“But if it’s just sex—”
“It’s not just sex, woman,” he growled.
She froze. She’d never heard that tone of voice from him. Mr. Cool, Calm and Collected sounded almost frustrated.
And very dominant.
A shiver ran through her. Fuck, dominant men just did it for her. That’s why she’d fallen for her ex-fiance, Gary. He’d seemed dominant. Unfortunately, he was just a jerk.
“But why me? I don’t understand.”
He gave her a thoughtful look. “You don’t see your own worth? I didn’t think of this scenario. You always seem so confident and put together that it didn’t occur to me that you’d . . .”
“Be insecure about some stuff? Yeah, well, I’m the daughter of a plumber. He was the best damn plumber in Auckland, but I’m not royalty.”
“So? We don’t need to marry royalty.”
“Yeah, but I’m like so far from royalty it’s not funny! I can’t even eat something without spilling it down my front.”
“Hmm, so you need a bib. I see.” He nodded, totally mocking her, the asshole. Where was this sense of humor coming from? And she wasn’t finding it funny!
“Right, because that will work when you’re having some fancy party and I trip over my feet, crash into some important dignitary and make him go splat.”
“So you need to wear flats, always hold one of our hands, and stay away from anyone who would go splat. I’m certain that will be easy.”
“You’re not listening to me, Kassim.”
“No, you have lots of silly reasons for not wanting to be with us and there is only one thing that you could tell me that would make me back off.”
“I’m not Escanaian,” she said desperately. She knew what he needed to hear to back off. Only she didn’t want to say it.
Because it would be a total lie.
“Neither is my mother. She’s from England. My fathers’ met her at University and brought her back here with them. It caused some major issues, since her father was a duke and wasn’t impressed at his own daughter being captured. Even by three wealthy princes.”
“Oh my God.”
“The international media went insane. They still do when my parents go out in public overseas. I think that’s why they decided on an early retirement to one of our islands. We don’t become kings until their death, but essentially my brothers and I run Escana.”
“But your mum was the daughter of a duke. I’m the daughter of a plumber. There’s a big difference.”
“Nobody cares where you came from or what your family did. They only care that you are a good person. That you love us and that we love you. Escana is not like England.”
It still didn’t mean that she would make a good princess. Let alone a wife. To all of them.
“Your brothers, they . . . I mean . . . they want me too?” Well, she kind of had an idea that they liked her. But not . . . nothing that serious.
“We’ve been wooing you for the last few months.”
She gaped up at him. “What?”
“Obviously we weren’t doing a very good job since you had no clue.”
“Wooing me?”
“Yes. And it’s my fault that you didn’t realize what we were doing. The others would have told you. Well, Aric and Tavi, anyway. Not sure Matek would have acted any other way than he has been.”
“The following me around?”
Mind. Blown.
“Yes, it’s his way of protecting you, I guess. He just wants to make sure that you’re safe. He’s not doing it to scare you.”
“It doesn’t scare me. I mean, it took some getting used to. But it’s not like he follows me into the bathroom or anything. Well, he didn’t before this morning.”
“Matek followed you into the bathroom?” Kassim asked, looking shocked.
“Um, well, more like he carried me into the bathroom and then didn’t want to leave.”
“And that is why you were angry? Understandable.”
“Actually, no, that wasn’t it,” she told him.
He raised his eyebrows in surprise.
“I’m not worried about Matek’s overprotectiveness. I would like to know why he hulked out this morning, though.”
“Ahh, that was the reason you were trying to get away from them? I know that was frightening, and I was worried he might have hurt you as he wasn’t himself. Instead, you were able to calm him down. Quite remarkable.”
“Well, thanks, but that wasn’t the reason I needed to get away from them either.”
“Then what was it?”
“Umm. Well.” She rubbed at her temple, but not because of her concussion. More that she was trying to organize her thoughts.
They wanted her. Not just for sex. They’d been wooing her.
All of them.
They wanted her to be theirs.
Holy. Shit.
“But we haven’t even dated or anything.”
“You know that is not how relationships here work, Miss Jones.”
Miss Jones, huh? Only he didn’t say that like he usually did. There was a sexy feel to the formal title. Which sounded crazy, but damn, how many times had she fantasized about him bending her over his desk in the office and spanking her ass because he’d found a mistake in her work?
Then ordering her to her knees and . . .
“Miss Jones? Miss Jones?” he queried as another boom of thunder sounded. Were they getting closer together?
“Um, yes?”
“Are you focused on what I am saying?”
Not. At. All.
“Absolutely, sir.”
Oh, there was definite heat in his gaze. Had he had the same fantasies? Did he get off on her calling him sir? Was he actually a Dom?
Okay, if her mind kept exploding then she would have no brain left.
“Then would you care to repeat back what I said.” It wasn’t a question.
“Umm, there is no point in repeating it,” she said. “You already said it once, after all.”
“Really? And what do you have to say about what I just said?”
“I say, yes.” It was a longshot but maybe yes was the answer? Shoot, she should have asked for a multiple-choice option. She rocked multiple choice.
