“No, love, it was not,” Archer said firmly. “That is something Issy and I will agree on. That was not your fault. He had a duty of responsibility to you as your Dom and as your man.”
“It was on him to protect you,” Doc added.
She sniffled. “I always thought Dave was protective, but you two are a different breed all together.”
Archer mock-frowned. “Not sure I like being lumped in with this guy.” He pointed at Issy.
“Right back atcha, brother.”
Archer stood. “Love, shall I put the booze away? I can if it upsets you.”
“No, I’d like a drink later. Unless, do you think that’s wrong?”
“No. Not wrong at all.” Archer’s hand rested briefly on her shoulder. Warmth filled her at his touch. “I’ll get you some water.”
“Thank you.” She smiled up at him, feeling exhausted.
He placed a glass of water down beside her.
“Keep those hands in there for another few minutes,” Doc bossed.
Archer winked at her. “He’s so shy and retiring. I don’t know how we’ll ever get him to speak up and say what he wants.”
She bit back her grin as Doc shot his brother a look. Doc put down plates of grilled cheese. She picked up one half of a sandwich and took a big bite.
“Oh man, that’s so good.”
Both men were grinning at her.
“What? Is there something on my chin?”
“Yeah, baby doll. Just a little.” Doc got up and grabbed some paper towels and then sat and wiped her chin.
“Sorry.” She blushed, dropping her gaze down. She should probably try to eat with more manners.
“Have you talked about Dave much, love?” Archer asked gently after a few more minutes of eating.
“Not exactly a lot of people to talk to around here,” she muttered. “After he died, Murray and Geoff would come to check on me, but I didn’t much feel like talking to them.”
“How long ago did Dave die?” Archer asked.
“Over two years ago now.”
“And you’ve lived here on your own ever since?” Doc asked.
“Yes.”
“You’ve said a few things about your family and the town you lived in, you don’t keep in contact with them?” Archer asked.
“Ahh, no. I haven’t spoken to my family since we left Spencerville.”
“Where’s that?” Doc asked.
“Small town in Kansas.”
“Is that where you met Dave?” Archer asked her.
“I was working at the local motel in reception. Dave used to stay when he was travelling. He was a salesman. He was always super polite. A gentleman. So kind and sweet.
“It took months before he even asked me on a date. I thought he was shy. But apparently, he’d been worried about our age difference. I was only twenty when we met. He was forty. He was my guide into BDSM. It took several dates for him to tell me what he was. I didn’t really want to hear it. My mother was always submissive to my father. She never stood up to him. We always did what he wanted. Had what he liked to eat for dinner. Or went on vacation where he wanted to go. It was like she didn’t have a mind of her own. I didn’t want that. But he explained that being a submissive didn’t mean I was a doormat. That I ultimately had all the power. Eventually, I decided to give it a chance. For the first time in my life, it was like I felt right. I felt at peace. I could shut off my mind and just be.”
“Felt good, huh?” Doc asked.
“Felt better than good. I hadn’t realized how busy my mind was. I’m always thinking. Always imagining things. Sometimes, the stories in my head feel so real it’s like I’ve actually lived them. Dave was the one who encouraged me to write them all down. I’d never even thought of trying to write. He was everything to me. Unfortunately, the rest of the town found out about our relationship. Someone took photos of us in the motel room. They circulated through the town. The sheriff even paid Dave a visit and told him to get out of town before he was arrested for sexual assault.”
“Oh, baby doll,” Doc crooned, rocking her.
“Some of the photos were of me in Little mode, playing with a doll he’d bought me. There was another photo of him spanking me. That was one of the few times he ever spanked me and it was tarnished. People were awful. They called me all sorts of names. My parents told me to leave town. I’ve never felt so less in my life, you know what I mean?”
“Yeah,” Doc said quietly. “I do, baby girl.”
“What are you talking about?” Archer asked. “When did you feel like that?”
“When our parents disowned me.”
