“Nothing, Daddy,” she said sweetly. “I’m okay, I don’t need the toilet.”
“If you don’t need the potty why can’t you sit still?” Archer asked.
Damn it. Couldn’t he leave this alone?
“Maybe it’s because someone was mean and spanked me last night,” she muttered.
“That’s because someone was naughty and wasn’t using her pacifier,” Archer reminded her.
“I think that spankings shouldn’t be allowed on a road trip,” she said sulkily. She’d already tried this argument before and lost.
“I’m starting to think that someone needs a nap,” Issy said. “Maybe we should stop at a hotel for the night and go to their house tomorrow.”
Their house. Not his house. She bit her lip. She knew Issy was so grouchy because he was nervous. From the look Archer shot his brother, she could tell he’d worked that out as well.
“You don’t have to go in, Issy. I’m happy to go alone.”
“We’ve already had this argument,” Issy replied.
He they pulled down a tree-lined street. The houses here were all large, set on big lots. Easy to tell that it was a wealthy neighborhood. This is where they’d grown up? She looked around curiously. Issy pulled into a circular driveway and parked in front of a gray stone house. She peered up at the house. It seemed so cold. So dark. She couldn’t imagine two small boys living here.
“I still think I should come in,” she said.
Both men turned to give her incredulous looks.
“You’re not coming, girl,” Issy said strictly.
“But—”
“No way in hell, love,” Archer agreed.
“I don’t want you near those vipers,” Issy told her. “But I also think this is something that Archer and I need to do. Alone.”
That silenced any arguments. She got it. And truthfully, she was a bit relieved.
“It’s not that we’re ashamed of you or hiding you away, love,” Archer said worriedly. “It’s just something…”
“The two of you have to do. It’s all right. Really.”
“Stay in the car,” Issy barked orders. “Lock the doors. Do not move. No matter what. Got me? I come back and you are gone and you will not sit down for a week.”
“I’ll be here. I promise.”
They each gave her a long look. Issy’s full of heat and fire. Archer’s calm and steadying.
Then they left and she took in a deep breath to try to calm her nerves. If she felt this bad, she could only imagine how they were feeling.
Doc tried not to let the memories swamp him. Remembering the last time he’d been in this cold, sterile house. Nothing much had changed. They waited at the door for Archer’s knock to be answered. When the door slid open, there stood his mother.
She had changed in some ways. She seemed smaller. Her hair was fully gray now. And there was a fragility to her that hadn’t been there before. But in other ways, she was still the same. The polite smile that never filled her eyes. Tailored, expensive clothes that were flattering yet boring at the same time.
“Archer, this is a surprise, you should have called, dear. We’d have had your room prepared.”
Issy snorted, unable to stop himself. Her gaze turned to him as though she’d just noticed him, when he was sure she’d spotted him as soon as he stepped out of Archer’s car.
“Isaac. Why are you here? Archer, why would you bring…him?”
Archer sucked in a breath. “Mother, Issy is my brother.”
She sniffed. “You will refrain from using that ridiculous nickname in my house.”
Doc waited for his brother’s agreement. Instead Archer stiffened.
“Then I suppose I’ll just say what I came to say from out here.”
His mother rocked back on her heels.
“Agatha, who is here?” Their father moved into the foyer. “Archer? What are you doing standing out there? Come in.”
“And what about Isaac? Is he welcome?” Archer sniped.
“Isaac made his bed,” their father said coldly.
“You lied to me,” Archer said to them. “You told me that he left. That he didn’t want to be part of the family anymore.”
“He did leave,” their mother said. “He had a choice.”
“Reform or leave,” Issy said dryly. “That was my choice, huh, mother?”
“That stuff you were watching was sick,” his mother hissed. “Imagine if anyone found out.”
And that was the heart of it. What other people thought.
“They haven’t changed,” he said to Archer. “They never will.”
Archer nodded his face cold. “I just came to tell you that I quit my job in Dallas. I’m moving in with Issy. We’re sharing a beautiful, darling woman who you will never, ever meet. Not only is she my sub, but she’s my Little girl as well as Issy’s.”
His mother’s mouth dropped open. “This…this isn’t happening!”
“It is,” Archer replied. “I came to tell you as a courtesy since my assistant was threatening to call you herself. Although from your shock, I can see she hasn’t.”
“Harold!” his mother yelled.
“This…this is preposterous,” his father blustered. He turned to Doc. “This is your fault. This is your doing.”
“Yes!” His mother took up the cry, her face twisted and nasty as she stared up at him. “This is you.”
Archer stepped back and took hold of his arm, pulling him away. “Actually, it’s not. This is what I want. I want to share this gorgeous, wonderful woman with my brother. I want to be her Papa with Issy as her Daddy. And from your reactions, you’ll never accept that. It would be best if you didn’t call me.”
With that parting shot, Archer led him away. Their mother called after them, but they both ignored her.
“I’m driving this time,” Archer said, opening the driver’s side.
Issy got into the back with Caley instead.
“What is it? Are you okay? Issy? Archer?” she asked worriedly.
He slid into the middle seat and pulled her against him. He took in her scent as she surrounded him with her love. There was silence for a long moment.