“There is no multiple-choice option for you, tamiya,” he told her in a silky-smooth voice that put her on high alert.
Abort. Abort.
You’re in big, big trouble.
“It’s all or nothing. You don’t get to choose.”
Her breathing quickened. She had a feeling they weren’t talking about the same thing.
“And I’m surprised you’d say yes.”
“What?”
“That you’d say yes to marrying us all tomorrow. I’m surprised, but also very pleased.”
“But I . . . I . . . I didn’t know . . . I mean . . . slime balls!”
“Slime balls? That’s cute.”
“I’m not cute.”
“You’re very cute with your cute nose, your cute freckles, your cute hair and your very cute giggle. What isn’t cute is not listening when I am speaking to you. Then lying and saying that you were listening.”
“So you didn’t ask me to marry you all tomorrow?” She slumped against him in relief. Although there was a fair amount of disappointment in there too. And who could blame her? Marrying them would be a fairytale come to life. But was it really realistic? She hadn’t been able to please one man, how could she please four? How would it all work?
“No, I didn’t. And you weren’t listening.”
“Sorry.” She dropped her gaze as another boom of thunder sounded. To her surprise, there was no anxiety bubbling in her stomach. She guessed she really did trust him to take care of her.
“That’s all right. I understand it might be hard to take this all in. Especially right now. My timing isn’t good.”
Oh, that was more understanding than she’d expected to get from him.
“But lying about listening, that’s very bad.�
�
Ooh, was it? A shiver ran through her.
No, wait. She shouldn’t find that sexy. Should she?
Batman, help me.
Why did he never come to her rescue?
Rude.
“Bad?”
“Yes. Lying is never allowed.”
“Sorry, sir,” she said. She kept her eyes on her hands.
“Look at me,” he commanded.
She moved her gaze to his.
“I know this might seem rushed to you. But we’ve been thinking of you as ours for months. We’ve been trying to find ways to court you, not very successfully. At least for some of us.” He grimaced. “So I don’t want you to think this is some whim. Or something I’ve just thought of. Or that it’s just about sex.”
“Okay, I’m just trying to catch up.” And figure out what they saw in her.
“And you are not Escanaian. You need to date us in order to believe in our feelings for you. All right, we will do that.”
“Do . . . do what?”
“What we just talked about. Dating.”
“We’re going to date?” she asked.
They’d gone from him having feelings to a proposal to dating?
“But I’m your personal assistant.”
“That means you cannot date me?”
Was that amusement in his face?
“It would be unprofessional,” she said primly. What was wrong with her? Why was she fighting this so hard? She wanted him. Wanted all of them.
But what if she couldn’t live up to their expectations?
She was scared.
And what if you get everything you desire? You won’t know without taking a chance.
You can’t be a coward all the time.
“Simple fix. You’re fired.”
“What?” Panic started to strangle her.
“You’re fired. You are no longer my personal assistant.” He smiled at her. Actually smiled at her. The bastard.
“B-but you can’t just fire me. What will I do? I don’t have enough savings to last more than a few months. There aren’t that many jobs here I can do.” Panic had her nearly in tears and pain slashed at her head.
“Ow, ow, ow.”
“Tamiya, I didn’t mean that to upset you. You’re fired because you don’t need that job.”
“But I do need it. You don’t get it. You’ve never been on your own, with no back-up, you’ve never had your bank account go into the negative and wondered where you would find money for next month’s rent. I don’t have anyone to help me.”
“You do. That’s what you don’t realize. You have us.”
“And if this doesn’t work out. Then what?” She winced, taking shallow breaths.
“Your head is hurting you.”
“Y-yes.”
“We shouldn’t be talking of this. Listen to me, you can also remain as my assistant, all right?”
“P-promise?”
“I promise,” he soothed. “But not for the next week or so, yes? While you get better.”
“But you need me.”
“We are going to England soon anyway. You are owed vacation time. You’ll let us look after you, pamper you.”
“Will you fire me if you decide you don’t want me?”
“Your job is safe no matter what. Never again will you be concerned with making rent.” He said it like it was a promise. She started breathing easier. Kassim didn’t say things he didn’t mean. She knew that.
He wanted her. He thought this could work. Even though she still thought she was dreaming, she wanted to believe.
But what about the others? She needed to talk to them as well. She was starting to feel like she’d overreacted to what Tavi said earlier. If they were all interested in her. Seriously interested, then she got why he said that in front of his brothers.
Gently, he massaged her neck. “Everything will be all right, tamiya. You will come to England with us. After my meeting in London, we’re all going to our country estate. There, we can date you, convince you that this can work.”
She really wished it could work. More than anything.
“And you’re sure you all want this?”
“We do,” he confirmed.
“And it’s not just about sex?”
“Definitely not. We want you for our wife, Pippa.”
“There’s one other thing. I’m a Little,” she blurted out, then she tensed, waiting for his reply.
“I know.”
“So then you . . . wait, what? You know? How do you know? I’m usually pretty careful about keeping that quiet. I wouldn’t want to do anything to embarrass you.”
“Embarrass me?” He gave her a shocked look.