Archer blinked. “Disowned you? But they told me that you left. That you wanted nothing to do with them.”
“Yeah, well, they lied,” Doc said bitterly.
“Why would they disown you?” Archer asked.
“Mother caught me watching some BDSM porn. Stuff with age play in it. She called in Father. Both of them told me I was sick. Depraved. After a lot of yelling and insults, they told me my choice was to be reformed or leave. I told them to fuck off and I left.”
“What the hell? Why did you never tell me?” Archer demanded.
Doc shrugged. “I dunno. Guess I was embarrassed.”
“Jesus Christ, Issy. I know they can be uptight, but I didn’t realize…I could have stood up for you. For God’s sake, I’m a Dom as well. What are they going to do, disown both of us?” Archer followed with his own plate and they were soon facing off against one another in the kitchen.
Doc snorted. “They’d never disown you. You could tell them you’d committed armed robbery and stolen the pope’s hat and they’d ask you if you needed their help covering it up.”
“That’s not true.”
“Come on, Archer.”
“Well, maybe I would have walked away from them, ever think of that?” Archer asked.
Oh, this was not going to go well.
“Ahh, guys, maybe we should all talk about this some other time—”
“Walked away from them? Why?”
“For you, you idiot!”
“Guys, I really think we should just—”
“You can’t walk away from it all for me,” Isaac yelled. “They need you.”
“And I need you! What don’t you understand about that, Issy! Soon as I get home, I’m telling them I want nothing to do with them until they apologize to you.”
“Not happening,” Doc told him.
“It is!”
“You guys need to calm down,” she interjected, standing.
“Like hell!”
“It’s happening!” Archer insisted.
“I’m not letting you do it.”
“Why? Because you like being the black sheep in the family? Or because you can’t be happy!”
“I’ve tried to be happy before, remember? It didn’t fucking work.”
“Guys!” she yelled.
They ignored her, glaring at each other. So she did the only thing she could think of. She picked up the glass of water Archer had given her and threw it at them.
Of course, she’d meant to just throw the water. She was horrified as the glass slipped from her hand and smashed against the counter behind them.
Her hands came to her mouth. “Oh God, I’m so sorry. Stay still. I’ll get the broom. Don’t move, you might stand on glass and hurt yourselves.”
Both men gaped at her.
“Did she just throw a glass at us, brother?” Archer asked.
“I do believe she did, brother,” Doc replied, crossing his arms over his thick chest and giving her a foreboding look.
Oh great. They were united by their irritation with her.
“I didn’t mean to.”
“You didn’t mean to?” Archer asked. “The glass just spontaneously erupted out of your hand? Strange.”
“Very odd,” Doc agreed.
She huffed out a breath. “I was trying to throw water on you and the glass accidentally went with it.” Guilt filled her again.
They could have been hurt. “I really am sorry.”
“So you meant to throw the water,” Doc said.
“You were arguing. You weren’t listening.” And she had a feeling she should be running.
“Come here, little girl.” Doc crooked a finger at her. She shook her head and stepped back.
No way was she gonna do that.
“Here. Now.” He pointed at the floor then looked down at it with a grimace. “Actually. Stay where you are. I’m coming to you.”
“I’ll take care of the glass,” Archer said.
Was that a flash of regret in Archer’s eyes? Of longing? Pondering that distracted her long enough from Doc and she failed to notice that he was standing right in front of her.
“Oh shit.” She turned to run but he picked her up, swinging her over his shoulder.
“No! Put me down!” She wiggled on his shoulder, trying to free herself.
A sharp slap landed on her butt. “Stay still.”
“Nooo!”
“Brother, can you handle this?” Issy asked.
“Yep,” Archer replied. “Can you handle her?”
“Oh, with pleasure.”
Another smack landed on her bottom and she gave an outraged squeal. Then Doc turned and stomped towards her bedroom.
Shit. Shit. She raised her head to look back at Archer, hoping to plead with him to help her.
