Page 96 of Redline Baby

"Yes, my love."

Oh.

"If you're asking whether I'll hear you when you call for me, yes. I will. If you say Red, I come immediately and the punishment ends. If you call because you're scared or need reassurance, I'll come check on you."

His eyebrow lifts slightly.

"If you call because you've invented your seventeenth legal argument against bedtime, I may be less sympathetic."

I almost smile. "Okay."

He studies me.

"You're deeper in Little space now, aren't you?"

I nod. Huge eyes. I can feel the size of them. Something shifts in Soren's expression. Warmer. He steps fully into the room and crosses to the shelf above the dresser. Then he reaches for something I haven't noticed before.

A teddy bear. He's light brown, soft-looking, and extremely cute. Soren brings him to the bed and holds him out.

"Will Duffy help?"

I stare.

"You have a teddy bear?"

"I have a Little."

That nearly kills me.

I take Duffy immediately, tuck him against my chest, and pull the covers higher. Something about the soft weight of him actually does help. The tightness in my chest loosens a fraction. Soren leans down and kisses the crown of my head.

"I'll check on you."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

His fingers brush my hair.

"Close your eyes."

"Yes, Daddy."

"Good boy."

He leaves again. The door stays cracked. The amber line stays on the floor. I lie on my stomach with Duffy tucked beneath my chin and my backside still throbbing. I can hear Soren outside—a page turning, the occasional movement of the armchair, all the small sounds of somebody existing nearby. I'm still being punished. I'm still alone in the bed. But I'm not abandoned.

I close my eyes. The darkness stops being infinite and becomes just the dark. Eventually, I fall asleep.

When I wake a few hours later, Soren is beside me, one hand resting lightly against my back. Duffy is still tucked against my chest. Daddy stayed.

And everything is right again.

Chapter 23. Soren

I texted Maren the day before: Bringing someone Sunday. Be normal about it.

She wrote back within ten seconds: I am always normal. Who?