Page 18 of Daddies’ Little Cubs (Ivory Mountain Daddies #3)

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

JESSA

J essa was laying on the bed when her sister walked in looking perplexed. She didn’t like that look and immediately her radar went off that something was wrong.

“What’s up D? What's got your face looking funny?”

“Oh nothing, just thinking about something.”

Jessa didn’t like the brush off that she received and knew that Destiny was lying. There was nothing she could do about it though, if she pushed her twin to talk Des would just shut down further. So Jess would be patient and trust that when she was ready Destiny would talk to her about it.

“Okay, well I’m here when you’re ready. You know you can talk to me about anything sissy,” She wrapped her twin up in a quick hug before stepping back and grinning wide. “Sooooooo. Spill! How was your date with Jackson?”

Just like that the tension eased from her sister’s shoulders and Jessa knew she made the right choice to change the topic. “It was amazing Jess. Even though I ended up bored out of my mind, Papa made up for it with ice cream.”

“Papa, huh. So we’ve started outwardly calling him this?”

“Not to his face no, but it doesn’t feel right to call him Jackson when I know that he’s meant to be my Papa.”

Jessa understood exactly what D was saying and she felt the same. Even though their relationship as a group couple was just starting, they had gotten close over the sixteen weeks. So it didn’t really feel like they were just beginning, but rather like they had been doing this forever.

“I understand. Papa and Pops are ours and that’s not going to change. Are you okay with what they are wanting though?”

“What do you mean?”

“We haven’t discussed how you felt being shared by both of them.”

Jessa knew that this was an important conversation for them to have, but she was nervous of Destiny’s thoughts.

Normally, she could predict how her twin would feel about something, but this really was uncharted territory for them.

Not only would this be Destiny’s first real relationship, but it would be with two men who she shared with her sister.

Jessa had dated before, but only in secret.

Her parents would have a fit if they knew that she had dated in the past. Just as they had been with Raelyn, the wardens kept a tight leash on her and Destiny, which didn’t leave much room for sneaking around.

That relationship lasted about six months before the guy she was with decided she was too much and that he couldn’t do it anymore.

She had never even told Destiny about the relationship and that was a miracle in itself.

They told each other everything, but for once she wanted something that was strictly for her.

No one could tell her that she was wrong or that the relationship wouldn’t survive.

She knew that it probably wouldn’t, so why involved her twin just to keep her hopes that they could have a normal teenagehood.

Bringing her attention back to the conversation at hand, Jess noted that Des still hadn’t answered the question.

“Do you want to discuss your feelings about it now or is this a topic we need to table for a later conversation?” Jessa knew that it was better to let Destiny decide when they talked about it because she would be more receptive to the conversation and willing to tell her true feelings about it.

“Can we wait? I’m not sure I know how I fully feel about everything and I want to be able to give my honest feelings.”

Smiling and nodding her head at her sister’s predictableness, Jessa changed the conversation to an easier one before they decided that a night in Little space with Rae would be the perfect way to end the day.

It had been four days since she asked Des about her feelings and Jessa was no closer to knowing the answer now than she was when she first asked. She was starting to become concerned because her gut was screaming that Destiny was hiding something from her.

She couldn’t focus on that right now because it was her turn to go on a date with Jackson and Jessa was barely containing her excitement.

Jackson kept the date close to his chest and wouldn’t give away any plans he had made for them.

That only added to Jessa’s excitement because she LOVED surprises!

The only clues he told her were to dress comfortably and to wear tennis shoes.

Jessa put all her things in a bag she borrowed from Des. Even though she knew that Jackson wasn’t going to let her pay for anything, she still wanted to be prepared. Mama had taught her a long time ago that she wasn’t to expect anything from people and to be prepared to do everything on her own.

Jackson: Hey, Little Bear! I’ll be there in a few minutes.

Jessa: Yes, Sir!! I can’t wait to see you!

Jackson: I can’t wait to see you either, baby girl. Now be good and wait inside for me.

Jessa: Fiiiiinnnnnnneeeee

Jackson: Okay sass, behave Little girl. I would hate to change our date plans

Jessa: Oops! No, Sir! No need to go and do that. I’ll be good.

Jackson: That’s my girl, Papa will be there soon.

Jessa closed out their text messages and threw it in the bag. She tried to wait patiently in the room for the minutes to pass, but it seemed as if the world was moving in slow motion. The slow ticking of the clock on the wall taunted her.

Not being able to handle it anymore, Jess decided to go wait by the front door. Papa said she couldn’t wait outside for him, but technically she could wait just inside the door frame. She wouldn’t be breaking any rules then! Jessa loved finding technicalities and this was an easy one.

Ten minutes on the dot, she watched Jackson’s hunter green Ferrari roll down the driveway.

Bouncing with joy and excitement, Jessa forgot all about the direction that Jackson had given her.

Dashing outside, she had just reached the bottom step when Jackson’s arm swooped her up and threw her over his shoulder.

“Oof! What? Wait a second? Where are we going?”

Jackson didn’t respond to her question, rather kept walking into the house like a man on a mission. “Hey man, do you have a spare room I can borrow? Seems like I need to have a chat with a certain Little bear,” Jessa’s face flamed as her brain processed the words that fell from his gorgeous lips.

“Um, I’m not sure I want to give you that privacy. How do I know that a conversation is all that will be had?” Emmett responded. At that moment, she loved her brother-in-law a little more. It touched her heart that he cared enough to question the mammoth that was currently holding her hostage.

“I promise all that will happen will be agreed upon and consented to, but I don’t plan on anything more than a chat.”

“Mhm…okay. There is a spare room across the hall from the playroom. I hold the right to interrupt the conversation and check on Jessa’s wellbeing at any point after fifteen minutes.”

