Defended

by Golden Angel

  "Ooo, this is pretty," Sienna said, picking up a silky blue baby doll and holding it in front of herself. There was white lace over the blue silk on the bust and a little bow that tied the sides together. The silky empire skirt would go down to about mid-thigh, but plenty of skin would be visible since there was only the one tie between the breasts.

  It also finally reminded Melody of the theme for the weekend—Silk and Seduction night!

  She wondered what Daddy was going to get for her.

  "I love it," she said, rather enviously. Maybe Daddy would pick out something like it. There was a faint little voice in her head though, Peggy's derisive tones: Oh sweetie, not with your body.

  It would be really nice if she could get Peggy's voice out of her head one day.

  Then she realized, it wasn't just in her head. She could actually hear Peggy's voice.

  Melody whipped around and her heart sank when she realized she was right. Coming into the section, although she didn't seem to have noticed Melody yet, was Peggy and another woman. Her ex-friend looked the same as ever, put together and laughing, her red hair pulled back in a curly bun.

  For one long moment, she felt a kind of yearning, as she watched Peggy laughing with abandon. She missed laughing with Peggy. Missed the camaraderie and the late nights and the gossip sessions. Yes, she had new friends, but that didn't stop her from missing her old one, no matter how it had ended. There was still a little part of her wondering why it had to end.

  Then Peggy's eyes met Melody's and the laughter slid away to a sneer... oh yeah. That's why it ended. Because that was the same expression Peggy had on her face when she'd told Melody to get out. Because she hadn't been able to handle that Melody might want to make her own choices about her own life. Because Melody had finally bucked Peggy's control.

  Looking at Peggy now, feeling herself shrinking back as Peggy's eyes narrowed in displeasure, it suddenly hit home how much she'd allowed Peggy to control her life just because she hadn't wanted to make waves. Which made the fact that she liked handing control of her life over to Daddy sound strange, but it was different.

  Daddy still listened to and respected what she wanted and needed. Peggy had always bulldozed through any of Melody's protests. Daddy accepted the decisions Melody needed to make for herself. Peggy had kicked Melody out of the apartment as soon as she hadn't liked one of Melody's decisions—about something that had been none of her business. Daddy's control was something Melody willingly gave him. Peggy had taken it. Melody had let her. But not anymore.

  It didn't stop her from missing her friend, but she knew she was better off with Peggy out of her life.

  If she'd had any doubts, she didn't anymore... not with Peggy looking at her with such antagonism. A hot feeling of shame flushed through her, followed by fear, because Peggy never minded making a scene. Peggy was all about confrontation. And looking at her right now, all the feelings of missing her and wishing things hadn’t changed between them melted away, and all Melody wanted to do was run.

  “Pretty sure women pretending to be babies aren’t supposed to be wearing lingerie,” Peggy called out, her voice full of censure and mocking. Melody froze in place, the hot shame rushing up from her chest to her cheeks, and she could feel them turning red.

  “Ew,” said the woman next to her, wrinkling her nose. “She pretends to be a baby?”

  “And calls her boyfriend ‘Daddy’.” Peggy’s voice went higher on the last word, like a little girl’s, but full of malice.

  It felt like everyone in the store was suddenly staring at them—at Melody. Judging her. Although the strangers didn’t bother her as much as her friends being there. She could only imagine what Lisa must be thinking. And poor Sienna, she had to be freaking out, worried she was about to be outed.

  She wanted to run, but her legs wouldn’t move. She wanted to snap back at Peggy, but her mind had gone utterly blank and she couldn’t think of a single thing to say. All the times she’d imagined running into Peggy, she’d never imagined anything like this… if it were just her, she could run, but she was with Sienna and Lisa. If they even wanted to admit they were with her right now.

  "So what?" Sienna's voice rang out just as loudly as Peggy's did. "I call my fiancé Daddy too. It's hot. A lot of men like to be called Daddy."

