Page 45 of Double Daddies (Dirty Daddies Anthologies #8)

Chapter Twenty-Nine

The next morning

Elle

Elle stood in the doorway. Her heart constricted at the sight before her.

Drake and Damian lay intertwined on Drake’s bed.

Their usual commanding presence was softened by sleep and pain.

They never shared a bed unless she was between them, their protective embrace creating her safe haven.

Now, they sought comfort from each other, and the realization sent fresh waves of guilt through her.

“Oh, God, I love them so much,” she whispered.

Her voice was barely a breath in the stillness of the room.

Tears blurred her vision as she watched their chests rise and fall in synchronized rhythm.

She had done this to them. Her fears, her assumptions, and her stubborn refusal to face the truth about herself had wounded these strong, beautiful men who had only ever shown her patience and understanding.

Drake’s words echoed in her mind, the ones that had shattered her carefully constructed walls. “We didn’t push you to transition into a girly Little once we agreed to the tomboy version, did we?”

The truth of that statement had hit her like a physical blow just as the airplane door was about to close. She had bolted from her seat, ignoring the flight attendants’ protests as her heart pounded with the sudden clarity of her mistake.

Elle had built an elaborate fortress of assumptions, brick by brick, each one laid with the mortar of her insecurities.

“Stupid! I was so stupid,” she murmured, wrapping her arms around herself.

Instead of having honest conversations about their expectations and asking how their dynamic would translate to their day-to-day life in Texas, she had let her fears write their story.

She had been so focused on protecting herself from imagined threats, she had never stopped to consider she might be fighting against her own happiness.

The burden of what she might have irreparably damaged pressed against her chest. Trust, once broken, was like a shattered mirror.

You could piece it back together, but the cracks would always show.

She had taken their open hearts, their unwavering support, their willingness to compromise, and repaid them with doubt and rejection.

Without giving her racing thoughts another moment to talk her out of it, Elle kicked off her shoes and climbed onto the bed.

She settled at their feet, cross-legged, preparing herself for the moment they would wake.

Her heart thundered as she waited, hoping against hope that she hadn’t destroyed her chance at the very thing she had been searching for all along.

A place to belong, just as she was, with two men who had seen past her defenses to the Little she had been too afraid to acknowledge… albeit a tomboy version.

The early morning light streaming through the windows cast shadows across their faces, and Elle felt tears slip down her cheeks.

How many nights had she lost fighting against this?

How many moments of joy had she denied herself, and them, because she couldn’t trust in the love they so freely offered?

Drake stirred first, his eyes slowly focusing in the dim light. For a moment, he stared at Elle as if she were a mirage, fear and longing warring across his features. His sharp intake of breath woke Damian, whose immediate protective tightening around his partner made Elle’s tears fall faster.

She watched, paralyzed, as they both sat up.

Their movements were cautious, as if she might disappear if they moved too quickly.

The silence stretched between them, heavy with unspoken words and raw hurt.

Elle’s hands trembled in her lap as her carefully prepared speech evaporated under their intense gazes.

Drake’s face hardened first as his vulnerability disappeared behind walls she had forced him to build.

“Why are you here?”

She flinched at the quiet steel in his voice.

“I…” Elle’s voice cracked. She forced herself to meet their eyes, even as Damian’s pained expression threatened to shatter what remained of her composure. “I was wrong. So wrong.”

“About which part?” Damian’s voice was hoarse, thick with emotion. “The part where you played us, or the part where you broke our hearts without a second’s hesitation?”

Elle’s chest tightened at the accusation. She deserved their anger and their distrust, but it still cut deep.

“About everything,” she whispered. “About who I thought you wanted me to be and who I pretended not to be.”

Drake’s jaw clenched, and his hands fisted in the sheets as if physically restraining himself from reaching for her. The distance between them stretched infinitely, though only a few feet separated them.

“I didn’t play you,” she continued. Her voice strengthened with desperation.

“Every moment was real. Every laugh, every storytime, every... every time I called you Daddy. I just got scared. Scared of losing myself, when the truth is,”—she drew a shaking breath—“the truth is, I was finally finding myself.”

Damian blinked as if he was fighting tears, and Elle had to dig her nails into her palms to keep from crawling to him, to them both. But she hadn’t earned that right back yet. Maybe she never would.

Their silence pressed against her like a physical weight.

Their hurt radiated accusingly across the space between them.

She had done this… taken their trust, their love, their protection, and threw it back in their faces.

It was torture waiting with her heart exposed to learn if some wounds cut too deep to heal.

She stared at her hands and said in a tremulous voice, “I made assumptions… so many of them, and I now believe they were all wrong. I just wish… I just wish I realized it before I walked away this morning.”

“What kind of assumptions?” Drake’s expression remained stern and unyielding.

“I convinced myself you needed a perfect, frilly Little who skipped around in pink dresses and ribbons. That your gentle guidance toward structure and routine meant you wanted to strip away my independence. At the games, when you showed such delight when I gave in and let those two Daddies fuck me… I saw it as proof that you wanted to change me completely.” Her hands fluttered in the air.

“It scared me. I didn’t know… I climaxed so hard for them…

because you were watching, and it gave you pleasure.

I still don’t know what to make of that, Daddies. I am so confused.”

Elle felt her cheeks burn as the confession tumbled out. Her hands twisted anxiously in her lap. Drake’s stern expression softened marginally, although his eyes remained intense as they studied her.

