden table with her hands clasped tightly together in her lap.
Looks like I was making some more decisions for her.
I stood up. Her eyes snapped up to mine, the dark irises becoming panicked. “Easy, little girl,” I soothed as I took a seat on the bench beside her. She relaxed once I was sitting beside her. “You need me to order for you?”
She nodded. I wrapped an arm around her shoulders and gently pulled her closer to me. She relaxed ever further as she sank against my side. I pressed a kiss to the top of her head.
The server finally came up to our table. I slowly turned my head towards the young blonde. She looked like she was probably fresh out of high school, maybe in her first year of college. And she was giving me those classic fuck-me eyes, not even seeming to give a fuck about the woman tucked under my arm.
“Hi, my name is Aimee. I’ll be your server this morning. What can I get you started with to drink, sir?”
I shoved down my annoyance at the girl. It wouldn’t do me any good to snap at the young girl. It might frighten Juliana, and that was the last thing I wanted to do.
“Juliana would like a glass of water – no ice – and a cup of apple juice,” I told Aimee. Her face fell at the mention of the woman at my side. She quickly focused her gaze on her notepad. Fucking good. “She would also like one pancake – extra syrup and butter – and one egg,” I added. “Then, I would like a cup of coffee – extra sugar and creamer – and your All-American omelet.”
“Anything else, sir?” she asked me.
I shook my head. “That will be all; thank you.”
She scurried away. I pulled my phone out and put on a random show, letting it sit in front of us, but Juliana didn’t show much interest in it. Taking a chance, I put on an old, stupid show that hadn’t been aired in years, but I had enjoyed before going to prison. It was a kid’s show, though my brother had also secretly enjoyed watching it with me during his downtime.
Juliana’s eyes latched onto the screen of my phone as I began playing The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy at low volume – loud enough for her to hear it, but low enough so it wouldn’t disturb the other patrons.
It had taken me forever to figure out how to work the different apps on my phone yesterday while Juliana had been sleeping. I had never been very technologically advanced, and then being stuck in a prison cell for ten fucking years really fucked me over.
By the time our food came, Juliana was halfway into episode two, and her water was gone. I asked Aimee to refill her glass, and then, I released Juliana from under my arm, leaning forward to cut her pancake.
Without a word, I began to feed her food to her. I loved being able to take care of my woman like this. Honestly, I kind of secretly loved her dependence on me. And I couldn’t wait to help her blossom into the beautiful, strong woman I knew she could be.
She managed to eat most of her pancake before she finally shook her head at me, her silent way of telling me that she was full. Like the good girl she was, she drank her second glass of water and then sipped at her apple juice as she continued to watch the show while waiting on me to finish eating.
~*~*~
Juliana stood at my side as I put her few meager belongings into the trunk of my car. After breakfast, I had driven her to the club to get her things from her room there. She hadn’t had much – mostly just lingerie. There’d been about six or seven shirts, a couple pairs of jeans, a pair of shorts, and a dress, but that had been the extent of her wardrobe.
Which meant I needed to take her shopping.
That would have to wait though because we were due to meet with the attorney in about thirty minutes in a restaurant right down the street from the club. I wanted to walk, get some fresh air, and I knew the exercise wouldn’t be bad for Juliana.
Exercise was proven to help with depression and anxiety. I was hoping I could get her to a point she wanted to work out with me in the mornings to help with whatever was going on in her mind. But I would never force her.
I just wanted to help this woman so fucking badly. I knew she could be something great. She just needed some help getting to that point.
Not knowing what was going on with her was already beginning to fuck with me. It made me feel like I was failing her as her dom – as her man.
“Come on; let’s walk,” I told her as I grabbed her hand in mine.
She linked our fingers together and pressed her body against my side. I lifted my arm with our hands still connected and draped it around her, holding her against me with her arm crossed over her chest.
I didn’t miss the small smile that tilted her lips. It momentarily knocked the breath from my lungs, and my entire world fucking shifted on its axis.
I wanted more of those beautiful smiles.