  The utter lack of shame in her tone penetrated the humiliated haze that had gathered around Melody. Not only was Sienna not embarrassed about Melody being outed in public, she was joining her. Someone else somewhere in the store laughed.

  "It's not just that though," Peggy said, sounding scandalized, but her eyes flared with temper. She didn’t like that Sienna was standing up for Melody, the same way she hadn’t liked it when Melody stood up for herself. It occurred to Melody that Peggy wanted to embarrass her, wanted to watch Melody run away. Because she was a bully. "She acts like a little girl when she calls him that. Like a baby."

  "Well, if only I had some pearls to clutch, I'm sure I'd be able to react appropriately." Lisa said with a snort, sounding completely unfazed by the revelations being tossed around her. In fact, when Melody looked at Lisa, the other woman was actually rolling her eyes. She didn't care at all. Melody could feel the coil of tension inside her begin to unwind.

  Sienna and Lisa were on her side. And Peggy was looking somehow smaller. Less threatening. Less important. Melody had already decided that she didn’t care what Peggy thought, weeks ago, so why was she letting Peggy affect her now?

  "It's perverted!" Peggy sounded outraged, but the woman standing next to her was no longer laughing with derision. The other customers within earshot weren't even pretending not to listen anymore and none of them seemed horrified, they just looked like they were enjoying the show. No one was staring at Melody like she was a freak. No one except Peggy.

  "It's none of your business," Melody said, finally finding her tongue. Sienna and Lisa's reactions—well, their lack thereof—had given her strength. She straightened, facing down her ex-friend in a way that she hadn't before, even when she'd defied Peggy's demands. "We're two consenting adults, and we're not asking you to play with us. I don't know why you ever thought you got a say in what I do."

  "Because I'm your friend! Or I was, until you turned out to be a shitty friend." Peggy's face was starting to turn red with frustration and anger. "I was supposed to look out for you!"

  "By kicking me out of the apartment because you didn't like who I was dating?" Melody's temper, which had been smothered by her embarrassment, started to rise. "By trying to control my sex life? By mocking me and issuing ultimatums? By trying to embarrass me out in public when you could have just walked on by?" She looked at the woman standing next to Peggy, who was looking increasingly uncomfortable with the way the conversation was going. "If you're getting close with her, this is what you have to look forward to when she decides you're not friend material anymore."

  Peggy flushed even brighter red, her fists clenching at her sides. "Fuck you, Melody! Go play your perverted games, but don't come crawling back to me when he dumps you for someone younger because you don't look like a little girl anymore!"

  Glancing down at her breasts, which were by no means small or hidden, Melody had to laugh. "I'm pretty sure I don't look like a little girl right now."

  Making a disgusted noise, Peggy spun around and stormed off as a sense of triumph welled up inside of Melody. Peggy's companion hesitated, glancing after Peggy and then looking back at Melody before finally turning and walking off—in a different direction than Peggy had gone.

  Melody let out a long breath, shaking slightly from the adrenaline still coursing through her.

  "Holy shit, girl!" Lisa's arms came around Melody from behind, giving her a huge hug and eliciting a surprised gasp from Melody. "I'm so proud of you!"

  Another small impact rocked them both as Sienna came in from the side, hugging both of them. "I am too! Who the hell was that?"

  They broke apart, so that Melody could turn around and face both of them. She fel
t rather sheepish, embarrassed again but for a different reason this time.

  "That was Peggy." She'd told Sienna that she'd had a falling out with her former roommate and had to move out, but they hadn't gone into why and Sienna hadn't pressed. Lisa knew more about the situation, because she'd met Peggy and knew they hadn't just been roommates, but Melody hadn't told her exactly why they'd had an argument either. Just that they'd had one and Peggy had told her to move out. Lisa hadn't exactly been surprised.

  "Ugh. Thank goodness you don't live with her anymore," Sienna said, wrinkling her nose.

  "Right?" Lisa chimed in, shaking her head. "I never understood how you could put up with her. She's completely toxic."