The look of complete longing on his face made her gasp. It was quickly gone. He turned away and hurried out of the kitchen. But that look. It made her heart hurt.
Did he. . .could he possibly want her too? Or was she imagining it?
Of course you’re imagining it.
Doc carried her into her bedroom and locked the door. Then he set her down on her feet. He placed his hands on her hips, giving her a stern look.
“Want to explain yourself?” he asked. A drip of water made its way down his forehead and along his nose before falling onto the floor.
“Umm, not really.”
“Not. Really?”
She studied him, trying to gauge how upset he truly was. His shirt had splotches of water on one sleeve, but most of it seemed to have gone on his face.
Whoops.
He whipped off his T-shirt and wiped it over his face and hair.
Her mouth went dry at the sight of all the muscles.
Oh wow. Yum.
Lord help her if she ever saw him fully naked. She might be rendered completely mute.
“Much as I enjoy the way you’re staring at me, girl, it’s not going to distract me.”
That wasn’t the reason she’d been staring at him, but it was a good idea.
“Are you sure you couldn’t be distracted?” She sent him a hopeful smile and attempted to flutter her eyelashes.
“You got something in your eye?” He gave her a concerned look.
She sighed. “My seduction technique needs work.”
His eyes widened. “You were trying to seduce me?”
Eek. She hadn’t thought that through. Had she been trying to seduce him? Not exactly.
“I. . .I. . .”
“Easy, girl. Just breathe,” he told her gruffly. “I know you’re not ready for that. You’re just gonna have to wait to have all of this.”
He ran his hand through the air, indicating his body. He gave an exaggerated huff of air. “Know that’s hard for you, resisting me. But if I have to tie you up to get you to keep your hands to yourself, I will.”
She rolled her eyes, her tension easing just as she knew he’d intended. Although his gaze had grown all hot as he’d mentioned tying her up.
“You’re dying to tie me up, aren’t you?”
“Then at least I know you’d stay where I put you.
“Dear Lord,” she muttered. How much more of a caveman could he be?
“Would also stop you from throwing glasses at my head.”
“I didn’t throw a glass at your head!”
Although right now she was tempted…very tempted.
“Throwing things at other people is very naughty behavior. Throwing things at your Dom. Big, big trouble.”
“I was trying to get the two of you to stop fighting.”
His face softened slightly. “Were we upsetting you, baby?”
“I don’t like it when you fight.”
He reached out and cupped the side of her face. “Then we’ll have to make sure we don’t fight in front of you again.”
She noticed he didn’t promise not to fight with Archer. She bit her lip. “I wish you guys could work things out.”
“Hey, there’s a lot of stuff between Archer and I that we need to work out. We’ve got to do that our way. What isn’t acceptable is doing it in front of you. That won’t happen anymore, okay?”
She wasn’t sure it was entirely what she wanted. She didn’t want him to think she couldn’t handle the arguing. It just wasn’t something she was used to.
“I’m sure we’ll still snap and snarl at each other. But you’re right. We need to talk this shit out.” He grimaced. “Christ, can’t believe I just said that.”
“Poor Doc, allergic to talking.”
“Poor Caley, about to get her bottom spanked.”
Her mouth dropped open. Her hands came around to protect her bottom. “What? Why? I didn’t do anything!”
“Didn’t do anything? Did I imagine the water on my face?”
“I was just trying to get your attention! To stop you guys!”
“Would it be acceptable if I threw water in your face?” He took a step closer to her.
“Well, no, but. . .”
“You could have hit one of us with that glass. . .would that be acceptable?”
“It was an accident.”
“I understand that, which is why I’ll go easy on you. But you still intended to throw the water, didn’t you? And what if you’d then stepped on the glass and cut yourself?”
“I was going to put shoes on to clean it up.”
“Or you could have not thrown anything in the first place.”