“I take it that it didn’t go well,” she said quietly.
“No worse than expected, love,” Archer told her calmly.
“You didn’t have to do that,” he told his brother. “Cut yourself off from them like that for me.”
“I didn’t do it for you,” Archer said. He pulled over to the side of the road. Then he got out and opened the back door. Caley undid her belt and they both moved over so Archer could climb in. They held her between them, surrounding her.
“I did it for us. They think you two aren’t good enough for them, but they have it the wrong way around. They’re not good enough for you. And I won’t have that poison in our lives.”
Doc sighed. Thank fuck.
“I love this, you know,” she said quietly. “The three of us together. It just feels right.”
He kissed the top of her head. “You know when I said I said I didn’t believe in happy-ever-after’s?”
“Yes,” she said slowly.
“I think I’ve changed my mind.”
She dug her face into his chest with a happy sigh.
“Take us home, Archie,” she demanded.
“Gladly.”
“And try not to crash this time, huh?” Issy said.
“You crash one vehicle and you never hear the end of it,” Archer grumbled as Caley giggled.
Doc just smiled. If Archer had never crashed then they likely wouldn’t have met Caley and if they hadn’t met Caley, well, he wouldn’t have everything he’d ever wanted and never thought he’d have.
His love. His Little. His brother.
Epilogue
“Do I gots to, Papa?” She gave Archer her best pout, using her biggest eyes as she pleaded with him.
She was dressed in a pair of leggings and a sweater dress with a picture of a dachshund on the front.
Archer had bought it for her during their shopping trip before leaving Dallas. Archer had braided her hair for her this morning and she was wearing a pair of bumblebee slippers that Issy had bought.
They’d been back at Sanctuary for a week now and things had never been better. She knew they’d have some ups and downs. But she also knew that this is where she was supposed to be.
Soon after they arrived, Caley had gotten a call from the fire marshal about her house. Apparently, it had been the heat pack she’d put in the microwave for her hands. She’d left it in there to go say goodbye to Dave and forgotten about it. She was still kicking herself for being so careless, even though Issy and Archer had reassured her often that it was an accident.
She couldn’t get back the things she lost, but she knew she wouldn’t ever forget Dave. And in the summer, they all planned to go back there, and maybe camp for a while.
She wasn’t sure how Archer was going to do with camping, but they’d see. They just needed to ensure he had his coffee. Especially in the mornings when he could almost be as cranky as Issy before his first caffeine hit.
He was constantly surprising her, though. He’d really taken to this Daddy Dom stuff. Maybe more than she’d expected he would. Which sometimes didn’t bode well for her ability to sit comfortably. Neither man let her get away with much.
They were getting into a rhythm. She was working less, but still getting plenty done and when she wasn’t working, at least one of them was always around. To play with her as Little Caley or as big Caley.
Things would be perfect. Or they would be, if she just had a way of getting rid of the damn punishment jar.
“Yes, Caley Jane, you do,” Archer said sternly. “And if you keep procrastinating, you’ll be choosing two punishments. You’re probably owed that many anyway.”
“Good idea, brother,” Issy said, moving up to stand beside him, with his arms crossed over his chest.
Uh-oh. Okay, so maybe she should just get this over with.
She shoved her hand in the big jar and pulled a piece of paper out, handing it over to Archer who held out his hand. He looked at it then passed it to Issy who grinned.
For a man who had barely smiled when she first met him, he sure did smile a lot now.
“My favorite. Someone’s getting ginger up her butt,” Issy said.
“What! No! Papa!” She turned to Archer as Issy strode off to the kitchen with a whistle. They’d decided to expand the cabin so that both she and Archer had office space and she could have the second bedroom as a playroom. When she’d offered to pay for it, though, both of them had acted like she had mortally insulted them. Then she’d had to have a talk with Issy about how, no, she wasn’t broke, she just wasn’t very good at the day-to-day details which is why her cabin had been falling down.
Issy had been shocked. And a bit upset she hadn’t told him. He was still asking to read her books. Even though he now knew her pen name, he hadn’t peeked because he said he wanted her to be okay with him reading them first.
Well, she had something planned for him there…
“I’m sorry, poppet. But you have far more frowny faces than smiley faces. By rights, this is actually several weeks’ worth of frowns so you should just be grateful that it’s a bit of figging and some corner time and not a good strapping on top of it.”
Her mouth dropped open. Okay, yeah, she should shut up now.
Quit while you’re ahead, Caley.
Issy returned with a piece of ginger in a plastic bag. It was two fingers, but only one had been peeled. She guessed that was the bit that went in her ass while the other bit was used as a handle.
Holy. Crap.
“And here is a piece I prepared earlier. You know, just in case.”
“Aww,” Archer said. “Isn’t he so happy?”
“Nothing like a figging in the morning to set the day off right.”
She dropped her lower lip. Archer reached out and tapped it. “Don’t worry, poppet. If you’re a good girl and take your figging well then Daddy and I have a present for you.”
A present? What sort of present?
“What is it? Can I see it now?” She danced up on her tiptoes.