  "She was a good friend at one point..." Melody started to say and then her voice trailed off, because the truth was that it didn't matter how Peggy had come through for her or been a good friend at some point. In the end, she'd turned into a terrible friend and, Lisa was right, a very toxic one.

  "Well, no one's all bad," Sienna said, sympathetically. "I stand by what I said though. She sucks. And not in the fun way."

  Kind of hard to argue with that and Melody felt her lips tugging up in a reluctant smile. She wished that Peggy was different and their friendship had gone differently, but that wasn't up to her. And maybe Peggy hadn't been all bad, but she hadn't been good for Melody either.

  "So..." Lisa drew out the word, her eyes sliding back and forth between Melody and Sienna. "Daddy, huh?"

  This time when Melody blushed, it didn't feel like a bad thing. Lisa looked more curious than anything else, and she'd already demonstrated that she didn't care.

  "Yeah. Um..." She groped for words but Lisa held up her hand, palm facing Melody, to stop her.

  "You don't have to explain. Not my thing, but I'm not the one being asked to call my boyfriend Daddy." Lisa sighed, dropping her hand. "Not that I have a boyfriend anyway."

  "Do you want one?" Sienna asked, in the same tone she might ask if Lisa wanted ice cream. Like, if she answered yes, then Sienna would take them to the part of the store where they could just pick one out for her.

  "Eh. Maybe later." Lisa shrugged. "I'm too busy with school right now. I don't know how Melody manages to balance it all. I'd be going nuts."

  "Who says I'm not?" Melody teased.

  As the other two laughed and moved back to the lingerie, she couldn't help but glance over her shoulder. There was no sign of Peggy though. She had disappeared from Melody's life as quickly and fully as she had the first time. It was probably for the best.

  Melody had real friends now. The kind who supported her and didn't try to manipulate or coerce her. Heck, she and Lisa might have been better friends sooner if it hadn't been for Peggy. Being friends with Peggy had made her so isolated, and she had a feeling that was how Peggy had wanted it.

  She was better off now. She hoped that Peggy would find happiness, but she could do it without Melody in her life.

  When Melody came home, Kawan was sitting on the couch reading through his latest case file. Looking up, his whole chest felt like it loosened when he saw her coming through the door. Of course he'd known it was her, but seeing her coming in with a bright smile on her face, made his home feel complete. She beamed as soon as she saw him, dropping her purse and the shopping bag in her hand as she bounded toward him. Chuckling, he set the file aside just in time for her to jump onto his lap.

  "Hello there," he said, tilting his head back and pulling her down for a kiss.

  Ever since they'd decided she was staying with him, she'd finally really started settling in. Her pictures had joined his on the walls and shelves, her books side by side with his, and her little decorations were out. Seeing how happy and settled she was gave him a sense of satisfaction every time he looked at her.

  And having her delicious curves pressed against his lap gave him a hard on. His hands dropped down to her bottom, digging his fingers into her soft flesh.

  "Daddy!" she squealed, pulling away from the kiss and wriggling on top of him in a manner that did absolutely nothing to allay his desire. "I was just saying hello."

  "I'm just saying hello too," he replied innocently, giving her another squeeze with both hands. "And hello again."

  She giggled, but there was some tension in her body and her happiness didn't quite go all the way through her eyes. Tilting his head to the side, he changed his grip to a softer, more soothing one, shifting her on his lap so that she was straddling him and facing him directly.

  "Is everything okay? Did Sienna and Lisa get along?" He knew she'd been a little worried about getting them together, but her time was often at a premium. Which was why he hadn't minded eating alone tonight while she went out with her friends. He hoped she wasn't stressing about that though; she could take her determination not to ‘use’ him a little too far—which was part of how he knew she never would.

  If anything, he had to watch her to make sure she didn't give too much of herself, something she was all too capable of doing. It was why he'd suggested introducing Lisa and Sienna rather than running herself ragged trying to spend time with them separately. She was a people pleaser, and as her Daddy, it was his job to make sure no one took advantage of that, even unintentionally.

