Page 45 of His Little Cryptolite

I swallow and find my voice. “I would hate that. Did he force you to do it?”

She shrugs. “Not really. Not like you’re thinking. I’m sure you’ve realized these Eleadian men can scent everything. All they have to do is toss out ideas while breathing and they know what turns us on.”

I smirk. “Oh, I’m well aware of that. That’s why I’m not allowed to move from this spot. Papi hasn’t even let me crawl.” Apparently in light of what she just shared, it won’t be hard to tell her about my situation. I can’t believe I bothered fretting over it.

“Sitting makes you horny?” she asks, cocking her head to one side.

I giggle. “No. Regressing deeper than other women turns me on.” I lift my pacifier and show it to her. “He got me this special binky. It’s addictive. I can’t tell you how hard it is for me to not pop it in my mouth right now and let myself go into a more regressed headspace where I’m nonverbal. I crave it like a drug.”

“Oh. Huh. Interesting.”

“I don’t know when he’ll let me crawl. He’ll probably never let me walk. Or eat solids. Or…” I hesitate. “He wants me to become diaper dependent.”

What an odd conversation to have with Bailey. Even though we lived together for four years, we never shared anything this personal. Granted, we were boring and didn’t have a single interesting thing to say back then.

She reaches for my hand. “Don’t worry about the deeper regression. It’s hardly a blip on the radar here. No one will judge you. And you’re not the only one. There are others. Some of them don’t even come to the park often.”

That makes me feel better.

“Why did you go to the club?” Bailey asks.

“It’s a long story, but basically my life sucked. I hated the marketing job I got after college. The stupid owner’s son was stalking me, and my parents wanted me to toe the line for the rest of my life. Also, I started reading romance novels to escape my reality, and I stumbled upon age play. Then I realized I was Little and felt even more trapped. So I went to Club Zoom to hide and get away from my damn stalker. I prayed someone wouldpluck me from that planet and change my world. And there he was.”

I glance at Papi to make sure he’s far enough away that he didn’t hear me cuss, and then I sit taller, suddenly feeling much better. Freer. Lighter. I don’t know why I was so worried about facing Bailey. She’s not judging me. No one is. This planet is exactly where I was meant to be. I’m so lucky.

“I’m so glad you’re here, and now all that is behind you,” Bailey says. “So tell me… What did my father do when he found out I was gone?”

“Are you ready for this?”

She nods. “I’ve been waiting two months for you to tell me. It was weird when Papi informed me that you were coming. I’ve been thinking about what you would know ever since. If it makes you feel better, I don’t care what he did. He was abusive. I see that now. He controlled my life. I’m not sorry that he can’t do that anymore. And yes, I realize Zingar controls my life now. I worried about that for weeks, but it’s not the same. Zingar makes decisions that are truly in my best interest. He wants me to be happy. He brings me joy and pleasure. My father was nothing but a controlling, bitter man.”

I squeeze her hand. “Well, he lost his shit. I can tell you that. When the representative from Club Zoom went to his house to deliver the news, your father ended up getting arrested. I heard he attacked the guy.”

“Really?” Bailey’s eyes widen. “Why am I not surprised? Was it the bouncer? John?”

“Yes.”

Bailey rolls her eyes. “John is much bigger than my father and in way better shape. My father’s an idiot if he took a swing at John.”

“Well, he did.” I laugh. “After your dad posted bond, the campus had to get a restraining order because he tried to sue them for allowing their students to go to the club.”

Bailey groans. “As if the university has any control over where their students come and go from.”

“Exactly. I’m just glad he didn’t come after us. It never occurred to him that Mary, Kate, and I had anything to do with your disappearance. We packed up your things, and campus security delivered them to your father’s house.”

“Please tell me you kept the money I left.”

I grin. “Oh yes. We had a night out in your honor. It was weird. Like one of those celebration-of-life things, except you weren’t dead. Just gone forever.”

Bailey smiles. “I’m so glad. And I’m so glad you’re here.” She glances behind her toward the playground. “Do you think your Papi is ever going to let you play on the swings or the slide?”

I look that direction and then toward Papi. He’s watching me. He’s smiling, but even from here I can see one brow lifted. A challenge. He’s wondering if I’ll stay on my bottom after he ordered me not to move. I’m astute enough to know he’s also wondering if I’m going to challenge him on this.

My pussy creams from his look alone. Something about his firm demand makes me all mushy inside. The swings and other apparatus look like fun, but not as satisfying as obeying my Papi. I turn back to Bailey. “I don’t know. All I know for sure is that I’m head over heels in love with the man who can’t take his gaze off me,” I admit.

“I know that feeling.”

I inhale slowly. “There’s something between me and him that I’ll never understand. Fate or whatever. It’s powerful. Like my life didn’t really begin until he stepped into that bar. I’m alive in a way I never expected. It’s as if I was in a coma for twenty-two years, and now I’m wide awake. I’ve never been this faraway from him from the moment I woke up here two weeks ago. Sometimes he leaves me in my crib when I’m asleep, but when I’m awake, he’s nearly always holding me or at least has a hand on me. Have I lost my mind?”