“Sounds good, man.”

Jessa was shifted higher on his shoulder as Jackson walked to the room that Emmett told him about. Her mind began to race at the conversation that Papa said he needed to have. This couldn’t be good for her. Seconds later, Jess felt Jackson’s knee as he settled her in place.

He didn’t speak for a little bit and she wondered if he was ever going to talk.

As more time passed, she began to squirm in his lap.

Jessa didn’t like the quiet at all and her mind started to race.

What if he decided that he didn’t want her anymore?

What if he believed that she was too much just like her one and only boyfriend thought all those years ago.

“Stop whatever thought is running through your mind, Little Bear, because I promise that it’s not as bad as the thoughts that your mind is trying to play up right now.”

Trying to settle the racing thoughts, Jess waited for him to finally talk about why they were sitting here.

“What was the one direction that I gave you Jessa?”

“To wait inside for you,” She whispered. “Which I did! I waited inside the door frame of the front door! Therefore, I was technically inside still.”

Believing that she had pulled one over him, her concerns and fears crept away. She wasn’t wrong, technically she didn’t go outside until after he had gotten here.

“Really? My eyes must have played tricks on me then because I was sure that I saw a certain Little racing towards my car.”

Okay, he had her there. She did run out the house when she saw his car getting closer, but who could blame her! Did he really expect her to contain the excitement she felt at getting to see him?

“Papa told you to wait inside for him, right?”

“But!”

“No buts. Did or did not Papa say for you to wait inside?”

“Yes, you did. Technically, I did! I waited inside until your car was almost all the way down the driveway.”

“Is that what Papa said to do?”

Jessa realized that there was no talking her way out of this one. She didn’t think he was going to care about the technicality of his statement.

“No, Sir it’s not. BUT! Technically, I did wait inside until you were almost down the driveway, then I went outside.”

“What would have happened if I didn’t see you dart out the house and you came barreling in front of my car?”

“You could have hit me.”

“That’s right Little one. Papa could have hit you and caused serious problems. That’s not okay. When Papa or Pops tells you to do something, we expect it to be followed.”

Letting out a sigh, Jessa decided it was best if she just kept her mouth shut or she might find herself into deeper trouble.

“I’m sorry, Jackson. I was really excited to see you and didn’t think. It won’t happen again.”

“Now don’t go writing checks that your bottom will have to cash later, because we both know that this will be a repeated conversation. Do you understand why Papa told you to wait inside for him?”

“I do. It was for my safety and by not following the direction you gave me I could have been hurt badly.”

“That’s right. It would break my heart if something had happened to you. I want you to be safe, healthy, and happy. Now, because this isn’t the first time you have disobeyed a direction on this topic, what do you think should happen.”

Closing her eyes, Jessa knew the right answer would be to have a punishment. Did she want that? No, but he was right.

“I should get into trouble for it,” she quietly answered.

Jackson nodded his head, “You should. Now, I know we haven’t had the discussion of punishment with you and Destiny. It seems like that will need to happen soon, but for now are you consenting to a punishment for disobeying the direction I gave you?”

Jessa waited for the fear to slowly creep back inside, but it never came. While she was worried about being punished, she knew that Jackson would never do anything to hurt her. How bad could the punishment really be?

“Yes, Sir. I’m consenting to that. I know what I did was not okay and I think it would help me in the future to remember to follow directions when given.”

“That’s my good girl. We will go easy this time since it’s your first punishment, okay?”

Nodding her head, she waited for him to lay out what was going to happen.

Would he spank her? Her knickers warmed at the thought of laying over his knees.

“I want you to go and stand in the corner. I’m going to set a timer for four minutes, one for every time you said you didn’t technically break the direction,” Knowing it was best not to argue any further, Jessa agreed and allowed him to ease her off his lap.

With a pat on her bottom, Jackson directed her towards the corner for her to stand in.

“I’ve set the timer, Little one. Every time you move or fidget it will restart. Understand?”

“Yes, Sir.”

For the next four minutes, Jessa’s world moved slowly. Who knew that when standing in a corner, four minutes felt like a lifetime. Not wanting to chance the timer restarting, she made sure to stand perfectly still.

The beeping of his watch alerted her that she survived her first punishment. “Come here Jessa,” Jackson called out, extending a hand to her when she turned around to face him.

Walking over and sliding back into his embrace, Jess waited for his next move. “Can you tell Papa what is going on in your mind right now?”

Taking inventory of her thoughts and feelings, she noticed that she felt lighter.

She waited for the ugly thoughts she was having to settle back in her mind, but they never came, “I’m okay!

It wasn’t as bad as I had thought it would be.

I understand why the time out happened and I feel lighter because of it. ”

“Thank you, Little Bear. Papa is so proud of you!”

“Even though I was naughty?”

“Yes, even then. All Little girls and boys sometimes make naughty choices, but that doesn’t change the way their Daddies or Mommies feel about them. Now are you ready for that date I promised you?”

“We can still go?” She asked, hoping that he wasn’t playing tricks on her. “Of course we can. This was just a small bump we had to take care of, that’s all.”

Wrapping her arms around Jackson’s neck, she squealed before hopping off his lap. Grabbing his hand, she pulled with all her might hoping it would make him move faster. Pulling the door open, Jessa stopped as Emmett stood before her with his hand posed like he was fixing to knock.

“Are you okay, Jessa?”

“I am, Emmett! Thank you for asking, but Papa didn’t hurt me.”

There was a small gasp behind her that Papa tried to cover with a cough. Wonder what that was about, she thought in her mind.

“Jessa, why don’t you go double check you have everything while I chat with Emmett for a second.”

“Okay! Bye Emmett!! Love you!”

“Love you too, brat!” She heard follow her down the hallway as she raced off to do as Papa told her to do.