“Nope,” Issy said. “Right now, you need to strip off your leggings and panties then get on your back on the couch.”
On her back? She looked to Archer who nodded.
She swallowed nervously but did as she’d been ordered. She even took the time to fold her leggings and put them down neatly with her panties. But that was more to procrastinate than because she wanted to be tidy.
Finally, she lay on the couch.
“Archer, if you will?” Issy said as he opened up the bag.
Archer knelt down next to her. “Legs up against your chest, poppet.”
What? Oh God. She raised her legs up until she was in the diaper position. Archer placed an arm across the back of them, pinning them in place. Issy sat on the couch and pulled out the ginger plug, holding it up.
“It’s beautiful work if I do say so myself.” He held the non-skinned end then he parted her ass cheeks.
“Here we go, poppet. Just relax. It’s not that big. You’ve definitely taken bigger.” Archer winked at her, reminding her of the other night when she’d taken him there.
He was right. The ginger slipped in easily. It wasn’t that long or thick and she didn’t really feel much of anything. All right, maybe it was all hype and there wasn’t much of a sting.
Then Issy slapped his hand down on her ass.
“Ow!” she cried out, clenching down on the piece of ginger.
Oh. Crap. Her asshole started to sting as the ginger released its juices. Issy continued to spank her, making her clench on the ginger more.
“It stings! Ouch! Daddy, stop spanking me! It’s making it worse!”
“It’s meant to be a punishment, poppet,” Archer told her. “It’s supposed to sting.”
“Got to remind you that any time you disobey, there are consequences,” Issy added.
“You’re so precious to us, nothing can happen to you.”
Issy applied more spanks to her ass until she couldn’t decide what hurt more. The spanking or the figging.
Either way, she knew she didn’t want to repeat this in a hurry.
Slap! Smack! Ouch! Crap! Tears dripped out of her eyes as he continued to spank her until her ass was throbbing on the outside and stinging on the inside.
Issy stopped spanking her. He rubbed her bottom for a moment, checking out his handiwork before he drew the ginger slowly out of her bottom. “I’ll take care of this. You take care of her.”
“With pleasure,” Archer said. He studied her ass. “Now, that is a very red bottom. Bet it stings, huh?”
She pouted. “That was mean, Papa.”
“Poor poppet,” he crooned, dropping her legs. “Need a cuddle?”
She nodded and he rearranged them so he was sitting on the sofa with her straddling his lap. He rubbed his hand up and down her back.
“A red bottom and a stinging asshole. Maybe next week you’ll try not to be so naughty huh?”
“I’ll try, Papa.”
Issy returned, sitting next to Archer and she turned her face towards him. He leaned in and kissed her lips gently, his hand resting on her lower back.
“So what did you think of your first figging, baby doll?” Issy asked.
“I think that I am throwing out every piece of ginger in the house.”
Issy shook his head. “That sort of talk will just end with you over the kitchen table and my belt being applied to your ass.”
Eek!
“I didn’t mean it! I love ginger. It’s the best.”
Both men burst into laughter.
“What do you think, brother?” Archer asked. “Shall we give her our present now?”
“Present?” She sat up and looked at them both. “What present?”
Issy frowned. “Don’t think she should be rewarded after being punished.”
�
��Hmm. You are right.” Archer rubbed at his chin.
“Please, please, please,” she begged.
“She is pretty cute, though,” Archer said. His eyes were twinkling with laughter.
Issy sighed. “It sets a bad precedent.”
“How about just this once?”
“You’re lucky your Papa is such a softie,” Issy told her. But she could see the amusement in his gaze. “Baby doll, you wait here and we’ll go get it.”
Archer slid her off the sofa. “Hands over your eyes and wait right here.” He waggled his finger for good measure. “We’ll be back in minute.”
What were they getting? What could it be? The suspense almost killed her and it wasn’t until she heard them walk back in that she remembered to cover her eyes.
“Daddy! Papa! What is it? What’s my present?”
“Keep those eyes covered,” Issy warned.
She felt someone brush her left side then another against her right side. They each grabbed hold of a hand and pulled them off her eyes.
“Open your eyes, poppet,” Archer commanded.
She opened her eyes, blinking, unable to work out what she was looking at for a start. Then it hit her. It was a small house. Similar to the ones that Dave had made for her, only…
Wonky.
Very wonky.
The overhang of the roof was longer on one side than the other. Then she realized that one wall was actually shorter than the other. The windows weren’t cut evenly, giving it an even more lopsided appearance. It had been painted pink with white shutters, except some of the shutters were bigger than others.
“She doesn’t like it,” Archer said. “I told you we should have just bought one.”
“It doesn’t mean as much,” Issy argued back. “Anyone can buy one. We made her one.”
“It’s terrible, though. It’s going to break as soon as she touches it. It’s not nearly as good as Dave’s train set.”
Her heart stuttered. Tears filled her eyes, blurring her vision. “You made this for me?”
Archer took hold of her left hand. “Yes, poppet. But you don’t have to play with it if you don’t want to. It’s probably a hazard anyway.”
“And I thought I was meant to be the negative one,” Issy snapped. “It won’t fall apart. Look at the back.”
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