by Livia Grant
The sound of Lukus's cell phone broke through the loud cries. "Mitchell."
Lukus had put the call on speakerphone. The voice of Ethan Walsh filled the room, almost drowned out by the wails of the baby. "What the hell's going on over there?"
"We need you to get over here, pronto. You're on babysitting duty tonight. I'll take the show," Lukus ordered.
Ethan snorted. "Like hell. That wasn't in the job description."
"It is now."
"Fine. I quit," Ethan retorted.
"Aw, come on! It can't be that bad."
"Says the guy who's begging me to come over to help. Who else is there with you?"
"Derek and Markus."
"Hey, you know what this reminds me of? It's like that old Tom Selleck movie. You know... the one where the mom left the baby on the doorstep. What the hell was the name of that flick?"
Derek knew, but there was no way in hell he was going to egg Ethan on. Markus ponied up the answer. "Three Men and a Baby."
"Right! Only in this case you could call it, 'Three Doms and a Baby.'"
Despite the heaviness of the moment, all three men in the room broke out laughing, which of course only made the baby cry harder.
"I was going to talk to you about a few promising resumes I got for the accounting position, but it can wait. I'll talk to you guys next week," Ethan shouted over the noise before dropping the call.
"What a pussy." Lukus didn't look happy.
He hadn't even put his phone back into his pocket before it started to ring again. All three men looked at each other with hope in their eyes that whoever was on the other end of that phone would come to their rescue.
Lukus's face scrunched up. "It's Z. You think…"
There was a collective pause before all three friends answered in unison. "Oh, hell no." Zachary Zimmerman was not the kind of man a father allowed to be around his infant son.
Lukus let it roll to voicemail, then began to press Derek. "You don't have a choice, man. You need to call Rachel and tell her to get her ass home."
"I don't want to call her. I'll feel like a complete failure. It's my first real time home alone with the kid."
Markus chimed in, a bit too brightly to suit Derek. "Don't look now, but you need help, and Lukus and I don't count."
Derek hated to call Rachel, but Markus was right. The baby had been crying for over an hour at this point.
He was walking to the counter to get his phone when Lukus stopped him. "I've got it. Hold on."
Lukus made the next call. Derek didn't know who he had called until their friend James Chambers's voice filled the room, barely audible over the baby's cries.
"It sounds like you're with Derek. Your kid has a good set of lungs on him."
"It's not his lungs I'm worried about. He won't stop crying."
"They do that sometimes. Did you change him?"
"Of course."
"Feed him?"
"Of course."
"Try to rock him? Walk around?" James was getting insulting now.
"I'm not a complete idiot," Derek said.
"Hey, I never said you were. You burped him good, right? He might have a gas bubble."
The three men looked back and forth at each other before Derek had to sheepishly admit, "I haven't really tried that yet."
Derek lifted his son over his shoulder and started patting the baby's back, as he'd seen Rachel do dozens of times.
James's instructions came through the phone. "Harder. I can't hear you."
"It's hard enough. I don't want to hurt him."
"You won't—"
"In case you missed it, I'm a giant compared to him."
"Derek, pat his back harder. You asked for my help. Now listen."
Derek reluctantly increased the pressure. Instead of the soft pats he'd been applying, he started patting more sharply, interspersing those with frequent rubs, like those he had watched his wife apply often. It only took about forty-five seconds before his son let rip the biggest burp he'd ever heard.
His friends were impressed. "Whoa! That was some burp."
Almost immediately the baby quieted. The poor little tyke had had a tummy ache from a gas bubble.
Derek groused, "This would be a hell of a lot easier if he could just talk. How the hell am I supposed to know what he needs?"
James chuckled. "You'll get the hang of it. Believe it or not, they have different cries for different needs."
Derek snuggled his now drowsy son in his arms, looking at him with relief. "This is a lot easier with adult babies. I'm just saying."
James asked, "Yeah, well, how is that working for you and Rachel these days?"