“When I took this job, your old assistant told me that I would be a face of the royal family and to always behave appropriately. That I couldn’t do anything to embarrass you. And I know that you take your job very seriously.”
“That doesn’t mean I would ever be embarrassed by you. By your needs. You’ve been suppressing your Little side because of me?”
He sounded horrified.
“Well, yes. But, I mean, I’m not ever going to be comfortable with people seeing me like that. Even with Vivi, I still hold back. I’m . . . I’m a lot younger than she is, I think.”
“Really?”
“I mean, not all the time. I like watching cartoons, especially Batman. I used to watch that with my Dad. I like playing with toy cars and trucks. I think crocodiles are cool. And I love coloring in. But sometimes, especially when I’m anxious, I . . .”
He brushed back her hair. “You what?”
“I like to suck on a pacifier,” she blurted out, bracing herself for his reaction. “And I like to wear onesies with drop-seats.”
“Well, drop-seats do make it easier to go to the bathroom. And to spank you.”
She gaped up at him. “Wait, are you saying . . . are you a Daddy Dom?”
“I’ve been a Dom for years. I’ve always been discreet about it, though. As have my brothers. I never thought I would find someone special who would be my Little. I was willing to forgo that part of myself. Now, I don’t need to.”
Because of her, he meant? Holy heck.
“And the others are Daddy Doms too?”
“Yes, Aric sometimes acts more like a Little.”
She had to smile. “He has another side to him as well, though. I’ve seen him acting rather, um, dominant.”
“Have you? It’s not a side he shows often. Aric is the easygoing one, but you’re right, he can actually be dominant when he needs to be. We can work out what you need from us and vice versa later, once we’ve started dating and you’re more comfortable with us.”
“You’re really okay with that?”
“Tamiya, why wouldn’t I be? Do you use a bottle?”
“I haven’t but I . . .”
“You’d like to.”
“Yes,” she whispered.
“Good girl for telling me. That was brave.”
“I wish I was braver. I have a book filled with pictures of places I’d like to go and I’m too scared to visit any of them.”
He gently rubbed her neck. Oh man, that felt so good. She could feel herself falling into sleep.
“You seem pretty fearless to me. You moved here on your own. A strange country with no family.”
“That was more out of necessity than anything. After my mum died, it was just me and my dad. He died of a heart attack when I was twenty. I miss him a lot.”
“He raised an amazing daughter.”
“You’re turning on the charm today.”
“Since my previous attempts to woo you have failed, I thought I would try something else.”
“I don’t need you to change who you are for me. I don’t need any of this stuff, either. I just need you. And . . .”
“My brothers?”
“Yes. Although I’m mad at Tavi.”
“What did he do?”
The question was so soft that she nearly m
issed the hint of menace in it.
“He told the others about our . . . um . . . our . . . ”
“Your rendezvous with him?”
“You know?”
“Yes. I was not impressed when he told us.”
She stiffened.
“But not because of anything you were doing,” he soothed.
“You’re not mad I was doing that with him? I don’t even know how it happened. It just started and it was like I was under some sort of spell. He’d order me to do something and it was like I couldn’t say no.”
“You felt like you could not refuse?” he asked. “Like you had no freewill?”
“No, I knew I could say no.”
“Good. Have you ever had a relationship with a Dom?”
“No. I only found out about age play when I moved here and it just spoke to me on so many levels. After my mum died when I was five, I grew up pretty quick. My dad worked a lot and he didn’t have time to raise me. Most of the toys I had were old ones of his. And I . . . I guess I kind of took over running the household.”
“From the time you were five?” he asked, aghast.
“I went to school. But yeah, I learned pretty early on how to use the microwave to heat up pre-packaged meals. And how to work the vacuum cleaner and make the beds.”
He muttered something under his breath. “You will never have a microwave meal or use a vacuum cleaner again.”
“I didn’t have a bad life. My father loved me. He was just busy. I know he loved my mother a lot. He was likely trying to get over her death as best he could.”
“By neglecting you?”
“It wasn’t like that.” She worried at her lower lip.
“Shh. Okay, I will stop talking about your father.” He released her lip from her teeth. “So you were angry with Tavi because he told Aric and Matek about the two of you being together?”
“Not exactly. It’s just he said something about the noises I make and how wet I got and it was . . . it was embarrassing. I didn’t know the way you all felt. And it made me feel like I was just, just a plaything or something. I overreacted. I was over-sensitive.”
She could feel the way he had stiffened. “No, I don’t believe you were. In fact, I will be having words with Tavi about this.”
“Don’t,” she begged. “I did overreact. He probably didn’t mean to make me feel embarrassed. My ex-fiancé was screwing one of my closest friends behind my back for the entire time we were dating and all our friends knew. And afterward, one of my so-called friends told me that he was always complaining about what a wet fish I was in the bedroom. That he could barely get it up for me. And I was completely humiliated. I know Tavi wasn’t saying anything bad about me. And it wasn’t like he was talking about me behind my back. I just . . . I don’t know. I’m not thinking properly at the moment. I’ll talk to him.”
Claimed by her Daddies Page 12