  “They did, they liked each other a lot.” She perked up for a moment but then deflated a little. Reaching up, Kawan brushed her hair back from her shoulder, waiting for her to say something. Sometimes she just needed a few minutes to put her thoughts together and he didn’t want to rush her. “I—we—ran into Peggy.”

  It was all he could do to keep his expression blank. While he might despise his baby girl’s former friend and roommate, she’d been more wistful the few times the woman had come up in conversation. Running into her must have been tough, and she didn’t need his opinion of the woman making it harder for her to talk about the encounter.

  “And how did that go?” he asked, carefully adopting a neutral tone. The little look she gave him said that she saw right through the attempt, but at least he’d tried.

  "She announced, very loudly, that I'm a pervert who acts like a baby and calls my boyfriend Daddy."

  Another time, that might have enraged Kawan. But Melody seemed more annoyed and sad than hurt or distressed, and since he knew she'd been with Sienna, he could only imagine how well that had gone over.

  "Did you tell her you're more like a five-year-old than a baby, unless you've been particularly naughty?" he asked, teasing her gently, hoping to make her smile.

  She narrowed her eyes at him, but her lips did curve up against her will. "No. But Sienna told her that she also calls her fiancé Daddy. And Lisa made a pearl clutching reference. And then I told her that it wasn't any of her business... and then she ran away when she realized no one cared about my sex life, and that I wasn't backing down."

  Pride swelled inside of him. He'd honestly expected to hear that Sienna had handled the situation. Melody had gotten better about speaking up when she wanted something—especially since the day when she'd experimented with being ‘teenaged’—but it would have been easy for her to fall back into her old habits when faced with her former best friend.

  "Good girl," he said warmly, his fingers caressing her hips. She flushed with happiness, smiling back at him as arousal began to stir in her eyes. "I'm very proud of you for standing up for yourself."

  Immediately she brightened, her expression turning impish. "Does that mean I get a treat?"

  He had to laugh.

  "Absolutely, baby girl, what do you want?"

  She eyed him slyly. "Orgasms."

  "Then orgasms you shall receive."

  She squealed with delight as he turned, rolling them off of the couch and taking her down to the floor in a controlled fall. It didn't take him long to strip her down to nothing and administer the first orgasm with his mouth while she tugged on his hair. Then he picked her up and carried her off to the bedroom for round two, which ended in a treat for both of them.

  Cuddling her sleeping
form in his arms afterwards, he stroked her hair and stared up at the ceiling in the darkness, completely struck by the knowledge that sometime during the past few weeks, he'd fallen head over heels in love with her.

  Chapter 25

  Holding Melody's hand, Kawan moved through Black Light toward the table where he could see Alexander, Sienna, Connor, and Ella already sitting. The latter two were back in town and had wanted to come out to the club tonight to see everyone. His baby girl bounced at his side, excited to be at the club and to see her friends.

  It was Silk and Seduction night and he'd dressed her in an adorable pink silk chemise and shorts trimmed with white lace, with two white bows adorning her pigtails. She was adorably sexy, as the neckline dipped low to show off the rounded tops of her breasts and the short shorts barely covered her bottom. When she bent over, they rode up high enough that he could easily spank her sit spots without even adjusting them. Not that he'd needed to yet, but he was sure he could find an excuse before the night was over.

  He felt a little odd walking through the club in his own silk outfit, but he'd bowed to the theme and put on a pair of silky pajama pants and a top, which he'd left unbuttoned. To his amusement, he saw that Alexander had decided to keep to his usual pants and dress shirt, although the shirt looked like it might be very expensive silk. He was the odd man out though; Connor was wearing nothing more than a pair of silky boxers.

  Both Sienna and Ella were dressed in silky lingerie as well, although Sienna's was more of a very short blue dress and Ella's was a sumptuous red robe with black lace that went all the way down to her ankles. Likely she was completely naked underneath, but the very fact that she was so covered did make one wonder...

  "Perfect timing!" Ella said as Kawan and Melody reached them. "We were just about to go to the ladies’ room; you can come with us."