The four men had no secrets from each other, so Derek wasn't surprised they'd ask. "I don't know how to answer that. On the one hand, I'm so proud of Rach. She's stepped up, and is an awesome mom. Unfortunately, that means she's no longer my baby girl."
Markus and James shared their regrets as if someone had died. Lukus, on the other hand, shook his head. "That's bullshit."
"What is? That Rachel is a great mom?" Derek asked.
"Hell no. That's great. But it's bullshit that you think she can't be a mom and a baby both."
"And just how is that going to work? Maybe right now the kid won't know any better, but pretty soon, don't you think he'll notice his mom is the only one wearing a diaper like him?"
Frustrated impatience registered on Lukus's face. "Don't be a dumbass. Sure, you can't be 24/7 anymore, but that doesn't mean that at the club, and at night after the baby is asleep, you can't get your baby girl back."
If only it were that easy. "I just can't see her like that anymore. She's too assertive," Derek said.
Lukus grinned. "You mean like Tiffany?"
Markus piped up. "Or maybe Brianna?"
Derek felt a spark of hope that he and Rachel might salvage their D/s relationship after all. He had assumed it was going to be all or nothing, but as he looked down at his now sleeping son, he thought about the kind of relationship his best friends had with their sassy submissives. Why couldn't he and Rachel have that same kind of relationship?
Now that she had the green light to have sex again, they could put the theory to the test tonight.
His cock swelled just thinking about spending time alone with Rachel. It had been months since they'd really played. He couldn't wait to reclaim the deep intimacy of his marriage.
Chapter Six
Rachel
"Oh, this is so beautiful! I can't wait to show Lukus." Rachel watched her friend Tiffany lift a handmade quilt from the box she'd just finished unwrapping before glancing down at her watch.
She was restless. The luncheon was taking longer than she'd expected, and she was missing her boys. She'd never thought of her Daddy as a 'boy' before. So many things were changing. It could easily freak her out if she let it.
Tiffany was holding the large quilt up for all to see, giving the partygoers a chance to admire just one of the gifts her future mother-in-law, Nora Mitchell, had given her.
Not for the first time, Rachel wished she could have the spiked punch. It might help her relax, but since she was still breastfeeding, that was out. As it was, she felt totally conspicuous sitting at the 'racy table'. She knew she was just being paranoid, because no one else but Brianna and Tiffany knew that all of the women at her table were members of The Punishment Pit.
Mistress Martha and Violet Greyson were in a quiet conversation to her left, while her friend Mary Chambers was checking her phone for messages.
Mary leaned in close. She looked conflicted. "I'm not sure if I should tell you this or not."
Rachel and Mary didn't know each other well. Mary and her husband James were close friends with Master Lukus and Markus from back in college, but the couple rarely came to the club since they had had their own set of twin boys six years before.
Rachel couldn't think about what Mary might be getting at. "What's up?" she prodded.
"You promise you won't panic?"
>
"Why would I need to panic?" Rachel questioned.
"James got a call from Derek asking for help."
Rachel's heart thumped in her chest. "Oh, my God. Is Michael sick? Do they need to go to the hospital?"
Mary looked apologetic. "Oh goodness, no. He didn't call James as a doctor. He called for parenting advice."
A bit of Rachel's panic receded. "Parenting advice about what?"
Mary grinned. "I guess your little one had quite a crying jag, and Derek couldn't get him to stop. He somehow conned Lukus and Markus into going over to try to help. God, I'd pay good money to watch the three of them trying to soothe a crying baby." She grinned, a faraway look on her face, as if she were imagining it.
Rachel was too worried to care. "So do I need to leave? Is Michael okay?"
Mary looked apologetic for dragging it out. "Oh, he's fine. He just had a bit of gas. Once he burped, he was fine."
Rachel prodded her friend, "Why wouldn't Derek just call me if he needed help?"