“Babygirl,” he began with his voice carrying that gentle authority that always made her insides flutter, “watching you reach those heights with Paul and Will pleased us because your only thought was to make us proud. Every moan, every shudder, you were performing for us, seeking our approval. That’s what a true Little does naturally, without thought or pretense. ”

“And god knows, watching you gave us a view of what you look like wedged between us. That’s what we needed to see, Elle… the true depth of your submission.” Damian smiled wryly. “Would we ever ask you to do it again? Probably not.”

Fresh tears spilled down her cheeks as understanding dawned. She had been so focused on her fears that she had missed the fundamental truth. How her desperate need to please them had driven every response and cry of pleasure.

“But I still don’t understand how this works,” she whispered. The vulnerability and insecurity were raw in her voice. “How can I be both independent and your Little? How can I be enough when I’m so... different from what everyone expects?”

Drake moved closer, though he still maintained a careful distance.

“Let me paint you a picture of what life would really be like, babygirl.” The familiar endearment made her heart stutter.

“Outside our home, you’d still be Elle Fitzgerald.

The same brilliant, fierce, and independent woman you have always been.

You’ll work, have friends, and live your life the way you want.

Being our Little doesn’t mean being locked away or controlled twenty-four-seven. ”

Damian leaned forward. The glow in his eyes was warm. “Inside our home, you would have the freedom to be whoever you need to be at that moment. Sometimes, that might mean curling up for story time or seeking comfort after a hard day. Other times…”

“Other times,” Drake continued with a hint of amusement creeping into his voice, “you might decide to be a brat because you’re craving a specific kind of attention. Or maybe you’ll surprise us by wearing a pretty dress, not because we demand it, but because you want to see our faces light up.”

Elle’s breath caught. “But that’s wrong. There is no such thing as tomboy Littles!”

“You’d be surprised… but that is why having our own little tomboy makes it so much more special,” Damian said softly. “You’re unique and precious exactly because you don’t fit the mold.”

“Does that mean that you forgive me, Daddies?” Elle’s voice trembled as tears gathered in her eyes.

“Because the one thing I realized once I was on that plane is that I was going back to living in a house with no home.” Her fingers reached out, desperately seeking theirs, then clinging to them like they were her lifelines in a turbulent sea.

“I love you both so much, Daddies mine. You are my home... without you, I am nothing. Not a tomboy Little. I don’t even think I could ever be the baker I was if you.

.. if you…” A sob tore through her chest, carrying years of loneliness and the terror of almost losing everything she never knew she needed.

“No more tears, my love,” Drake murmured.

His voice thickened with emotion as he pulled her between them.

Their arms enveloped her, creating a fortress of warmth and safety that made her tears fall faster.

Damian cradled her head against his chest while Drake traced soothing patterns along her spine.

“We’ve got you, babygirl,” Damian whispered into her hair. “We’ve always had you, even when you were running away.”

Drake pulled back slightly, cupping her face in his hands, his thumbs brushing away her tears.

“Do you know what it did to us watching you walk away this morning? It felt like someone had ripped out my heart and took half my soul with it.” His voice cracked.

“Because that’s what you are to us, Elle.

You’re the missing piece we never knew we were searching for until you crashed into our lives. ”

“You brought color to our world.” Damian’s arms tightened around her.

“Every defiant stance, reluctant smile, and calling us Daddy made us fall in love with you more deeply than we thought possible. We don’t just love parts of you, baby girl.

We love all of you. Your fierce independence, stubborn pride, and this vulnerability you try so hard to hide. ”

“And when you left,” Drake continued as he pressed his forehead against hers, “we thought we had lost not just our Little but the woman who taught us that love doesn’t have to fit into predetermined boxes to be perfect.”

Elle melted into their embrace, feeling the pieces of her heart finally sliding back into place.

Here, cocooned between them, she understood at last. She hadn’t just found a home—she had found herself.

Their love hadn’t dimmed her light; rather, it had given her the courage to shine brighter, to be exactly who she was meant to be.

“We love you, our precious little tomboy,” they whispered in unison. Elle’s smile was blinding as their words wrapped around her like a blanket of belonging. “More than you could ever imagine.”

Their hearts beat against her, and it sounded like a symphony of three becoming one rhythm. Home wasn’t just a place anymore. Home was the safety of their arms, the warmth of their love, and the freedom to be herself. Their fierce, independent tomboy who had finally found where she belonged.

“So, Daddies mine…” Elle snuggled deeper into their embrace with a mischievous glint appearing through her tears. “How is it going to work when we need a real nursery... for when we have children?”

Drake and Damian froze. The silence stretched for one heartbeat, then two, before Drake cleared his throat.

“I’m sorry… what did you just say?” Damian’s voice rose an octave.

Elle giggled. “Well, I mean, you both keep saying how special I am as your little tomboy.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “Imagine how special our babies would be.”

Drake’s chest rumbled with surprised laughter. “Seriously, love? We just survived the emotional equivalent of a hurricane, and you’re already planning on expanding our family?”

“Of course,” Elle said with mock seriousness, her eyes dancing with mirth. “I figure if I’m going to scandalize the Little community by being your tomboy Little, we might as well go all in. Break all the rules. Set new precedents.”

“Ahh, babygirl…” Drake pressed a kiss to her forehead. His voice was filled with wonder and amusement. “You truly are special!”

The End