“You admitted that you shouldn’t have been arguing, does that mean you’re getting a spankin’ as well?”
“Unfortunately for you, girl, there’s only one of us that gets spanked when they mess up. And it ain’t me. Pants and panties off. Turn around, hands on the bed.”
Her eyes widened. She gaped at him.
He studied her for a moment. The hard look on his face faded into understanding. “If you’re not ready for this step, I get it. We can stick with a scolding and corner time.”
Scolding and corner time versus a spanking? She knew which she’d rather.
She licked her lips nervously.
“You have a safeword,” he reminded her. “You can use that anytime.”
“I know,” she whispered. “Dave would never have spanked me for this.”
He flinched. “I’m not Dave, sweetheart. I wish I could bring him back for you. But I can’t. I also can’t replace him. I’m sorry for pushing too far too fast. I’ll—” He turned away and she realized he’d misunderstood her.
“No, wait, you don’t understand.” She reached for his arm.
He turned back. “I can only be me, Caley.”
“And I want you. I do.”
“There’s nothing easygoing about me. I’m gruff. I don’t have much of a filter. You break the rules, and I won’t just give you a slap on the wrist. You’ll be over my knee, with my handprint on your ass. I can be soft and indulgent, but I can also be strict and hard. And I’m too set in my ways to change.”
“I don’t want you to change, Issy, that’s not what I meant. I just…I barely know you and yet I care for you so much. When Dave and I first met, I needed that softness. I needed gentle. I still do. But I think part of me always wished for some more firmness. And that makes me feel guilty, for thinking that way.”
“Oh, baby. You shouldn’t feel guilty.”
“I know.”
“Every relationship is different.
Doesn’t make one better than the other. Or somebody better than someone else.”
He hated that she felt so conflicted over this.
But he understood and he wouldn’t push. If she needed him to back off, take things slower, he would. Last thing he wanted was for her to feel railroaded. And he knew he tended to do that. He was the one that always went full speed ahead while Archer took a slower, more thought-out approach.
“It’s up to you. Tell me you need more time and we’ll settle this with a hundred lines and ten minutes in the corner. Or pull your pants and panties down and turn around.”
He wasn’t sure what way she was going to go. He kept himself back, forcing himself to be patient. It didn’t come easy to him. But for her, he’d try.
He fully expected her to ask him for more time. So he kind of froze in shock as she started pushing down her pants. She sat on the bed and drew off her fluffy socks and pants. Then she stood again. She looked up at him. He made certain to keep his face neutral. He didn’t want her to do this because he wanted it. But because she needed it.
“You’re sure?” he asked as he reached for her pink, cotton underwear.
So cute.
He was certain Archer would insist on buying her silky, sexy underwear and he could see her in those too.
Fuck. Where had that thought come from? What was wrong with him?
“No,” she said. “But I want to try. I want to do this.”
“For you? Don’t do it for me.”
She looked at him steadily. “For both of us.”
He gave her a nod and she slipped her panties down. She was completely bare. Open to his gaze.
Giving him a look of trepidation, she turned around, revealing her gorgeous ass. It was rounded and plump. White. It was going to show up every smack of his hand perfectly.
He heard her take a breath then she bent over.
His cock pressed against his jeans uncomfortably and he had to reach down and adjust himself.
“Good girl,” he told her in a low, rough voice. He actually had to clear his throat. Jesus, she had him so tangled up. “Spread your legs.”
She pushed her thighs apart.
“Lean down further, rest your forearms on the bed, bottom nice and high in the air.”
That put not just her ass on display but the pretty folds of her pussy as well. Perfect. He wanted to test whether his guess was right, and she was going to find some pleasure in her punishment. Not that she’d be allowed to come. While he wasn’t that upset with her, he thought this was a good opportunity to test whether she was ready for this part of him. The disciplinarian. This was a small introduction. Better to do this now than wait until a bigger transgression when he might have to be harsher with her.
Heal Me, Daddy Page 12