Mary leaned in closer and glanced around them to make sure they had some privacy. "It's gonna be hard for Derek for a while."
"What do you mean? It's no harder for him than it is for me," Rachel said.
Her friend shook her head. "Not really. We're not married to normal men. They're Doms. They are used to being in control. He's in control at The Punishment Pit. In control at the office all day. And until we had children, they were in complete control of us, their submissives. Now, not only does he need to adjust to how you have to change to be a good mom, he has to get used to the fact that infants can't be controlled. He can't just give Michael an order and expect him to stop crying."
Renewed insecurities that Rachel had tried hard not to examine in the six weeks since the baby had been born bubbled up within her. She tried telling herself she was just hormonal whenever tears threatened, but her fear kept sneaking up on her. "What if he can't adjust and decides fatherhood isn't for him?" she asked.
Mary's indulgent grin felt patronizing, yet her words helped Rachel immeasurably. "Derek is an honorable man who adores you. There is a better chance of him cutting off his own dick than there is of him turning his back on you and his son. Trust me on this, Rachel."
Rachel let go the breath she’d been holding. "So, what should I do? I hate seeing him so unsure of himself."
"Give him time, and try to fit in times at night after you put Michael down when you two can reconnect. Believe me, you'll be pooped, but it really will help both of you to set aside times when you can turn over control to him again."
The women weren't aware that Violet and Mistress Martha had been listening in until the Domme piped in. "I'd listen to Mary, if I were you. She's been there, done that... times two."
Violet looked a bit piqued. "Grey and I have been talking about maybe starting our family, but now I'm not so sure."
Rachel's heart swelled with love. "Oh, it's so worth it. Just wait until you hold your baby for the first time, and your heart melts."
Martha interrupted them with a loud, "Shush. Tiffany is about to open the gift I brought. We need to watch the fireworks that are about to go off."
Rachel had known the older Domme for many years and, quite frankly, Martha scared the bejesus out of her. She was one hard-nosed Domme, which made the current giddy look on her face all the more extraordinary.
Tiffany's embarrassed squeal as she slammed shut the box she'd just opened drew their attention. Tiff's face turned fire engine red. Her mom and sisters, who were sitting near the bride, prompted her to show them the gift. Being the best friend that she was, Brianna whisked in to remove the offending package and hand Tiffany a new present to open. Unfortunately, Tiffany's family wouldn't be deterred.
Isabella, Tiffany's mom, stopped Brianna's departure with the box in question. "Come now, Brianna. We aren't prudes. I've seen that handsome man Tiff is marrying. Nothing will shock me."
Tiffany interjected, "Don't be so sure, Mom. You'll flip out."
Tiff's sisters were the next to gang up on Brianna, who was still trying to escape with the offending present. "Oh, come on! We want to see. It can't be that bad."
With a last glance of defeat, Brianna allowed Tiffany's sisters to pull the box down between them, where they proceeded to open it slowly, as if a goblin would jump out at them. When they looked up, Rachel could tell they had no clue what was inside the box, which made it all seem an even bigger mystery. They silently passed the box to their mother, who repeated the inspection. The gift passed down the line of family until Lukus's own mother and twenty-two-year-old sister, Zoie, had viewed the contents. All of them came up with a blank stare.
It was comical to watch from afar as Tiffany finally leaned in to whisper to those closest to her. An animated whoop went up from the family table at the front of the restaurant. Even from a distance, Rachel could see the shocked and embarrassed looks on their faces.
"Okay, spill it. What did you get her?" Mary nudged the Domme.
Mistress Martha grinned. "A six-pack of graduating hand-blown glass butt-plugs, with a big note pointing out the one I expect Tiffany to be wearing at her wedding as she walks down the aisle."
Rachel, Mary and Violet burst out laughing, while Martha blew a big kiss across the restaurant towards Tiffany, who smiled mischievously.
