Ellie squeezed her hand. “Charlie, do you want to be my friend?”
She was only going to be here a short time, she shouldn’t get attached to people, she knew how badly that could end. But… “Yes. Please.”
“Yay.” Ellie bounced up and down. “Me too. And friends can ask friends anything, right?”
Charlie smiled. “All right. How did you meet Bear?”
“Snowstorm,” Ellie told her. “I got lost trying to find my aunt’s place and crashed my car. I get lost a lot.”
“Is that why Bear wanted to come back and get you?”
Ellie nodded. “But I’ve lived here three months now. I know my way home. He’s kind of overprotective. That’s the best kind.”
“Kind?”
“Of daddies, of course. Isn’t that what you want? A daddy?”
More than anything. “I don’t know.” She glanced down at her shoes.
“I was scared too,” Ellie told her quietly. “My parents weren’t big on the whole love and affection thing. In fact, they were pretty crap parents. I thought I was weird for the yearnings I had. After Bear rescued me, he took care of me while I was recovering. I wasn’t used to anyone looking out for me and Bear was very sweet. And strict. Once, he had to leave and he told me to stay in the cabin. But I didn’t. Unfortunately, I didn’t cover my tracks well and he found out.”
“What did he do?”
“He pulled me over his knee and spanked the living daylights out of me.”
She couldn’t imagine what it would feel like to get a spanking from someone as huge as Bear. “He’s so big.”
“He’d never hurt me, though.”
“Umm…” Felt kind of rude to point out the obvious.
Ellie waved her hand. “Oh sure, a spanking can hurt. But that’s different. I mean, he’s always careful not to use his full strength. And he doesn’t spank me for no reason. Usually, it’s because I’ve done something stupid and put myself a risk. Bear just wants me to think about things before I act. To take my safety and health into consideration. I’ve always taken care of everyone else, so it’s hard for me to put myself first.”
“He sounds like a special man.”
“He is. He’s the best.” Ellie sighed happily. “Every relationship is different, you know? There’s no one-size-fits-all. What works for us, might not work for someone else. But a spanking isn’t just given to correct a behavior, when I’ve done something I shouldn’t have, a spanking can also relieve me of the guilt. And as soon as the punishment is over, that’s it. No more bringing it up over and over again. Bear forgives me.”
“That sounds amazing. My old boyfriend, he would remind me of things I’d done for months after.”
Ellie grimaced. “That would suck. Around here, the men might be dominant and bossy, but they’re also protective and caring. I love it here. I’m sure you’re going to as well.”
“I’m only here for a few weeks,” she reminded her friend.
Ellie grinned. “We’ll see. I have a feeling you might be sticking around.” Her phone buzzed then and she bounced towards her jacket and pulled it out of the pocket. She wrinkled her nose. “Bear just sent me a text to tell me it’s been an hour and I need to get my butt back home and let you get some rest.”
“I’m fine,” she said, not wanting her friend to go yet.
Ellie stuck her tongue out slightly as she wrote a text back. Her phone beeped and she sighed. “He said, you sure seem tired and you need to rest. See what I mean? Overprotective.”
She probably should have been annoyed that someone she didn’t know was trying to tell her what to do, but it felt nice to know he cared.
There was a knock on the door before she could reply and she jumped slightly. Ellie sent her a strange look and then when she didn’t move towards the door, Ellie walked over and opened it.
“Hey, Linc,” she said cheerfully.
“Ellie,” Linc replied with surprise. “What are you doing here?”
“Visiting with my new friend, Charlie. What’s up?”