Martha sighed. "A year ago, I would have bet my life there wasn't a woman on the planet worthy of Lukus Mitchell, but I'd have been wrong." As she watched Brianna and Tiffany interacting with their family at the front, Mistress Martha added, "I'm so thrilled for both Markus and Lukus that they found their other halves." She then, surprisingly, turned to Rachel to finish her thought, "And I'm delighted that Derek is now a father. Well, I couldn't be happier for you both."
Rachel beamed at the uncustomary praise from the crusty Domme.
Rachel
The shower wrapped up forty-five minutes later, after cake and ice cream had been served. Rachel felt a bit like a fifth wheel as she watched the family and friends so close to Lukus and Tiffany congratulating the bride-to-be. She had to wait in line to say her goodbyes, behind Nora and Zoie Mitchell. By the time she made it to Tiffany most guests had left, leaving a small core group of friends behind.
Rachel offered, "Would you like me to help carry gifts to your car? You've got a lot of loot to get home."
Tiffany smiled. "That would be great. I got a text from Lukus that he's over at your house. I'm so jealous that he's getting to spend time with the baby."
Mary was nearby. "All the men are over there now. James felt left out after talking to them so he went over, too." She turned to Rachel. "I hope they don't trash your house."
"I'm sure they won't, well, unless they try to cook. That could be a disaster." An idea came to her out of the blue. "Why don't we pick up some pizzas for the boys, and you can all come over and we can have an impromptu party? You can show off all the gifts you just got, and you all can see Michael."
"Sounds good, let's go!"
One hour later, the trail of cars pulled up to Rachel and Derek's suburban home. The driveway was already full, so Rachel, Tiffany, Brianna and Mary parked along the street and walked up the driveway, weaving between the men's sports cars.
Rachel opened the back door and entered the messy, but empty, kitchen. It looked as though a bomb had gone off in the room.
I was only gone a few hours.
The women all jumped when they heard shouts from the family room. Suspecting they would catch the men watching some sporting event, they headed in that direction. Rachel couldn't hide her smile when she got to the entrance to the living room to find all four men gathered around Michael's swing, watching James and Mary's young sons trying to give the baby a kiss each time he swung their way.
The women exchanged grins as they watched their manly men playing with the young kids. Rachel finally broke the spell by clearing her throat and announcing their arrival. "Sorry to interrupt your fun, but we brought pizza."
The twins ob
viously were famished, as they abandoned Michael to run and give their mom a quick hug before rushing towards the kitchen for food. The four Doms looked at their submissives sheepishly, embarrassed to be caught playing with the kids. Little did they know, their women loved them all the more for it.
Derek's gaze was intense as Rachel approached. She didn't expect him to hug her so tightly that he lifted her off the ground as he squeezed her hard.
"Hey, you're back." He sounded funny.
"I am. Is everything okay?" she prodded.
He didn't answer right away. When he did, he spoke quietly in her ear. "It is now. We missed you."
Rachel debated whether she should mention that she knew he'd called his friends in for moral support. She decided to let it go. "I missed you too, but I had fun at the party."
Brianna reminded them there were pizzas in the kitchen and everyone headed in that direction while Rachel went to check on her son, ensuring he was comfortable before going hand-in-hand with Derek to join their friends.
Tiffany was regaling the men with stories from the party. "You need to get Mistress Martha under control. I was mortified by her gift. Your mother must think terrible things of me."
Lukus laughed after finishing a bite of pizza. "First, no one controls Mistress Martha. Second, my mother loves you. How could she not? She never thought I'd get married at all. I'm sure whatever the gift was, it reflects on me and not you."
Tiffany turned pink again just talking about it. "It was butt plugs, Lukus. She gave me a big ol' six pack, and even labeled the one she expects me to be wearing at the wedding, and let me tell you, there is no fucking way. It’s mammoth."
The sound of a palm cracking a clothed ass filled the room, causing Rachel's girly parts to wake up and take notice. It had been entirely too long since she'd had her own butt roasted. She missed it.